79 replies to this topic

[Acehole]

hello all, yet another noob tyre question.
This maybe down to me putting the last lotus i had through a brick wall,!! whenever i go round a corner or an island with anything like a little power i feel the back end wants to slide? just feels like i have loads more grip and confidence is the company seat leon,
the rear tyres do look like they need replacing, not much tread in the centre. which leads me to the next question. car is an s2 111s what tyres have other owners got on, not bothered about winter, summer, racing etc just new tyres that wont let me feel like i'm going to bin another lotus.
thanks in advance
Acehole.

[Alex B]

I'm running khumo escta something or other and as a low end priced tyre they held up very well on track.
Jody recently had a set of toyo R1r's which he was raving about.
Toyo t1rs are another popular choice however I find they have flexible side walls .

[M@r]{]

If it's that loose on the back end get the alignment checked first before replacing tyres.  If that's OK then try Toyo T1r for a cost effective half decent tyre.  Yoko AD08 are another popular choice,  but aren't cheap and wear rates are high. If you can get a 205 on the front I'd really recommend Michelin Pilot Sport 3s

[R.I.B.]

I thought the Continental contact sports I had was good all rounders. Although I went and put a set of AD07s on and it brought the car back to life in the dry with much more feedback. Only downside is in the rain the backend will easily slide out with just small throttle, sometimes a bit of opposite steering input is needed but I don't drive too fast in bad weather so when it does slide out i'm not going fast or accelerating hard and it's easily manageable.
I'd also agree to get your geo checked, this can transform the characteristic of a car, just let them know how you want it to drive.

[Phil S1]

One other thing to check, you say your tyres don't have much tread in the centre, are you running them with too much pressure? That could also be a contributing factor to how your car's handling.

[Numbnutz]

Get the geo checked, then pop a set of A048's on if you want grip!

But they all slide at the back in the wet.

[Acehole]

Thanks for the input, live in central notts, where is best place for geo?
If geo ok then I get new tyres will geo need re doing?
Acehole

[russelld]

These guys will do a good job for you :

http://www.alignment-services.co.uk/

I would go for factory standard settings from what you have said :

http://wiki.seloc.org/a/Geo_Setups

HTH

Russ.


Oh and as R.I.B has suggested the Continental contact sport tyres are very good in the wet so a great road tyre IMO. You will have to put 195 wide on the front but they will fit your rims.

Edited by russelld, 08 April 2013 - 04:34 PM.

[DeanB]

What tyres do you have on now?

I find the bridgestone re040s and re050s are dreadful when they are worn  down almost to the legal limit.  Mine was doing that back end sliding at surprisingly low speeds thing when my last set were on their way out but a new set transformed it.
I put Bridgestone re040s on in vx 220 spec as these were the closest thing I could get to oem.  If you read up on the development of the s2 elise these tyres were developed by the lotus ride and handling guys in conjunction with Bridgestone.   They wanted a safe tyre that was particularly good in the wet, which is exactly what I want for road use.
The cost just under a ton a tyre.

Make sure your pressures are right and get the geo checked as others have said, too.

[Acehole]

Work near the cattle market will book it in
At he moment have Bridgestone potenza re040 175/55 r16. At the front
225/45 r17 at the rear
Acehole.

[jody391]

As Alex said I really rate the R1R's, the grip is imense! I have played around with pressures a lot and as mentioned too high and you can create Hugh understeer on front and massive over steer on rear depending where you have them! 1psi felt like a massive change so due to high inner tyre wear I'd say either been set too high or worn to low!? What have you on the car at present? I'm in the ruddington area if you want to come out with me for a run on the R1R's?

Also if you increased the rear width that would give you more rear and less front grip.

[Acehole]

Work near the cattle market will book it in
At the moment have Bridgestone potenza re040 175/55 r16. At the front
225/45 r17 at the rear
How much should the geo set me back
Acehole.

Edited by Acehole, 08 April 2013 - 06:37 PM.

[DeanB]

Don't forget Jody's car is an s1, with different wheel sizes, springs, dampers, ride height, kinematics. ....everything, really.

[jody391]

Very true Dean

[M@r]{]

Geo will cost around £100 mark.  Personally if I was you I would search for some 'aftermarket' settings.  The factory settings promote understeer