Discussion
In assessing the maintenance costs of a 2006 111R I was getting a price quote on tyres-for when I actually buy an Elise. I can get some new ones for cheap and was excited to tell my wife how surprised I was to find entry-level tyres for the price I was quoted.
She said, "doesn't a Lotus come with tyres?"
She said, "doesn't a Lotus come with tyres?"
21TonyK said:
Thats great... but, you *will* do track days. You then have to explain a full set of tyres (£650+) and £200 of brake pads (plus oil changes £90?) every 2 months.
Get a new bank account she doesn't know about
Set of AD07s are £450(mine only lasted 12k) Get a new bank account she doesn't know about
Edited by The Bandit on Friday 9th October 17:51
The Bandit said:
21TonyK said:
Thats great... but, you *will* do track days. You then have to explain a full set of tyres (£650+) and £200 of brake pads (plus oil changes £90?) every 2 months.
Get a new bank account she doesn't know about
Set of AD07s are £450(mine only lasted 12k) Get a new bank account she doesn't know about
Edited by The Bandit on Friday 9th October 17:51
After reading other threads on PH, I don't know what sort of tyres I should go for when they need replacing... am in British Columbia where it can get a bit damp, and it depends how deep in to winter I want to keep the car on the road as well.
Won't be doing any track days ("oh, so he says" I can hear some of you say), as there are no bloody tracks on Vancouver Island! Good roads though...
Won't be doing any track days ("oh, so he says" I can hear some of you say), as there are no bloody tracks on Vancouver Island! Good roads though...
beak said:
i hate to dissapoint..
Sorry, Beak. I hate to disappoint as well. Use your imagination. Then turn it up to eleven...LivinLaVidaLotus said:
Oh god don't tell him to turn it up to 11, the world might end.
Tyres - you could use it deep in to winter if you had a set of Pirelli Snowsports (they've a new name now that escapes me). I'd say AD07 and a set of winters.
Are you talking about Sottozero? Cyberface wrote this on another thread: I run Snowsports on the front and Sottozero on the back. Sottozero are Pirelli's new brand for Snowsport (i.e. their highest performance winter tyre).Tyres - you could use it deep in to winter if you had a set of Pirelli Snowsports (they've a new name now that escapes me). I'd say AD07 and a set of winters.
And yeah, dealing with tyres & rims, on and off, etc etc can be a bit of a pain unless I buy 2 sets of wheels which adds to the expense of course - I just want the best compromise for summer and for wet. And to be honest my driving style is not too 'spirited'. I'd never drive in sub-zero temperatures or in the snow. Actually I would if I had LOTS of space to get sideways. I used to do that in the 'Eunich' (1979 Datsun 210. Brilliant fun).
I'm learning a lot about Beak.
chieflief said:
LivinLaVidaLotus said:
Oh god don't tell him to turn it up to 11, the world might end.
Tyres - you could use it deep in to winter if you had a set of Pirelli Snowsports (they've a new name now that escapes me). I'd say AD07 and a set of winters.
Are you talking about Sottozero? Cyberface wrote this on another thread: I run Snowsports on the front and Sottozero on the back. Sottozero are Pirelli's new brand for Snowsport (i.e. their highest performance winter tyre).Tyres - you could use it deep in to winter if you had a set of Pirelli Snowsports (they've a new name now that escapes me). I'd say AD07 and a set of winters.
LivinLaVidaLotus said:
chieflief said:
LivinLaVidaLotus said:
Oh god don't tell him to turn it up to 11, the world might end.
Tyres - you could use it deep in to winter if you had a set of Pirelli Snowsports (they've a new name now that escapes me). I'd say AD07 and a set of winters.
Are you talking about Sottozero? Cyberface wrote this on another thread: I run Snowsports on the front and Sottozero on the back. Sottozero are Pirelli's new brand for Snowsport (i.e. their highest performance winter tyre).Tyres - you could use it deep in to winter if you had a set of Pirelli Snowsports (they've a new name now that escapes me). I'd say AD07 and a set of winters.
It's an Exige, and it embarrassed *everything* up to a Landy with mud tyres and a winch in the Blackdown Hills in Somerset back in that serious snowy week we had.
They're probably not the best *snow* tyres, as they're optimised for high performance, but they're good enough to outperform any non-winter tyre in snow/slush/icy roads. What they're *really* good at, though, is dealing with heavy rain and cold, greasy surfaces. If anything they seem to be the ideal British winter tyre, since they're brilliant at puddles, standing water and heavy rain, and though we don't get much snow, the roads get cold (below 6-8 ˚C) and the compound performs brilliantly. Even more reasons why they're great British winter tyres - they don't destroy themselves when the weather's mild and the road dry. Some of the extreme Scandinavian-spec winter tyres would melt and shred if driven around on a mild 10˚C late autumn / early spring day.
Whether they're any good for Canadian winters - I thought Canada got proper cold and proper snow. It's a big place though and I don't know Canada... so if British Columbia is a more like a brisker version of the UK then the Sottozero / Snowsport combo would let you enjoy the Lotus all the way through the winter. Stick your preference of stickies (AD07 / A048R / 888) on during the summer - the Snowsports can deal with 'mild' weather so you can run them late autumn to early/mid spring and leave the really sticky stuff for the best months of the year.
I'm currently in prevarication mode... do I put them on now, or wait another week? I'll probably wait a couple of weeks so I can get a cheap set of wheels to put them on, to save swapping tyres on rims again (not good for tyres or rims). Anyone got any tatty wheels to fit an S2 Exige for sale? I've got 195 front Snowsports so I don't think I can run the Elise wheels though.
Last thing worth noting - the winter tyres make a large difference to the 'feel' of the car and the handling. It becomes a lot more progressive and a lot softer, concomitantly the limits of adhesion drop too. It's a LOT easier to drive it well past the limits of adhesion though - drifting it around is nicely controllable on the Snowsports. And it doesn't trash the tyres. These things were made so central Europeans in high powered European sports cars could still flog down the autobahn in winter (they're rated for 150 mph, IIRC you need winter tyres in Germany during winter, and Porsche drivers like to go fast all year round). I ran one set for two winters on my old supercharged 993 and they didn't wear out. Given that the cars the Snowsports were designed for are a LOT heavier than the Lotuses... if they have decent service life in Germany on a 911 turbo then they will last a LONG time on a sub-930kg Lotus
But for road driving in the winter - sacrificing a bit of the razor-edge sharpness of response and a bit of ultimate grip for a shed-load more safety and fun? It's a no-brainer for me. The Exige is great *fun* and adequately safe, even on icy, frosty mornings or heavy rain with loads of standing water, with those tyres.
Wow. Thorough as always! Thanks. Where I am (southern Vancouver Island) is mild, very very much like London (and what you described), so all your comments are particularly apt. Ideally I would take the same route as you: two sets of wheels.
But what if I kept the winters on all summer? It does get dry and hot here - this past summer particularly. We had about 50 days in a row without rain (to speak of) and it got up to over 30 degrees for awhile there as well. The tyres you speak of, would they be destroyed in weather like that?
My other option is to park it for the winter and have fun (albeit a different sort of fun) in my 1987 Honda Accord. I got it for free.
But what if I kept the winters on all summer? It does get dry and hot here - this past summer particularly. We had about 50 days in a row without rain (to speak of) and it got up to over 30 degrees for awhile there as well. The tyres you speak of, would they be destroyed in weather like that?
My other option is to park it for the winter and have fun (albeit a different sort of fun) in my 1987 Honda Accord. I got it for free.
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