ad07 tyre alternative?

[duggiesmith]

I'd rate T1Rs pretty highly.
I suppose it depends on what you're using them for. I can struggle on a dry track, but in the wet and on the road they're pretty good.
I'm pretty sure they're 195/50s on the front (getting the Lotus standard size on any other tyre is near impossible).
Each to his/her own.

[StiflerMR2]

Last T1R's I had took about 500 miles to scrub the release agent off. They were terrible during that phase but were pretty awesome once it was scrubbed off.

[Shug]

Tyres are quite a personal thing. There's no doubt that the T1R does rob some of the directness from the steering, but perhaps in S2 sizes, the increased footprint shifts the grip balance to cover that a touch. I ran the predecessor, the T1S, on my S1 for a set and they were great as a road tyre, but within 5 laps on track, they were melting and moving about. I liked that tendency, as you could really play with the car balance - the tyre went from grip to slip really progressively. I also whacked up the pressures a good amount to try and compensate for the softness of the construction.

It's down to how hard you load them. Bear in mind that the first 500-1000 miles will feel properly rubbish on them - like they are under-inflated.

On Elaine's 111R, I've not really put enough effort into researching the alternatives - although the prices of the AD07s are getting to the stage that it's almost daft to stick to them. Especially when the AD08 exists, which is supposedly a better tyre - although I don't yet know prices on that...

I guess what I'm saying in a really long-winded way is that your choice of tyres is just that - your choice. Well worth reading all the impressions you can from others, but they really are a personal choice in a lot of cases and what others feel doesn't always conform to what you'd feel from them.

[Lazydonkey]

I am in the same boat soon, my rears are about due?
Apparently the SC Elise will take up to a 205 on the front. Think our wheels are 6', and if so, 205s will fit.

Lotus website says a new Elise S (SC in old speak) takes a 175 front on standard wheels.....so surely to 205 is a big jump ?

[ste7en]

I went from AD07s to T1Rs on my Elise R. Fronts are now 185/50 16 rears are factory size 225/45 17.

Basically I asked myself if I would really be extracting the ultimate performance from the more expensive tyre given that all the milage I am putting on them at the moment is through road use. The answer to that was no so T1Rs it was and I have no complaints. In fact I think I have better wet grip with the T1R's than I had with the AD07. They certainly seem less inclined to aquaplane, which this summer has proved a useful characteristic.

If I was doing more track days however I would have stuck to AD07s as you're fairly limited in choice for the front fitment. I think AD08s are only available in 205 for the front.

For me it came down to value for money and the performance required for the type of driving I am doing.

[keevster]

I am in the same boat soon, my rears are about due?
Apparently the SC Elise will take up to a 205 on the front. Think our wheels are 6', and if so, 205s will fit.

Lotus website says a new Elise S (SC in old speak) takes a 175 front on standard wheels.....so surely to 205 is a big jump ?

Yeh that's the standard fitment lotus suggest, but a 205 will fit on a 6inch wheel, which my fronts are. Have a look here also?
http://www.alloywheels.com/Tyre_Calculator

[woody]

I am in the same boat soon, my rears are about due?
Apparently the SC Elise will take up to a 205 on the front. Think our wheels are 6', and if so, 205s will fit.

Lotus website says a new Elise S (SC in old speak) takes a 175 front on standard wheels.....so surely to 205 is a big jump ?

Yeh that's the standard fitment lotus suggest, but a 205 will fit on a 6inch wheel, which my fronts are. Have a look here also?
http://www.alloywheels.com/Tyre_Calculator

Just because you can do something dosen't make it a good thing to do.

I can't imagine a 30mm width increase being anything other than detrimental. Think of how the sidewalls will sit and the forces will act through them relative to the sidewalls on a 175 tyre on the same rim.

Many, many years ago I had a 306 which should have ran 175's but had 205's fitted by the previous owner. They were awful, you could feel the car roll around the tyres. I ditched them after a few weeks despite them being brand new before I bought the car.

[j2 lot]

Did Lotus not offer/ suggest the fitting of 195 instead of 175 to reduce understeer ?
175 was standard fit to avoid your average Joe spinning backwards into hedges.

[Serg]

I've gone for the ad07 lts rears this time... Because I guess the fronts will probably survive until or near when the new set of rears wear out. It would cost me not much less to equip a full set of "others" so I think it makes sense to do this as long as the fronts wear on schedule... lol...

I agree 205s seem a bit of distance from 175's. Its not clear from the many threads elsewhere of people commenting on their 205 fronts what the starting rim size is... they could be talking about their S1, S2, or Exige, but you don't know which unless they mention it. I also don't want to alter the balance of the car (remove the understeer bias) before I even experience what that setup does at the limit, and I will only find that out during a knockhill session

[tut]

Especially when the AD08 exists, which is supposedly a better tyre - although I don't yet know prices on that...

£393 a set.

tut

[Ferg]

That's pretty reasonable. About £80 more that T1Rs.

[thesurfbus]

Ears are doing AD08s for £373.98 and Camskill are doing T1Rs for £220, thats in S1 sizes.

[Ferg]

T1Rs getting even cheaper then!

[mark7]

Even Ronnie won't do £400 for a full set of AD08s on an S2, but you should check out his latest prices whenever you are at KH as he isn't normally betaen for Yoko's.

[mark7]

I meant to add that I thought AD08's only came in 205 so they don't fit the standard 5.5" rims, but compared with Murray's outrageous prices they can offer a more sensible rear tyre choice. I am told they are the same compound and look almost identical, so front AD07's and rear AD08's looked sensible when I was researching.