S1 elise tyres?

[swannynhb]

this has no doubt been discussed a number of times over the years but i was hoping someone could suggest (from their own experience) the best cheapish tyres for the S1 elise? i never really use it in the wet so do i go for toyo r888's? (cant warrant the expense of the yoko lts).

[Gad-Westy]

Kumho K31 Ecsta's. Around £200 for a full set and I really can't fault them (as many other's on Seloc will testify). Good wet and dry tyre and seem to stand up to track work much better than the Toyo T1's. They're not as good as Advans but are probably the next best thing for road driving and are less than half the price, seem to last well as well. Camskill or Black Circles should be able to do a good deal but I managed to get my local fitter to do a full set for fitted for £180. Bargain!

[lamb jiblets]

R888 , fantastic,in the dry and not compleatley terrifing in the wet, cam skill was the best price I found.

[swannynhb]

with the r888 do you have a 225 or 205 on the back? on the fronts do you use a 195/55 or the 195/50?

[fatwomble]

Another for the Kumhos here, on my second set now.

[swannynhb]

fatwomble - am i right in thinking the kumhos your refering to are the k31 that retail for about £40 a corner for the fronts?

[fatwomble]

swannynhb said:

fatwomble - am i right in thinking the kumhos your refering to are the k31 that retail for about £40 a corner for the fronts?

Yes, Kumho Ecsta KU31

[mikey P 500]

For dry use the r888 will be the best option if you like to drive it quite hard and if you don’t cover many miles (unlikely with only dry use with British weather) then cost will be less of an issue. But for daily or all year round use I would also vote Khumos. Great value and very good tyre.

[lamb jiblets]

swannynhb said:

with the r888 do you have a 225 or 205 on the back? on the fronts do you use a 195/55 or the 195/50?

195/50 15 on the front and 225/45 16 on the back.

[swannynhb]

my s1 has 205/50R16 kumhos on the back - they are marked as ecsta SPT, are these KU31's? if i go for the kumhos do i put 185's or 195's on the front. just got the car and need to sort the tyres out before anything else. I'm a little wary of the Kumhos as they are so cheap!

[fatwomble]

swannynhb said:

my s1 has 205/50R16 kumhos on the back - they are marked as ecsta SPT, are these KU31's? if i go for the kumhos do i put 185's or 195's on the front. just got the car and need to sort the tyres out before anything else. I'm a little wary of the Kumhos as they are so cheap!

I have the 195 on the front and 225 on the rear, if you are sticking with the 205 rears you should have 185 fronts

Mine are also marked Ecsta SPT


Do not be wary just because they are cheap, I have used them for 7 trackdays and lots of road miles which have proved that they are good. I have lapped quicker on them than people on Yokohama Advans (although I would like to put that down as driver skill )

[TIPPER]

For road only use you don't need 888s - more grip than you'll ever need on the road.
The best tyre for the S1 is still the Yokohama Advan Neova LTS 195/50 for the front and 225/45 for the rear. These are only available from Lotus dealer or some specialist such as Eliseparts. Budget options? I've got a set of Kuhmos on at the mo and for road only use they're fine although I prefer the Toyo T1-R (I know I'm probably in a minority of one!) once they've covered a good few miles. The thing is that the tyre that works best will be dependant on the springs and dampers you're running. My Nitron shod car with 400/475 springs doesn't (to me) get on with Kuhmos.
If your car is running 205 rears and you want to keep them then you need to fit 185 fronts to maintain the car's handling balance.

[S Works]

TIPPER said:

For road only use you don't need 888s - more grip than you'll ever need on the road.
The best tyre for the S1 is still the Yokohama Advan Neova LTS 195/50 for the front and 225/45 for the rear. These are only available from Lotus dealer or some specialist such as Eliseparts. Budget options? I've got a set of Kuhmos on at the mo and for road only use they're fine although I prefer the Toyo T1-R (I know I'm probably in a minority of one!) once they've covered a good few miles.

You're not alone with anything you've mentioned there. Frankly, the LTS are worth every penny. If the OP is considering 888's, then surely the price differential is negligible?

[Mr_C]

Remember that with R888's you'll need to upgrade to solid toe links (£300 odd a set).

I always us Advan Neova's, there is no better tyre.

[TIPPER]

Mr_C said:

Remember that with R888's you'll need to upgrade to solid toe links (£300 odd a set).

I always us Advan Neova's, there is no better tyre.

I doubt you'd need them on the road (if the toe-links were in good condition) although upgrading the toe-links is well worth while anyway as there have been a few failures (I know of one that was at moderate speed on road tyres on a roundabout!). I know I'm sort of contradicting myself btw but I hope you see what I mean!
With the greatest respect stating that there is 'no better tyre' without reference to intended use is meaningless.

[jimmydiesel]

i have found R888's for trackdays, goodyear F1s winter/general road use to work well

[Mr_C]

TIPPER said:

Mr_C said:

Remember that with R888's you'll need to upgrade to solid toe links (£300 odd a set).

I always us Advan Neova's, there is no better tyre.

I doubt you'd need them on the road (if the toe-links were in good condition) although upgrading the toe-links is well worth while anyway as there have been a few failures (I know of one that was at moderate speed on road tyres on a roundabout!). I know I'm sort of contradicting myself btw but I hope you see what I mean!
With the greatest respect stating that there is 'no better tyre' without reference to intended use is meaningless.

I meant to put 'for road use and the odd track day'

I was recommended to change the toe links for road use too but I guess it's up to the individual and how the car is used.