Surprise Handling

[Alan Paterson]

So there I was, enjoying the sunshine and the Esprit, when I rounded a bend and the tail end stepped out.

'It doesn't normally do that, ' I thought as I tried to stop it becoming a spin.

Anyway, it turns out that I've got a situation where if I park with the drivers side rear tyre on an edge, the air hisses out. Upon investigation, there's a plug been fitted by the previous owner - not on the flat central belt but on the corner. Sound of jangling spurs.

Can some kind soul remind me if the Goodyear GS-A 245 50ZR16 97W are still available. Looks like I'll have to get that tyre replaced - unless someone has one they're trying to sell at the moment.

Alan

[pitstoppete]

had a missed call Alan. hope your underpants are ok.

have the wheels from my car if u need some. rears are a bit near the mark and a bit "no name", but might get you somewhere.

didnt you need a front wheel too?

[Alan Paterson]

Pete,

Yep that was me on your missed call.

Glad I wasn't going fast (honest officer) when it happened.

You've answered my question re wheels and tyres

I'm a bit Pissed off because there's about 5-6mm of tread on that tyre - and it was a Goodyear.

I'll give you a call tomorrow night, if that's okay.

Thanks

Alan

[pitstoppete]

no probs.

need to sort these wheels one way or the other. they dont look like they will go over my 325mm brakes, so they are in the way

[Mark Blanchard]

Hi Alan,

long term, if you can't find any Goodyears, you could try Kumho (they're the only manfacturer that do the size now). I've seen them fitted to a few late model Turbos and SE's and heard they're ok, but they're not a ZR rating .

My Goodyears are looking low and am going to have to replaced soon too .

http://www.kumhotyre.co.uk/

[wiseraven]

... but they're not a ZR rating .

Z rating is for cars capable of up to 150mph (240km/h), W is for up to ~170mph (270km/h), so there's no problem using a W.

I assume this came about because someone once thought that no road car would ever be capable of more than 150mph so gave it the highest letter possible.

[Mark Blanchard]

Z rating is for cars capable of up to 150mph (240km/h), W is for up to ~170mph (270km/h), so there's no problem using a W.

Yea, I know the ratings . I guess what I meant was there's nothing thats going to come close to the original Goodyears for spec / grip.

[WayneB]

Alot of ZR rated tyres are cabable of speeds in excess of 150 mph.

The true manufacturers speed rating of the tyre is the last letter of the tyre size description moulded on the sidewall of the tyre ( the service description)

In Alans case his original Goodyear Eagle GS-A 245-50-ZR 16 97W is a W rated tyre (capable of safe high speed running up to 168mph)

[esprit350]

I have Kumho tyres on my rears and have had no problems at all, not my choice came on the car when I bought it nad will be going for Toyo T1RS when the time comes to match my fronts

[SE Owner :-D]

Toyo Proxes T1-1R's SWLC withh LEW discount be there in 24 hours....

[DanR]

Also these tyre ratings are related to sustained speeds held over time.

I've seen HR (125mph) rated tyres reaching 150mph+ on a track, but only for a few seconds every minute or so with their maximum time on the track no longer than 30 minutes.

So unless the plan is to drive constantly at 150+ on the highway, I wouldn't agonise about it too much. Let handling, wear and cost be the more significant considerations.

Edited April 16, 2007 by DanR1201

[Alan Paterson]

Thanks Chaps,

I'm going to continue my quest for the last remaining Goodyear in the world.

Meanwhile, I've bought Pete's old wheels and tyres to get me by.

I'd really like to keep the grip as good as it was until recently.

Alan]

[wiseraven]

I've just swapped my SE's wheels for some OZ Saturns (partly because of the tyre supply situation).

If you're desperate for Goodyears, the rears on the SE wheels have a reasonable pair of Eagles on them (they were on when I bought it in December, so I don't know how many miles they've done). The fronts are brand new Toyo R888s. I was going to sell them with the wheels, but I haven't got to thinking about a price yet. They're at Chris Neil's with my car atm so I can't tell you what the tread depth's like until I pick them up.

Phil

[Vulcan Grey]

Thanks Chaps,

I'm going to continue my quest for the last remaining Goodyear in the world.

Meanwhile, I've bought Pete's old wheels and tyres to get me by.

I'd really like to keep the grip as good as it was until recently.

Alan]

Huh?

The original equipment Goodyear have been vastly surpassed by today's tires! There is no comparison.

The Goodyear Eagles, that were made specifically for the Esprit SE, are most of the reason why it handled so crapily (compared to today's sportscars). Those old tires just aren't worth anything...

Not to mention that any tires you might find are exactly that old rubber, which looses it's softness and strength and wouldn't be safe or good anyway.

Though you might have a problem finding anything good in the 15" sizes.... Main reason I went to the 17" & 18 V8 sizes.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Vulcan Grey

[Alan Paterson]

I've been considering putting a pair of Toyo Proxes on the rear but they're not exactly the same profile. The Toyo size is 245 45 16 , so they're 5mm less on the profile.

Would that make a massive difference to handling?

I'm not really an F1 racing driver.

Alan

[wiseraven]

I think you've misunderstood the way tyres are sized. The difference is much more than 5mm difference, more like 12mm.

The 50 in 245/50 is a percentage. It means the depth of the sidewall is 50% of the width (i.e. 122.5mm). In the 245/45 tyres, the profile is 45% of the width, or 110.25mm.

Try using the 1010tires tyre size calculator The figures are only approximate, but they're pretty close.

Your speedo would be out by nearly 4% and your gearing would be lowered by the same ratio too. Good for your 0-60 times, but bad for economy and I think the MOT only allows a 1% overread and zero underread on the speedo. You could upset the brake biasing too, because the road is exerting 4% lower torque on your wheel, the brakes will be effectively 4% stronger. Probably not enough to worry about unless you're really on the limit.

Phil

[Tentenths]

Amazing as it may seem there is absolutely no need to have a working speedo/mileometer - let alone an accurate one - for an MOT.

[andydclements]

I think you've misunderstood the way tyres are sized. The difference is much more than 5mm difference, more like 12mm.

The 50 in 245/50 is a percentage. It means the depth of the sidewall is 50% of the width (i.e. 122.5mm). In the 245/45 tyres, the profile is 45% of the width, or 110.25mm.

Try using the 1010tires tyre size calculator The figures are only approximate, but they're pretty close.

Your speedo would be out by nearly 4% and your gearing would be lowered by the same ratio too. Good for your 0-60 times, but bad for economy and I think the MOT only allows a 1% overread and zero underread on the speedo. You could upset the brake biasing too, because the road is exerting 4% lower torque on your wheel, the brakes will be effectively 4% stronger. Probably not enough to worry about unless you're really on the limit.

Phil

I pilfered this text from another site quoting a directive re cars.

the indicated speed must not be more than 10 per cent of the true speed plus 4 km/h. In production, however, a slightly different tolerance of 5 per cent plus 10 km/h is applied. The requirements are also that the indicated speed must never be less than the true speed

And as James stated, MOT test doesn't check it

Andy

[wiseraven]

Sorry for the duff info chaps. I must have been confusing it with the SVA test. Pretty incredible it's not part of the MOT though, given the attitude towards speeding.

Phil

[Alan Paterson]

Chaps,

After a lot of looking around, I've decided to go for 2 new rears - Toyo T1 R 245/45R16 94W from Camskill performance on the net.

They're only

Edited April 22, 2007 by Alan Paterson

[Paul93Lotus]

This is what happens when you have old tires......buy new, and the best you can afford

It's not worth it

And I talk from experience