New tire design just introduced

[nitroman]

http://www.jdmoptiononline.com/wapacepa.html

Hey guys, this tire is made by a small private Asian tire company whose owner (Jamie Ma) goes around to SCCA & other races on the weekends hocking their tires. The tire comes in 205/45ZR16 and is only $99. This is the newly-available version of their 595RS tire, just out two months ago. Although this is sold as a track tire it is street legal and says it is competitive with other tires without shaving, so it still has a full tread depth. It is used exclusively in an Elise-only racing series in Australia.

http://www.federaltire.com/en/

[thewheelrestorer]

Hi Nitroman,

Yes these Federal Tyres look opretty good, I#ve been selling the normal version for the street SS595 and my customers have been very happy with the perfromance and also wear rate.

For ther UK chaps here I can supply the performance SS95 and the track day road legal SS595 RS at the following prices if you're interested?

205/45/16 -
Federal SS-595 V rated (150 mph) £45 +vat each
Federal SS-595 W rated (169 mph) £49 +vat each
Federal SS-595 RS Race W rated (169 mph) £77 +vat each

If there are quite a few people interested I may be able to get a better cost and a group buy?


Regards
thewheelrestorer

[Monty]

There`s not much off a choice on trackday tyres for the S2 wheel and i`m thinking off trying the SS 595 RS next year, they do look a good tyre

They can be had at Camskill for £89, postage is free if you order 2 or more
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... s690p10784

[Specky]

Camskill

That's who I use for my Track rubber,

always impressed and very reasonable...

TTFN

[Don.Hasi]

Wow!, the RS-R looks really good Would be definitve my next choice although I´m pretty happy with dunlop sportmaxx.

Only one question: Lotus has changed a lot of items on the elise for preparing her for track when using sticky tires. First off all a different toelink-kit with uniballs (also they did change everthing with view to the rest of the suspension). The supensionthread here (viewtopic.php?f=41&t=12675) will answer some aspects.

So, what is about the uniballs? Are they needed if we will gain dramatic more grip?

Regards

[dapinky]

This may be the wrong place to post this, but if so, please feel free to move it!

I currently run Federal SS535's at the back, with Michelin Exalto on the front (it was like this when i got the car).

In the dry, it's great, but twice in the wet i have found myself having to steer out of a rear skid on a roundabout. Now, this could be the famous 'lift-off oversteer' which the elan can suffer from, but on both ocassions i don't recall lifting off (i know it can happen quickly and without noticing). It was fairly easy to catch as i wasn't going fast (40 - 50).

On the first ocassion i put it down to debris on the road (first wet day in ages, on a bus route) or diesel.

On the second, i decided to change the tyres!

I now have the Feds on the front, and Michelins on the back, and am waiting for a suitable day/conditions to do the same motorway roundabout to see what happens.
At the moment, i have diminished confidence in the damp handling, which is a shame, 'cos up til now i have loved it. With FWD you need a fair bit of space to steer out of oversteer (and the time/realisation).

So the question is:-

Does anyone else use Federals? What is the difference between SS535 & SS595?

This website review doesn't help much, so any input from the floor is welcome - before i invest money in more tyres!

[ailwyn]

This website review doesn't help much, so any input from the floor is welcome - before i invest money in more tyres!

You do have a gift for undersatement PC Pink

Grip in Dry: NOT TESTED
Grip in wet: NOT TESTED
Overall performance: NOT TESTED

[thewheelrestorer]

Hi.

Re: Federal Tyres........

These Tyres are generally regarded as a semi-budget brand comapred to branded manufactures Dunlop, Yoyo, Pirelli etc... although they are not the cheapest.

The SS35 is a more everyday run of the mill tyre,

The SS95 is more sport perormance orientated, and the RS 595 threaded here is more track day / fast road.

Most Tyres come with a "Treadwear" Rating, this is a requirement in the USA where a tyres wear rate is required to be printed on the sidewall.

In short you can look at any tyre and see what this number is, which can (but not always) help you understand it's characteristics:

EG: The infamous Track day tyre TOYO R888 has a rating of 100.

A Federal SS35 is approx 350 - 400 from menory and the more sporty SS595 i about 280.

Yes the smaller the number the softer the compound, and typically a tyre with 400 will last twice as long under the same conditions as a 200.

There are some differences though, and rubber compiund does play it's part.

A fairly new-ish material called "Silica" which is based on a special silicone rubber mix, is used a lot now by most performance brands, this is very soft and grippy in the wet and also very durable. So the treadwear number may look high 300 but it's characteristcs are good for handling.

I've found this treadwear number very handy when hunting for and chosing tyres and I've had I believe most types of vehicle, drivetrain, and fuel type etc....and have had much success with finding tyres that suit different applications.

Petrol
Front wheel drive, front engine 1.6 turbo
Front wheel Drive, front engine 2.5 V6
Front Wheel Drive, front engine 2.3 5 cylinder turbo
Rear wheel Drive, Rear/Mid Engined 1.6 & 2.0 Twin Cams
Rear wheel Drive, Front Engine 2.9 V6 Cosworth
Rear wheel drive, front engine 4.7 litre V8
Rear Wheel Drive front Engine 2.5 Litre 4 cyl

Diesel
Front wheel Drive, front engine TDI 150bhp

Tyres on a forum are a bit of a subject as many people have tried and like many different brands and it can become quite a thread???

Any thoughts?

Regards

[nitroman]

Treadware of the federal 595RS-R is 140. This site has some posts about wet handling...
http://www.vagmy.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 6d22b6a6cf
This tyre is awesome. It handles well in wet and dry and road noise is better than my 001s. One thing I hate about it is when I take corners fast, the tail doesn't throw.
So far, in normal to medium level rains, no instances of hydroplaning. But I've always been extremely careful with puddles etc based on some very near incidence experiences I've had in the past. I think it's the better all rounder tyre I've had on so far.

[JIMBO]

The company I work for was the original UK importers for Federal Tyres.
My knowledge is limited to "normal" road tyres and not "trackday" tyres, but my
experiences weren't good ones. Several of our distributers refused to take this
brand from us, following instances where they had fitted new tyres to a car and
the driver had frightening experiences in the wet including a couple of minor
accidents. We found Federal to be unhelpfull in resolving these issues and poor
trading partners. To cut a long story short, stopped dealing with them.

Their new generation of tyres may be very much better, but I would need to be
convinced of that before I fitted any of their product to any of my families vehicles.
Regards
Jim

[dapinky]

Thanks everyone for the info above.

I think the general opinion is:-

The tyres on mine are from the lower quality range than the 595, and are intended for shopping trolleys with big exhaust pipes and neon lights.

No-one really knows what they are like, but some people have had 'near misses'.

Jamie wouldn't use 'em (that's enough for me!)

The track tyres are probably very good (but i don't use the car on track).


Final synopsis - get a pair of better ones, even though these have over 6mm of tread.


FOR SALE - 1 pair of 205/50/15 tyres - loads of tread left (for use in the dry at low speeds only).

[nitroman]

I don't know anything about this tire personally. I saw it posted on a flyer at European Motorsport Park in Gainsville, FL. It's rare to find our tire size on a race tire, and that is all you can call a tire with a 140 treadwear rating. I still have an unused pair of the old Falken Azenis ST215 8/10s tread race tires, albeit in 215/45/16. They are the stickiest tires I've ever had on the Elan. Their dead-ahead tracking is not good, but I guess they are designed to corner, not hold a straight line.

Anywho, as this guy is from a company based in the ROC (Taiwan), it was worth giving a shout-out. Gotta support democracies over totalitarian regimes. It will be a loooong time before I need to buy new tires, but I may eventually get these unless something to their detriment comes to light. The 595RS-R were the only one he hocked at the track. He didn't even make mention of his other tires.