Exige S2 Tyres?

[Bob_Defly]

If I want to replace the standard tyres (Yokohama Advan A048) when they are worn, is it worth replacing them with ones with more tread, given that this car spends more time on the road than the track?

I just want to know, if the road is dry, what will give more grip, the current A048's, or tyres with more tread? (Most of the roads I drive on are not that smooth.)

[Blu S2]

The reason for the tread is to move water out of the way, so in the dry the less tread the better ie not many road legal tyres will grip better than AO48's.

[VTECMatt]

The A048's will be better in the dry grip wise on the road, for longevity fit road tyres, but you will get no where near the grip.

[Davey S1]

Yes stick with the Yoko's. The only change you may want to make is to get some tyres with more tread for the winter

[Bob_Defly]

Cheers for the advice, it's just that on country lanes (rough finished tarmac) I find them a bit understeery, thought extra tread might help?

[jfrf]

maybe its because that they are not hot enough?
i thought that a048 needed a lot of heat to work properly
to get them hot on the road can be a struggle.

anyway a similar question was asked on another forum recently
the consensus seemed to be that if you are mainly road driving forget the yokos as normal road tyres give you 80% of the grip, are half the price, last twice as long, and are better in the wet

another possiblility is maybe your geo needs doing?

[Blu S2]

If a little under steery, what pressures are you running - v important - try a less pressure in the fronts see what that does, but first of all make sure you are running at MRP, if not set them properly and try it out. simple theory is that less pressure increases grip so if it's understeering decrease the fronts or increase the rears but only do one thing at a time otherwise you wont know what works or what doesn't.



>> Edited by Blu S2 on Wednesday 6th April 20:37

[Bob_Defly]

Surely increasing the pressure in the front will make it understeer more??

Am I being stupid??

[chris_n]

I use my Exige most days for a 60 mile round trip on a mixture of roads and am increasingly noticing how often I end up driving in the wet, tip-toing along dodging puddles (this is the UK after all!)

I'm increasingly thinking about buying an extra set of wheels fitted with more normal performance road tyres i.e. ones with some tread.

I could then keep the original wheels and Yoko's to stick on for track outings or weekends when dry weather is forecast. Only obstacle is the cost involved.

Anyone else done this? What would be the best "normal" tyre to go for?

[Davislove]

chris_n said:

I use my Exige most days for a 60 mile round trip on a mixture of roads and am increasingly noticing how often I end up driving in the wet, tip-toing along dodging puddles (this is the UK after all!) I'm increasingly thinking about buying an extra set of wheels fitted with more normal performance road tyres i.e. ones with some tread. I could then keep the original wheels and Yoko's to stick on for track outings or weekends when dry weather is forecast. Only obstacle is the cost involved. Anyone else done this? What would be the best "normal" tyre to go for?

Chris, do you use you Exige as a daily driver then? is this liveable? interesting comment on the tyres

[halfpenny43]

I also use my Exige S2 as my daily driver. Had the car 10 months and racked up 10,000ish miles.

As long as you take it steady in the wet, and try and dodge standing water, especially on the motorway, the A048's are fine/

My biggest complaint with the tyres (rears) is how long they last ! I had 6k out of the first set (no trackdays) and I'm currently running with 2mm left on this set of rears (1 trackday) with a trackday in Holland on Friday !

[cheeky_chops]

i decided the 048's were too expensive as a day to day tyre, i have done 9k in 7 months - 6000 miles @ 600 quid comes out at 10p per mile. Toyo's work out at about 2.5p per mile. The toyo's also have alot softer sidewalls, which gives a much smoother ride on my local potholed roads (i have ohlins on a VXR220). Did a trackday yesterday, got a bit slidey towards the end of each session though

>> Edited by cheeky_chops on Monday 4th April 22:14

[Davislove]

halfpenny43 said:

I also use my Exige S2 as my daily driver. Had the car 10 months and racked up 10,000ish miles. As long as you take it steady in the wet, and try and dodge standing water, especially on the motorway, the A048's are fine/ My biggest complaint with the tyres (rears) is how long they last ! I had 6k out of the first set (no trackdays) and I'm currently running with 2mm left on this set of rears (1 trackday) with a trackday in Holland on Friday !

thanks, interestingly EVO have also mentioned that traction in the wet is no problem on their long termer.

[jfrf]

that comment also sounds a bit strange to me

i would expect to reduce front pressure to decrease the understeer by giving more grip at the front

Given the high wear, i think the toyo t1-r may be worth a shot

[chris_n]

Davislove said:

Chris, do you use you Exige as a daily driver then? is this liveable?

Yes most days, except if I need to drive customers somewhere. Very definitely liveable. Driveability in traffic is absolutely fine. Rearwards visibility is actually quite good once you get used to looking between the spars of the engine cover and relying on the (very good) side mirrors more.

Grip in the dry or damp is brilliant. Even if it's wet - drive sensibly and you won't have a problem, but once there is any kind of standing water the Yokohamas just won't clear it and aquaplaning is a very real issue. On a few occassions I have found myself having to drive more slowly than a granny in a Nissan Micra, dodging puddles.

Realistically, this is the UK and the crap weather and crap roads mean this is going to be a reasonably common occurrence hence the need either for extreme care or a spare set of wheels and tyres. Non car-nuts I have mentioned this to think the idea of swapping wheels depending on where I'm driving and weather outlook is ridiculous but let's face it, anyone considering an Exige is already likely to be well into their cars and consider this a minor inconvenience(except for the cost of buying the second set!), and I wouldn't be swapping them over on a daily basis.

I suppose I need to do some sums based on likely annual mileage, likely life of a set of Yoko's vs "normal" tyres and convince myself investing in a second set of wheels and tyres will pay back in a reasonable period of time!

Chris

[S Works]

Bob_Defly said:

Surely increasing the pressure in the front will make it understeer more?? Am I being stupid??

jfrf said:

that comment also sounds a bit strange to me i would expect to reduce front pressure to decrease the understeer by giving more grip at the front Given the high wear, i think the toyo t1-r may be worth a shot

Pressure up = less grippy. If you want to reduce u/steer then drop 1psi at the front which will give more grip there, do the reverse (or change rear pressures) if the tendency is to o/steer. Recent article by Yvo Tuk in the Lotus Enthusiast (SELOC quarterly mag) examined this in detail along with ride height/adjustable susp/ARB settings.

On my S1 (111s wheelse & Advans) I found that it was a little understeery running at MRP. On advice from bogie I think, I dropped 1psi all round and now it grips far better and feels much more planted. Steering is a little heavier at slow speeds but more than made up for when the tyres heat up and you're working the car on the twisty bits. In fact it has phenominal levels of grip compared to anything else I've ever driven.

[Blu S2]

Oops sorry guys, must type slower, re read and stop multi tasking, you're absolutely right lower pressure = more grip is what I thought I said - dur!

[Davey S1]

Interesting thread on SELOC at the mo about the high price of AO48's due to the fact that like Advans you can only get them from official Lotus dealers and they are therefore expensive.

There are similar Toyos R888's which fit the S1 wheels and people seem very happy with.

S2 Exige sizes available from August apparently.

IIRC they are a few hundred quid cheaper than the Yoko's.

[Bob_Defly]

Nice one Davey, that'll probably be what I replace them with then, the A048's start with very shallow tread, no wonder they wear out quickly...