Tires again

[Bahamayellow]

Hi I went through all of this and went through 3 sets of tyres Bridgestone, Uniroyal and some cheap Chinese tyres and none of them delivered what I wanted so I coughed up and bought a set of Michelin XAS FF and I love them the car feels great and I think they were worth the money. I got 15% off them at one of the shows, Beaulieu I think. Think the FF is for Formula France which is a softer compound than standard XAS.

My view is that as it’s not an every day car I will get 5-6 years out of them and based on a yearly grin factor that’s actually good value. I don’t get putting cheap tyres on a classic that is all about the handling such as the Elan.

[LI-599]

Hi again, it is now a while since I fitted Yokohama Blue Earth(???) 165-80-13 tires/ tyres to my S4 SE and even though they were much better than the XM1 Michelin’s, it was still a bit sensitive with 20 and 26 psi as recommended to me. Recently when having wheel alignment checked, the mechanic rotated the wheels from front to back, and inflated them to 30psi all round which resulted in very brisk steering. I lowered the front ones to 22 and left the rears at 29, resulting in the best steering/ handling combination I have experienced in 9 years. The rear end weight transfer issue has vanished and I now use the Elan much more than ever and enjoy every minute behind the wheel.
Ian

[simonriley11]

Re- 155/13 Michelin XAS FF I have to agree with Bahamayellow - these tyres are superb and have transformed my 1966 S3 DHC. They are expensive (and don't forget you need inner tubes too) and so might not be able to be justified by everybody but I wouldn't fit anything else.

[fatboyoz]

Hi Ian,
A friend, from Brisbane (S1) and I (S4) both run Yokohama Blue Earth 165/70R13 tyres. They have been a great tyre, and I run 25 front and 30 rear for very balanced driving. Yokohama has decided not to import any more 13” tyres, so no more Blue Earth for us. Very disappointing.
However, we have just bought two sets of Ohtsu FP1000 tyres of the same size. Not quite ready to swap as yet, but we are hopeful that they will be a good tyre. Parent company is Sumitomo.
Cheers,
Colin.











quote="LI-599"]Hi again, it is now a while since I fitted Yokohama Blue Earth(???) 165-80-13 tires/ tyres to my S4 SE and even though they were much better than the XM1 Michelin’s, it was still a bit sensitive with 20 and 26 psi as recommended to me. Recently when having wheel alignment checked, the mechanic rotated the wheels from front to back, and inflated them to 30psi all round which resulted in very brisk steering. I lowered the front ones to 22 and left the rears at 29, resulting in the best steering/ handling combination I have experienced in 9 years. The rear end weight transfer issue has vanished and I now use the Elan much more than ever and enjoy every minute behind the wheel.
Ian[/quote]

[jannhall]

Does anybody here run a series of Yokohama Advan on their Elan? I need a replacement tire for my ride and I ran into this product while looking for options on 4WheelOnline. I look forward to knowing your experience with this product.

[pharriso]

In the USA the big chain tire stores can always get the Kumho Solus 155 X 13 tire that I have been using on my Elan for the last 15,000 miles, I'm now on my second set and I love them. I got mine from Discount Tire for about $50 per corner mounted and balanced. Now I know the purists will claim that these basic tires for econoboxes are not worthy of use on our precious Elans but I beg to differ.

First, tire technology has improved so much over 50 years that these cheapo tires are better designed and manufactured that the Dunlop SP41 that came on our cars when new and were considered state of the art.

Second, the purists say we need an "H" rated tire and these cheapo tires ore only "T" rated. Well, a "T" rating is good for a sustained 118 MPH instead of the 130 for an "H" but how many of us drive at sustained speeds of over 118MPH? I drove several laps at Talledega at LOG 29 at 110 MPH on my Kumho's and they never wavered.

Third, they come in the right size with the right aspect ratio for our cars. A 165/70 X 13 has too much width and to little sidewall to give that perfect ride/handling balance. When I raced my Elan S2 with 185/60 X13 Hoosier slicks, we had to change springs, dampers and roll bars to adapt the suspension to the tires increased width and stickiness.

Just go to your local tire store and have them fit some 155 X 13 Kumho Solus tires and you"ll be rolling in clover. IF they can't get them, there is always Tire Rack who will ship direct to you and the local shop can install them.

Ross, glad I found your posting.

My Michelin MXVs have dry rotted, 175/80 R13 are too much tire anyway.. so I think I will go with your & YellowS4DHC's recommendation on the Kumhos.