Tires again

[jpane]

surfguitar: I found the Pirelli CN36 were terrible compared to the original equipment Dunlop SP Sports. As I said above, I attributed it to the difference between fabric and steel belts.

[surfguitar58]

surfguitar: I found the Pirelli CN36 were terrible compared to the original equipment Dunlop SP Sports. As I said above, I attributed it to the difference between fabric and steel belts.

Interesting, can you elaborate on the problems you had with the Pirellis?
Thanks,
t

[jpane]

With the Dunlops, it felt like the car cornered on rails. The CN36 just lost that feeling. I had a friend who did some auto-crossing drive it with both sets of tires, and had felt the same way.
Sorry I cannot explain it better, it was 40 or so years ago, and I'm 74 now.   

[Mikey likes it!]

I love my Avon tires.   With a hardness of 80,  they work excellent.  These tires allow you to look stock and handle like they should.  I'd rather wear them out then age them out.  Keep it British ! 

[RonPNW]

What model Avon?

Back in the day I used to autocross on Phoenix 3011 Stahlflex 205/60 13 tires. Fairly competitive and street legal. (they did need a little trimming to the upper front wheel arch) I would like to stay with that size but there are not many options. There is the BFgoodrich Radial T/A, that is likely to last into the next century on a Europa and the Toyo Proxes RA-1 which looks like it would be a fun tire and OK in the rain. No need to race in the rain but living in Seattle, it is a concern. I also see the Federal SS-595, which has no wear rating and seems cheaper than a good tire should go for.

Has anyone used the RA-1 or SS-595 on the street? In the rain? Is there anything else that would be softer than the Radial T/A?

Thanx

[Rosco5000]

I love my Avon tires.   With a hardness of 80,  they work excellent.  These tires allow you to look stock and handle like they should.  I'd rather wear them out then age them out.  Keep it British !

+1 on Avon CRZZ.  A fantastic tire and looks fantastic on an old car.

[literarymadness]

@RonNPW: I have Toyo R888R tires, 205/60R13 in the rear and 185/60R13 in the front. Living in South Florida, my Europa has seen more than its share of wet weather and they seemed fine. The Toyo site rates the R888R as 4.0 in wet weather and 4.5 in dry weather (scale from 1-5 with five the highest). The RA1 are rated 5.0 wet and 3.5 dry. They are both 4.5 in braking. The RA1 is 5.0 in tread life while the R888R is 4.5 in tread life. For the record, I don't race my car. My logic for buying an overbuilt, street-legal, racing tire was simple: if I ever had to emergency brake or swerve out of the way of something, any small handling advantage could be life saving.

[Nisswa Collision]

 Any rear clearance issues with the 205-185 combo? I haven't driven my car yet but have the Federals of that size on Minilites and I can tell it's going to be close in the rear. I won't panic if it rubs a little but I don't want to hit a bump and break fiberglass.  My TC also has the Special drums on the rear. I don't know if that makes the rear wider, but I'm tight on the outside.

[literarymadness]

@Nisswa Collision: I have very good clearance at the rear and no rubbing at the front at full lock.  I have the stock factory Brand Lotus alloy wheels. But it is a Lotus so body tolerances will vary slightly from car to car.  I know a guy near me that has an S1 with those same tires and he has also had no problems with clearance or rubbing.

[RonPNW]

On my 70 S2, with 206/60 13 on 6" wide magnesium minilites, I needed to trim the inner lip of the rear wheel well (not visible) and trim the upper lip of the front (visible). I'm in the process of slightly expanding and reinforcing all the wheel arches. My car is visibly lower compared to most Europa's with the wheels being higher into the wheel wells. It was originally sold in Canada.

Why use 185/60 in the front. My recollection (feeble though it may be) is that the car is nicely balanced with 205's all around.

Thanx for the Toyo info, they look like a good option.

Ron

[literarymadness]

@RonPNW: All modern supercars and every 2 seat mid-engine Ferrari since the 1981 308 GTBi/GTSi (205/55 VR 16 (F); 225/55 VR 16) have used staggered tire sizes. The Lotus Elise uses staggered tire sizes and the Corvette began using staggered sizes with the 1990 ZR1 and then with all Corvettes since 1993. The Europa Twin Cam was one of the first sports cars offered with staggered sizes (175/70VR13 front and 185/70VR13 rear).  A 205 in the rear and a 185 in the front gives me a larger footprint while still maintaining a similar ratio to the original design. Those 6" Mini-lites give you a few more options than the 5 1/2 Brand Lotus rims. Let me know what you wind up with.

[RonPNW]

I'm probably over 6 months away from buying tires. Need to get the body back onto the frame as well as getting the engine running.

I'm thinking the Proxes RA-1 in 205/60 all around is my best choice. It should be better than my old setup while keeping the same neutral balance. I forgot to mention that I have a slightly stiffer front sway bar.

[Clifton]

Has anyone used the RA-1 or SS-595 on the street? In the rain? Is there anything else that would be softer than the Radial T/A?

Thanx

I ran RA-1's on the street. Unshaven, they are a track rain tire. Plenty of tread for water.

[jpane]

I’ve recently ordered 595’s (not the SS, I believe),  it I don’t intend to drive much in the rain. Not sure what the difference between the Ss595 and the 595. In my limited access to their specs, I think the SS has higher speed rating and lower wear number. I hesitated to try to find the SS because I was under the impression it was replaced by the 595, and therefore might be old. Since my Europa Tire’s age out rather than wear out, that seemed significant.
I confess, I’m not sure why I didn’t spring for the R888R tires, since I’m not really sparing any expense in finally getting this back together.

[Nockenwelle]

Michelin XAS tires from Longstone were the worst tires I have ever seen in 35 years of wrenching and I started out in a general repair shop that also sold tires.

What was the problem with those tyres? They seem to be very popular within the Lotus Elan community and are cosnidered as the best choice in the small sizes 145 and 155/80 13. I'm also planning to fit those although they are quite expensive. I'm very interested to hear any problems concernig them.