I'm sure the official announcement will be at SEMA in Nov. We are the distributor for the A048R for Spec Racer in SCCA. The tires are real race tires. A couple things we've learned. First, these tires require a heat cycle then it is best to let them set for about a week. If you try to run these things new for a whole weekend you significantly reduce the life. The tires are faster shaved. They require about 1-2 deg neg camber. They suck if it rains. They are sensative to temperature as well. the build heat pretty quickley too. It will be interesting to see how they hold up on heavier cars with more HP. The only way these will sell in any quantity is if Yoko decides to price them competitively. Why pay $40 more for something that isn't any better than what is available. And for $160 or more per set, they better be a lot better! Last, these tires in come in 4 compounds in Japan. the compound we got stuck with was the medium/hard compound. At the rate of wear I've seen on these, it's a good thing they didnt bring the softer set.
FYI, we are hoping that Toyo will bring the R888 to the states this year. I'm hoping for a announcement on that and the new T1R. (which is availabe everywhere but here.)
