Just spoke to my mini mechanic about this. He said he heard that if Yokohama get orders totalling 500 tyres they will make more so start ringing if you don't want them to abandon us.

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Flute - 68 MK I Cooper S
Member: VMCI #2474
Member: International Mini Model Collectors Club

i rang yokohama today.. rang for the A032R instead but once again got screwed over by someone that thought it would be a great idea to become the exclusive distributor for yokohamas A032R and A008. the guy on the phone told me that the information i was given yesterday could be correct but it could also be incorrect. the rep i spoke to said they were told A008 were not being continued.. this was false at this time yokohama australia still dont know what is happening with those tyres. according to them there are now 50 being made for the 35 orders that have been made coming over in the next 4 months. however since they are unsure of this they said to place an order and wait for the 4 months, if the tyres dont arrive then by the looks of it they may have been discontinued to australia and will have to be sourced by another distributor through another country (e.g UK or USA) though this is gonna be more $$$$ .

also i was not aware but there is a place that has legal rights to the A032R and the A008 tyres here in australia and can not be sold unless through them again this means its gonna be more expensive.

so basicly i was getting them from yokohama direct for $94 each for the A008 and $150 for the A032R. Now because this "company" has bought the legal rights to distribute those tyres i have to buy them from them now.

if thats the case this means his paying what i would of payed yokohama which will mean i have to pay a higher price to this guy to get them, which will mean the customer on the retail end has to pay full price.

so the distributor buys A008s from yokohama is worth $94 i would probably have to pay $105 for the tyres from the distributor which then means the retail price for a customer from a tyre shop is $116 to $130 for the A008s.

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

Still a bargain at that price IMO. They hang on pretty good and last reasonably, too.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

See Steve's for sale advert:

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic ... highlight=

yeah but i spoke to steve about those and he ordered them alil while ago. also the distributor is based in sydney so i dont think it effects other areas

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

Sent an order inquiry to minispares UK. They have some there and shipped price estimate is approx $147 per tyre so about $588 for a set of four delivered. Thats a bit more than the $440- for four including fitting that I paid last time at my local Beaurepairs.

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Flute - 68 MK I Cooper S
Member: VMCI #2474
Member: International Mini Model Collectors Club

final thoughts are on the other thread. but basicly its either falken or bridgestones. unless u wanna pay big dollars.

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oil leak?..what oil leak..that puddle under the car is just sweat from all that horsepower

After watching new 10 year old tyres destruct during testing on Channel 7 tonight, I wonder how old some of these NOS getting rarer tyres actually are.
Time to check the date codes... 1st 2 numbers are the week produced, last number is year.

No laws here about age but in US, apparently 6 years is it for new ones to be sold by.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I was looking for a pair of these, and happen to have a mate who is the manager of a large alloy-wheel/tyre importer.

he phoned Yokohama UK and asked why nobody seemed to have any of these in stock, and he wanted about 20 of them.

apparently there is a new European-Union directive that requires all tyres of less than 185 section to pass a noise-test. the A008 fails this, so Yokohama have taken it upon themselves to modify the tyre to make it pass this test.

the "new" a008 is in the final stages of pre-production and will be available soon - the guy admitted that this could be 1 month or 4, but not more that 6 in his opinion.

so, hopefully the lack of availability will sort itself out soon (if only cos my front tyres aint gonna last much longer)

Alex.

sounds good, hope it's true for all those of you who are hunting

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tim
68 Deluxe 1293, HIF44, megajolt/EDIS4, daihatsu alternator..

'a mini is for life, not just for christmas!'

That's pretty brilliant news, especially for me who is stuck with horrible Falkens at the moment.

THanks for taking the time to find that out and then post it here!

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"I'm sorry, but a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!"

I suppose all of you say a big 'thank you!' to Yokohama for doing this in times of financial crisis for such a minor market like 10" tyres! Shows again how much heart they have for enthusiasts like us!

I had a correspondence with Yokohama myself - yes, they will be available again soon(-ish)!

And alll beacause of that f*****g EU idiocracy!! It gets worse and worse... I hate it! I think I emigrate if they continue being stupid... Noone with any brain left in theyr hollow heads will introduce laws for the shape of vegetables...!

Oh, sorry - rant over

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No speakers, no bodykits, no six-inch spacers, no spak filler, no bullshit

still sounds like a lot of hearsay to be honest. ill be looking for a set of tyres towards the end of the year so hopefully a decent/affordable/lasting set of tyres will be available (sounds like a pipe dream i know)

Just go and buy Dunlop Formula Rs. Stucky sells them to me for $100ea fitted.

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Have a Nice Day.
If already having a nice day please disregard.

There's a batch of A008's at Australian retailers now, date stamped 1709 (apparently means they were made in April 2009).

Any retailer should be able to get them (unless they've sold out) but shop around as quotes vary widely.