Tire issues

[types26/36]

Hence my Elan S3 was fitted with S4 wheel arches at the rear as well as the S4 nose & arches on my first prang (when I had owned it only a year in 1970ish).

....by design or necessity.....must look beautiful ......and that was only ?the first prang? .....what did you fit after subsequent prangs a Hummer body

[Jeff@Jae]

A few things to note regarding the battle of tires on our Elans:
For S1/S2 owners, remember that the left rear wheel arch is deformed from the original body molds and that wheel will be the most critical fit. The body is mounted on the chassis true but if you compare the right rear to the left rear you will see what I mean.
You can not go just by the tire size because at a particular size various tires can vary a great deal. You really need the exact measurements to compare with what is being replaced or what your aiming for.
I had those great Bridgestone RE92s on my S2 and ended up rubbing of any identification on the side wall of the left rear by the time I had worn them out. While they had great turn in and grip they were very spooky at the limit and tended to release quite suddenly with almost no warning. I think that had a lot to do with the squarish profile. I really don't think standard or moderately upgraded Elan suspensions like a very contemporary(squarish) profile tire.
Tire pressure adjustments for a tire that is new to the car is very important and it they usually end up with a much lower pressure than you start off with in order for the tire work well across the tread.
On my S2 I am currently using Vredestein T-Trac 15570 R13s that fit well. They were horribly slimy when new and took a while to get scrubbed in and the pressures correct (20.5 PSI). For those of you in the USA Vredestien has stopped importing these DOT coded tires but with a some pressure maybe they will restock them. The USA is devoid of 13" tire choices (true for 14 and 15 inch sizes for the Esprit gang as well) and that's a problem.

[billwill]

Hence my Elan S3 was fitted with S4 wheel arches at the rear as well as the S4 nose & arches on my first prang (when I had owned it only a year in 1970ish).

....by design or necessity.....must look beautiful ......and that was only ?the first prang? .....what did you fit after subsequent prangs a Hummer body

Heh heh.

This was her when I first owned her with S3 arches


and this was her much later, but you can see the S4 wheel arches.

The arch conversion was done by Ian Walkers, from whom I had bought the car in March 1969.

[spanner]

Ah, here's the rub..... (ing).

Jim