Tyre advice

[ginger steve]

Apologies if this is a numpty question. Currently I'm running a K series Superlight with AVO suspension and circa 210bhp. The car is running on minilights 13x6" front 13x8" rear shod with 888's. On track in the dry its great - massive amounts of grip. once iv generated enough heat. However, on the road I don't find it very progressive and on a recent wet track day it was snapping into oversteer badly.

Would folks suggest moving to a cr500 tyre or similar and would it be best to get the car set up for this type of tyre.

My preference would be to keep the 888's on the minilight rims for dry track days and maybe try and source some Caterham 8 spoke wheels with a more forgiving tyre that would work on wet track days.

Thanks in advance

[DCL]

There are a lot of factors involved, but the CR500 is a light tyre and suits the Caterham, so it is probably the best all-rounder. The little experience I have of 888s is that they are a fantastic when new, but as they wear, they need more work to keep them warm. They are also of a heavier construction and that is never a good thing. If you want a road tyre, my choice would be the CR500.

Edit to add: In terms of set-up, most tyres will work OK if the car is balanced, so if you have problems (and it's not your driving style) it is best to do a review of settings and check there's nothing too extreme.

Edited by DCL on Wednesday 20th November 11:27

[Smitters]

A friend of mine runs 6" CR500s on his Supersport and finds the backend pretty lively in the wet. Castle Combe, which I believe is renowned for being pretty slippery in the wet was quite a handful.

I've run Yokohama A021Rs, albeit with much less power and found them to be significantly better in the wet that A048s, with I believe are the Yoko equivalent of the R888. However, if you're getting to having specific wheels for wet trackdays, if you don't have to drive them on the road, is there any mileage in getting track-specific wets? I know it's the Halfords of the motorsport world to some, but Demon Tweeks appear to have a dizzying array of non-road legal tyres available. Or possibly there is a wet rally tyre aimed at Escorts in the right fitment. They are a fairly light car with rwd, so moderately comparable and in that regard, ought to be road legal too.

[ginger steve]

Thanks guys

Does anyone know of alternative sources to Demon Tweeks for the 8 spoke r300/400 style wheels?

Think I will go for the cr500's

Steve

[JeffC]

having run both and back to back tested them on track I found 888s in medium compound better in both wet and dry conditions over the Cr500s, however in my opinion Cr500s are a much better road tyre though as I found the Toyos very crashy on bumps , I would liken it to driving a Bmw on runflats compared to normal tyres. If you want to stick to one set of rims and can live with the harder ride and use the car on track I would go with 888s or the later Avon zzr tyres , no personal experience but I have heard good things about those too.

[bertie]

ginger steve said:

Thanks guys

Does anyone know of alternative sources to Demon Tweeks for the 8 spoke r300/400 style wheels?

Think I will go for the cr500's

Steve

These guys do w good selection of wheels that fit Caterhams...they do tyres too...

http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/category.php?id_cat...