Avon ZZR's or Trofeo R's that is the question!!??

[S1ARM]

Before and after settings shown.

i would say the ZZRs change the whole dynamic of the car with he immense grip levels 

But the tweaked geo added a far better turn in and balance of the car over all on the road and track

A key thing I noticed on track was that it helped the tyres keep a stable tyre pressure (28PSI all day when hot) and the heat accross the surface was even so all good and looking forward to the spring!

[Bravo73]

FYI, Avon highly recommend that you run the ZZRs at 30psi HOT:

http://www.avonmotorsport.com/resource-centre/tyre-applications/lotus-on-track

[S1ARM]

Agree that's what they say on the website for road use but I know a few of the lotus racing guys and they run the tyres when racing 24-28

Avon also emailed me saying that I could run 26-30 psi on the car when tracking but we all know it's about finding balance with what your comfortable with and I found that 28 at the last track day worked better for than 30 psi which I started off out at for the first session of laps to feel how the tyres worked so played with the pressures to see how they reacted.

And of course it's also all weather dependant so it's playing with the pressure to suit.

30 psi is the mean hot average by lowering a few psi does no affect the tyres negatively and I found created a better surface contact area on track so better grip.

Each to there own as we all run are cars set ups differently.

[Bravo73]

26 minutes ago, S1ARM said:

Agree that's what they say on the website for road use but...

Nope, that's what they recommend for the various Lotus race series:

"The information below is for Lotus on Track championships running Avon Motorsport tyres."

[LukeH]

I'd expect any racer to have a play with different pressures though. I ended up settling for 24/26 Hot on my ZZR on my S2 after some playing around. Had a much more even temp across the tread of the tyre at that and was more progressive at the limit. Personal preference and geo obviously play a part. 

@S1ARM not surprising it feels better given the original toe settings are all over the bloody place! How old is the car? Is that how it came from Lotus, really need to get mine strung up if they are that far out from the factory! 

[S1ARM]

Thanks Luke nice to know there is a like minded guy who gets how you have to play with the tyres to suit the car and driving style!

The car came as per the top before pic it's only 3 months old and I kept thinking it wasn't quite right!

But those I've met a lotus meets have all said they always come with crap geo and lotus never properly check it.

I took my mine to a racing team garage who have state of the art gear....so to someone who really knows his stuff as a vertan......he also showed me his McLaren read out from his own car and even that was badly set up!

[Bibs]

10 minutes ago, S1ARM said:

But those I've met a lotus meets have all said they always come with crap geo and lotus never properly check it.

 

The geo is one of the final stages of the build process, every car goes through it. In fact, Lotus' Hunters are right next to the door the cars exit the factory through! 

[LukeH]

I was shown around a month ago by Scott Walker when I collected my car, seemed like every car was being checked on a full hunter setup as one of the last checks before the build pen so was fairly confident it would be there or thereabouts. 7mm and 5mm rear toe must be miles out from the factory spec though? 

 

Edit:

10 minutes ago, Bibs said:

The geo is one of the final stages of the build process, every car goes through it. In fact, Lotus' Hunters are right next to the door the cars exit the factory through! 

Bibs beat me to it.

Still gives me some motivation to string it up and check over Christmas though, don't bloody trust those laser things! 

Edited December 21, 2016 by LukeH

[S1ARM]

Luke get it checked for sure as it becomes an even better car with the geo tweak in my view.

Bibs I agree they are checked pre delivery from the factory but we all know how as human beings we over looked things!

Had the wife's new car recently delivered (Land Rover)  and that wasn't set up correctly!

Still it doesn't change the fact I love my 350!

[Exiger35]

Guys thank you for the info. I got the tires installed today and decided to stay with the stock geo and see how it goes like @The Pitsadviced. 

Can't wait to see how "Kasper" performs on Saturday  

 

[The Pits]

Superb tyres. If it's dry you will love them! Be sure to take a foot pump with a pressure gauge with you.

Get them warm with a few laps at road pressures then come in and drop them to 30psi front and back. Then get back out there and up the pace. I'd check them once again after you've done a full session (or say 15-20 mins if it's an open pit lane day) the target is 30psi hot (as opposed to warm to the touch). Once there just enjoy and remember to pump them back up to road pressures before you drive home.

Be sure to let us know how you got on.

[Bravo73]

Try and get a couple of heat cycles into the tyres before you hit the track. That will significantly help with their lifespan. 

[NANO]

 very simple question:

but the ZZR 215 Front of an original circle does not create imbalances of electronics? (Read ABS or rolling ??)

[Exiger35]

On 12/22/2016 at 20:01, The Pits said:

Superb tyres. If it's dry you will love them! Be sure to take a foot pump with a pressure gauge with you.

Get them warm with a few laps at road pressures then come in and drop them to 30psi front and back. Then get back out there and up the pace. I'd check them once again after you've done a full session (or say 15-20 mins if it's an open pit lane day) the target is 30psi hot (as opposed to warm to the touch). Once there just enjoy and remember to pump them back up to road pressures before you drive home.

Be sure to let us know how you got on.

I went in for the first couple of laps with road pressure and the car was all over the place  the rear left tire in particular was at 46 psi. Then got in the pits and lowered the pressure to 30ish psi and the grip was much much better! I guess I was around 31-32 psi on all tires coz I had an analog gauge...so it was little hard to get an exact pressure on all 4.

I don't have any fancy gadgets to check my timing, I just had an iphone app called TrackAttack that uses gps and also I didn't time all my laps but my best was 2:39

 

On 12/22/2016 at 22:19, Bravo73 said:

Try and get a couple of heat cycles into the tyres before you hit the track. That will significantly help with their lifespan. 

I didn't know about that! I just went in foot to the floor 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bravo73]

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/tyres-advices/tyre-heat-cycle

[550superfast]

And just do one session per day ?

[Bravo73]

Or, do your initial heat cycle at least a day before. 

(If you're racing, I imagine that you'd have more than 1 set of wheels/tyres). 

[Waky]

Well some want to get the best grip and some want to get the best longevity out of their tyres. 

Each heat cycles degrades the rubber, makes it harder and less grippy, but thus lasting longer. The best laptimes are done during the first 2 cycles. 

My ZZR's last 2-3 trackdays. But I'm a maniac, and the Exige just lets you drive and drive, it never needs a cool down, but its 35 liter tank needs a refill far too often 

Correct me if I'm wrong.. 

[Xisthos]

A bit OT, but I went to the track over the weekend. Since I obliterated my Corsas already, I bought two sets to compare, NT-01s and Cup 2's, with me fitting the latter first. I was incredibly happy with it, grip and progressiveness is so much better than the Corsas, and the operating window seems to be much larger. I will try to be back at the track in a couple of weeks to test out the NT-01s. 

My friend on the other hand with a V6 cup brought R888s and Hoosier slicks. You can guess which one he preferred! His laptimes dropped 4.7s with the slicks 

 

Edited March 20, 2017 by Xisthos