Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I have knock-off original steel wheels, body is unmodified. I know this has been the subject of much hand wringing, but wanted to double check before placing an order.

If that is the right size, lots of no-name tires to choose from but did see one brand I've run before with good results;

Kumho Solus TA11 155/80R13 79T BSW Tires

https://www.tires-easy.com/tires/155-80-13

Anyone have these?

Thanks!

Size is right, not sure about the speed rating.

R rating is up to 106mph. For general road driving I would say that was adequate.

https://www.protyre.co.uk/car-help-advi ... -explained

Seeing that the car hasn’t turn the wheel under its own power since 1992 I think 106 max speed is probably fine as far as tires go. It’ll be a very good day when I need something that can handle more speed than that!

Thank you for the responses

I just bought a set of the Kumho Solus TA11 155/80R13 79T BSW Tires to fit on my Sunbeam Alpine with wire wheels. Ordered them from Walmart at $45 each with free shipping! Really nice tires that look vintage. Would like to try fitting them to an Elan to see how they fit. Oh-another thread talks about mounting tires at home. Learned how to do that years ago, besides not too many shops can mount inner tubes and tires on wire wheels....

I think that 165/80 would be a better choice for the Alpine. They were optional at the time to the standard 600-13 cross ply. Alpine 965kg and Elan 680kg so you can see why the larger tyre is probably better.

Derek UK

I,ve had the kumho’s on my sprint for a couple of years now,165-80-13, and they are much better than the michelin energy tires i had before.
They were gone in 10k miles. The kumhos grip nicely ,you can slide them easily.
I think they have the grip that you need for a car designed in the sixties,you don’t want them too sticky.
Cheers

Thanks for the feedback, agree that a quick way to ruin a vintage car is too much tire. I made than mistake with my Bugeye.

Tires ordered and wheels back from bowling powder coated, progress.

The speed rating for Kumho Solus TA11 155/80R13 79T BSW Tyres is T and nor R as previously mentioned.

T = up to 118mph,

Seamus wrote:The speed rating for Kumho Solus TA11 155/80R13 79T BSW Tyres is T and nor R as previously mentioned.

T = up to 118mph,

In the UK the speed rating has to match or exceed the car's capability, not the user's anticipated use. Some MoTs testers would fail a car on that point but the police probably wouldn't pick it up unless you had an incident.

Have you seen this web page

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classi ... /elan.html

We offer proper period tyres by top brands that will make the car drive at it's best