Minor Crash Help - Do I Need New Tyres?

[Gaz_R]

Okay - I got my lovely S1 last Tuesday and have been tooteling around the country roads each night. Then on Sat morning I went out in what I would describe as drying conditions - no standing water, just a bit wet.

 

I get to a left hand corner (slightly off camber) and the front end washed out (under steer) which I corrected (over corrected slightly admitedly) and before I know it I am pointing in the opposite direction and then sliding sideways into the hedge.

 

Thankfully, only damage is a cracked front number plate and a slight scratch on the rear left wheel arch. Still drives fine (I think) but is very light on corners in the wet (dangerously so in my view). I have now imposed a rule "If it is wet I don't use it. If it isn't sunny enough to take off roof, I don't use it"

 

But - I am wondering if I need new tyres. Nick Whale looked at it and the tyres are as follows. I would apppreciate comments on how good the tyres are and what i should get (don't want to spend loads. Yokohamas have already been recommended to me @ £100ea). Thanks everyone.

 

Fronts - Pirelli P Zeros

near side - 2-3mm

off side - 4-5mm

 

Rear - GY Eagle F1s

near side - 3-4mm

off side - 3-4mm

 

The difference on the fronts may be due to Horizon incorrectly fitting new steering rack - to be fixed.

I think the F1s are okay but my mate reckons the tread is too low and they don't wear enough to give grip????

 

 

PS - My mate who was with me during the incident crashed his caterham earlier in the day!

[Mark H]

Get the Yoko's, you have paid that much for a great handling car, dont spoil it for saving a few quid on rubber! They are the only 4 hand size contact points keeping you on the road.

 

Not sure the mix of tyres you have on the car is the greatest combination to be honest no wonder your car is a bit twitchy!

[Mark H]

Also check out this thread:

 

http://www.midlandslotus.co.uk/forum/index...=15entry40664

 

Good to get on the airfield with Andy and see what your car can really do and how to tell when its going before it actually does. Will rebuild your confidence on top of that because the car can goes round corners like its on rails!

[Rus]

Gaz

The pirelli tyres have a reputation for being pretty unforgiving in wet or damp conditions. I changed mine to the yokohama advans, usually only available from main stealers, and they feel a lot better than the pirellis ever did. I don't know about the tryes you have on the rear, i've never experienced them, but someone on here might be able to pass comment on them. Toyo t1 R or t1 S are another option for the s1, a few people on mloc have them and, from what i've read, are very pleased with them.

 

Might be worth getting a geo check done on the car to see if it needs and changes making there.

 

If it looks like horizon have done something wrong(not very often at all this happens from what i can gather), then get in touch with them and i'm sure they will take the action nessesary to put it right. Horizon have an exellent reputation on mloc and i recommend them to other people all the time. Horizon are who i'd recommend to take the car to for a geo set up should you need it.

 

Hope this helps

Russ

[Rus]

must type faster

[Chorlton]

Been here before on pirelli's.. get the geo done and new tyres.. I had the toyo t1-s (now the t1-r) the car felt a world of difference.. and much more grip even in the wet..

 

Beefy is right those tyres are all that save you.. Had some spirited understeer only a few days ago where I thought hello hedge.. but the car dug in and round the corner we went.

 

Only today I saw a car on the M69 upside down with the roof caved in.. thankfully Lotu achieved the miracle of making me drive like a granny in the wet. scary seeing an accident which had only happened 10 cars infront of me.. missed the crash for all the spray.

 

Andrew

[Gaz_R]

HHmmmm - Tyre change it is then.

 

Can I have some comments on the E F1s????/Anyone got them? Think anything of them????

 

I am going to get the car into Horizon in the next few weeks as the work is still under warranty from the guy I bought the car off - I am going to try to persuade them to throw in a geo at the same time.

 

Cheers for the link Beefcake. Will get onto that.

[Rus]

Don't think i've read anything about E F1's on lotus forums before. You need to be fairly choosy with tyres to get some that suit the elise.

By this i mean, If the tyres are made from quite a hard compound, they probably won't give very good grip on the elise because it is a lot lighter than the average car.

My knowledge on tyres isn't that great but i think how hard the tyre wall is has a bearing on how well they perfom as well. Someone else may be able to explain this better than me! Unless i've got my wires crossed and i'm totally wrong!

Russ

[Rus]

lighter than the average car

 

Smarter than the average bear, eh boo boo?

[Mark H]

http://www.elise-faq.info/content/tyres/index.php

 

Everything you wanted to know about Lotus tyres, personally I'd go for Yokohama Advan Neova LTS from your dealer, I used to run them on my Elise and they were brilliant, they are also designed specifically for the Elise. Worth every penny.

 

Cant comment on the Toyo's have read good things on them but I think they still rank a second to the Yoko's.

[Tango190]

Basicaly you lost it in the wet on P0's with a new to you car.

 

Learn that P0's DO NOT work in the wet FULL STOP.

 

Learn that P0's do work in the dry, very well. Till the plastic burns.

 

The difference in tyre tread depth is probably due to any number of reasons, not least of which the previous owner, or camber settings.

 

If you had an Horizon geo, you got the best, but tyres will wear.

 

Harsh but true.

 

If you want a good setup on geometry, rubber will be lost somewhere.

[Scott_Mac]

I haven't used the Yoko Advans but have had both Toyo T1-S and T1-R.. the latter are a marked imrprovement. I would highly recommend getting a set of matching tyres front of rear, the last thing you want is a mismatch front and rear. A set of Toyo's is about £300 fitted, Advans are about £425.

 

F1's are good tyres, i have used them on my old cars... i guess fitting matching fronts would be a good start.... 3-4mm of tread left is plenty though. If you are looking at F1's though make sure you get the same ones - the GSD3 is very different in look and feel to the GSD2 F1.

[Dixie]

I've got F1s on the back. They seem fine to me and they last pretty well! The only other tyres i've had on the elise were the original P0s which scared the life out of me in the first week by not stopping NEARLY as quickly as i thought they might.

 

Toyos are good and very cheap. I have them on the front.

[Steve J]

Choices:

 

Pirelli Pzero = Original equipment, not very good when compared to other tyres now on the market

 

Toyo T1-R = Good reputation but do have side wall flex and are slippy for the first 1,000 miles or so due to release compound residue, medium cost

 

BF Goodritch G-Force profiler = Gaining good reviews from several SELOC users, medium cost

 

Advans = If you can afford them, they offer very good wet and dry grip

 

Yoko A048 = Semi-slick ultimate grip, don't like standing water, expensive and last about 5k miles, need wider wheels

 

Toyo R888 = Similar to A048s but less expensive. Not sure if available in S1 sizes yet

 

You pays your money .......

 

[dss123]

I think every one has said it all but I would add that Toyo T1-Rs are definitely worth considering.

 

I am running these with a Mike geo (Horizon)

 

The car handles great and I have to be very silly to get things out of shape.

 

Lovely controlable oversteer on demand and very progressive breakaway.

 

Wet weather performance is excellent. At sensible wet weather driving speeds they grip very well indeed.

 

If price was no option, I would probably get a set of Advans, but it is, so Toyos fit the bill perfectly.

 

Hope it helps.

 

Dunc