Yokohama AO48's?

[2slow2speed]

Hi Folks,

I was browsing through the July issue of Car and Driver and noticed that the Lotus Elise that was tested had Yoko's AO48's

Given the sizes for the Elise 195/50-16 and 225/45-17 it looks like there might be a chance that folks who run the 17/18 combo's on their NSX's might have a setup that might actually work on their cars.

Yokohama's website officially lists the following sizes:

225/40-18
265/35-18
285/30-18

So a 225/45/17 front and a 265/35-18 or a 285/30-18 rears might be an interestesting setup to try out.

Anyone know if the Yokohama distriburos will cary the Elise specific tire sizes?

Ken

 

[nsxtasy]

a 225/45/17 front and a 265/35-18 or a 285/30-18 rears might be an interestesting setup to try out.

225/45-17 front tires are going to rub big-time - not just because of the wider width, but particularly because the diameter is 8.2 percent larger than '91-93 stock. That's huge. Heck, it's even bigger than the rear diameter. (Most sizes used on the NSX have the rear diameter 7-8 percent larger than the front.)

Oh, and it will also cause big problems for the TCS. Not that that's a concern for track driving, where a lot of folks turn it off...

 

[nsxhk]

2slow,

A048 has sizes for our 16/17 setup. To be exact, 225/45/16 and 255/40/17.

Henry.

 

[Andrie Hartanto]

This is a very good tire. I have a friend who is involved in the testing of this tires in the US.

Last time I talked to Yokohama USA at 25 hrs Enduro, they said they only bring in limited tires for now, but they should have more in the future.

 

[2slow2speed]

2slow,

A048 has sizes for our 16/17 setup. To be exact, 225/45/16 and 255/40/17.

Henry.

Hi Henry,

Thanks for the information, sadly Yokohama USA does not bring those tires sizes to the US, and because of the Stoptech BBK that I have on my car I need to run a 17/18 combo instead of the more traditional 16/17 setup that most do.

As Andrie stated they might start bringing more tire sizes in the future, I've checked several car magazines from Japan and they rated the tire as being one of the best S-tires (comparable to our R rating in the US) available.

Ken

 

[nsxhk]

Yes, the A048 are amazing! If any of you decide to get them for track usafe in the future, try to get the hardest (MH) compound available. Their soft compound is WAY too soft for any track.

OTOH, Bridgestone RE55 recently came out with a 215/40/17 which will work perfectly for the front 17's. I believe they also have 255/35/18 for the rears too. It's a pity that they're so damn expensive.

Henry.