Re: any experiance with Yok. auto-x tires?

["I.Mannix" <mannix@secretignition.com>]

At 01:45 AM 10/19/98 EDT, VWN8@aol.com wrote:
>I just got a set of Corrado 15in wheels from a guy I know. As a perk they
came
>with some seemingly very sticky tires with about 35% tread left. Without
going
>out and double checking I think they're Yok. 008A (205/50/15). Anyhow they're
>th eones that are intentionally half slick and half treaded. I guess I just
>want to know what to expect from these things. Will racing around town on
them
>for a couple of weeks burn them up (the tread ware is "60")? Or can I use
them
>on an everyday basis?


Depends which they are.  Yokohama made several A008 tires - 

A008P
A008R
A008Rs
A008RSII

...and probably some I can't remember.  The RSII is their autocross tire -
it is the softest of the bunch.  The R and Rs are both roadrace tires, not
sure of the exact differences, but they're both pretty hard, as far as DOT
race tires go.  I've run A008s as street tires for a while - I had a set of
A008RSIIs given to me a while back - they'd been shaved to 2/32", run at
Nationals, then sat for a year.  I got 5-6 events out of them, gave them to
someone else, who got another 3-4.  Thing is, I ran them as street tires
during that time - probably 3 months, when the Rabbit was my only car.
When I got them, they had slight circumferential grooves on them, that's
it, and they still lasted quite a while.  I currently use A008Rs for street
tires on the Rabbit.  I don't drive it much, but even if I did, I'd use
them.  I got them from a SpecRacer Ford guy, they use them for a few race
weekends & chuck them - the tires get hard/heatcycled before they cord.
I've got no idea how many miles I've put on this set of Rs', but they're
lasting fine - at least one time trial, a few practice days, the biweekly
"keep the rabbit alive" zoom around town, etc.  

Race tires will get hard if they are used a few times then sit - they just
get old and crusty and will never die.  "Never" is a big word - but don't
be afraid to drive them on the street, if you ask me.  Obviously, they'll
last longer if you don't, but they won't just vaporize, either - Yokohamas
are rather robust race tires, they're pretty hard to kill.  They're bad in
rain, they follow grooves, they're loud.  That's OK.  Sand?  Death.  For
the uninitiated, sand is surprisingly gripfree.  Do you autocross?  If you
don't, put them on for giggles.  They're not worth much money, really - if
there's only 35% tread, they're probably hard.  Hard to say, but I doubt
you could sell them for much money.  They stick really well compared to any
street tire, are sorta fun to drive on the street - problem is, with A008s
on the Rabbit, the limits get SO high on the street that you can't really
drive the car without fear of killing someone - snow tires are actually
more fun to drive on, in my book.  Go rent a race track and burn them off,
get into autocrossing, drive them on the street, they're only tires;).
They'll last longer than you think, unless they're fairly new RS2s and your
car has a lot of toe out.  If they're more than a year old(in terms of when
they were first used), they're probably hard & will last a long time, even
on the street.....


I.Mannix(keep in mind that while DOT approved, they're probably not legal
in terms of tread depth, and many cops don't seem to know that they're DOT
approved - heard horror stories of people getting big tickets/towed for
running DOT tires on the street - no idea if true.  I've been pulled over a
couple of times on DOT tires, no problems - but I've not gotten caught
speeding around on them.  If a cop wants to make life miserable, they're an
easy target - and probably considered "bald" in the eyes of the law.....)
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