Need to replace my Eagle F1 215 40 ZR 16

[Fredster]

Hi,

My Good Year Eagle F1 (215 40 ZR16 GS-D2) have to be replaced soon - MOT in July.

I´m struggling to find a decent (but not so expensive) alternative since de new Eagle F1 GS-D3 are not recomended for the Elan.

Does anyone knows / recomends an interesting alternative?


Regards,

Fredster

[rdodger]

I tend to use Black Circles.

The link shows what it offered me for my S2

http://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres ... wintertyre

Why is the GSD3 not recommended?

[Scott J]

Kumho Ecstas work well and not too pricey, apart from black circles, I use mytyres dot com .

[lotusflasherman]

Hi,

My Good Year Eagle F1 (215 40 ZR16 GS-D2) have to be replaced soon - MOT in July.

I´m struggling to find a decent (but not so expensive) alternative since de new Eagle F1 GS-D3 are not recomended for the Elan.

Does anyone knows / recomends an interesting alternative?


Regards,

Fredster

Not sure who recommends tyres for Elans these days, are you going by 'factory' or 'recommendation of other owners'?

I bought my first Elan SE from the original owner in '96 still on the factory fitted Michelin MXX-2 tyres that I'd read were specially developed for the Elan. Almost worn them out within a year but couldn't find replacements in any tyre dealers so contacted Michelin who said they no longer made them. Phoned the Lotus Factory and was told MXX3 Pilot SX ZR15 was now 'the tyre'. Problem was I couldn't find any of those in the correct speed rating and then got a puncture while working away from home and was forced to fitted Avon ZZ1's as the only tyre I could get in correct speed rating.The dealer did me a good deal for a set of 4 and I found those were definitely the 'option tyre' in F1 terms - much better all round performance than the Michelins but I used it and wore them out a lot quicker.

Currently running on Eagle F1's which are great and very solid in the wet but no longer available. Lots of tread still but signs of 'age cracking' on the sidewall so I'm in a similar situation for 15". Might go to bigger rims to increase my choice.

[Fredjohn]

Fredster
It would help greatly if we knew your location: tyre availability could be different depending on which side of the pond you are!
Add it to your profile as a permanent reminder to us all.

If you do a search on tyre replacement there are plenty of views on which are "the best". I have Toyo's, others have gone for Kumho and others Avon, Goodyear, Yokohama etc etc: there are almost as many opinions as there are M100s!!

But plenty of posts on the site re what choice for what use

Try this one for starters

[Enright]

Hang on - 215?!?
I thought Elans all had 205's as standard (although I have to admit to not being as familiar with S2's).
If you're running oversized tyres or aftermarket wheels then you run the risk of rubbing wheelarch liners and even putting LESS tread on the roads as the sidewalls have to pull the tread into more of a curve across the width of the tyre.
In short it could muck up your carefully designed handing.
You definitely need to verify that before proceeding.
As far as brands are concerned though, I (and many others) recommend Toyo Proxes T1-R's.

Fredster
It would help greatly if we knew your location: tyre availability could be different depending on which side of the pond you are!
Add it to your profile as a permanent reminder to us all.

I couldn't agree more. Although I took "MOT" as being a bit of a clue, the actual area in your profile would be a great idea to save you having to keep repeating it in other threads.

[HJ2]

... And the R1R, if you like it soft and sticky!

[dapinky]

I'm still a big fan of Yokohamas - a tad more costly than the Toyos/Kumhos - but (in my opinion) a much better tyre.

AD008R are the 'fast road / track day' tyre in the range, they do them in the 'correct' 205/45/16 size, but don't list them in 215/40/16.

[Fredster]

Hi,

Lotusflasherman- The Good Year gentlemen recomended the Eagle F1 DS-D3 for " heavier cars " (something to do with design of the DS-G3 different to the DS-G2)

FredJohn - My location, as requested : Lisbon, Portugal - and yes we have a similiar version of a MOT

Enright - In Portugal the road/track temperature can get to be really hot so I need large and sticky tyres to enjoy the lotus handling

I´ll check your suggestions on line ASAP!

Thank´s

Fredster

[HJ2]

The cross section of the TOYO R1R is more square, if large is your thing without going to 215 width...

[Enright]

My location, as requested : Lisbon, Portugal

You need to add it to your profile so that it shows up each time you post - e.g. you can see that mine always says "Arnold, Nottingham, England" below my avatar. Or at least you do unless you're just expecting us to remember!

Enright - In Portugal the road/track temperature can get to be really hot so I need large and sticky tyres to enjoy the lotus handling

No, you're missing the point. Think of it this way:
If the wheels stay the same width, and the sidewalls of the tyres stay the same height, but you DOUBLE the width of the tyre, it will have to curve round in a big arc (like a motorcycle tyre does) to fit into the same space. Therefore because a car doesn't lean like a motorbike you would get a smaller contact patch with the ground, and increased wear in just one spot.

Now practically, I realise that you can't fit double the tyre width into the same space (and so far we've only considered 2D and not 3D yet), but it doesn't take much extra to deform the tyre to a point where it starts to perform WORSE than the original.
And you can bet that those clever people at Lotus took all this into account when designing it.

[rip]

Many of us on here are in the UK. A good tyre here needs to perform adequately in the winter. You don't need to worry about this compromise so you may find something which works better in your conditions but poorly in the cold.

Someone mentioned F1 tyres earlier & this can be used to highlight a point. You sometimes see everyone setting good lap times on a certain tyre when it is cool, but another compound performs better the following day when the temperature rises.

[Rambo]

I'm a big fan of Yoko's too. Also Michelin if you can't get the Goodyear. I don't know if they still make the Pilot Exalto in your size anymore but an excellent tyre for all driving conditions

[tigerdog]

I'll second the vote for Kumho Ecstas as inexpensive and well-performing. Since it doesn't really rain here, I went with a summer-only tyre (Ecsta XS) in 225/40-16. 215 is not available in the US. No clearance issues and the added diameter has negligible impact on acceleration. Since my (and most) M100 speedos read fast, it actually improves accuracy. Good luck!