ZAFCO launches affordable racing tire
ZAFCO’s introduction of an inexpensive racing tire captured a lot of attention at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas last week as the popularity of drifting booms across the U.S.
The Dubai-based distributor has launched the Delta Sport racing tire in its affordable range, Accelera.
ZAFCO Vice President of East Sales, Carl Casalbore, said the Indonesian-made tire had DOT approval and was really “a track tire for the street.”
“A couple of our customers drift and they love the tire,” he said.
“They say it’s the best tire they can buy for the money because they burn tires up fairly quickly.
“It adheres very quickly to the road, but the downfall of it is it wears out very quickly. Pirelli, Michelin, many tier one companies make track tires but very few tier three brands do.
“Depending on their driving habits—how many times they go to the track, how they drive—these drivers could get as little as four of five thousand miles (out of their tires). “Now when you’re spending as a tier one product $600 or $700 on a tire like that, unless you’re very wealthy, it is going to be very difficult to shell out every 3,000 or 4,000 miles $3,000 or $4,000 for tires.
“We offer a tremendous alternative. They adhere just as good, they balance-up very well, and we believe it is a niche that’s going to differentiate our company against competitors in our category.”
ZAFCO wants Accelera to become household brand name
Casalbore said part of the tactic to make Accelera a household name tire brand in the U.S. was to have strong size and line coverage.
“We have tried to differentiate ourselves by our range — that’s why we have 21-inch tires,” he said.
“The beauty of the Accelera line is that from line coverage it is very strong, from 24 inch all the way down to 13 inch — even though that’s dying today in North America.”
Casalbore said ZAFCO had been testing the Accelera Delta in Indonesia, which has a strong drifting and road course racing scene.
“At this point I could say (the Delta is) plus or minus five percent of whatever criteria you’re looking at, versus our competition,” he said of the tire’s performance.
ZAFCO is a global importer and exporter of automotive tires, batteries, and lubricants, founded in 1993. In 2005 it launched the ZEETEX brand and it also owns the Armstrong brand, which it bought from Pirelli in 2013.
The Accelera Delta Sport's tread
