Tires Recommendation

[GeoffSmith]

… so decided to fit the Michelin Pilot Exalto (PE2) … They are not cheap, best price I found locally was £100 each fully fitted

I'm sticking with them: £101.23 all in from Cabot Tyres in Bristol.

[John_W]

… so decided to fit the Michelin Pilot Exalto (PE2) … They are not cheap, best price I found locally was £100 each fully fitted

I'm sticking with them: £101.23 all in from Cabot Tyres in Bristol.

I put on a set of these just before driving down to Hethel for the Lotus 60th. They're very good.
Cost was £102.50 from Tawse Tyres in Inverurie (had to order them in) fully fitted, balanced etc. They feel better than the Pilot Sports I had on, but maybe that's just 'cos they've got more tread (although the Pilot Sports had plenty left - problem was a sidewall cut).

They perform well in rain, grip well in wet or dry, and I can't hear them over the general din.

John

[GeoffSmith]

I have PE2s all round (OK ¾ round ) at the minute and I've been very happy with them and there seems to be a general concensus that they're better than the alternatives.

[paulwatkins]

Geoff,
there seems to be quite a difference in cost between the PE2's for the 15" wheel and the 16" wheel.

Mine cost me £75 each fitted from Formula 1st in Weston.

That was the end of August 2007 though. Would they of increased in price that much in a year?

[John_W]

Would they of increased in price that much in a year?

Unfortunately, yes. Mine were 15" tyres, and the Tawse Tyres price was the cheapest around here by about a tenner a tyre. I checked prices on the internet before buying. Note that the difference between high and ridiculously high speed ratings makes about another tenner a tyre difference.
John

[mnemonix]

Does anyone have any experience of Event tyres ? They visit you at home to fit the tyres - I thought they might be preferable as I can get the car jacked up myself to ensure it was done correctly.

Prices for Michelin Pilot Exaltos are £99 each inc fitting.

http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/quotation/ ... stcode=ng3

[GeoffSmith]

Geoff,
there seems to be quite a difference in cost between the PE2's for the 15" wheel and the 16" wheel.

Mine cost me £75 each fitted from Formula 1st in Weston.

That was the end of August 2007 though. Would they of increased in price that much in a year?

Looks like there is a difference of about £20 between 15" and 16" tyres. At Cabot Tyre Service in Bristol, the prices were:
£79.75 PE2s 205/45R16 83V
£ 1.50 Valve
£ 3.60 Balance
£ 1.10 Disposal
£86.95 + VAT @ 15% = £98.84

They balanced it with the weights behind the spokes to avoid the Wilwoods and even threw in a handful of weights in case they caught. So, what the hell happened to lead weights? These appear to be iron as they're stamped Fe and are a damned sight bigger.

[tigerdog]

So, what the hell happened to lead weights? These appear to be iron as they're stamped Fe and are a damned sight bigger.

Is this a new rule to keep lead out of the environment? Perhaps 24K gold would do the trick while being environmentally friendly.

[JIMBO]

Hi Geof,
Yes you are correct. Lead weight have not been legal to use in the EU for some time now
due, as you rightly assumed to HSE issues.
There are still a variety of weights available in differing composite metals. Some are
quite thick due to the reduced weight density and othrs are flatter, but wider for
the same reason.
The last weights I bought came from Micheldever (Southam), and are branded "Hatco".
They are 19 mm wide and aprox. 3.7 mm thick. Each strip weighs 45grams divided into
5gram and 10gram sections.You should have no clearance problems if you use these
Regards
Jim

[thewheelrestorer]

Tyres

I'm going to try NEXEN N3000.

Anyone used these on a elan?

I'm now on the 2nd set of these on my daily workhorse racer.......... (A Vivaro 1.9DTi Van).

It has 245,45 18 size boots and I can outbrake and out corner a lot of cars especaillyin the wet.........

Als.........I had a customer with a Audi TT Sport 230bhp and he also rated them very highly in the wet.

They are also priced very competitive and as I have a trade tyre account obviously I can get a good deaL and also claim back the vat.

for less than £200 on size 215/40/17 and my experiences with them over the last 2 years I'm goinf to give them a go on my new ac schnitzer wheels.

The tread pattern is very "Goodyear F1"

Ciao..

[tweetdriver63]

Tyres

I'm going to try NEXEN N3000.

Anyone used these on a elan?

I'm now on the 2nd set of these on my daily workhorse racer.......... (A Vivaro 1.9DTi Van).

It has 245,45 18 size boots and I can outbrake and out corner a lot of cars especaillyin the wet.........

Als.........I had a customer with a Audi TT Sport 230bhp and he also rated them very highly in the wet.

They are also priced very competitive and as I have a trade tyre account obviously I can get a good deaL and also claim back the vat.

for less than £200 on size 215/40/17 and my experiences with them over the last 2 years I'm goinf to give them a go on my new ac schnitzer wheels.

The tread pattern is very "Goodyear F1"

Ciao..

I'm sure it's way too late for this answer, but in shopping for tires online, I saw the Nexen N3000's. I searched for reviews, but very little out there. What I did find, some people on other car forums discussing them, leads me to believe they aren't good.

On a similar subject, does anybody have any experience with Yokohama Parada Spec-2 tires? Reviews at tirerack.com sound pretty good, with outstanding dry grip, and excellent wet performance. Here in the South, I've only seen snow (that stayed more than a couple of hours) once in almost 20 years. Occassionally there's some ice in the winter, but generally nothing, so a purely summer tire is fine for me. These are available from discounttiredirect.com for $82 each, with free shipping in the US.

[Elanlover]

On a similar subject, does anybody have any experience with Yokohama Parada Spec-2 tires? Reviews at tirerack.com sound pretty good, with outstanding dry grip, and excellent wet performance. Here in the South, I've only seen snow (that stayed more than a couple of hours) once in almost 20 years. Occassionally there's some ice in the winter, but generally nothing, so a purely summer tire is fine for me. These are available from discounttiredirect.com for $82 each, with free shipping in the US.

I believe Ekapol installed Yoko's on his car but I don't recall if they were Paradas.

[DaveB]

I am also looking at the Parada 2's....along with Toyo TR1

If they were much the same, the Parada's have the edge on looks ,although they are not strictly symmetrical on the car, but I have read that they can be noisy. Therefore I am tempted by the Toyos. (If I have the missus with me, she likes to talk rather than listen to the stereo....and I have difficulty enough listening without tyre roar!)

So, anybody out there with experience of either tyre, let's have the lowdown!

[John_W]

Costas and Stevo recommend Paradas highly. See this thread.
John

[GeoffSmith]

I can't imaging Stevo or Costas going anywhere quietly.

[rip]

I am also looking at the Parada 2's....along with Toyo TR1

Toyo T1-R, yes.
I changed my worn Yokohamas/Michelins for a set of T1-R's. Since fitting the Piper 'zaust, I could not floor it in 2nd without the wheels spinning when the turbo spooled up. I can with the Toyo's.
They feel a lot grippier but I've not pushed them too hard yet.

Josler recommended these to me as 'like fitting new suspension'.

If you want another opinion, Dave Eds made this comment on another thread after taking mine out for a short drive.

rippers has got brand new toyos and they stick like glue (I gave his car some welly today especially on the roundabouts but dont tell him!)

& he has 2 Elans.

[kmckmc]

I switched from Goodyear's GSD3 (Made in Germany) to Yokohama Neova AD07 (Made in Japan) 205/45/16 83W yesterday. So far so good. These tyres are quieter, compared to GSD3.




Cheers,

[Gee0]

I put Yokohama Parada 2 on the wifes Merc A190, with sports upgrade

Found these much better than the Dunlops, both wet and dry, Also found that the car handled better, and drive smoother,