tyre options please !

[PYNEY]

hi all

I need new road tyres for the rear of my chim , size 225/50/16 "bridgestone Potenza s-03 fitted at the moment" and I have toyo T1R's on the front
thinking of going for T1R's on the rear so it matches the front but from looking at old threads these tyres have a soft side wall which can give flexing when driving the car hard

so has anyone found a better tyre on the market than a "T1R" that has a thicker side wall , I don't mind paying a bit more for a tyre if its going to be better
I don't want to go for the toyo R1R's great tyre but to much money and not the best lasting tyre out there mileage wise 6'000 to 8'000 max I believe if your lucky ?

cheers keith

[ianwayne]

Mine had Toyo T1Rs all round. The rears have done over 6000 miles since being fitted and still have a good 6 mm of tread, so I'd expect 20k plus out of them. I must add that I've only done 200 miles on them though, they were on the car when I bought it, but I'm very happy with them (245/45 x 16)

[Richard 858]

+1 for the T1R's I have 245/45/16 rear & 225/40/16 front both on 7.5J Imolas. I've done 3,000 on them & a couple of belts round a track / airfield & all ok. I would question why your concerned about wall softness when you are happy with the same tyre on the front ? If it's body roll you're worried about just stiffen up the suspension a bit (if you have adjustables of course).

[SILICONEKID346HP]

Richard 858 said:

+1 for the T1R's I have 245/45/16 rear & 225/40/16 front both on 7.5J Imolas. I've done 3,000 on them & a couple of belts round a track / airfield & all ok. I would question why your concerned about wall softness when you are happy with the same tyre on the front ? If it's body roll you're worried about just stiffen up the suspension a bit (if you have adjustables of course).

Those front tyres are a bit out ! over 20mm smaller diameter ,they must be lost in those arches .

You should of fitted 225/45/16 .

Edited by SILICONEKID346HP on Tuesday 7th January 11:58

[Goaty Bill]

When finally forced to make the move from Bridgestones to Toyos, I was actually blissfully unaware that it had happened.
Having used up 2 sets of SO2s, followed by a set of SO3s, neither were available any longer when the fourth set was required.
I had left the car with the TVR specialist for shocks (already renewed, but being changed again on warranty), tyres, MOT.
In that first week after collecting it, I felt like I had developed into a 'driving God' with amazing suddenness.

Actually it was the T1Rs.
The SO2s and SO3s did grip better, but both gave little if any warning of impending doom when you pushed beyond your or the car's limit.
The T1R's, as it was explained to me long ago, having a slightly softer side wall also give you more warning of a loss of grip. A slower progression from holding to not holding.

In the hands of an expert the SO2/SO3 may well have allowed faster driving, but in my hands I was much faster, more controlled and more confident with the T1Rs.

[PYNEY]

thanks all for the positive comments on the T1R's
I had a lotus Europa a couple of years ago which had T1R's fitted on heavy braking or taking bends at speed you would feel the car roll
which is the last thing I want in the tiv , looks like T1R's it is then with possibly a few extra psi in them to stiffen them up a bit if required

cheers keith

[Richard 858]

SILICONEKID346HP said:

Those front tyres are a bit out ! over 20mm smaller diameter ,they mist be lost in those arches .

You should of fitted 225/45/16 .

Daz, had 45's fitted first (which I still have in the shed) but am experimenting with the 40's. They may look a little small in the arch (if that's what's important !) but by my calculations they give a closer rolling radius to the original 15" wheel on 205/55 tyres, which I believe gives a better turn in etc. Before you ask, I changed to the 16" wheel & tyre combo to give a larger contact area & more tyre options. Still, what do I know, I'm sure you know better & will tell me so ! Incidentally how's the "wheel arch trimming to get your bigger wheels & tyres to fit" coming along ???

[SILICONEKID346HP]

Richard 858 said:

Daz, had 45's fitted first (which I still have in the shed) but am experimenting with the 40's. They may look a little small in the arch (if that's what's important !) but by my calculations they give a closer rolling radius to the original 15" wheel on 205/55 tyres, which I believe gives a better turn in etc. Before you ask, I changed to the 16" wheel & tyre combo to give a larger contact area & more tyre options. Still, what do I know, I'm sure you know better & will tell me so ! Incidentally how's the "wheel arch trimming to get your bigger wheels & tyres to fit" coming along ???

I`m just un lucky ! near side rear catch even with 245`s . I now have the federal RsR`s and love them

215/45/17 and 235/45/17 ,no catching on the front and look great ,the rears are actually wider than the Falken 452`s 245/40/17

They look very well balanced . Still got the other set in the garage.

The car now drives in a straight line for some reason .

Rears 12mm higher than standard and front 17mm

I`m still working on the rear arch ,been to busy moving house

Quinny is running the RsR`s on his 439.5 bhp monster .

Edited by SILICONEKID346HP on Tuesday 7th January 12:08

Edited by SILICONEKID346HP on Tuesday 7th January 12:11

[fatboychim]

I think 225/45/16 is the closest to the original 15" tyres, it's what I fitted.
Handy little site here

http://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=205&amp...

Or just ask Daz, he knows

[Goaty Bill]

PYNEY said:

looks like T1R's it is then with possibly a few extra psi in them to stiffen them up a bit if required

Certainly you have to run them at higher psi than you might get away with using the SO2/SO3.
Front 22. Rear 24 seems to be about right according to most people.
I find 25-26 on the rear tyres works better for me.
A couple of pounds pressure can make a huge difference with these tyres.

[Richard 858]

You're right Andy, next job - brain transplant !

[fatboychim]

Hmmm I'd look elsewhere for advice on that, although I'm sure someone will pop up here offering to have a go!

[QBee]

OP, you have 50 aspect ratio tyres at the moment. And presumably 55 aspect ratio on the front. Everyone else is talking about wider tyres with a 45 or 40 aspect ratio, which is a lower sidewall and so a stiffer tyre

[SILICONEKID346HP]

QBee said:

OP, you have 50 aspect ratio tyres at the moment. And presumably 55 aspect ratio on the front. Everyone else is talking about wider tyres with a 45 or 40 aspect ratio, which is a lower sidewall and so a stiffer tyre

The aspect ratio is percentage of the tyre width so a 45/50/55 and so on could have the same wall height if the tyre is wider with a lower aspect ratio

[ChimpOnGas]

The majority of tyres out there are specifically designed for the average steel bodied four seat car which typically weighs anything from 1500kg to 1800kg.

That's why tyres with a softer sidewall actually work well on a very light 1060Kg sports car like the Chimaera.

Personally I'm a big fan of Uniroyal Rainsports

Mostly because my cousin sells them

[Goaty Bill]

ChimpOnGas said:

Mostly because my cousin sells them

The familial resemblance is quite striking

[Richard 858]

[quote=ChimpOnGas]The majority of tyres out there are specifically designed for the average steel bodied four seat car which typically weighs anything from 1500kg to 1800kg.

That's why tyres with a softer sidewall actually work well on a very light 1060Kg sports car like the Chimaera.

Quite right, I believe that's what the number reference relates to next to the speed rating (i.e. 88W). I can't remember the name of the website but if you search for tyre size references (or similar) it should come up.

[mk1fan]

Was unable to source a T1-R for Tamy as I was told (by more than one 'shop') they've been fully replaced by the T1-S, so went for that.

The annoying thing is that Tamy's previous owner had replaced the other side's tyre and managed to get a T1-R.

I'll migrate over to T1-S all around as the fronts will need doing this year -

[leerdam23]

ChimpOnGas said.....

Personally I'm a big fan of Uniroyal Rainsports

Have you tried the rainsport 3? I quite fancy them as wet/normal road tyres as they are available in 205 55 15 and 225 50 16 for my oz splitrims, and some 888 or other for my 16/17 rims for track...

[ChimpOnGas]

leerdam23 said:

ChimpOnGas said.....

Personally I'm a big fan of Uniroyal Rainsports

Have you tried the rainsport 3? I quite fancy them as wet/normal road tyres as they are available in 205 55 15 and 225 50 16 for my oz splitrims, and some 888 or other for my 16/17 rims for track...

No, but they look a bit weird to me.





Probably a good tyre though?