Uniroyal Rainexperts

[Smitters]

Just had a set of Uniroyal Rainexperts fitted (Chris Mullins in Gloucester - recommended). Saddled with 185/60R14 limited options without blowing the bank on specialist track rubber, something I can't afford right now, so I decided to skip the normal ZV3 ditch finders and try something from left of field.

Got a track day at Pembrey on Saturday too, which ought to be interesting.

Initial impressions were of a very soft tread, with some vagueness to the blocks, but I expected that coming from close to limit A021R's. Once the release agent is off, I'll see how feel and progression is.

[Smitters]

Initial impressions is they could make an excellent touring tyre - very quiet and supple. Certainly a loss of feel versus the Yokos A021R but that's to be expected due to the height of the treadblocks. My old Yokos were partworns anyway, so I can't compare to a new A021R. There was noticably more grip on the damp roads this morning at the rear wheels, but they are less eager to turn in and initially less confidence inspiring when you lean on them. There is also a lighter feel at the wheel in both wet and dry conditions.

Look forward to catching up with you at Pembrey framerateuk, licence willing. Eeek.

[Smitters]

downsman said:

How were the Uniroyals on the track day?

Surprisingly good, all things considered. The day started out wet as a wet thing and dried out slowly. I will admit I didn't play too much with pressures, preferring to see how the car changed feel as the day improved against a consistent baseline. I started out at 18psi front and rear. In the wet the car was balanced, perhaps a little understeery, and the breakaway wasn't as progressive as the A021Rs, but when leaning on them, they inspired confidence and weren't nervous at all.

As the day dried out, their road-bias became more obvious and I think I over-heated them by driving a little too hard, too fast. The understeer set-up drifted toward neutral as I was able to carry more speed and get some actual heat into the fronts though. I think a couple of psi out of the fronts and a careful warm-up would have been a better set-up. On the very fastest corners, Woodlands and Honda, the less rigid sidewall made minor adjustments more difficult, but it also forced me to be smoother.

Wear-wise, I was impressed, with very little, though the wet weather will help here too. A totally dry, hot day and some careless management would probably see some chunks torn out, so I think they're better suited to a shoulder season/occasional track tyre and a brilliant touring tyre. The reduced road noise and slap and the additional compliancy in our potholed and bump-riddled world were very welcome and I felt tangibly less tired at the end of the drive. If you did mostly road miles and one or two trackdays a year, and didn't were prepared to drive with some sympathy, I think they'd make an excellent Seven tyre. I paid about £50 a corner inc fitting and disposal too, which makes them affordable on a second set of wheels too.

[Smitters]

downsman said:

Thanks for the reply

I think I'll stick to my 021s, but it's nice to know there's a reasonably priced alternative out there that isn't rock hard.

If you've got the £££, then Yokos are the way I'd go, possibly trying out a pair of 888s, which were recommended by Neil Garner Motorsport as an alternative, but for the budget, I'm pretty impressed. Given that when I bought the car it had the original 1994 rubber on the fronts, I think we all know how suitable car tyres are for Sevens! If I was touring only, I'd have them again like a shot.

[Smitters]

Sadly, I sold the Rainexpert shod car, but it will definitely be of interest to see how they perform as they wear. Given they are a full tread depth tyre, unlike a Yoko race tyre which comes with only 4-6mm max (from memory), it will be interesting to see how the feel changes as they wear.

Interesting to see the Dunlop option seems to work on the road and track, but I don't see that as surprising. The Uniroyal seems to be geared to wetter roads, not economy and low rolling resistance. The opposite, if anything, thus the overheating seems likely. I guess it depends on your mentality. Going for time would kill them. Sympathetically lapping and having fun, being smooth and just pedalling round a track in general and I reckon they're still ok, plus not bankbreaking to replace. Price really was a factor too. In my case, the idea was to possibly save on road rubber, which then provides a kitty for a second set of wheels more suited to the track.

Anyway, let's face it, if we found a tyre for £3, we'd put it on, lap everywhere sideways and still have change for a bacon sarnie and a cuppa from £15. Performance is one thing, fun another.

[Smitters]

BritishRacinGrin said:

Smitters said:

I think we all know how suitable car tyres are for Sevens!

This is the crux of it really. You're putting a tyre which is developed to support around 500kg under a load of a little more than a quarter of that.

I've put Rainexperts on my Mum's Corsa for her. I wouldn't put them anywhere near a caterham. For me it'd be a cost compromise too far; stodgy uncommunicative 'comfort' 'touring' tyres would severely dampen the experience for me.

I agree to an extent, but the quote in isolation isn't really representative of my view. You've nailed it though - it's about the experience. I believe the URE tyre can actually improve the experience, but it depends what you're after. I can't say I liked my Seven more on AO21Rs, irrespective of their performance, and I totally disagree with the seemingly widely held opinion that a Caterham must be shod in road-legal racing tyres or nothing. It's very much owner by owner.

The biggest issue I faced was the astronomical cost of putting a performance tyre on a 14" wheel. In this instance the cost/compromise balance tipped the other way.

Another thought occurred to me - do tyres like the Toyo R888, Yoko AO21R etc have an upper weight limit? And if they do, is it below 1000kg? If not, surely the discussion is about the compound and tread grip, plus sidewall stiffness and it's contribution to feel and overall suspension. They are, after all, potentially a tyre designed for, albeit a high performance, full size car...