Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi

Apologies for the commercial posting, but hopefully it is informative as well as commercial.

for ages now there hasn't been a good 145R13. and the certainly hasn't been a proper classic tyre in the size either. However Pirelli have just made one. It is the Cinturato CA67 so it is a genuine sports car tyre, with a carcass that is designed to compliment cars of that period, (not just a tyre that is the right size) It has a H speed rating.

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/145-r- ... -ca67.html

oh yes, because it is a genuine period tyre they also look cool.

you might let me off this commercial posting as i have sort of joined your gang. here iss a picture of my car fitting the Cinturato.

Welcome Dougal
Outrageous commercialism totally forgiven by including a photo of an Elite.
Personally I welcome the availability of a correct spec. tyre rather than one that is just the right size (and by that I mean only the right size rather than a Goldilocks-style prefect fit).
Will there be a discount for 10? My Frogeye needs a set too though with tyres being age limited, it may be a while before I place an order. I would also need to get my head around a set being 2/3 of what I paid for the car (with a good set of tyres on it!).
Your next challenge is to get Pirelli to remake correct spec tyres for an early Elise. At least there are other decent alternatives though in 20 years time when they are considered concours cars...
Cheers
Rob
S3 SE FHC
S2 7
22
S1 Elise

To show my dedication to safety as a commercial entity maybe this safety film might help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxx1Zn- ... ZSWsg0qkkh

Yes discount are there to people who ring up and haggle 00441302711123 They are also perfect for a Frog eye.

I can't see any determination from Pirelli to get involved with Elise tyres for some time because there will be such a wide availability of alternatives out there.

I have bought a set of these for my 1967 S3 SE

I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed so far.

The steering has become very light (overly so) and when I do turn the wheel, there is a slight delay before the car responds to the direction change!

I have literally just got the car back from a complete suspension overhaul (new bushings all round + new shocks all round) so I don't think this is a car problem per se.

I have tried tyre pressures in the 20ies and higher (into the 30is).

Any thoughts?

How much play is in the wheels, if you grab the drivers side wheel at 3 & 9 and wiggle. Do you see the steering wheel move? Another check, is while the car is in the air, push outward on the leading or trailing of the wheels. If you detect play, maybe the inner or outer tie rods. Also could the steering rack bushings be tired?
What bushings did you add to the suspension and frame, is everything tight?
If you put a pry bar on any joints or moving or refreshed points, can you get movement?
What tyres were you using before?
What was the reason you chose/decided to replace bits?

Just trying to help, though we still have 6 feet of snow and its -20

Did you tighten A arms loaded?

Hello everyone, thanks for the suggestions.

It turns out to be a simpler issue.

If always had 155s on this car in the past and would run Tyre pressures of around 28 in the front

With the 145 Pirellis that was way too hard.

I dropped the fronts down to the "Lotus recommended" 18lbs and it's like driving a different car.

I guess that the lower pressure on a light car, leads to a bigger Tyre patch connecting with the road.

Phew!

I have been waiting for resolution of this issue...

pcarew wrote:Hello everyone, thanks for the suggestions.

It turns out to be a simpler issue.

If always had 155s on this car in the past and would run Tyre pressures of around 28 in the front

With the 145 Pirellis that was way too hard.

I dropped the fronts down to the "Lotus recommended" 18lbs and it's like driving a different car.

I guess that the lower pressure on a light car, leads to a bigger Tyre patch connecting with the road.

Glad you got there. generally everyone loves these tyres so seeing you had issues has concerneed me. a thinner tyre leads to a faster more precise turn in, which i'm hoping you now have,

Brock wrote:Phew!

I have been waiting for resolution of this issue...

Great news.

Please let us know how you get on.

I am noticing that there are people oin here from all over the world, which make me wonder if you might like to use the international distributors fopr the Pirelli Collezione range which are listed oin here.

https://www.cinturato.net/classic-tyre-suppliers.html

If you go to the home page on this site there is an ace bit of period marketing film. They dont make adverts like that any more. Can you imagine a tyre advert with a trucker driving along making sadwiches while driving and drinking red wine out a magnum bottle and smoking fags! And how about an e-type Jag with a record player in the dash board.