BoostLover99

They're actually *cheaper* (by like $20 per tire) on Tire Rack now.

Of course, the treadwear is rated for 1/3 of the A046s, so maybe they're 3x the price in the real world.

Out of morbid curiosity, has anyone run these tires on the street for any length of time? Apologies in advance for a crazy/stupid question.

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

They are r-compounds - and pretty aggressive ones - so like any r-compound, they will have extreme grip, very low life, and be completely useless in wet or cold.

Willie Dynamite

iTrader: (17)

But would they last through the summer? Is 5k street miles too much to ask?

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

I would imagine they would last 5k street miles, yeah, if you consider it "ok" to spend $1000 for a 3 months of use?

zbomb

iTrader: (48)

Warr is spot on. They'll last 5K on the street but most likely the last 2.5 on them will be beyond scary in very rainy conditions. R compunds on the street are fun as long as you have another car to beat on when it's raining. Reminded me of having a motorcycle and watching the weather channel every morning.

Jeff_Jeske

iTrader: (66)

I ran R compounds for a few months but decided it was retarded. Why you ask.... well the R compounds pick up every darn thing they come across. I've found nails, glass, and even bottle caps embedded in the tire! Not only that they pelt your car with rocks and sand to no end. Its very noisy and very hard on the paint.

BoostLover99

Wow - good feedback. Glad I asked someone who's tried.

Thanks for saving me $1500!

BoostLover

vortico

iTrader: (38)

Lowest treadwear I'd use on the street would be around 200. Personally I just use highish treadwear Goodyear Eagle F1 All Seasons on the street, and save my better tires for the track. Course if you don't track the car that would change things.

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

Even if you do track the car, who wants their badass Evo to slosh around on all-seasons every day? Not me. I don't get the best tires money can buy for daily driving, but I sure as hell don't get all-seasons. I have snow tires for Winter, but on dry days, they are absolutely awful. All-season handle better than snow tires, but they still can't hold a candle to summer tires.

Vortico, hopefully for you, you weren't referring to your RT-615s as the "better" tires. Those are what you get for daily driving and are by no means for track use.

ghamatos

iTrader: (4)

I just like semi's and I don't want to miss them any more. So for me there are winter tires for winter, semi's for summer and normal HP tires in between.

Used A048's last sommer. At very high temperatures and glowing asphalt they offer great grip and duration (not overheating as normal tires).

At night and lower temperatures when still cold you can enjoy drifting with minimal wear.

When driven on public roads after some 100 miles they get shiny, then they slip alot and do not wear. After scrubbing they gain their grip again and wear a lot of course. (for tire life watch heat cycles also).

Lasted about 5000 road miles and about 100 track miles, for me = more than every other tire (Bridgestone RE50, RE70, Pirelli P Zero)

Excellent grip when warm, very good steering feel, ideal for hardcore driving (street racing and trackdays).

Negatives: Noise, wet.

My next semislick for the summer will be A048 again or Michelin Pilot Sport Cup although they are not in 235/45/17 available (nearest size for cup's is 225/45/17).

But I think in the States you have more economical semislick options like Toyo, Nitto etc.

PS: Sorry for my english.

vortico

iTrader: (38)

So far those have felt great during auto-x STU class. Granted, I would much rather use R-Compounds but that instantly bumps me to BSP. And I didn't say "best" tires I did say "better" and I'm sure you can't argue that those are better than AS tires ; but I suppose if I had the chance to still drive around like a bat out of hell to and from work I would have preferred stickier tires.

But anyway this is detracting from his original post of whether or not to use R-compounds for DD.

codymac

Ran them on my (non-Evo) track car for a while before switching to Toyos - horrible on the street as there was no way to get enough heat in them.

Pushing it, I'd get about 2-3k out of a set of A048s using them double duty on street and track in a car that weighs >1000 pounds less. You'd have better luck if you never tracked on them as the heat cycling quickly kills the grip on the A048s.

Mitchubishievo

iTrader: (310)

I'm using A0-48's for the summer because I got a fantastic deal on them and pretty much said to myself "why not".

So far, everything mentioned in this thread are things I've noticed. I have a little "race crouse" by my house (it's a corporate area that is very fun late at night) and have noticed the extreme differences in grip that a mere ten degress can provide. If it's just a tad bit colder, the driving style has to be adjusted.

Noise....good god the noise . Well, honestly, the drone from the tires is nicer than the drone I had from my Greddy Ti from the last evo (this one is much quieter with the ARC catback ). But, coming from RE-01R's last summer, it's like going from a Lexus LS430 to a race car.

Wet grip: I'm only at 1000 miles on the tires and they are still quite good in the rain, though I NEVER push it in the wet unless I want some slideways action, not track like grip. I am anticipating some close calls in the future once these get much more slicked down.

And yes, they do throw sand and pebbles at the lower half of your paint, so do everything you can to protect it and wash the car often enough so you know your level " damage done .

Overall though, this is going to be a very fun summer with these tires. The grip is SUPREME and the sidewall is nice and stiff, allowing for the most telepathic of steering feel.

vwjeff

iTrader: (13)

I am thinking about trying out these A048's as a drag/street tire for more grip at the track?

I dont DD the car, so I aint worried about tread wear.

Warrtalon

iTrader: (6)

VWjeff, they would be terrible for drag. R-comp track tires are not the same as drag radials. R-comps like this have a stiff sidewall made for handling. Drag tires have soft sidewalls for crinkling on the launch. You need two dedicated sets of tires for track and drag - not the same tire. Or, you can do a dedicated set for drag (small/light rims with small drag radials) and another set for DD/Track in which case A048 would work since it's not a DD.