Forged 19" Rear wheels - tyre choices

[Daveb99]

I've been looking at Evoras recently (2009-12 mostly) and noticed on a few photos (and also in the flesh) that the 255/35 R19 tyres on the forged rear alloys look a bit 'stretched' - like the tyres aren't wide enough basically.    They don't seem to fill the arches very well, and I think that's more down to the tyre width, rather than the fact it's the 19" wheel rather than the 20".    This isn't the case with the fronts.

Has anyone else thought this, and has anyone fitted wider tyres on the forged wheels, and if so, any issues?    Or is it perhaps just down to certain tyres running 'narrower' than others, this isn't uncommon - the ones I've seen in the flesh had Pirelli's on.

According to www.tyresize.com, fitting 265/35/19 instead of 255/35/19 gives you a diameter and circumference that's only 1.2% larger, with a speedo error of only 0.9mph at 80mph.  No idea what tyres are available in that size though.....

These are the wheels I'm talking about...

https://www.prestigewheelcentre.co.uk/blog/2014/05/lotus-evora-alloy-wheel-refinished-to-high-gloss-black/

[EGTE]

The Michelin PS4S in 255/35/19 look ever so slightly stretched, too. Nothing major, but occasionally noticeable.

Not going to mess with the Lotus set-up, if I can help it, except to say the Michelins are much, much better than the Pirellis ever were.

[mg4lotus]

Is there less sidewall flexing when going round corners with the tighter narrower tyres?

[rallyesax]

To sum up the mecanism : Yes

[Daveb99]

Sorry to revive an old thread.....has anyone ever fitted either of these sizes on the 19” rear wheels:

265/35 or 275/35

I the case of the latter, the overall diameter would be just 2mm greater than the 20” rear wheel, fitted with the standard 275/30 size.  So no speedo issues.

I've always thought the 255/35 are far too narrow on the 19” rear wheels,  they look massively stretched although the PS4S does look to be a fair bit better.   Lotus must have chosen this size purely to minimise sidewall flex.

I guess in theory, fitting say the 275 would give a little more rear grip, but also with a little bit more sidewall.  Upside would be slightly better ride quality though, with the larger sidewall (7mm more than the 255's).

Any comments would be welcome, and if anyone has gone for the 275 size on the 19” rear wheels I’d love to see some photos and hear your experiences.

[Whitey]

I have been looking at the same options, but have stuck to the 255/35 size on my 19 inch forged alloys. I'm currently on PS4 rear tyres having previously been Pirellis but got fed up with their poor wear life. This time I have gone for the PS4S tyres, but have PS4 on the front. I think the 255s are plenty wide enough for the NA car and I have never struggled  with grip on normal roads. I would guess that they are probably less likely to aquaplane than the wider tyres and will be less noisey. I'm getting mine fitted on Monday for £295 which includes a 15% discount that Black Circles were promoting yesterday, so will report back here with an update.

As far as the side wall height is concerned, then both 35 aspect tyres should have the same height, but the 275s, whilst they may look a bit better on the rim, will flex more than the 255s - so that is why I have stuck to the Lotus Gurus sizes 

[r3nault]

As above, simple really. Unless you’re better at setting up the ride and handling of a car than Lotus (!), best not to mess with the factory settings!

[Daveb99]

4 hours ago, Whitey said:

I have been looking at the same options, but have stuck to the 255/35 size on my 19 inch forged alloys. I'm currently on PS4 rear tyres having previously been Pirellis but got fed up with their poor wear life. This time I have gone for the PS4S tyres, but have PS4 on the front. I think the 255s are plenty wide enough for the NA car and I have never struggled  with grip on normal roads. I would guess that they are probably less likely to aquaplane than the wider tyres and will be less noisey. I'm getting mine fitted on Monday for £295 which includes a 15% discount that Black Circles were promoting yesterday, so will report back here with an update.

As far as the side wall height is concerned, then both 35 aspect tyres should have the same height, but the 275s, whilst they may look a bit better on the rim, will flex more than the 255s - so that is why I have stuck to the Lotus Gurus sizes 

Thanks.  Side wall height on 275’s slightly bigger than 255 (7mm higher).

[Whitey]

Agreed - just checked and I had forgotten that the Aspect ratio is a percentage of the width measurement, so the 275 will be 7mm taller than the 255 - but will flex more, so I'm happy to keep to the standard Lotus sizes.

[Whitey]

Had the MPS4S rear tyres fitted yesterday, and very happy with them. Cant tell any difference to the MPS4 tyres that were on before, but maybe on track? No probs with the fronts being MPS4 tyres either, not that I was expecting any either!

 

 

[Cdm2018]

I have same set up and don’t notice any difference but can tell difference when P zeros were on the car 

much better in the wet and cold now however noticed in the current heatwave that air pressures have gone up more than p zeros ? 

[EGTE]

This might be of interest:

 

 

[Jobster]

any comments on why I should not go for Michelin PS 4 S   with 235/40-18 front and 265/35-19 rear? Slightly higher and wider so it will be a bit more flex and possible aquaplaning. I do like fast driving, but bot a racer. No trackways either.

 

Edited June 14, 2021 by Jobster

[Whitey]

I'm sure they would probably be fine, but why bother changing from the Lotus sizes that you know will be fine. The car doesnt really need any wider tyres esp if you are not doing track days. If you unstick the original tyres on dry roads then you are doing something wrong! In the wet, then the narrower tyres are probably better with less aqua planing. I did look at the wider tyre options available but kept with the original sizes.

[Jobster]

36 minutes ago, Whitey said:

I'm sure they would probably be fine, but why bother changing from the Lotus sizes that you know will be fine. The car doesnt really need any wider tyres esp if you are not doing track days. If you unstick the original tyres on dry roads then you are doing something wrong! In the wet, then the narrower tyres are probably better with less aqua planing. I did look at the wider tyre options available but kept with the original sizes.

Thakns The thing is, I like to have the same type of tyres in front and rear and want to go Michelin. Can't find PS4 or PS 4S in the original sizes. But I'm up for ideas.

 

[r3nault]

I've got Michelin PSS on mine. They're the previous generation PS4S, so still a better performance tyre than PS4.

[Whitey]

1 hour ago, Jobster said:

Thakns The thing is, I like to have the same type of tyres in front and rear and want to go Michelin. Can't find PS4 or PS 4S in the original sizes. But I'm up for ideas.

 

You can now get both the 4 and 4S in the correct sizes for both front and rear. The 4S for the fronts werent available when I got mine so I chose just the normal 4. The 4S fronts will cost you about £130 more for the pair than the 4 though.

https://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search?width=225&profile=40&rim=18&manufacturer=michelin&id=10015

 

 

[Cdm2018]

I have mixed PS4 and PS4s and can’t tell any difference but then again how could I as I don’t have anything to compare it to ? 
however when I had posted the question last year some more informed folk told me I be fine on the road it’s only only track where I notice anything 😀

[Jobster]

4 hours ago, Whitey said:

You can now get both the 4 and 4S in the correct sizes for both front and rear. The 4S for the fronts werent available when I got mine so I chose just the normal 4. The 4S fronts will cost you about £130 more for the pair than the 4 though.

https://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search?width=225&profile=40&rim=18&manufacturer=michelin&id=10015

 

 

Thanks Steve. I see them but funny enough I can’t get them to show up on the various sites that we have here inthe Netherlands. Really weird.

[electro_boy]

Mich PS4 are available in the correct Lotus size for the 18"/19" wheel combo, I had them previously on my car.

Mich PS4S has just been recently made available in the correct size for the 18"/19" wheel combo but if it is hard to find then 10mm wider on the front is no problem at all (confirmed from a Lotus Engineer) the rear PS4S has been available in the correct size for the 19" wheel for ages so should not be a problem sourcing. 

On the road, I find the the PS4S has a bit better feedback and initial turn in compared to the PS4 but it is slight and you have to be really looking for it.  I've not tried them on the track yet but hopefully later this year...  In my opinion, the PS4 is enough tyre for the road and usually gets you a decent saving in cost over the PS4S.  The balance on the PS4 is great and is really what matters to me on a road car rather than all out grip levels.  So if cost is a concern I think you will be more than happy with the PS4 otherwise PS4S for ultimate on road performance! 

[cdco]

Just ordered the correct size all round in PS4S for my LE 18/19 combination from tyres on the drive with 15% discount. Being fitted on Tuesday so didn't appear to be an availability issue.