Anybody run Yokohama A052's?

They're crazy expensive compared to other 200 wear rating tires, which really limits their appeal, but they tend to have a wider tread width than other tires in their category.  I'm running 17 x 10.5" wheels on my 1992 Porsche 968 track car (the widest 17" wheels I could fit without modifying the fenders or using spacers while maintaining the square set-up I want), and the widest available streetable track-oriented tires that maintain the stock 25" diameter are 255/40-17's.  According to Tire Rack, the Bridgestone RE71R's I'm currently running in that size have a tread width of 8.9", and a section width of 10.2", so they're mighty stretched on my wheels.  Don't get me wrong - I love the RE71R's, and have obliterated my best time with them despite being rusty after a long layoff, but I'd like to try a tire whose tread width comes closer to my wheel width.  The A052's are listed at a tread width of 9.6", with the same 10.2" section width, both measured on a 9" wide rim in the same 255/40-17 size.  So they seem interesting, but I'm definitely balking at the price.  For that same reason I'm sure, there are very few reviews of the A052's, so I was wondering if by chance anyone here has either tried them, or knows someone who has.

A much more reasonable choice, and the one I'm probably going to go with when the RE71R's wear out, is the Hankook R-S4, which has a tread/section width of 9.4"/10.6", in the 255/40-17.  At over a hundred bucks a tire(!) less than the A052's, it seems like a no-brainer.  Hopefully Yokohama will come to their senses and bring the price of the A052 out of the stratosphere...

One of the s2k drivers in our local time attack series switched from re71's to a052's this year on 17x10.5's and he has been significantly faster since.

Not really back to back testing, but the couple folks in our time attack series using them do think they're faster than the re71 size for size.

Interesting - thanks for the input.  So they do seem to be a very fast tire, at least based on your data point.  And even on the same exact size wheels as mine.  Just wish they were a little cheaper.  Would you mind asking the guy with the S2K next time you seem him how the wear compares between the RE71R and the A052?  Thanks.

Cloud9...68 said:

Interesting - thanks for the input.  So they do seem to be a very fast tire, at least based on your data point.  And even on the same exact size wheels as mine.  Just wish they were a little cheaper.  Would you mind asking the guy with the S2K next time you seem him how the wear compares between the RE71R and the A052?  Thanks.

No problem! our next event is this weekend, I'll get some more info for you.

Once again, the tire companies hate the 15 inch sizes

In reply to klodkrawler05 :

I appreciate it.  If you friend's experience is that (and I realize this is seriously wishful thinking) he's seeing, say, 30% longer life out of the A052's than from RE71R's, that would make the case for them a little more compelling.

Will be running these on both of my cars. Can't wait for the March release for the MR2 15" size. Ordered Elise set this morning.

I was super excited to see they A052's in a 295/18.  200tw, check.  DOT legal, check.  As fast as the RE71R, awesome!  Then I see CAM outlawed them, SMH.

For a class that claims to be a street car friendly class it sure doesn't walk the walk.  BFG's or GTFO.

In reply to Patientzero :

The tire rack description reads as being solely DOT legal race tires intended for TT use, complete with a warning about not driving them in the rain. If they're meant for use on "street cars" they should probably rethink their marketing some. Not sure where you're getting "bfg or gtfo" from, there's at least three other 200TW offerings in that size that are legal and probably at least as good for autocross as these things would be for the same price.

In reply to dps214 :

I'm not aware of any other tire in a 295 that wil complete with the RE71 or Rival.  The RE71's only go up to 285 and the Rivals only come in 275,315, or 335.

I've been reading everything I can find.  The A052's are on par if not slightly faster than the RE71's.

As for street legality.  The Rivals are notoriously bad in the rain and any 200tw tire gets pretty sketchy as the temps start dropping.  Dot legal is Dot legal.    I can't imagine the Trofeo R's coming on new cars from the factory are any better than the A052 in crappy weather.

When you say they're as fast or faster, do you mean on track or for autocross? Those are very different things, and I can't imagine many people have tried the yokohamas for autocross since they're not legal for anything. I guess what I'm getting at is even if they are just as fast as the top tier 200TW autocross tires they're not really any cheaper and I can't imagine they last any longer so I don't see the advantage of them even if they were legal.

The marketing does also matter, perception is a big deal for stuff like this. You could probably just as honestly market the rival/re71r as a DOT legal competiton tire but to the general public there's a big difference between "all out race tire that happens to be DOT legal" and "street tire meant for racing" even if the functional difference is small. And if you're deciding tire legality based on "being a street tire" that seems like a reasonable place to draw the line.

Federal makes the 595 RS-R and RS-RR variants in a 255/40R17 and they run extremely wide. Here is a photo of my 205's in a RS-RR to a usual run of the mill 205....both on a 7" wide wheel. You can get them around $120 a tire if you look on eBay. They are 200tw so youre within the rules and they arent half bad in the rain. They are noisy though so i suggest finding the RS-R over the RR. The RR is stupid loud on my Fiesta.

In reply to kevinatfms :

I'm currently running 275/35-18 595RS-RR's they are ok for the price but at least 2-3 seconds slower than the rival or RE71 on a 55sec course.

It's not really about price, it's about sizing.  Either way, it's 200TW and DOT approved, it should be legal. If you need anything bigger than a 285 the rival is your only option.

Yokohama prices are always crazy 

13.3.A.2. 

Minimum molded tread depth of 7/32 required

the Yoko is only 6/32

255 on a 10 inch wide wheel is ideal.  I have 245 on 10s for my champcar.  They are awesome!

In reply to JS154 :

They just released an updated version with 7/32's tread depth.  Tirerack has also moved them to the "Extreme Summer" category.

kevinatfms said:

Federal makes the 595 RS-R and RS-RR variants in a 255/40R17 and they run extremely wide. Here is a photo of my 205's in a RS-RR to a usual run of the mill 205....both on a 7" wide wheel. You can get them around $120 a tire if you look on eBay. They are 200tw so youre within the rules and they arent half bad in the rain. They are noisy though so i suggest finding the RS-R over the RR. The RR is stupid loud on my Fiesta.

Per my logbook, treadwidth on a RS-RR 255/40/17 is 9.3".  Section is 10.3".  That's mounted on a 9" rim.  Diameter is 25".  I tried them for a season on 9" wheels and I liked them just fine.  Loud, yes!  Drove them to the track once in heavy rain.  They still had plenty of tread.  I might do that again but probably not.  Also, one time a Virginia trooper pulled me over and scrutinized the RS-RR sidewall, looking to issue a competition tire ticket, but I passed.

No love for the Nitto NT-01?  They have something wider in a 17" and I'm not aware of many others. I could be wrong but I feel like I wear out a set of RE71s in LESS time than a set of the NT01s.  I don't have log data to back that up though.  I will drive those to the track in the dry.  Never in the wet.

kevinatfms said:

Federal makes the 595 RS-R and RS-RR variants in a 255/40R17 and they run extremely wide. Here is a photo of my 205's in a RS-RR to a usual run of the mill 205....both on a 7" wide wheel. You can get them around $120 a tire if you look on eBay. They are 200tw so youre within the rules and they arent half bad in the rain. They are noisy though so i suggest finding the RS-R over the RR. The RR is stupid loud on my Fiesta.
 

I had rs-r's on my car and they were hellaciously loud. I did have the older version when they were 140tw rated. They know appear to be 220 rated (legal for enthusiast class at GTAC now!). I dont know if the compound changed, or they just arbitrarily changed the number.

Patientzero said:

In reply to JS154 :

They just released an updated version with 7/32's tread depth.  Tirerack has also moved them to the "Extreme Summer" category.

Yep - Tire Rack lists them as 7/32" depth.

Looking at the tread - yeah - definitely a dry weather, track/autocross only tire. But I have to admit - the 245/40-17 size is tempting if I want  to go full-on-stupid prepping my MCS JCW for STX. 

That looks scary as hell in any amount of standing water. 

So far sizing looks pretty limited with the widest 18's availabe in only 275.

I'm really hoping they release the 295' and 315's that the previous version came in or there would be little reason to pick these over the RE71R considering they are significanly cheaper.  Too bad Bridgestone won't bring their 295 RE71 to the states.  It's already available in Japan.

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