Discussion
Hello all - Can anyone offer advice about buying a set of Yokohama A539s purely for fair-weather road use? No trackwork, no wet weather malarkey.. just the occasional hoon.
Had a bit of a dig about in old threads and the opinion seems to be that for the money (and the purpose) they seem a pretty fair bet - and 185/60/13 @ 32.01 quid cheap as chips.
cheers
Had a bit of a dig about in old threads and the opinion seems to be that for the money (and the purpose) they seem a pretty fair bet - and 185/60/13 @ 32.01 quid cheap as chips.
cheers
For what it is worth they are great on Dad's Elise and my Misses's Yaris.
They would have been on my Seven (Replica i'm afraid!) too, had they done a 185/70/13.
I have AO21Rs which are great but wear quickly on the track. They are cheap from George Polly motorsport they might be worth an ask about 539s (01354 688111)
They would have been on my Seven (Replica i'm afraid!) too, had they done a 185/70/13.
I have AO21Rs which are great but wear quickly on the track. They are cheap from George Polly motorsport they might be worth an ask about 539s (01354 688111)
I've had them on my 7 since last May. Done about 12k on them so far, and I reckon there's probably 6k left.
They feel very good on the road, give up nice and progressively at the limit. I've never had a problem with them in standing water or atrocious wet conditions (and i've been out in them).
They handled nicely on ice and snow at Bruntingthorpe over Christmas.
They feel very good on the road, give up nice and progressively at the limit. I've never had a problem with them in standing water or atrocious wet conditions (and i've been out in them).
They handled nicely on ice and snow at Bruntingthorpe over Christmas.
I use sticky ACB10's for sliding around on track - wouldn't get anywhere with A539's! My experience is from having a set for the Radical. They're the least grippy tyre I've ever used, hence my comment about not being grippy! Advan Neova/CR500's are in a different league. Even P6000s were better IMHO.
Why hasn't anyone backed up the AO21 comment? These are superb all round tyres - great in the wet and the dry and even on track they might overheat, but still give good grip and progressive breakaway. If Polley still sells them, they're about the same money as 539s which, in my experience (in a 1400 SS 6 speed some while back) gave about 15% of the feedback AO21s or CR500s gave and about 5% of the confidence those alternatives I have mentioned, gave.
I love CR500s, and yes, they are twice the price of AO21s...but I'm not sure that 21s are still available. If they're not, I'd choose CR500s and be happy that whilst they were more expensive, they are the best tyre out there for road use in mixed conditions.
I love CR500s, and yes, they are twice the price of AO21s...but I'm not sure that 21s are still available. If they're not, I'd choose CR500s and be happy that whilst they were more expensive, they are the best tyre out there for road use in mixed conditions.
Beford Autodrome use the A539s for their slalom cars because they offer so little grip! Definately go for CR500s if you aren't doing massive mileages then you may as well get a more expensive tyre and really feel what the car is doing. CR500s offer superb grip and good steering feel, they are an extremely light tyre and this means you have less unsprung weight on each corner which is definately good.
CR500s were designed specifically for Caterham so there is no more suitable tyre!
CR500s were designed specifically for Caterham so there is no more suitable tyre!
The CR500's are very progressive and perform well wet or dry. However in terms of out and out performance in the dry the 48's are quicker ( about a sec a lap) Set up change on the ACB10's is relatively minor ( apart from the ears)I agree that the 21's are a good all round tyre but I 'think' you end up going for the 70 profile if you want them cheap. For the road the 539's are more than adequate- but it helps if you can handle the car if you want to get the most out of them.
CR500 is a far better road tyre than the ACB10 which is basically an E-marked FFord tyre. ACB10s are a long way from the original question that was asked as they are really a track day and race tyre that you can use on the road. ACB10s tramline on the road and are very twitchy in the wet with little or no progression and very poor through standing water, they are superb on the track.
My car used to be on ACB10s (original fit) but I now run CR500s and have tried AO48Rs but I didn't like them quite as much as the CR500s. I preferred the feel on CR500s and they are certainly a fair bit lighter.
Tyres are one of the most noticeable and cheapest upgrades you can make to your cars performance. I would think a good few people who have sold their cars because they didn't like it would have changed their minds with a change of tyres!
My car used to be on ACB10s (original fit) but I now run CR500s and have tried AO48Rs but I didn't like them quite as much as the CR500s. I preferred the feel on CR500s and they are certainly a fair bit lighter.
Tyres are one of the most noticeable and cheapest upgrades you can make to your cars performance. I would think a good few people who have sold their cars because they didn't like it would have changed their minds with a change of tyres!
fergus said:
slightly O/T, but how much grip/handling differential is there between the ACB10 and the CR500? Curious. Is a substantial change to setup required to run the cross plys (other than the DD ears?). Are the CR500 progressive in their breakway? Thks
Not enough to make it worthwhile changing the ears - unless you happen to have a spare set and use Steve Parker who is indecently cheap - £25 an hour. Mine came with ACB10s and the appropriate ears, plus a set of CR500 ears. I bought some good value CR500s, MB wheels and Steve did the swap. As Dino says, ACB10s are evil on the road - on anything less than a smooth surface they tried to drag me into the side of the car I was overtaking.
Mike may be right on the cheaper 21s being 70 profile BTW.
I find CR500s extremely progressive, especially when I had my SLR - that thing was beautifully controllable on the throttle
Mikeww said:I use ACB10s because they wear evenly, last well, and stay pretty consistent down to the canvas. They are also very predictable - more so than even than the less grippy CR500 - plus am trying to use 250bhp and 200lbft! Definitely switch back to CR500 when there is serious moisture though.
539's will be fine for the use you have indicated. They are also reasonable in the wet. Not sure what Danny's on- why use ACB10's if you want to slide around on track
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