s1 tyres

[kpb]

After a nail in one of the rear tyres of my S1 I was thinking of removing the Pirelli zero's and fitiing some new tyres if it cannot be repaired (kw*** fit say it is too near the sidewall 25mm in so going to another fitter wh thought it would be okay).
Looking through the info it looks like camskill tyres and the KUMHO KU31 ECSTA SPORT KUMHO KU 31 - 185/55R15 82V TL for the front
and the KUMHO KU31 ECSTA SPORT KUMHO KU 31 - 205/50R16 87W TL for the rear.
Spec standard S1 alloys but full Steve Butts suspension kit.
Looking for something that will wear well as it is my everyday car but will also give performance when enjoying some tut's on the windy bits and i will prbably do some of the track days as well.
The cost of one Kumho is the same as one Zero 205/50/16
Cheers
Kinnon

[Sanjøy]

Welcome and firstly glad to see you are still alive after a winter on P-Zeros.

Lots and lots of tyre info in the archives, search for tyre brands and take your pick from the advice given from commuters, racers etc.

Sanjoy

[tuscan_thunder]

Kinnon,

I've been watching tyre threads (threads, not treads!) with interest recently and the Kumhos seem to be a worthwhile everyday, all round buy.

[Matelotman]

I had Toyo T1R's on mine with no complaints on the twisties (like bars of soap when new though for a few miles !!)

[mainsy]

i've got t1'rs on mine and think they are superb. done 1000 miles over the weekend up over applecross and skye, and down the cairngorms and i couldn't fault them. on saturday the weather was atrocious, and i was keeping up with my pals who were both driving 4x4's (evo and scooby) and we were trekking.

sunday monday both dry days and they were performing really well

[campbell]

T1Rs on our cars for many miles now, great value and performance and Camskill probably best pricing so long as you have a trusty fitter lined up.

These Kumhos also seem to have but no personal experience...yet!

As Sanjoy says, a search of the forum for "tyres" will bring back enough material to keep you reading for the whole "holiday" weekend, including some entertaining jousts on which tyre is really the best etc

Whatever happens you can't lose. Those Pirellis are a death trap. Get em swapped pronto.

[Sanjøy]

I had Toyo T1R's on mine with no complaints on the twisties (like bars of soap when new though for a few miles !!)

Before anyone is put off is it not fair to say that in theory all tyres are like that to start due to the reagent on them or whatever it is called ?
Harsh to say if you bought new toyos you are going to be struggling on them to start with.

2p

[kpb]

Problem solved.
A trip to Sillet tyres and the nail removed and all fixed.
Looks like I will have to risk the P/Zero's for a while till the tread is worn,the Scotsman in me stop me putting on a set of TR1 yet.
Cheers
Kinnon

[mckeann]

the pirellis will probably never wear out mate. They will be as hard as nails.


Just bight the bullet and get a set of kumho's. Also, take the chance to up the tyre widths to 195 and 225.

[s29ttc]

I just ordered mine up and had them delivered yesterday just need to get them fitted which will be end of the week or begining of next. Kumhos tyres 2 x 195/50/15 for front and 2 x 225/45/16 for my s1 111s and all for under £200 bargain

[kpb]

I thought that the 111s had wider alloys and the standard alloys that are on my S1 were better with the standard tyre size
Cheers
Kinnon

[campbell]

Broadly right. S1 111S came with half-inch wider rear rims IIRC, however std S1 was designed to take up to 195 section on front and 225 on rear should you wish.

Most people switched to 225 rears very quickly, and due to lack of availability of fronts in std 185 section size, also went to 195s there too! Eg with Bridgestone SO-2 (now defunct), Toyo T1-S (now defunct), Toyo T1-R (current and popular) and of course the Lotus official replacement for Pirelli, Yokohama Advan Neova LTS.

You will pick up some minor handling changes with these minor tyre size changes, if you are paying attention, but if you move from 185 front to 195 and 205 rear to 225 all at the same time, I doubt you will notice a thing. Not least if moving from Pirellis and/or worn tyres to brand new

However if you, say, stuck with 185 front but went to 225 rear, in theory - in the dry at least - you would find the car a little more understeery (which is how Lotus actually set up the S1...with 175 fronts and 225 rears all as std).

[Victor Meldrew]

Just don't do what I did and go to 195 fronts and 205 rears (they fitted the wrong size and I didn't notice).

[campbell]

"you spin me right round, baby right round, like a record baby, round round round round"

chortle

[Victor Meldrew]

"you spin me right round, baby right round, like a record baby, round round round round"

chortle

Funny that they only lasted 4k miles...