Widest tyres on a tuscan?

[m3jappa]

I have decided to re kindle the love for my tuscan this coming year after not really using it for the last 3 years

One of the things on the list is new tyres, i think ill be using pilot sport 4 but I'm not sure on which size to get, another thing on the list is to take the car to centre of gravity and have a proper geo set up, corner weighting etc. The car handles really well on smooth warm roads but on slightly cold crappy british roads it can be scary!

currently got 225/40/ 18 front and 255/35/18 rear. federal 595rsr which i believe is part of the issue, they need heat to work well which you just won't get on our roads unless hot.

As i have a set of rota wheels which are 9.5 wide on the rear and 8.5 front i am wondering if 235/40/18 front and 265/35/18 would be better. any issues with that set up? really want as much grip as i can find. i am sure i have read that 235 front increase tram lining though so not sure if better sticking to existing sizes.

[phazed]

Not on a Tuscan but on my chim, ( much the same, TVR didn't change that much!).

I run 265/35/18s on the rear and 235/40/17s on the front of my track wheels.

These fit with the only problem being that the inner wheel arches have to be trimmed very slightly on the rear. Fronts are fine.

I run federal RSRs with this set up for the track and they are fine but as you said not the best tyre for the road.

Suspension plays a big part in road handling. When I fitted a new set of Nitron's to my car their particular set up was appalling and I could've been left by a Micra down country lanes. It was crash and bang off every undulation and pothole. Back to my set of mono's and it was completely different.

I would buy the best possible tyres that you can. Check out the reviews, wet and dry handling as well as road noise and comfort. I run Michelin pilot sport tyres on my Porsche and I really rate these.

[glow worm]

I think your 225 and 255 are perfect sizes . I put Sport4s and Nitrons on 18 months ago and love the combination . I only use on roads no tracking . Over rubbering is not always a good solution. Wheeler wanted fat tyres (255 on the front) on the Tuscan against the advice of his designers because he thought it looked more aggressive but I soon replaced with 225s to stop tramlining and I think it reduced the bump steer. Raising the steering rack also helped , TVR fitted a spacer between the chassis and the rack but some cars missed getting them fitted (about 3-5 mm) , can't go much higher because of other chassis members fouling the rack. The Sport4s give good rim protection when fitted to Spiders , I hate to see a TVR with a kerbed front passenger wheel .

Edited by glow worm on Monday 30th December 10:29

[Classic Chim]

glow worm said:

I think your 225 and 255 are perfect sizes . I put Sport4s and Nitrons on 18 months ago and love the combination . I only use on roads no tracking . Over rubbering is not always a good solution. Wheeler wanted fat tyres (255 on the front) on the Tuscan against the advice of his designers because he thought it looked more aggressive but I soon replaced with 225s to stop tramlining and I think it reduced the bump steer.

Agree with this.

Another thing to consider, if you go too wide you will get road crud allover the doors and behind back wheels. (Stone chips)
Whatever width you go for make sure they don’t exceed the wheel arch width lower down the body by too much or this will be a problem if used on the roads a lot.
I opted for wheel spacers on my Chim. It’s as wide as I dare and the problem above is now apparent if I get caught in poor weather.
Basically road filth flies off the tyres and hits the lower body and on occasion half way up the doors
A decent mud flap solution would resolve much of this though.

Edited by Classic Chim on Monday 30th December 10:25

Edited by Classic Chim on Monday 30th December 10:27

[m3jappa]

Thanks, i will stick with the current 225 and 255 set up.

The car has gas monos, steering rack spacer, lighter rota wheels and tbh initially when we went to italy in the car and done a couple of track days it was superb! str8 six did the geo which was partly down to them and partly down to what i wanted.

In the dry and smooth warm roads or track it is very predictable.

But it never felt good enough iykwim. i really think it could be better. the back end feels too light.

What has put me off is the last time i drove it i had to brake very hard at over 100 and lets just say i had a very full opposite lock moment which did scare me! modern cars just dont do that

I also believe the rubber on these tyres has gone off so im looking forward to putting some decent fast road type tyres on, i wont be doing any track days so dont need the other type.