I'm in the process of getting some new R specs and I was questioning the age of the tyres before I ordered them. I was informed that it is possible to get them sometimes up to 3-4 years old and they are still ok to use and that this is normal for R spec tyres.

Is this correct or should I be pushing for newer tyres.

it really depends on the brand, you tend to find alot of the toyo 888's are quite old!

I believe it does make a difference and you should always get the newer ones but that is only my personal oppinion, also the biggest difference will be how you run the first heat cycle through them!

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The tyres are Yokohama A048. I am going for these instead of the A050 as I am hoping to get a bit more life out of them over the A050 which are a better tyre but dont wear as well I am told??

What do you suggest as far as running the first heat cycle through them, not heard of that before.

I thought A048's were superseeded by A050's? So they will be automatically a couple of years old.

Also, from what I have read the A048's are crap compared to A050's.

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[COLOR="Gray"]550Nm off a 2L... Just wish it was in the dak dak...[/COLOR]

Correct answer...

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No Subarus currently owned

You can still get A048s... A050s only go to 265 in size bigger width than that u need to go with ao48s..

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I'm a jockey kunts...

You should speak to the dealer you get them from in regards to that, you can make a tyre good through a correct first roading and at the same time you can F#$K them!

The best way i can think to expain that is by saying you need to temper the rubber (that is not the correct term but gives you an idea!)

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I was told that the A048 was not as good as the A050 by the dealer. He said that the A048 was just as good if not slightly better than than the Toyo 888 and was recommended the A048 over the 888. They maybe crap compared to the A050 but I was more concerned about life and durability over the flat outgrip the A050 would give. I would be pissed off if they are as crap as you say. I am dealing with a shop that we all know without mentioning names and I have dealt with before for other things and wouldn't be happy if I was just being pushed down the path of a tyre because they are an agent for them.

no way are the A048s grippier than the 888s. They'll last longer but when they take 3 laps of Barbs to warm up after a few track days so there isn't much point.

I've had all three 48's to 888s and now the 50s. The best thing about the 48s is that if you're starting out on track work you cant kill them with shit driving technique unlike the softer tyres which get mashed by understeer etc but you can learn good technique on streets.

When I got the 48s, they weren't making the 50s at that stage so there wasn't that much choice.

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Fuck your signature

Get Bridgestone RE55's for an all-round durable R-comp (SR2 compound) instead of R888 & 048s.

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MY09 Evo X - 1.6bar@3500rpm - got lag?
Barbagallo - 56.03 (S); 1:08.09 (L)
Collie - 50.77
Possibly the most under-driven Evo X in the world??