Cautionary tale & advice needed

[daveiow]

After carefull checking through my Elans service history and a bit of detective work i am somewhat alarmed to discover that my rear tyres are OEM Mich MXX3's a mere 15 years old The fronts, Pirelli P Zero's fitted after an alloy had to be replaced in !998 are only 14 years old
I have read most of the threads concerning tyre replacement on a 91 SE but my specific problem is the roads over here are so bad i need a tyre with relatively soft sidewalls to provide so kind of ride comfort!
I know this is exactly opposite to most of your requirements re track days etc but 'needs must as the devil drives' as they say so any advice gratefully received.

daveiow

[tweetdriver63]

One suggestion I would make is if your car has 16 inch wheels, you might consider getting a set of 15 inchers. The extra sidewall height will give you better ride comfort on the bad roads.

[daveiow]

Thanks for the tip Chris but i am on 15" wheels already.
A recuring theme in the tyre(or tire!) threads is lack of ultimate grip because of soft tyre walls(according to the Hughes bible OEM Mich's were developed with stiff walls especially)
In this neck of the woods where BMW's etc are speck'ed WITHOUT run flats from new to put on a set of Toyo T1s or similar would possibly render an Elan unbearably rough riding!
What i was hoping for was someone on here to say they had fitted a certain make and although a decent tyre they were disapointed with the handling due to flexible side walls! Selfish of me perhaps but if someone can learn from my mistakes i'm happy for them.

daveiow

[rip]

I agree that need some fresher rubber.
G UK had tyres of unknown age on his first Elan. A rear blow-out at speed nearly cost him his life.

May not be useful to you, but a great track setup is not always good for road use. A frend of mine has a seven which his mate's track-prepped seven can't keep up with on the road. The track-prepped one just can't cope with the bumps.

14" rims may be a way around it, but probably a last resort...if they fit around your brakes.
I will ask on another (non-Lotus) forum on which I post regularly. I am not sure they care too much about tyres but I may find one or two who are a little fussier.

[Rice crispy]

Hi,
Mine when i got it was in a similar position with old rubber, i put a set of T1Rs on and the ride felt much better i assume the old rubber had become hard and ruined the ride and handling.
David

[Gary1958]

Re: old tyres, on my recently purchased car at least the fronts where the same, from Taiwan! Pirelli's on the rear but with the DOT code 2603 so almost 9 years old.

A brand new set of Toyo R1R's have just arrived at home and will be fitted to my car this weekend. I didn't like the T1R's on my Elise so spent a little more on these, my annual mileage will be low and i could use the car on a track day later this year.
Good price from Camskill's and 12.5% off with my SELOC discount

[daveiow]

In the end after reading all the posts I could find on the subject I settled on a set of Toyo T1R's .first impressions are favourable ,much improved ride comfort and obviously greater peace of mind! I'm not quite sure whether she is a little bit twitchy when in the "straight ahead"position on a decent road but I will give them the benefit of the dought until I have put some miles on them

thanks for the input

daveiow

[Fredjohn]

In the end after reading all the posts I could find on the subject I settled on a set of Toyo T1R's .first impressions are favourable ,much improved ride comfort and obviously greater peace of mind! I'm not quite sure whether she is a little bit twitchy when in the "straight ahead"position on a decent road but I will give them the benefit of the dought until I have put some miles on them

thanks for the input

daveiow

Now you've done a few miles how do you find the t1r performance especially in the wet? I've the same issue that I need to change my tyres and from all the posts here have perhaps settled on the Toyo t1r. Just need some pointers in wet use. I only drive on road so track performance is not for me!

Thanks

[ashm]

I recently bought an '01 Celica 190 for the girlfriend, and noticed the 01 date code on a rear tyre - probably still the original tyre, and still had tread. This is what happens when you run a lightish front drive car and don't rotate the wheels. Only 11 years old to your 15, but I still immediately replaced them anyway.

I've used Toyo T1Rs for a few years on the Elan, Focus and now on the Celica, and they seem pretty decent in dry and wet conditions, and good value. Some people really don't like them, but I suspect this may have a lot to do with the type of road surfaces where you live and your driving style. There are a fair few potholes around me, but not many ruts to provoke tramlining, which I think was mentioned in most of the negative comments I've read about T1Rs. I also don't tend to drive too aggressively so I'm not really exploring the limits.

I've started using the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 recently and have no complaints at all. It's worth a look if you can source it in the right size, I'm told it's one of the most advanced tyres available, the price is good and it runs very nicely on my B7 A4. The ride is quiet and comfortable, and the grip inspires confidence, even in the wet where I tend to be a little cautious thanks to a disturbing aquaplaning incident a few years back.

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[Gary1958]

[quote

Now you've done a few miles how do you find the t1r performance especially in the wet? I've the same issue that I need to change my tyres and from all the posts here have perhaps settled on the Toyo t1r. Just need some pointers in wet use. I only drive on road so track performance is not for me!

Thanks

Also consider the Toyo R1R's. These are outstanding in the wet and very grippy in the dry. I bought mine from Camskills and because I'm a "Club supporter" on SELOC I paid the same price as the "T1r Proxes"

Gary

[Fredjohn]

Thanks for the confirming info. Guys at Camskill said they were really good in the wet as well as the dry, so went with the T1R's in the end (from Camskill) at £58 per tyre delivered. Paid my local tyre place a further £80 in total to have them fitted AND have the tracking done. This was way out at -1.5mm instead of +2.0mm so am now waiting to scrub them off bit and see....

I also checked the manufacturing date of the Toyo's which was Week 20 2012: so just about 4 months old.

Happy bunny now I've got rid of three 11 year old Pirelli P700s and one 6 year old Uniroyal Rainsport 1.

John