P4N Lotus Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Hi, been watching some of Clarksons videos, elise vs exige race around a turning circle, exige wins and Jezza makes the comment about the fact that the Exige Tyres semi slicks are give it its edge in the corners sticking to the road far better. 111S Front are 175/55/R16 Rear are 225/45/R17 Has anyone put on the 195s on the fronts of the 111S wheels, do Lotus recommend it, is it safe, or can anyone recommend some alternative or similar tyres. Any experience, 10m each side over lap sounds abit :-S any advice? thanks
Steve J Posted March 22, 2011 Posted March 22, 2011 Lotus recommended moving to 185 fronts to give more grip, but I know a few people who run 195s on the front of standard wheels without issue.
daddz Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 I've got 195's on my S2 111S. I have had no issues with them whatsoever. I find that they look nicer and feel better on the road. I have to admit, I haven't rigorously tested them as much as good old Jezza did in that clip (I've seen the one) but the car certainly feels even nicer when going through turns at fast speeds.
kayj_prod Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 I just got a quote for tyres and 195 were cheaper than 185 too! (Though this was then balanced out by 225 being more expensive than 205 for the back.) Still haven't bought any new tyres yet as my bonnet is still stuck...
R.I.B. Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 I've put 195s on the front. The Standard 175 bridgestones had gone hard and didn't give anymore grip. The first thing I noticed was that the feel through the steering wheel went much lighter and didn't give me as much confidence at first, maybe because the outer Walls don't line up with the rims, or maybe the different tyres haven't got as strong sidewall. The plus side is the car feels more equally balanced and it's possible to make it oversteer or understeer instead of just understeer. Although I'm comparing them to an old set of bridgestones that had gone hard. My rear tyres are looking low on tread and I'm tempted to try a full set of ad07's., if the new fresh fronts don't give as much grip as these 195s I'll be taking them back off.
P4N Lotus Posted March 23, 2011 Author Posted March 23, 2011 Hi RIB, do they overlap much on the front? Could you take a photo and upload so I can see an example of the tyre wall/profile/ width overlap. Are you on the exige 195s at the moment? cheers Also, Peter Smith Lotus had this to say regarding the topic... We have clients who have fitted the A048 Exige tyres to Elises and some special editions (eg 135, Type 25) had these fitted as standard. We advise that the A048 front tyre should be fitted to a different wheel with a wider rim. The standard Elise front wheel is 5.5J x 16 and the Exige tyre is fitted to a 6.5J x 16 wheel. If you choose to fit the A048 to the front they should also be fitted to the rear. I've put 195s on the front. The Standard 175 bridgestones had gone hard and didn't give anymore grip. The first thing I noticed was that the feel through the steering wheel went much lighter and didn't give me as much confidence at first, maybe because the outer Walls don't line up with the rims, or maybe the different tyres haven't got as strong sidewall. The plus side is the car feels more equally balanced and it's possible to make it oversteer or understeer instead of just understeer. Although I'm comparing them to an old set of bridgestones that had gone hard. My rear tyres are looking low on tread and I'm tempted to try a full set of ad07's., if the new fresh fronts don't give as much grip as these 195s I'll be taking them back off.
jimbo07g41 Posted March 23, 2011 Posted March 23, 2011 I did a bit of reading up on this and decided to go with 185's. Steering does not feel as quick but much more grip.
R.I.B. Posted March 24, 2011 Posted March 24, 2011 I've got a set of continental sport contact 2's on the front. I dont think they look as good as 175's on these skinny rims but the grip is great! It'll be interesting to see how the fresh 175 ad07s compare though. I'll upload photos asap.
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