Tyres - Current Thinking

[Lex Templar]

Thanks John, I may ask to have them removed before I ship the wheels if that is the case...

[MPx]

Would these ruin the handling? I'd really rather not go down to 225; up to 255 on the other hand...

http://ssl.delti.com...=110&sowigan=So

Sorry Jaap - missed this post.

These may be worth a try, I actually like the idea of creeping up the width a bit. Plusses are:

Having googled a calculator....

It looks like they should fit the rims just fine (ideal 7" to 8.5" rather than 6.5" to 8"). The rolling radius is about 10mm more so unlikely to mess with the bodywork anywhere. The increase in rolling circumference is +3.62% (70 odd mm) so your speedo will read less for any given actual speed - however on my car the speedo reads at least 10% fast on standard size tyres, so reading just 6 or 7% fast will actually be quite an improvement.

Negatives are:

They are aimed at the 4x4 market (heavier cars), so will have stiffer sidewalls than the ideal.

This is the smallest size they do so will need a different tyre type on the front. 215s would be the closest match for increased rolling circumfernece (+3.9)% - as an increase to 205s would be just 1.9% up on std. But which tyres you'd choose for best match of characteristics is anyones guess.

[esprit22]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I seem to remember a few years back that Lotus did indeed have the original NCT1 moulds and there was talk of getting the tyres produced again if enough interest was shown....then they "conveniently" lost them..bunch of muppets!

[Bazza 907]

Chris

No it was Goodyear who have/had the moulds but they were only interested in a run of >10,000+ which is obviouysly a non-starter.

We've been round the houses on this subject and got nowhere.

[pete]

http://www.falkentyres.co.uk/falken-ze912/

just had these fitted to 85T.Difference from the old tyres is incredible

[MPx]

Pete, Since they dont do the right size, I'm guessing you stayed standard 195 60 15 VR on the front and used the narrower 225 60 15VR on the back? What tyres did you have befpre? Any noticeable speeding up of the speedo? How have they changed the feel? Do they look wide enough? Cheers

[hopo]

Mike,

im convinced that my Speedo is ticking over far too quickly.. having said that i am driving the car a hell of a lot!

when i had to change the tyres i went for Firestones.... the car seems to handle well and all importantly they look right.

[esprit22]

Has anyone fitted a wider tyre to the rims? If so, any noticable difference?

[pete]

Pete, Since they dont do the right size, I'm guessing you stayed standard 195 60 15 VR on the front and used the narrower 225 60 15VR on the back? What tyres did you have befpre? Any noticeable speeding up of the speedo? How have they changed the feel? Do they look wide enough? Cheers

yes to the size question .this was the size of the Federal tyres already on car, which were 8 years old.,so have not noticed any speedo difference.cars feels more planted on the road and turns in quicker.much easier to turn wheel at rest.will try to post photo tomorrow so you can judge if they look wide enough

[esprit22]

What size Peter?

[pete]

195 60 and 225 60

[esprit22]

195 60 and 225 60

Was thinking wider rear tyres on original rims, 245 or 255 if poss..

[pete]

http://www.etyres.co.uk/tyre-size-calculator.htm

[MPx]

Mike,

im convinced that my Speedo is ticking over far too quickly..

I think most of them do Jon. Mine is at least +10% (vs Tomtom) on std size tyres. I'm guessing you must be on 225s if you've got V rated Firestones so that will make it another 1.8% worse! Nice shot of the NA, but would like to see it from the rear. On the correct Goodyear 235 VRs the tyres sit square and wide on the road. I've got the wrong Goodyear 235 ZRs and they have bulging sidewalls and relatively narrow contact patch which looks all wrong. One of the reasons I'm not keen on going to 225 which would accentuate that narrowness. Would be good to get 245 or even 255 but cant find any V rated from any manufacturer with fronts to match.

[77 esprit]

Was thinking wider rear tyres on original rims, 245 or 255 if poss..

Chris,

My S1 runs Summers on 245/50-15 Dunlop SP 8000. Unfortunately, as with all good things, they are no longer available. Fronts are 215/50-15 SP 9000. As far as I know, they are still available. As has been posted many times here on TLF, we need new, updated tires for all our Esprit's.

Lyn

[Chris Southam]

Really interesting reading guys, out of interest what pressures are you running?

My S2 manual says 1.9 on the rears and 1.3 on the fronts. Is that still current based on new tyres talked about above?

[MPx]

In old money 21psi at the front and 24 at the back...as per the manual

[Chris Southam]

Thanks, I should probably break this off into a separate thread as it's a little off topic.

[pete]

Photos of Falken tyres

[hopo]

Tyres tyres tyres... saw Henry's snazzy new continentals last night and they look pretty dandy.

Mike heres a better pic of the firestones on the Na from the rear:

i really need to get some goodyear lettering on that Turbo....

[robington]

It's taken 6 months, but I ordered the tyres and they arrived today. I went for the Vred Sportak 3 because John (Molemot) says they are ok and that's good enough for me, and they have "design by Giugiaro" stamped on the sidewalls!

£277.00 for the set as well plus fitting, which I thought was pretty good.

John, if you see this - what pressures do you run yours on?

Thanks.

Edited July 25, 2012 by robington

[Mesprit87]

Here is what he answered me in June:

"Posted 21 June 2012 - 06:36 AM

I'm currently running 28psi on the fronts and 32 psi on the rears....feels to be nicely balanced. "

It's what I hope is my last season on my old Goodyears, then I'm ready to take the plunge for the vreds. I doubt that I'll have a deal like that on my side of the pond, they're hard to get from the start, just forget about getting a deal.

That's what I'm running on my Scirocco and I really enjoy them.

Enjoy and keep us posted with your observations!

Luc

Edited July 25, 2012 by Mesprit87

[robington]

Thanks Luc

I have a wedding to go to in a couple of weeks and then I will get the tyres changed over, but my first impression is that the tread pattern is completely different to the Goodyears. I don't thrash or track day the car so I doubt I will be pushing them to any limits, but I will post my impressions once I have used them for a while.

Rob.

[Guest]

102 is the load rating - they look like light truck tyres.

[The Real Stig]

The Kumho tire is designed for all season. You are not planning to drive your Esprit in winter conditions? The outher diameter will grow with 255/60x15.

You will not find an ideal tire. Original Goodyears are out of stock and too old. Pirellis turn up now and then, but they are designed for the Jaguar XJS, which is quite a bit heavier.

225/60 15Vs are available. They are all designed for heavier cars as SUVs. The side walls might be on the hard side. The speed index is too low. The best tire here - based on tests in magazines - would be Continental and Hankook as 2nd choise. These are however desinged for GT/cruising/comfort.

Front tire size is also limited to V-speed.

If you go up to 16" in size, R888s are available as: 215/50-16 resp. 245/50-16. These are barely legal track tires designed for sportscars - a bit more expensive though.

The Esprit's backbone is not capable to work with 17". It is too soft, I have been told.