Newbie looking for some advice on his 1st Elise AGAIN

VXJON · Post by **VXJON** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:49 pm

cloggie wrote:just spoke to someone there who will supply all round t1-r's for £384 is that about right

IIRC one of the vxs guys paid around 250 for the set from camskill

Post by **simon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:52 pm

I wouldn't pay that for them but then I wouldn't pay £1 for them as I think they're sh!t

AD07s are around £400 and T1-Rs should cost any more than £300ish + fitting. If you must get Toyos I'd go for the 185s, that's what most people fit and not the 195s.

cloggie · Post by **cloggie** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:01 pm

does anyone ever agree on anything on here

???? i need a set of tyres for the winter which are gonna be best???

Post by **simon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:12 pm

Best option = Yokohama AD07
Pikey option = Toyo T1-R (185s)

steve_weegie · Post by **steve_weegie** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:31 pm

here we go again......

no, nobody agrees around here, especially about tyres! Should be around £300 + fitting for toyos.

AD07's come in 175 / 225 and are about £400 + fitting. As simon says. Not tried them myself TBH, but there's a lot of folk on here that run toyos and a lot of folk that run ad07's.

So, just to be clear:

1. I like 195 / 225 sizes. It's what S1's and exiges use.
2. I have a set of road tyres and a set of loon tyres
3. Toyos are best in the wet
4. AD07's are probably a better all round tyre, but are still an understeery compromised choice
5. A048's or R888's are brilliant, but not in this weather.
6. Toyos are not pikey

7. There is no right answer, you have to find your own and mine is slightly off the beaten path

Steve

Lazydonkey · Post by **Lazydonkey** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:02 pm

cloggy im confused.

you are about to replace brand new looking tyres at a cost of over 400 quid to fix the "sh*t" handling of your car but im not 100% convinced that will make the difference.

imho unless you have stuningly sh*t own brand tyres on the car you could end up spending money unnecessarily.

what tyres are on it just now? what pressures are you running?

Stewart · Post by **Stewart** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:25 pm

steve_weegie wrote:here we go again......

no, nobody agrees around here, especially about tyres! S

So, just to be clear:

1. I like 195 / 225 sizes. It's what S1's and exiges use.

3. Toyos are best in the wet

7. There is no right answer, you have to find your own and mine is slightly off the beaten path

Steve

My S1 has the 185/205 per the original factory specification. Admittedly I have Toyo T1-S on the front and T1-R on the rear

I recently had quite a moment in dampish conditions. I wasn't pushing on but the car still wanted to step out on a moderate bend at no more than 60 tuts. May have been poor combination of tyres, may have been greasy or slippy condition and, shock horror, may have even been crap driving.
I agree that toyo's are a nice cheapish option, but I think I will try something else when I go to renew the tyres including the wider option (which I know is quoted in the handbook)

Stewart
(Disagreeing faction)

Post by **simon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:28 pm

3. Toyos are best in the wet

Have you used AD07s in the wet? I think they're as good if not better than T1-Rs have had both.

4. AD07's are probably a better all round tyre, but are still an understeery compromised choice

I don't think so, they grip much, much better than T1-Rs can ever hope to do, they don't go off on track like the T1-Rs do and they don't squish about like you've got marshmallows on the wheels. They also don't have the pathetic run in period that people seem to accept with the T1-Rs just because they're cheap.

6. Toyos are not pikey

They're a budget option so they are I'm afraid. Most people buy an Elise for the driving experience, I can't understand why you'd then ruin a car by putting pish tyres on it. You might as well go and fit Stunner Scudos

Post by **simon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:29 pm

btw cloggy, have you tried just slowing down a bit in the wet?

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:49 pm

simon wrote:
6. Toyos are not pikey
They're a budget option so they are I'm afraid. Most people buy an Elise for the driving experience, I can't understand why you'd then ruin a car by putting pish tyres on it. You might as well go and fit Stunner Scudos

Are R888's Pikey or just T1R's?

/worried about being classed as pikey faction.

steve_weegie · Post by **steve_weegie** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:01 pm

Woohoo!!! Get the popcorn out boys n girls, 4 glasses of red wine + a crap hotel in london = debate time

Ok, as I said I've never tried ad07's but I've got a fundimental problem with them.... They come in 175 fronts! This is the wrong size for an elise and makes the car understeer. Lotus admit this and so if you're talking about 'why buy a lotus and have crap tyres' why don't you go the whole hog and say buy a lotus with good tyres in the right size

Ad07's are not perfect, neither are t1r's. Why do lotus choose a 195 / 225 combo on the s1 and the exige? Because that gives the best handling. Why did they choose a 175 / 225 ratio for the s2? Because numpties oversteered by hitting the brakes midway round corners! The s2 tyre size is more forgiving if you can't drive properly (says the people at lotus)

Go on... Be a man, not a wuss.... Buy any tyre, just do it in the right front to back width ratio that makes the chassis and weight distribution work best :lol

Cheers,

Steve /drunk but not enough yet faction/

Post by **simon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:23 pm

kenny wrote:Are R888's Pikey or just T1R's?

/worried about being classed as pikey faction.

I'm speaking about T1-Rs so you're safe

cloggie · Post by **cloggie** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:25 pm

Simon slowing down on the wet would prob be a sensible option but i wouldnt have an elise if i was sensible

oh and steve since your over my neck of the woods can i take you up on the offer to take a quick look over it , i would appreciate it

Post by **simon** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:40 pm

steve_weegie wrote:Ok, as I said I've never tried ad07's but I've got a fundimental problem with them.... They come in 175 fronts!

I suggest you try them before making assumptions then.

steve_weegie · Post by **steve_weegie** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:51 pm

Simon,

Its not an assumption - physics dictates the ratio between weight distribution of the car against the front to rear rubber ratio. This is why lotus use the 195 / 225 ratio on the exige! Different story if you've got different compounds front and back though. My next set of a048s will be medium fronts to med/hard backs for example, still using 195 / 225 sizes however.....

As I said, the s2 is setup to understeer by using skinny front tyres. I'm sure they're good tyres, just in the wrong size to get the best out the car.

Cloggie,

Sure, I'd be happy to pop across at the weekend. Your elise is extreemy similar to mine, except I've got the 135 janspeed engine. You're more than welcome to have a shot on my toyos

Cheers,

Steve