Tires

[kenb]

Any new thoughts on Tires (or Tyres).
I need some for my S1 to go on TTR "Minilites" suitable for track days not mud and snow.
13" are getting scarce but Vredsteins are apparently available.I think I can go to 165 with some surgery.
Any other options out there ?This side of the world
Ken B
64 S1
BCCanada

[Tahoe]

Tires (tyres) are source of frustration for Elan's and most other classic car owners. I feel confident it will be solved in the future, but right now it'x a PITA, especially in North America. My S2 had flared fenders which made it a little easier, but I still had a very limited selection. I wish I had an easy answer for you, but I don't. I've sent emails to various suppliers for support, but only heard back from one and with little hope for any improvement in selection. Let'e face facts, and accept that manufactures need to make money and performance tire (tyres) of limited demand are not in there business plan. I've even concidered 15 inch rims to get an acceptable level of performance in a street tire. Pretty sad isn't it.

[Ross Robbins]

A Hoosier A/70 X 13 Vintage TD might fit but it will be close. It is a bias ply nominally DOT rated tire that sticks very well and is very forgiving at the limit...in other words an excellent track day tire. Having said that, I would question whether you will have any more fun with a track tire rather than a good street radial from Tire Rack dot com or discounttire dot com. Faster, yes but way more stress on old suspension and probably no more fun. Just my $.02.

[lotocone]

I'm considering the Bridgestone Potenza RE92 165/65R13 tire which I see listed on the Tire Rack website. According to an old post, they will fit S1 and S2 cars. You might want to do a search for RE92 and see what others have said.

[salty]

I had Potenza RE92s fitted on standard Elan steel wheels. They fit under my S3 FHC. However, when mounted on 5" Panasports they did not. The rear tires significantly projected outside the lip of the wheel well. Took the tires off these wheels before a single revolution. The smaller diameter of the RE92 results in a higher rpm at a given speed compared of to a 155/13 Vredestein or Michelin. Liked the look of the 92 on the car, but prefer 155s for lower revs, which also fit under the car on the Panasports. The Potenzas were old and cracked, so no loss there.

[memini55]

I have the a set of Kumo 165/65/13s on my S2 with 5" panasports and they seem to fit OK, although I would say very tight fit on the rears. I have heard a rub every now and then but only under very hard cornering. Happy with the look and preformance. Bought them from the tirerack. I found a tip on these from Golden Gate site.

Mark

[Jeff@Jae]

The tire issue is tough. I had just worn out a set of RE92s on my S2 with Panasport 5" wheels. They worked very well but the left rear rubbed off it's Bridgstone markings on the tire wall and if I was having fun there was always rubber dust on that side of the rear ! On S1/S2 cars that have a standard wheel arch the left rear is the test because it's not the same shape as the left rear. They are all like that from Lotus. I am trying out a set of Vredesteins, 155/70-13 that I imported and they about half the grip of the RE92s. They were scary at first but I am trying to scrub then in and playing with air pressure to see what they will be like. Getting better, I have some ground clearance now and they seem to be good on a wet surface. Go with the RE92s for track day, use a fairly low pressure (23.5 PSI ) to get a full contact and be carefull at the limit because they are a square profile that seems to simply let go without much warning. The turn in is fantastic and the grip is very good.

[Bill]

Ken

I am running pirellie P2500 euros on my S1 for the past 3 years and am very pleased, good grip and progresive. here in BC try Big O Tire. are you going to the ABFM?

Bill

[lsdweb]

I'm not sure if this will help across the pond but there are some good tyre reviews here - http://www.ctyres.co.uk/Tyres.php

Regards

Wyn

[Famous Frank]

Same trouble here too guys. Since I'm in the process of doing gobs of body work, I'm not against doing soe very minor surgury but finding the right tire is a HUGE problem, especially on the S1/S2 body. I too will be using Panasports, as they are so nice and true. Last year I almost bought the last set of Kumho V700 175/60 x 13, ..... a very nice high performance, very sticky tire, but those are not longer available. Then I considered a Sumitomo "H" rated tire of the same size but now they no longer make that. I've had the Bridgestone RE932 on a previous Elan and they were good but i want something a little taller to keep the revs down. I've now started considering Sumitomo 165/70 x 13 but I hate to buy a "T" speed rated tire. Michelin has told be straight out they longer make any 13 inch tires for the US market. There are some others I've considered but they are all some name from China I have never heard of and asking for more detailed information has not been encouraging, making me think these tires are not very good.

But at the moment here is what I'm thinking of:

The Sumitomo 165/70 x 13
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearc ... &x=28&y=12

From Thailand 175/60 x 13
http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?d ... htweiter=1

Other than that, I'm considering putting an order in to a good tire supplier in the UK or in Europe to get something I feel safe in and to hell with getting a local warranty. I know they are probably all better than the 5.20 x 13 bias plys that were original equipement but my car is no longer the 105 HP wonder any more either.

If someone has some better ideas let us all know

Famous Frank

[pamitchell]

Jeff

In your experience, what tire pressures work best w. the Vredesteins?
TIA
Phil

[m750rider]

I have Sumitomo HTR 200 tires on my S4, size 175/70-13, using Panasport wheels. I had to do very minor work on the spring perch and some small shaving of the inner wheel arch on one side, but they fit, no rubbing anywhere through all suspension loading/unloading. I don't know if these would work on an S1/S2. They are available here

http://www.onlinetires.com/products/veh ... 0+82h.html

I'm happy with them.

[Jeff@Jae]

Hi Phil
I am still playing with pressures and also fine tuning the front toe in.So far I've dropped pressure on the T-Tracs to 24.5 PSI and I think I might be headed a little lower as I scrub these new tires in. I would suspect 24-23.5 will be close. They seem to like a little more toe in than the RE92s did. A lot of this is just getting used to less grip than the RE92s and learning to enjoy more drifting which is fine. The breakaway is a lot more progressive and safe at the expense of a lot less crisp turn in but they are getting better as the nubs wear off. They don't rub the body work anymore on that left rear wheel arch lip. If they are suitable in my book I will let you know. The problem will then be to get Vredestein to import them again. They are DOT tires so it's no problem. They are a more contemporary profile than the Vredestein classic Sprint tires.

[Tahoe]

I have Sumitomo HTR 200 tires on my S4, size 175/70-13, using Panasport wheels. I had to do very minor work on the spring perch and some small shaving of the inner wheel arch on one side, but they fit, no rubbing anywhere through all suspension loading/unloading. I don't know if these would work on an S1/S2. They are available here

http://www.onlinetires.com/products/veh ... 0+82h.html

I'm happy with them.

Sumitomo supposedly discontinued this tire. Tire rack no longer has any, and Discount Tire didn't use to have it, but they do now. I bought a set just before Tire rack ran out. I wonder if they sold there inventory to Discount?

[elansprint71]

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/left-side-pond-f29/

Any chance of Jeff creating a rule which makes folks check the archives 50 times before their first posts are accepted; or perhaps ask them to check which forum might be the most apposite for their, no doubt unique, question?
Any chance of getting a decent "search" facility with the current software? Which might make my first question obsolete, especially for those who have been here for a few years but only check in when they have a problem.

Fire away.... I can take it.