Bridgestone S03PP no longer available for 245/45ZR16?
Discussion
I knew that suitable front tyres for the Chimaera were getting hard to find, but I had a bit of a shock when I phoned Bracknell Tyres today and they said they could no longer get Bridgestone S03PP in 245/45 ZR16
They suggested the Toyo Proxes T1-R, but if I go for that then every car in our fleet will be running these tyres in various sizes and that just doesn't seem right.
Besides, just because they work ok on our other cars doesn't mean they're suitable for the Chimaera.
So does anyone have any recommendations?
They suggested the Toyo Proxes T1-R, but if I go for that then every car in our fleet will be running these tyres in various sizes and that just doesn't seem right.
Besides, just because they work ok on our other cars doesn't mean they're suitable for the Chimaera.
So does anyone have any recommendations?
Yes IMHO SO3pp's were never suitable for Chimaeras, a very different tyre to the original equipment.
If you are looking for a close match to the SO2pp then Toyo T1-S or T1-R with a couple of psi extra to make up for the lower sidewall rigidity are very similar other than being a little more progressive on oversteer. If you have become used to the SO3pp and want to keep that harder ride then you'll need to look elsewhere.
If you are looking for a close match to the SO2pp then Toyo T1-S or T1-R with a couple of psi extra to make up for the lower sidewall rigidity are very similar other than being a little more progressive on oversteer. If you have become used to the SO3pp and want to keep that harder ride then you'll need to look elsewhere.
That rather depends what was previously on your Elan. I would be surprised if that was fitted with SO2pp’s original equipment.
Toyo T1-S is lower rigidity than SO2pp. Current TVR users have learned to overcome this by adding a few psi. The T1-R is the same wall construction as the T1-S
Toyo T1-S is lower rigidity than SO2pp. Current TVR users have learned to overcome this by adding a few psi. The T1-R is the same wall construction as the T1-S
tvrbob said:
That rather depends what was previously on your Elan. I would be surprised if that was fitted with SO2pp’s original equipment.
You misunderstand. The Elan was fitted with a stiff-walled tyre as OEM which is no longer available. The T1-R was recommended as it has stiff sidewalls. I was therefore surprised to hear you say that one had to compensate for the T1-R's reduced stiffness over the S03PP, implying the S03PP is even stiffer. If that makes more sense.Ive only had my Chimaera about 2 months but will need 2 new rear tyres soon and Im totaly confused about the tyre issue. At present it has Potenza S03 pp,s all round but after ringing several outlets I have been told that they cant get S03s but can get SO2s and at a really good price. (£82.00)
My question is, is it acceptable to have S03s on the front and S02s on the rear. Its not going to be used on the track.
Also the front it is fitted with 205/55ZR15s which is right according to the manual but Steve Heaths bible says that a PAS car should have 225/50/ZR15s on the front.
My question is, is it acceptable to have S03s on the front and S02s on the rear. Its not going to be used on the track.
Also the front it is fitted with 205/55ZR15s which is right according to the manual but Steve Heaths bible says that a PAS car should have 225/50/ZR15s on the front.
That's weird. The S02 went out of production, despite everyone being very happy with it, and that's why we were all forced to switch to the S03PP (if we wanted to stay with Bridgestone).
Now it looks like Bridgestone have stopped making S03PP in 245/45 ZR16, although Bracknell Tyres do say that they can easily get 255/45 ZR16 (which is what the chap thought I said hence him volunteering he could get them).
Now it looks like Bridgestone have stopped making S03PP in 245/45 ZR16, although Bracknell Tyres do say that they can easily get 255/45 ZR16 (which is what the chap thought I said hence him volunteering he could get them).
Edited by JonRB on Monday 21st August 20:14
Bobsy said:
.... but can get SO2s and at a really good price. (£82.00).....
JonRB said:
That's weird. The S02 went out of production,
Not true as it happens. SO2's are still available. SO2pp went out of production a long time ago. The pp was developed to improve wet weather grip and were made with softer walls than the standard SO2. The SO2 is a dedicated Porsche rear tyre and should not be fitted to your TVR. I once put a set of these on my rear wheels and found that they were dreadful, lacking the lateral grip of the SO2pp, they are a harder compound. My advice is don't fit SO2's, they are dangerous in winter and will cause dramatic oversteer. They are a very different tyre to the SO2pp.
T1-R's are a good front and rear option.
Edited by tvrbob on Monday 21st August 20:28
Agree with Bob - 225/50 R15 T1-S (front) and 245/45 R16 T1-R (rear) works well - initially a little more 'bouncy' than the SO2s I recall; corrected by 2 psi increase all round. One point - you must go easy for the first 1000 miles - particularly when braking hard on dewy-damp morning roads in the peak district 
"a bit squirmy sir - oh yes".
Absolutely fine now though - and are wearing well 8000 miles on incl a track day and some 'spirited' driving...
This may help:
There were a number of different profiles fitted during the production life, seemingly depending on PAS fit, engine size, wheels fitted (5-spoke or 7-spoke), but mostly on what was available from suppliers / at the factory at the time...
Having surveyed 100 chims at BNG last year, most are:
Front 205/55 R15 + Rear 225/50 R16
My '99 450 (on 500 wheels), together with many later 500s has
Front 225/50 R15 + Rear 245/45 R16
Some have 16s all around, some non-PAS have a different front, and some earlier cars had
Front 205/60 R15 + Rear 225/55 R16
Have also heard of early cars:
4 litre Front 205/60 + Rear 225/50
5 litre non-PAS with 205/55 and 235/50
5 litre PAS 215/50 and 235/50
help - I'm turning into a tyre spotter
"a bit squirmy sir - oh yes". Absolutely fine now though - and are wearing well 8000 miles on incl a track day and some 'spirited' driving...
Bobsy said:
Ive only had my Chimaera about 2 months but will need 2 new rear tyres soon and Im totaly confused about the tyre issue. At present it has Potenza S03 pp,s all round but after ringing several outlets I have been told that they cant get S03s but can get SO2s and at a really good price. (£82.00)
My question is, is it acceptable to have S03s on the front and S02s on the rear. Its not going to be used on the track.
Also the front it is fitted with 205/55ZR15s which is right according to the manual but Steve Heaths bible says that a PAS car should have 225/50/ZR15s on the front.
My question is, is it acceptable to have S03s on the front and S02s on the rear. Its not going to be used on the track.
Also the front it is fitted with 205/55ZR15s which is right according to the manual but Steve Heaths bible says that a PAS car should have 225/50/ZR15s on the front.
This may help:
me on another thread recently said:
There were a number of different profiles fitted during the production life, seemingly depending on PAS fit, engine size, wheels fitted (5-spoke or 7-spoke), but mostly on what was available from suppliers / at the factory at the time...
Having surveyed 100 chims at BNG last year, most are:
Front 205/55 R15 + Rear 225/50 R16
My '99 450 (on 500 wheels), together with many later 500s has
Front 225/50 R15 + Rear 245/45 R16
Some have 16s all around, some non-PAS have a different front, and some earlier cars had
Front 205/60 R15 + Rear 225/55 R16
Have also heard of early cars:
4 litre Front 205/60 + Rear 225/50
5 litre non-PAS with 205/55 and 235/50
5 litre PAS 215/50 and 235/50
help - I'm turning into a tyre spotter
Nick_Chim said:
Agree with Bob - 225/50 R15 T1-S (front) and 245/45 R16 T1-R (rear) works well - initially a little more 'bouncy' than the SO2s I recall; corrected by 2 psi increase all round. One point - you must go easy for the first 1000 miles - particularly when braking hard on dewy-damp morning roads in the peak district "a bit squirmy sir - oh yes".
Absolutely fine now though - and are wearing well 8000 miles on incl a track day and some 'spirited' driving...
This may help:
There were a number of different profiles fitted during the production life, seemingly depending on PAS fit, engine size, wheels fitted (5-spoke or 7-spoke), but mostly on what was available from suppliers / at the factory at the time...
Having surveyed 100 chims at BNG last year, most are:
Front 205/55 R15 + Rear 225/50 R16
My '99 450 (on 500 wheels), together with many later 500s has
Front 225/50 R15 + Rear 245/45 R16
Some have 16s all around, some non-PAS have a different front, and some earlier cars had
Front 205/60 R15 + Rear 225/55 R16
Have also heard of early cars:
4 litre Front 205/60 + Rear 225/50
5 litre non-PAS with 205/55 and 235/50
5 litre PAS 215/50 and 235/50
help - I'm turning into a tyre spotter
"a bit squirmy sir - oh yes". Absolutely fine now though - and are wearing well 8000 miles on incl a track day and some 'spirited' driving...
Bobsy said:
Ive only had my Chimaera about 2 months but will need 2 new rear tyres soon and Im totaly confused about the tyre issue. At present it has Potenza S03 pp,s all round but after ringing several outlets I have been told that they cant get S03s but can get SO2s and at a really good price. (£82.00)
My question is, is it acceptable to have S03s on the front and S02s on the rear. Its not going to be used on the track.
Also the front it is fitted with 205/55ZR15s which is right according to the manual but Steve Heaths bible says that a PAS car should have 225/50/ZR15s on the front.
My question is, is it acceptable to have S03s on the front and S02s on the rear. Its not going to be used on the track.
Also the front it is fitted with 205/55ZR15s which is right according to the manual but Steve Heaths bible says that a PAS car should have 225/50/ZR15s on the front.
This may help:
me on another thread recently said:
There were a number of different profiles fitted during the production life, seemingly depending on PAS fit, engine size, wheels fitted (5-spoke or 7-spoke), but mostly on what was available from suppliers / at the factory at the time...
Having surveyed 100 chims at BNG last year, most are:
Front 205/55 R15 + Rear 225/50 R16
My '99 450 (on 500 wheels), together with many later 500s has
Front 225/50 R15 + Rear 245/45 R16
Some have 16s all around, some non-PAS have a different front, and some earlier cars had
Front 205/60 R15 + Rear 225/55 R16
Have also heard of early cars:
4 litre Front 205/60 + Rear 225/50
5 litre non-PAS with 205/55 and 235/50
5 litre PAS 215/50 and 235/50
help - I'm turning into a tyre spotter
Why have I just only got 3k out of my rear Toyos! 
I've got new Dunlop SP9000s at the back (225), and SO2PP (205) at the front. I run 21/25PSi f/r and despite not being quite as good as the SO2PP allround, the handling is good.
Toyo don't do a 205 Z rated!, so insurance may get shirty after a bump.
There are 2 types of SO2 on the market. One is Porsche specific, and the other is Honda S2000 specific. In my mind, if they are specific to one type of car, you shouldn't be using them on a TVR.
Toyo don't do a 205 Z rated!, so insurance may get shirty after a bump.
There are 2 types of SO2 on the market. One is Porsche specific, and the other is Honda S2000 specific. In my mind, if they are specific to one type of car, you shouldn't be using them on a TVR.
JonRB said:
Bomber Denton said:
Why have I just only got 3k out of my rear Toyos!
Blimey. I've had just over 10k miles out of my S03PPs. Guess I'm not trying hard enough.
Edited by JonRB on Monday 21st August 22:51
13k here on S03s! and still plenty of tread left
Has anyone tried goodyear F1? I seem to remember they were another alternative
Edited by munky on Tuesday 22 August 11:49
I have the Toyo’s on mine and my mate has the bridge stones on his. He rekons that mine feels a lot smother than his, but that could be mainly due to my car having power steering. He said that his tramlines more than mine.
My cousin is a manager for Pro Tyre (anybody in the west must know them) and he said the Toyo’s are a great replacement for the original bridgestones that were set up for the chm
I really can’t rate the Toyo’s enough. I haven’t had any hairy handling that everybody kept telling me about before I got my trev. I feel in more control wit my 400 trev than I did with my MGF and MX5.
My cousin is a manager for Pro Tyre (anybody in the west must know them) and he said the Toyo’s are a great replacement for the original bridgestones that were set up for the chm
I really can’t rate the Toyo’s enough. I haven’t had any hairy handling that everybody kept telling me about before I got my trev. I feel in more control wit my 400 trev than I did with my MGF and MX5.
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