Tyres Tyres Tyres
Discussion
May have missed it, but on scanning the thread i am surprised the Vredestein Sessantas havent been mentioned. A very good tyre for the Tuscan IMO. Soft sidewall to allow for proper performance given the low weight, nice looking treads (designed by Giugario, dontchaknow) and very good value to boot. Have had nearly all makes on my Tuscans over the years; notably, Eagle F1s were too hard but held well; Avons were just lumpy, easily worn out and not grippy.
As a 'Driver type' I am very much in the common category- no track days, like going for a serious blat on A and B roads while giving it some serious boot if the road is clear, and the occasional cross-national or Euro tour. Prefer dry days but if the itch comes in the rain, then its a few Hail Marys and into the breach I go.
As a 'Driver type' I am very much in the common category- no track days, like going for a serious blat on A and B roads while giving it some serious boot if the road is clear, and the occasional cross-national or Euro tour. Prefer dry days but if the itch comes in the rain, then its a few Hail Marys and into the breach I go.
The S has the wider rear tyres as standard. Having had both S and non S, my opinion is that there is not much difference in the drive or grip from either. The grip in all Tuscans is very on-off because of the low weight, so when it lets go it is without warning, unless you have a bootfull of luggage or concrete. So a slightly wider or lower tyre is not going to make much beans of that.
The biggest difference in grip and handling, by far, is the suspension setup, specifically laser alignment and gas shocks. Ohlins/ nitrons/ bilsteins, no matter which really, make this difference from the ropey standard setup- sorry if this is 101 for any Tuscan owner, I dont mean to sound like a TVRCC pub bore.
As for tyre vs tire, well! Im sure the expected response round here is a huffnpuff wot wot we're british so its tyre not tire old boy chorus. But Im not sure either way affects the handling, so please yourself!
The biggest difference in grip and handling, by far, is the suspension setup, specifically laser alignment and gas shocks. Ohlins/ nitrons/ bilsteins, no matter which really, make this difference from the ropey standard setup- sorry if this is 101 for any Tuscan owner, I dont mean to sound like a TVRCC pub bore.
As for tyre vs tire, well! Im sure the expected response round here is a huffnpuff wot wot we're british so its tyre not tire old boy chorus. But Im not sure either way affects the handling, so please yourself!
Although tested on a VW Golf GTI - no doubt a few kg heavier than most TVRs - the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 and the Pirelli P-Zero easily top the latest comprehensive tyre review by EVO mag.
Probably not designed or meant for track day use, but sounds like a very good all round tyre to consider in the future assuming correct sizes and load rating are available...
I've used Toyo T1-R, R1-R, Kuhmo Ecsta and other in the past, driven by a compromise on cost, everyday use and occasional track day use, but think I might start changing back to these top-end, top-premium brands
Probably not designed or meant for track day use, but sounds like a very good all round tyre to consider in the future assuming correct sizes and load rating are available...
I've used Toyo T1-R, R1-R, Kuhmo Ecsta and other in the past, driven by a compromise on cost, everyday use and occasional track day use, but think I might start changing back to these top-end, top-premium brands
I'm not sure I'm qualified to give an all round assessment of the Michelins at this stage as I've yet to push them in the wet. I do expect them to perform well though as they boast good results from previous expert and user reviews. In the dry however my experience is that they offer very good traction and turn in without any harshness in the ride. In terms of tramlining they are pretty good so that's another plus factor too.
My major concern, as a TVR Tuscan newbie, but with a background of owning well set up cars ( Ultima Sports and Spyder ) is that the steering and suspension set up is just dreadful.
My Tuscan was purchased with gas pro shocks and spacers which clearly must help a little and I've yet to check the geometry . From all accounts ( and I have good knowledge of a car with similar spec that has had a full geometry check ) I do not expect any major improvement.
My plan is to deal with the variation in steering arm set up so that there is no steering angle change as the suspension moves. This should hopefully reduce the utterly dreadful nervous nature of the car and bump steer at high speed in particular. This will be done combining steering rack height changes and/or redesigned steering brackets. There is some great advice on both of these subjects and I'm grateful to Matt and Craig ( forum contributors ) for all their help. They have been brilliant and extremely generous with their advice.
I know that this response does little to help in tyre analysis but I believe the Michelin has more than enough capability given a chassis, steering and suspension set up that keeps all four tyres squarely on the road.
My major concern, as a TVR Tuscan newbie, but with a background of owning well set up cars ( Ultima Sports and Spyder ) is that the steering and suspension set up is just dreadful.
My Tuscan was purchased with gas pro shocks and spacers which clearly must help a little and I've yet to check the geometry . From all accounts ( and I have good knowledge of a car with similar spec that has had a full geometry check ) I do not expect any major improvement.
My plan is to deal with the variation in steering arm set up so that there is no steering angle change as the suspension moves. This should hopefully reduce the utterly dreadful nervous nature of the car and bump steer at high speed in particular. This will be done combining steering rack height changes and/or redesigned steering brackets. There is some great advice on both of these subjects and I'm grateful to Matt and Craig ( forum contributors ) for all their help. They have been brilliant and extremely generous with their advice.
I know that this response does little to help in tyre analysis but I believe the Michelin has more than enough capability given a chassis, steering and suspension set up that keeps all four tyres squarely on the road.
Im currently running Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 3's and am very impressed with both wet amd try performance.
They also did well in Evos tyre test 2016:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2016-EVO-Summ...
I have to agree though, at speeds above 60mph, the Tuscan Mk1 is quite possily one of the worst handling cars i've ever owned. In thr same boat though, i still.need to decide on a geo setup, then have that dialed in.
They also did well in Evos tyre test 2016:
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2016-EVO-Summ...
I have to agree though, at speeds above 60mph, the Tuscan Mk1 is quite possily one of the worst handling cars i've ever owned. In thr same boat though, i still.need to decide on a geo setup, then have that dialed in.
Have always had Goodyear F1s on mine.
Very good traction and sound in the wet.
Recently changed the fronts as they were original and now 7 years old! Car was suffering from tramlining although still 4mm tread after 28k miles.
Just put Assymetric 3s on the front and steering is back to where it should be and steady as a rock.
Put 22psi in them and garage questioned that it should be that low. I tried 24psi all round and to be honest although the steering was perfect the suspension and ride was awful.
Even with 22psi measured when cold found the pressure up to 25psi when returning hot.
Have now lowered to 20psi when cold and it transforms the ride.
From reading the previous posts I guess this may be a trait of a relatively hard walled tyre.
Anyway for now I am happy
Very good traction and sound in the wet.
Recently changed the fronts as they were original and now 7 years old! Car was suffering from tramlining although still 4mm tread after 28k miles.
Just put Assymetric 3s on the front and steering is back to where it should be and steady as a rock.
Put 22psi in them and garage questioned that it should be that low. I tried 24psi all round and to be honest although the steering was perfect the suspension and ride was awful.
Even with 22psi measured when cold found the pressure up to 25psi when returning hot.
Have now lowered to 20psi when cold and it transforms the ride.
From reading the previous posts I guess this may be a trait of a relatively hard walled tyre.
Anyway for now I am happy
Edited by Cats on Tuesday 1st August 15:43
mab1 said:
The head technician at David Gerald rates mine as the best handling mk1 he has driven, based on the setup being reasonably common (nitrons etc) the variable can only be the tyres which are Vredstien Sessantas as mentioned above.
I've had my Tuscan for over 12 years. Most of that time I was on Toyos and it was twitchy as f&@k even with nitrons and "proper" set up. Edited by mab1 on Monday 31st July 08:46
I switched to Vredstein Sessantas about 5
years ago, the difference is amazing, grip galore and plenty of warning before losing traction. They are competitively priced too.
Chim450 said:
mab1 said:
The head technician at David Gerald rates mine as the best handling mk1 he has driven, based on the setup being reasonably common (nitrons etc) the variable can only be the tyres which are Vredstien Sessantas as mentioned above.
I've had my Tuscan for over 12 years. Most of that time I was on Toyos and it was twitchy as f&@k even with nitrons and "proper" set up. Edited by mab1 on Monday 31st July 08:46
I switched to Vredstein Sessantas about 5
years ago, the difference is amazing, grip galore and plenty of warning before losing traction. They are competitively priced too.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Vredestein/Ultra...
Very different tread pattern now.
Edited by Speed 3 on Tuesday 1st August 21:18
Cats said:
Have always had Goodyear F1s on mine.
Just put Assymetric 3s on the front and steering is back to where it should be and steady as a rock.
I've always had GY F1s' too and need to replace my on the limit rears, but worried there'd be a mis match between the Asymetric 2s on the front with new 3s on the back. Just put Assymetric 3s on the front and steering is back to where it should be and steady as a rock.
Edited by Cats on Tuesday 1st August 15:43
I had relly skittish handling after putting new 2s on the back with original Asymetrics1s on the front. Had the geometry checked twice and constantly testing tyre pressure, eventually had to do the fronts and it was back to normal again.
I e-mailed GoodYear at the beginning of the year to see if they had any information on mixing 2s and 3s and they eventually came back to say we 'suggest' you change all 4 tyres. As they didn't give any clear indication there would be a problem, I got the impression there was no hard and fast evidence.
Reading the experience from Cats it seems that as the tread pattern is closer in design between the 2s and 3s there isn't the same mis match noticed with the older tyres. Anyone else with any experience of these tyres?
I took the plunge and had a set of Michelin PS4's (255/35) fitted to the rear at the weekend. I decided I didn't want to go with Toyos again - partly because of their poor results in the latest Evo test and partly because they never felt quite 'right' to me.
Initial impressions of the PS4's are good - I was worried that they would make the rear of the car feel stiffer/less compliant, but they don't.
I have only done a few miles so far, so I will report back properly in a few months.
Initial impressions of the PS4's are good - I was worried that they would make the rear of the car feel stiffer/less compliant, but they don't.
I have only done a few miles so far, so I will report back properly in a few months.
Blatmeister said:
My major concern, as a TVR Tuscan newbie, but with a background of owning well set up cars ( Ultima Sports and Spyder ) is that the steering and suspension set up is just dreadful.
My Tuscan was purchased with gas pro shocks and spacers which clearly must help a little and I've yet to check the geometry . From all accounts ( and I have good knowledge of a car with similar spec that has had a full geometry check ) I do not expect any major improvement.
I would potentially look at swapping out the Gaz for something like Protech/Nitron.. My Tuscan was purchased with gas pro shocks and spacers which clearly must help a little and I've yet to check the geometry . From all accounts ( and I have good knowledge of a car with similar spec that has had a full geometry check ) I do not expect any major improvement.
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