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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

New Wheels Sorted - Now Which Front Tyres?


Kevin

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After much deliberation I’m ready to place an order for a set of OZ wheels for my Elise S2 Lotus Sport 135. I’m still very concerned about which tyres to go for, my car is used for spirted road use and no plans to do any trackdays. With above in mind, and reading a number of threads both on SELOC and MLOC, I think that my choices are between 195/50R16 Avon ZZR’s or 205/50*/16 AD08R’s

 

*I understand that 205/45/16 are another option

 

Any advice/feedback to give me some confidence in making this decision would be much appreciated  

 

Do I have any other options than the ones above?

 

Thanks for any advice in advance

Legs

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I've got both AD08R and ZZR for the Exige.

 

As good as the ZZR are on track the AD08R is a far less compromised road tyre - you can lean on it nicely in the wet and standing water is a less than petrifying concern!

 

I do spirited road driving and 4-5 track days and if I could only run one type it would be the ad08rs despite the track days.

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I agree with Luke. Semi-slick tyres such as ZZRs, A048s, 888s and so on are only any good on track. They are ok on warm and hot dry days but poor in the wet and poor in the cold. There is no point whatsoever in fitting track tyres if you don't do trackdays.

I would say go with the AD08s, definitely. You will notice a big difference in front end grip - less understeer and better braking from the 175s I guess you probably have on now, just because of the extra width. Remember not to lift off suddenly when you enter third gear corners though!

 

Your alternative, which is even better, is to start doing track days! They are more fun than you can imagine. If you haven't been on one go along to watch and passenger to get a feel for it before booking.

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When I had my old exige, used daily, the odd trackday, I had ad08s on. They are a great tyre and were fine during winter.

 

I've now got the zzr on the current exige, but don't use it daily. I would swap to ad08 if it were....

 

You could put a general road tyre on I guess. It would save you a bit of money no doubt, but I think such cars deserve a decent tyre and one to compliment its handling characteristics.....

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Thanks all for your feedback and much appriciated.

 

lukevx/Mark - I contacted B.M.T.R in the week and they provided the following update on the Avoan ZZS Tyres: Fronts (195/50R/16 and Rear's 225/45R/17. Fronts - Just gouing through final track testing and should be ready in a few week for general sale Rear's - Currently still in development with proposed timeline of 3 to 4 months so told to ring B.M.T.R back towards the enf of May for an update.

 

Regards,

 

Legs

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  • 8 months later...

I appreciate I have come to this discussion pretty late but was browsing the forum about tyres ...

Remember not to lift off suddenly when you enter third gear corners though!.

What's all this about and with which tyre?

 

Also ...

If a semi slick aka R888Rs or ZZSs for example ultimately provide more grip why wouldn't you use them on the road?

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I appreciate I have come to this discussion pretty late but was browsing the forum about tyres ...

What's all this about and with which tyre?

 

Also ...

If a semi slick aka R888Rs or ZZSs for example ultimately provide more grip why wouldn't you use them on the road?

 

dean has previous with that particular situation and a stone wall, and he is an excellent driver too ..

 

road use i guess is more about driving in all conditions, so better grip is dependant on the weather. i run 888's on my exige and they are awesome on my favourite roads around the peaks in the dry, but hellish on the a50 in the wet and skittish below 10 degrees on any road. broadly track days happen in sunshine and smooth tarmac, but again grip is great for lap times, but road tyres can be fun if you like exploring the limits of the car at manageable speeds...

ideally i think most of us would run 2 sets of wheels one for road 1 for track, so which ever set you go for a degree of compromise is required.

 

richbk

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I appreciate I have come to this discussion pretty late but was browsing the forum about tyres ...

What's all this about and with which tyre?

 

"lift off oversteer". Mid or rear engined cars have lots of weight at the back. When accelerating through a corner at the limit of grip, the weight is being transferred over the rear wheels by the acceleration, so if you lift of the throttle suddenly, the weight transfers forward and so unloads the rear wheels, which can then break away and cause the back of the car to step out, as if steering too much into the corner.

Lotus counteracted this by putting skinny 175 tyres on the front which cause understeer, so it's much more difficult to get lift-off oversteer because the fronts slide before the rears get to the limit.

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