Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Guys I know there is info on here and I've read most of it but it all seems to centre around the Vredestein tyres.
Having bought my Elan S4 and driven it for a few hundred miles now I realize that having four different tyres on each wheel isn't a great idea so I am now looking to put a full set of new tyres on and have been reviewing Black Circles and other tyre suppliers. However I wanted to obtain the feedback of the experts on here before a final choice is made

Currently looking at the following options but wondered if anyone was running said tyres and could advise whether good, bad or indifferent
Yokohama BluEarth (AE01)
Dunlop SP StreetResponse 2
Continental EcoContact 3
Pirelli P 3000
Michelin ENERGY E3B 1

Thanks
Rob P

Rob
I have the streetsponse on the +2 alloys and khumo solus on the steel wheels......
both Ive found being quite good......
I think the streetsponse is more your 'dinky hot' hatch tyre and Ive certainly had no problem with it....
its good in both wet and dry.....and depends on how hard you would like to push......
it will slide but not much and it took quite a bit of exuberance to get it to.....
the solus was much the same but took a little less to get the tail out in the wet.......
cheers
G

oh....and Im not sure about these 3
Yokohama BluEarth (AE01)
Continental EcoContact 3
Michelin ENERGY E3B 1
are these not the eco tyres designed for minimal friction resistance.......
I bet theyre rock hard for a light weight car......

Too soon to tell but I've plumped for

4 x Michelin Energy E3B Green X 175/70 R13 T (82)

They should have been here last week but Blackcircles.com dropped a clanger,should be here tomorrow....

John

I like Uniroyal Rain Experts. A division of Continental but not quite so expensive.

john.p.clegg wrote:Too soon to tell but I've plumped for 4 x Michelin Energy E3B Green X 175/70 R13 T (82)
John

John, is there a reason you have gone for 175/70 R13 tyres? My car currently has 155/80 R13, I appreciate that the rolling circumference is only 0.53% difference but is there another advantage here that I am not aware of?

Rob
No reason,only that it's had this size on for the past 15 years.....why change now..

John

more (and better) RUBBER = MORE GRIP and the tyres you?re mentioning are for cars having 60hp or less. real tyres are made by yokohama: A539 or A038 at 175 60 13 - treat yourself to a modern tyre adequate for an elan. alpine driver sandy 36 4982

Rob P wrote:

john.p.clegg wrote:Too soon to tell but I've plumped for 4 x Michelin Energy E3B Green X 175/70 R13 T (82)
John

John, is there a reason you have gone for 175/70 R13 tyres? My car currently has 155/80 R13, I appreciate that the rolling circumference is only 0.53% difference but is there another advantage here that I am not aware of?

Rob
on all my +2's the tyres have been 175/75- r13.......Johns car is a +2.....
yours is an Elan........your tyres were smaller........so Id stick with your 155 or possibly 165....but I know nothing about the Elan tyre widths......the +2 will fit a 185 under the arch if you so wished....but thats of little interest to you.....lol
cheers
G

theelanman wrote:Rob
on all my +2's the tyres have been 175/75- r13.......Johns car is a +2.....
yours is an Elan........your tyres were smaller........so Id stick with your 155 or possibly 165....but I know nothing about the Elan tyre widths......the +2 will fit a 185 under the arch if you so wished....but thats of little interest to you.....lol
cheers
G

Cheers Gareth, hadn't realized that John was talking about +2, (should have realized by looking at his avatar)

Thanks Guys for the info

Talking about tyres, I noticed that Michelin XAS 165 HR 13 (i.e. +2 size) are available in FF and non-FF versions:

http://www.michelinclassic.com/en/Class ... -range/XAS

I've read the posts on the forum about how wonderful the XAS FF tyres are (nice and sticky). But they're way too expensive for me. The XAS seem to be quite a bit cheaper. Any opinions on them?

Thanks,
Rob.

Sorry to post again., but I've also read that the stickiness of the XAS FF tyre puts extra load on the chassis/suspension/wheels and could lead to the wheels cracking. Is this true?

el-saturn wrote:more (and better) RUBBER = MORE GRIP ......

That's true in the dry, but larger tires also encourage aquaplaning in the wet!

Only four reviews but get a 95% in the wet...

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Miche ... gy-E3B.htm

and at only ?45 a corner...

John

.............................my doggy don?t go out in the wet, so i could use slicks if they?d let us!
none of the reviewed or discussed tyres are made for 130 hp --------- even less for 160+. -- and i can?t really see any elan driver moseying around, waiting for all the other brave to pass them in their japanese rockets??! so tyres for diabled carsare simply NOT SUITABLE! period! someone who cares and knows ! sandy