best source of tyres - Elise 111R

best source of tyres - Elise 111R

Author
Discussion

bordseye

Original Poster:

1,974 posts

191 months

Tuesday 26th May 2009
quotequote all
standard rear tyres yoko ad07s. recommendations for the cheapest source please and I'll get them fitted locally.

are there any real differences between the Lotus version and the general public one?

Stitch

933 posts

216 months

Tuesday 26th May 2009
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Camskill have been getting some good feedback on prices

wantalotus

386 posts

242 months

Tuesday 26th May 2009
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I could only get the LTS coded ones from a dealer, C Neils, but I thought they were reasonable. Had a full set fitted 18 mths ago for £455.78.
What a revelation from the bridgestone OEM. They are so much better with a bit of heat in them, which is easy to achieve. Would non LTS ones be much different, maybe someone can offer an opinion?

Edited by wantalotus on Tuesday 26th May 20:04

Stephanie Plum

2,775 posts

210 months

Tuesday 26th May 2009
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The lts tyres were designed for the Elise, and its low weight, in comparison to other cars. I think you'll find the non lts tyres have stiffer sidewalls as they are made for cars that are another 500k heavier than the elise - so yes - there will be an impact on handling - and not for the better.

Various people will come on here and tell you it makes little difference - after talking to some of the engineers at Lotus who designed the car in the first place, I'm happy with their explanation, and would only buy the lts tyres.

bordseye

Original Poster:

1,974 posts

191 months

Wednesday 27th May 2009
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Thanks for that Stephanie

bing

1,905 posts

237 months

Wednesday 27th May 2009
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I used Event Tyres a couple of weeks ago, they sent a mobile fitter as I couldn't drive the car to a garage; good service by them actually. Just make sure you get the correct DOT code etc.


Having said that my 'R runs on Bridgestone's and not Yoko's.

carebear

75 posts

189 months

Thursday 28th May 2009
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Buying separate and then having them fitted doesn't alwayw work out cheaper.

Someone may be able to come foeward with places they use if you gave a rough idea of where abouts you're based in the UK (East/West/North/Mids etc).

If you're dead set on getting local fitment - try to obvious Black Circles and Cam Skill. Most of the Lotus owners I have spoken to always speak highly of E Tyres.

Best of luck.

RobM77

35,349 posts

233 months

Thursday 28th May 2009
quotequote all
Stephanie Plum said:
The lts tyres were designed for the Elise, and its low weight, in comparison to other cars. I think you'll find the non lts tyres have stiffer sidewalls as they are made for cars that are another 500k heavier than the elise - so yes - there will be an impact on handling - and not for the better.

Various people will come on here and tell you it makes little difference - after talking to some of the engineers at Lotus who designed the car in the first place, I'm happy with their explanation, and would only buy the lts tyres.
yes I would also imagine that all four tyres are a softer compound than would be used on a 1000kg+ car, plus the front tyres are probably a softer compound compared to the rears because the low mass over the front axle requires the tyres to be narrow to avoid aquaplaning in the wet, but to retain the balance of the car I expect they're softer compound than the rear.

I remember reading a pre-release write up on the Evora in Autocar and Matt Becker was saying that in the process of working with Yokohama they'd been through 20 or 30 tyre compounds front and rear to find the best ones.

In summary, I agree with SP - in owning an Elise you have the rare privilige of being able to fit a tyre that's been specifically designed for use on your car. The tyre is one of the most important elements of the ride and handling of a vehicle, and that's why we all buy Lotuses, so to not fit them seems bizarre to me! smile

dom180

1,180 posts

263 months

Thursday 28th May 2009
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RobM77 said:
Stephanie Plum said:
The lts tyres were designed for the Elise, and its low weight, in comparison to other cars. I think you'll find the non lts tyres have stiffer sidewalls as they are made for cars that are another 500k heavier than the elise - so yes - there will be an impact on handling - and not for the better.

Various people will come on here and tell you it makes little difference - after talking to some of the engineers at Lotus who designed the car in the first place, I'm happy with their explanation, and would only buy the lts tyres.
yes I would also imagine that all four tyres are a softer compound than would be used on a 1000kg+ car, plus the front tyres are probably a softer compound compared to the rears because the low mass over the front axle requires the tyres to be narrow to avoid aquaplaning in the wet, but to retain the balance of the car I expect they're softer compound than the rear.

I remember reading a pre-release write up on the Evora in Autocar and Matt Becker was saying that in the process of working with Yokohama they'd been through 20 or 30 tyre compounds front and rear to find the best ones.

In summary, I agree with SP - in owning an Elise you have the rare privilige of being able to fit a tyre that's been specifically designed for use on your car. The tyre is one of the most important elements of the ride and handling of a vehicle, and that's why we all buy Lotuses, so to not fit them seems bizarre to me! smile
>>I remember reading a pre-release write up on the Evora in Autocar and Matt Becker was saying that in the process of working with Yokohama they'd been through 20 or 30 tyre compounds front and rear to find the best ones.

Then they gave up and went with Pirelli P Zeros!

But as Scuffers mentioned on a different thread, if they're good enough for the F430s, they're probably a good match for the similar weighted Evora. (Not sure which type they've spec-ed though. Possibly a bespoke Lotus compound.)

Edited by dom180 on Thursday 28th May 21:40

RobM77

35,349 posts

233 months

Thursday 28th May 2009
quotequote all
That's interesting, thanks. It was definitely Yoko that MB was testing at the time.

I thought that all P0s were bespoke?...

dom180

1,180 posts

263 months

Thursday 28th May 2009
quotequote all
RobM77 said:
That's interesting, thanks. It was definitely Yoko that MB was testing at the time.

I thought that all P0s were bespoke?...
Sure, I read the same article.

(Not sure that all P-0s are bespoke - there's several different versions and a number of different fitments including bespoke but I think they do off-the shelf versions too. Presumably a bespoke F430 version would likely be a good starting point for a bespoke Evora one....)

RobM77

35,349 posts

233 months

Friday 29th May 2009
quotequote all
For me though, the principle remains - if Lotus and Yokohama have gone to the trouble of designing a tyre specifically for the Elise, then it seems crazy not to fit it! smile Unless of course you want a specific tyre, such as a winter snow tyre or a high grip track tyre.

cjm

516 posts

267 months

Friday 29th May 2009
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How do you identify the lotus tyre when compared with a normal ad07?

RobM77

35,349 posts

233 months

Friday 29th May 2009
quotequote all
cjm said:
How do you identify the lotus tyre when compared with a normal ad07?
The letters LTS on the sidewall.

bordseye

Original Poster:

1,974 posts

191 months

Friday 29th May 2009
quotequote all
RobM77 said:
For me though, the principle remains - if Lotus and Yokohama have gone to the trouble of designing a tyre specifically for the Elise, then it seems crazy not to fit it! smile Unless of course you want a specific tyre, such as a winter snow tyre or a high grip track tyre.
As an ex businessman, my reaction to a "specially made tyre " is to suspect that its a marketing exercise by Lotus to get a royalty payment. "You sell this tyre only through our dealers, we'll tell customers its specially made and we'll both make a decent margin". Its what I would do if I ran Lotus.

carebear

75 posts

189 months

Friday 29th May 2009
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[quote=bordseyeAs an ex businessman, my reaction to a "specially made tyre " is to suspect that its a marketing exercise by Lotus to get a royalty payment. "You sell this tyre only through our dealers, we'll tell customers its specially made and we'll both make a decent margin". Its what I would do if I ran Lotus.
[/quote]

Could be a certain amount of truth in that ...

siw06

419 posts

192 months

Sunday 31st May 2009
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bordseye said:
standard rear tyres yoko ad07s. recommendations for the cheapest source please and I'll get them fitted locally.

are there any real differences between the Lotus version and the general public one?
There are a good few places that have competitive prices, where in the the UK are you?

For example, Daventry = Guglielmi, he gets them from Eliseparts. Same price and cheap to fit so no point in doing it separately.

Biscester = Brooke Kensington same prices as above.

Castle sports cars = competitive aswell.

Give us your general vicinity and I'm sure you'll get a good few recommendationsthumbup

Edited by siw06 on Sunday 31st May 12:07

Rick101

6,959 posts

149 months

Monday 9th February 2015
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Big bump on this one.

Am I right in thinking

Best option first;

AD07 LTS all round
AD07 standard all round
AD07/AD08 front/rear


Any opinions on the A048. I'm 99% dry weather use. Seem a lot more ££ on the sites I've searched.

I'll do max 10k in this car before selling.

Thanks

Edited by Rick101 on Monday 9th February 08:50

lee111s

377 posts

187 months

Monday 9th February 2015
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kambites

67,460 posts

220 months

Monday 9th February 2015
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As far as I know, the standard AD07 is no longer made so any AD07 you buy will either be LTS stamped or ancient. smile