Lotus Elan Central

Might as well open a discussion on this subject as i need 2 new tyres.

Did fancy Toyo`s R888 but i believe you don`t get much mileage + u can`t get them for the S2 wheels. So i`m looking for a compromise for road & track. At the mo i`ve got Goodyear Eagle F1`s and can get these for approx £73 each from my tyres, thinking of trying the Yoko Parada`s which i believe Stevo has on Missy (waiting for him to reply to my PM) can get these for just over £70 each.

Was doing a search on the net and came up with www.maxsport-competition-tyres.co.uk/ there RB5`s look good for trackdays but yet again can`t get them for the S2 wheels, they do them in 205/50/16 so the question is will these be ok with the higher profile Don`t foget i can always adjust the hight of pinky to compansate
This place bkcompetitiontyres.co.uk/ do them for £52 each

Since i`ve been suffering from alot of understeer i was thing of fitting the RB5`s to the front to get more grip but keeping the rears on a normal road tyre.

Monty wrote:Might as well open a discussion on this subject as i need 2 new tyres.

Did fancy Toyo's R888 but i believe you don't get much mileage + u can't get them for the S2 wheels. So i'm looking for a compromise for road & track. At the mo i've got Goodyear Eagle F1's and can get these for approx £73 each from my tyres, thinking of trying the Yoko Parada's which i believe Stevo has on Missy (waiting for him to reply to my PM) can get these for just over £70 each.

Was doing a search on the net and came up with www.maxsport-competition-tyres.co.uk/ there RB5's look good for trackdays but yet again can't get them for the S2 wheels, they do them in 205/50/16 so the question is will these be ok with the higher profile Don't foget i can always adjust the hight of pinky to compansate
This place bkcompetitiontyres.co.uk/ do them for £52 each

Since i've been suffering from alot of understeer i was thing of fitting the RB5's to the front to get more grip but keeping the rears on a normal road tyre.

Mixing tyre types on a car is not a good idea. Particularly as you move into the more focused tyre types & push the limits on a trackday. You will end up with grip characteristics you really don't want.

The Toyo R888's are a great tyre, use them on the GT3, tremendous levels of grip and very stiff sidewalls mean they are incredibly stable cornering at speed. Mileage is actually not too bad off of them, but they come with much lower tread depth than normal road tyres which means they don't last as long. Shame they don't do them for the Elan.

You can't change the radius of the wheel/tyre combo as the gear ratios and speedo will change! 205/50 implies 50% of 205mm is the profile height, so your entire wheel will be 20.5mm larger than with the correct tyre (45 profile). This means that per wheel revolution you car will go 128mm further!

I've never really looked into this before so my maths may be wrong but having the wrong tyre doesn't sound like a good idea, and you certainly can't correct for it by lowering the suspension a little!

Candles.

Thanks for the advice guys

Can`t see any harm in putting grippy tyres on the front to combat the understeer and try to get the back end out more.

The speedo isn`t accurate anyway so not worried about that, it`s just that there`s a few Rally tyres companys out there but there a 50 profile and worried that they will rub + would imagine there`s more roll in the sidewalls. Done a bit of research and the companys below are remolds for the rally scene and some forums have give them a good rating for there price.

RB5 or RB5W (wet) 205/50/16 approx £52 +vat
www.maxsport-competition-tyres.co.uk/

TR pattern
www.indysport.de/rangee.htm

Fancy the Intermediate tyre and are the right size at £57
www.colwaymotorsport.co.uk/tyres.htm
www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m12b669s690p9906

Also got Hankook in the correct size
www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m12b0s690p4061

These also sell the competition tyres
bkcompetitiontyres.co.uk/

With so many tyres no wonder my eyes have gone

I'd manage understeer by increasing the difference in tyre pressure between the fronts and the rears.
I.e. experience with (much) more pressure in the fronts. It will make our front wheel drive car 'loose' in the rear and give it a tendency to oversteer.
But beware, it might lead to sudden, uncontrolable, oversteer reactions when pushed to and over the limit.

On Steve's M100 this past track weekend, we started with the front tires at 38psi hot (205/45-16 Toyo R1R....an excellent value thus far!), while the rears were in the 36-38 range. Eventually, he lowered the rear pressure to 34 (same pressure we run back there for auto-x). The Toyo rep at the track for the weekend recommended increasing front tire pressure to 40-41. I will let Steve comment on the handling differences.

Did not get a chance to record tire temps.

Michael wrote:I'd manage understeer by increasing the difference in tyre pressure between the fronts and the rears.
I.e. experience with (much) more pressure in the fronts. It will make our front wheel drive car 'loose' in the rear and give it a tendency to oversteer.

Michael you have it correct. I am no expert on tires but after consulting the Toyo
rep. with my description (car is squishy and un-responsive) he immediately recommended
front pressures 4 to 6 over rears. Then after 5 hot laps and checking tire temps.
suggested 1 to 2 lbs be removed from driver front tire.

I kept this set up for the remainder of the day with great results.
Instructor had me throwing out the rear end by the last session.

One note is that the track became very slick late in the day due to the depositing of
surface rubber. Cars were slip sliding away. Front wheel drive perhaps a little
more understeer.
Steve -loving Toyo R1R-

knoxmotorsports wrote:36-38 range. Eventually, he lowered the rear pressure to 34 (same pressure we run back there for auto-x). The Toyo rep at the track for the weekend recommended increasing front tire pressure to 40-41. .

IMHO thats way to high, the way i go about it is to go for Hot stock temp ie 26 to 28psi HOT! then adjust from there. When i get to the track i lower mine to 22 psi cold then after a few laps come in to the pits and adjust them as they will increase approx 10psi or more on a warm day.

Trackday tyres should have a stiffer side wall so should be no need for high pressure, which i`ve heard thats whats done on road tyres

To get more oversteer i increase the rears more.

1st outing for the r19 at the ring coming up .
i too need 2 tyres.

The size i require for my renault 19 are 195 50 R15 size. THE SAME AS ELAN S1 (irrc)

i am running YOKOhama ADVAN A048 r track tyres

QUESTION. do i buy a new pair of ADVAN A048 @ a whopping £157 each
OR just go for a full set of something else , Do you have any suggestions?
Maybe some TOYO R888's ?

Many thanks
clemo

R888's are great but their prices have shot thro the roof in recent times - some of my track friends are now using Federal 595's I think and they get good reports I have Hankook RS2's good in the dry but not great in wet greasy track conditions OK on a wet road

Come on Dave, your memory has faded - they're 10mm narrower than an elan!

But to answer your question, it's all down to money really - if you're on a tight budget, the go on fleabay to this one

In the greater scheme of things, the extra spend on new tyres is minimal over the total cost of the trip, so I'd treat myself and go for a set of new rubber......

.....but what to buy?.......

I've always liked Yokos. and am running Old Skool 008's on the front of my blue car - love them once they're warm, not so good in the cool.

I have been looking for a new set for this year, and dismissed 888's as it's a daily driver, considered R1-R's, and T1-R's, Yoko AD08's - still undecided

So, all in all, it's your choice and I'm not much help

dapinky wrote:Come on Dave, your memory has faded - they're 10mm narrower than an elan!

So, all in all, it's your choice and I'm not much help

well you were helpful enough to remind me what the s1's are running ...

i only run 16"!

these are for track use only rather than a multi purpose tyre...

i am going on the 11th i you fancy coming?

It don't matter if you run 16" - they're all the same width

Anyway, back to the point of the thread, I'd love to come on the 11th, but have to work - next year I'll be up for it (even at short notice!), 'coz I'll be a pensioner by then .

For a pure Track tyre I don't know what suits the Renault best

On elans i know people like the 888's. On the Triumph i use Michelins (sticky/slick) in the dry, and Colways in the wet.

Perhaps a PM to Ronee to see what she recomends (or at least uses on the Clio) ?

I have some very good experiences with the R1R's
But then again... No comparison with the others you mentioned.

I have Vredestein Sportrack 3 and they suck (but were on the alloys i bought) The car itself came with Champiro's (WHAT?) Although never heard off and extremely low budget, they are far better than the Vredestein's.

My choice (and for my situation) would be the Toyo R1R, all around

dapinky wrote:My choice (and for my situation) would be the Toyo R1R, all around

Agreed Fed. car 16" the Toyo R1R do the job quite well. I run cold pressures of 34 front 32 rear.

About to get a new set for this season.