Dad may have put wrong tyres on...

[zebedee]

My dad has just taken my Elise 111S (S1) for new tyres and has been sold some Infinity tyres. I have never heard of these but they were cheap (£135 fitted for 2 rears). I have always used Pirellis and most recently, Yokohama Advan LTS's. I always understood the LTS was an Elise specific design, given the low weight and low pressure footprint. I have called the garage and they have said they are the right size / speed rating but if it is a problem they "will sort something out", which doesn't fill me with confidence. Am I worrying about nothing here (other than the fact that they might not be as grippy as the LTS's?
[edited to say they aren't acclera tyres, but infinity tyres, and not infinity speed rating - he was confusing me but I now have confirmation that they are Infinity tyres.]

Edited by zebedee on Wednesday 26th May 11:02

Edited by zebedee on Wednesday 26th May 11:02

[CardShark]

zebedee said:

My dad has just taken my Elise 111S (S1) for new tyres and has been sold some Acclera's. I have never heard of these but I suspect they were cheap. I have always used Pirellis and most recently, Yokohama Advan LTS's. I always understood the LTS was an Elise specific design, given the low weight and low pressure footprint. I have called the garage and they have said they are infinity speed rated and the right size but if it is a problem they "will sort something out", which doesn't fill me with confidence. Am I worrying about nothing here (other than the fact that they might not be as grippy as the LTS's?

Just looked this brand up on Camskill's site, price wise they're pretty cheap! I'd be concerned about them saying that they had an 'infinity speed rating', never heard of that before, don't know if anyone else has run them on S1s but I'd be a bit warey as to if these tyres are really suitable. They may work in the sense that it's still a tyre but I can't see them being anywhere near as good as the usual choices for this car. Having said that, sometimes it takes someone to try a new type/brand of tyre before anyone really knows how they'll perform.

Edited by CardShark on Wednesday 26th May 10:44

[CardShark]

If you haven't already post this on seloc, many more people will read it and you should get quite a good response.

[Mr E]

I would suspect if they're not specifically designed for the car (or are soft track biased tyres) they're not going to work particularly well.

I'd also suggest that an insurance company would take a dim view of this.

[zebedee]

see my edit - they are Infinity tyres, not Accelera, but still never heard of them and still concerned they may not suit the lightweight/fat tyre characteristic of an Elise. Or was it just the Advan LTS you had to use and not the Advan, but anything else the right size should do?

Can't imagine an insurance company being able to deal differently with any claim just because of a tyre brand.

[Mr E]

[quote=zebedee
Can't imagine an insurance company being able to deal differently with any claim just because of a tyre brand.
[/quote]

They will try not to pay out if the speed rating is incorrect, I can imagine they'll try the same if the car was wearing an unsuitable tyre.

[telecat]

If you've never heard of them I'd ditch them. Probably a Chinese copy which given my experience doesn't bode well. The Ones a dealer stuck on a Nissan I had were like concrete blocks for grip.

[Exige77]

I think Lotus publish a list of recomended tyres. If they are not on the list and you have a big accident the Insures will try not to pay.

Not a risk worth taking for a few quid.

This wrong tyre situation has been discussed before. Do a search on SELOC.

Ex77

[zebedee]

Yes, but as I say I have the tyres now, so seem to be stuck with them. I agree that better tyres are what should be on there. If the wrong speed rating, then yes, insurers might have a stab but they couldn't attack a claim just on brand.

[thegreenhell]

Did you put them on the rear only? What have you got on the front? You should never mix tyre types, especially on a car as sensitive as the Elise. Having a good tyre on the front, for example Advan LTS, with some unknown brand on the rear is asking for trouble.

Also, having looked at the Infinity website, they don't appear to make any tyres suitable for the front of your car. The garage should never have recommended them or sold them to you. I would be getting rid of them as soon as possible.

http://www.infinity-tyres.com/inftyres3/tyres/pass...

[fatwomble]

Not heard of the tyres before so not tried and tested. Doesn't mean that they will be utter rubbish, although this is a possibility.

Lots of people have rubbished the Kumhos that I and plenty others run on the S1 Elise, but they are better than the Lotus recommended C Drives and I'm on my 5th set now.


You may as well give them a try and if they are rubbish take them back.

[Redlake27]

I do wonder when people spend £10k to £45k on the world's finest handling sportscar and then try to save a few quid on the only bit of it that actually touches the road.....

In the last Auto Express test there was 4 car lengths difference in stopping distance between the best and the worst tyre, from just 50mph....

Edited by Redlake27 on Wednesday 26th May 21:21

[zebedee]

Redlake27 said:

I do wonder when people spend £10k to £45k on the world's finest handling sportscar and then try to save a few quid on the only bit of it that actually touches the road.....

In the last Auto Express test there was 4 car lengths difference in stopping distance between the best and the worst tyre, from just 50mph....

Edited by Redlake27 on Wednesday 26th May 21:21

the clue is in the title - my dad did it, not me!

[zebedee]

thegreenhell said:

Did you put them on the rear only? What have you got on the front? You should never mix tyre types, especially on a car as sensitive as the Elise. Having a good tyre on the front, for example Advan LTS, with some unknown brand on the rear is asking for trouble.

Also, having looked at the Infinity website, they don't appear to make any tyres suitable for the front of your car. The garage should never have recommended them or sold them to you. I would be getting rid of them as soon as possible.

http://www.infinity-tyres.com/inftyres3/tyres/pass...

he put them on the rear. I guess the garage had them in stock, they did say when I asked why they fitted them that if I wanted the LTS's I would have to order them in. I think I will give them a ring and ask what they meant by sorting it out, because I don't think they are suitable for the car.

[Wildfire]

I wouldn't say they are unsiutable for the car, if they are the right size and speed rating then insurance wise you will be fine. They just may not be very good in terms of grip, and feedback. The majority of it comes down to preferene, if you notice no difference then you've saved a few quid, if you hate them, get them changed. £135 for 2 is very cheap though. Can't say I've heard of the brand. The most common on the Elise are: Yokos, Kuhmos and Toyos, for the S1.

[Mr_C]

Go on a walshy day and do some big fat drifts and donuts to wear them out in style

www.carlimits.com

Edited by Mr_C on Thursday 27th May 09:01

[Mr E]

zebedee said:

If the wrong speed rating, then yes, insurers might have a stab but they couldn't attack a claim just on brand.

Easy way to find out. Ring them and tell them, ensuring that they confirm in writing.

[chris7676]

Not sure about these but I prefered similarly "cheap" KU31s to expensive Advans.

[John D.]

zebedee said:

Redlake27 said:

I do wonder when people spend £10k to £45k on the world's finest handling sportscar and then try to save a few quid on the only bit of it that actually touches the road.....

In the last Auto Express test there was 4 car lengths difference in stopping distance between the best and the worst tyre, from just 50mph....

Edited by Redlake27 on Wednesday 26th May 21:21

the clue is in the title - my dad did it, not me!

Well I was wondering why you sent your dad without any instruction as to what brand of tyres to get in the first place.

Certainly know I wouldn't trust mine!

[highflyer]

I have an elise S2 111s and would like to fit some new tyres, just for road use, what make would you folks recommend please, it seems the advan lts are favourite is this right ? thankyou.