Tyres for elan

[ema7elan]

I'm about to changes the tyres on my Elan and an article in the current club lotus news suggests that Michelin XAS FF (155 x 13) are the best? Has anyone on here got experience of these. I would welcome feedback before changing them.

EMA7ELAN

[miked]

Hi, I have used them and so has Steveww. Steve has his own site.

http://www.steveww.org/index.php?id=1


They have been talked about on here, if you search. They were really great, loads of grip. There are two other things that are worth knowing. They are a bit sticky and will (when warm) pick up debris as you pull off the main tracks of highway and through any form of grit. If you have any sort of nice paint job you will be in hell until you come to a halt. Call me an old tart.
Being as good as they are they dont not last that long. I am pretty tame and a not a really a balls out type of driver and I think I got about 5k miles. Trade off for grip! Saying that I did not rotate and was caught out by the front left being the most worn. The rears still had some life. So Steve will likely get more miles. I got caught out by the tread patern (sides look so good) until I parked the car with the wheels out and clocked the front left.

If you can live with some peppering of your paint job and your wallet is healthy, you will not be disapointed. Ride quailty and wall strength were great.

That my view only. Others will likely have them fiited too.

Mike

[steveww]

As Mike has already said, they are the best if you enjoy Driving your Elan. They are expensive and they don't last as long as a normal road tyre, they are really road legal racing tyres. I have had more than 5k miles out of my current set including quite a few track days. As well sorted Elan on these tyres; there is not much that can stay with one on a twisty back road

[elanfan1]

Speaking as someone hoping to have their Sprint back on the road by the summer and with a fresh paint job and hopefully concours finish I won't want to have my paint damaged if i can help it.

The car is currently on a crappy aged set of michelins (can't remember the exact ones but I've been warned not to use them unless I have a penchant for unintentionally travelling down the road backwards). I am not a performance driver by any means but will like to 'enjoy' my car occasionally. I don't want any risk of fouling the bodywork nor issues with incorrect speedo readings because of rolling diameter discrepancies.

So what tyres should I be considering please?

[jimj]

I`ve got a great photo of my car with just a touch of oversteer and one front wheel in the air at Estoril on Goodyear GT2s so I don`t think DRY weather grip is really an issue on the road with any good brand tyres. I can never quite understand why people fit "cup" or semi-racing tyres to a road car which I`m reliably informed are rubbish in the wet, and the Elan is not renowned for it`s wet weather grip.
SO..............who can recommend a good wet weather tyre for those occasions when it rains in the UK? Avons?

[miked]

Jim,

The XAS were fine in the wet.

I have no great experience but have had Dunlop SP10's. Cheap and not bad at all. I even had some of those Vintage trye Co (I think it is called) original stype Dunlop SP Sports Auqua jet. Looked great. Side walls were soft as hell, tucking over at nothing. Real crap! Cost a fortune and had to go back and have my money returned. Not impressed. I have heard this several times. I now have some Bridgestone EVO B330 155x80 R13.

They were about ?50 odd a piece and seem a nice enough road tyre. Considering I just took the XAS off, I have not been upset by these Bridgestones.

Mike

[steveww]

The XAS FF are also great in the wet, as they are soft and have a proper tread pattern not just a minimal one like Cup tyres.

The Uniroyal R680 have also received good reviews.

It is a mystery to me that people are prepared to spend thousands on resprays and engine rebuilds then buy the cheapest tyres they can find. It is only those four palm sized contact patches that keep you on the road.

[twincamman]

wellll realistcally I have been through the 1000 dollar a weekend 4 heat cycle race tire deal --[after 4 maybe 5 heat cycles the tire 'goes off' and throw it away ] For the street you wont be at 100 plus miles an hour for very long or Officer Bob will have your backside in the slammer so much for your V rating >you don't change to a wet tire when it rains so it must channel water way to eliminate hydroplaning 3 you need a compound that will last more than 400 miles before it is junk and slides you off the street into a tree So you have a car that wont hold together at 100 miles an hour reliably 2 a legal system that frowns on spirited driving 4 and everyday needs of the car to to be dealt with ie rain snow [lots and lots of snow] and dry conditions to say nothing of pot holes glass and general sharp stuff 5 the car has a dated suspension 6 the car is too light to get the side walls to work and 7 the car was delivered with a set of the cheapest ' whizz bang' tires new ---whats the point of expensive super sticky booties for the street other than to impress the shvetlings ---'try to impress the birds with a story of your fast new tires and see who you wake with in the morning ???? if they are round black and hold air use them on the street and keep the gummies for the track --:shock: ed

[steveww]

I have driven my Elan on cheap "shopping trolley" tyres and on the XAS FF tyres. I know which is better and safer, even by modern standard the Elan is a high performance car.

[cabc26b]

I wish there was a middle ground, but unfortunately i have yet to find a 13inch tire in workable ( non wide arch car) size that offers a compromise between the expensive track intended tire and the basic 155 X 13's ( there are some 175/70/13 all season radials in picture as well)

Has any one run the Avon CR6ZZ's and would know how long the last ?

[twincamman]

I have driven my Elan on cheap "shopping trolley" tyres and on the XAS FF tyres. I know which is better and safer, even by modern standard the Elan is a high performance car.

well maybe you know better up there in Northhamptonshire but at 0 miles an hour on the 401 at 5 o clock it wont matter how good a suspension or the potential of the car ---race stuff belongs on the track and the new set of 18 inch wheels and new suspension and street tire compound set ups beat the snot out of 13 inch stone age technology --sorry dude thats the way it is in the real world ----ed

[msd1107]

elanfan1,

So what tire sizes should be considered?

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtop ... 1&start=14

has a downloadable spreadsheet to give you a hint. Download it and unzip it according to instructions. In the first data sheet, enter the tire size in which you are interested. Click on sheet TiresS. All the tire sizes displayed in green are close to the size you entered.

The Lotus transmission has a selection of speedometer drive gears to generate accurate odometer readings for the various combinations of tire sizes and differential ratios available from time to time.

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=90037

Has a dowloadable spreadsheet that allows the user to determine the best speedometer drive gear for their differential and tire combination.

David
1968 36/7988

[rgh0]

[ well maybe you know better up there in Northhamptonshire but at 0 miles an hour on the 401 at 5 o clock it wont matter how good a suspension or the potential of the car ---race stuff belongs on the track and the new set of 18 inch wheels and new suspension and street tire compound set ups beat the snot out of 13 inch stone age technology --sorry dude thats the way it is in the real world ----ed

HI Ed - you getting cabin fever or something with all that snow? The discussion is around tyres for an Elan not your local hot rod rice burner.

The issues seems to be do you go for cheaper lower grip but long life standard car tyres near to the orginal size and profile or more expensive more grippy short life compound track day style tyres for normal road use. A variation on the second option is do you go for the XAS ff in orginal size and profile but sticky compound or some of the others in lower profile and modern side wall design also.

While the track day compounds will loose grip over time even after a few years and many heat cycles they are still better than the standard tyres grip. Some track day tyres come with minimal tread depth and tread patterns mainly for dry tracks but others have full tread depth and good patterns for road use.

In the end what you choose is a personal choice that depends on wallet size, driving style, type of usage, mileage driven per year, where you are in the world and other changes you have made to your Elan. Personally for all my Lotus i choose the trackday tyre option Toyo RA-1 on the Esprit, Dunlops on the plus 2 and Yokos on the Elan.

cheers
Rohan

47 degrees C here yesterday and good thing my workshop is underground under the house - nice and cool there!!!

[twincamman]

hi Rohan --warm here 32 degree f up from -29 yesterday lost about 1 foot of snow --yes IM ready to get in the garage and finish some stuff left over from last November --------over here grid lock is so bad and the police so stringent in their enforcement of speeding that rims painted black would work ---I rely on my superior driving skills to keep the car stuck down - -ooops and BTW my wife's 09 Chev Malibu 4 door with all seasons 16 inch booties corners as well or better than my elan with 205 x13x 60 hankooks--and it has on star and air -----ed

[Tonyw]

Hi all,

My S3 DHC had new Michellin 155 HR 13 XAS fitted 10-12 years ago as part of a restoration that stalled, the PO had them fitted and I thought at the time I bought the car I at least I would not have to be buying tyres, however all of them show cracks along the edge between the tread and the side wall and while none of them have been on the road they are all useless so for me the moral of the story is if you are doing a restoration buy your tyres last and for fun and safety sake buy the best you can afford.

Tony W