I'm just looking at options for tyres for a 2003 car with 16" rears.
From the other discussions here the T1-Rs in 195/50R15 and 225/40R16 seem to be the popular choice.
But I was seriously wondering about fitting some Yokohama Neovas as used in the S2 Elises. They're much more expensive (about £400 a set) but are very highly regarded for their extremely progressive nature on break away of grip, and have good wet grip too.
However, they're only available in 195/50R15 (front- that's Ok) and 225/45R16 which is a little taller than standard.
Would this be a problem ....? I'm really looking for tyres that will give balanced handling - is only 30mm size difference front to rear a problem vs 40mm?
Ben,
Havuing passengered with Juansolo at Anglesea running these tyres on his 03 roadster, I'd say they work really well.
very progressive and I could feel that even from teh passenger seat :-) :-) :-)
Cheers Mark,
Sounds good - nice to hear someone has been using them in anger at Anglesea s:D :D s:D
Just on the tyre sizing side and balance - does the standard tyre setup give you understeer (as I'd expect) on the limit - and if so, is this fixed by fitting a 195/50 ..?
Quote from: "BenF"Just on the tyre sizing side and balance - does the standard tyre setup give you understeer (as I'd expect) on the limit - and if so, is this fixed by fitting a 195/50 ..?
Bearing in minbd that I am not an expert in car setup, but my experience is that the '2 will understeer if I am not getting the corner right in terms of line, speed and turn-in. There is very noticeable feedback that the car is not gripping well, through to full-on understeer the more wrong I have got it. This is compared to getting it right, when the front feels planted and grippy and the direction change borders on aggressive. I'm running standard Bridgestones on the front (185/..).
I always felt 185 understeered on the roads let alone on track. Having said that I never experiebnced it with my proxies at Anglesey (I probabaly wasn't going fast enough on my first trackday thoug)
195 helps, but if your going for teh neovas you've increased front an rear sizes so should be back to where you started from.
a couple less PSI up front usually does it.
OK, if I go for the Neova's I'll be ready for a little understeer - as an alternative, 195/50 and 225/40s T1-Rs will probably be in the same ballpark.
I feel a trip down to Elite in Dagenham coming on for a 4 wheel alignment and some tyres ...
Running Neovas would be my one and only reason for using the '03 wheels. Utter, utter fantastic tyres. With your level of experience in driving I'd have no hesitation in recommending that you at least trying them. Not cheap mind s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
Martin, you're a very very bad man s;) ;) s;)
I'd really really like to get a set of them, but I'm thinking I could buy two complete sets of T1Rs for the same price as a set of Neovas.
I have to say I'm wondering about starting off with some T1-Rs and then 'graduating' to some Neovas when the T1-Rs wear out.
On the other hand I could just go for it ... I think I need to make some phone calls to see what kind of price I could pick up a set of Neovas for ..
the problem is 20000 miles or so is a long time to wait for them to wear out.
Quote from: "markiii"the problem is 20000 miles or so is a long time to wait for them to wear out.
Ah yes, but that's
road miles s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
Quote from: "Slacey"Quote from: "markiii"the problem is 20000 miles or so is a long time to wait for them to wear out.
Ah yes, but that's road miles s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
At 30mph on a straight road s:wink: :wink: s:wink:
Quote from: "BenF"I'd really really like to get a set of them, but I'm thinking I could buy two complete sets of T1Rs for the same price as a set of Neovas
And that's why I use the Toyos and not the Neovas.
Mornin' *waves*
http://www.juansolo.demon.co.uk/Mr2/MR21YO.html
(http://www.juansolo.demon.co.uk/Mr2/Mr2AngGoon_800.jpg)
Cheers for that!
I'm just ringing around to check what the current price is for a set of Neovas - I'm tempted to fit a set of T1-Rs though in the meanwhile, and then move onto a set of Neovas ...
On a (just) related note, last Sunday was my first trackday in the Roadster at Bruntingthrope.
I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised by the handling, given the mismatched tyre tyres (A-043s on the rear with A539s on the front ). I put an extra 4psi of air in all around and to be honest I was expecting understeer to dominate the handling.
But I have to say even with the standard 185 / 215 tyre sizes, the car felt very neutral, balanced and controllable.
Most of the time I was taking it easy, learning the car, but had a go at provoking understeer and oversteer on 'safe' corners to see what it did. When the rear was moving around it felt 'friendly' and was easy to gather up. I've not checked the 4 wheel alignment of the car yet, but subjectively it feels OK to me.
It was also interesting comparing it to my trackday '84 Mk1 MR2 which was there as well - the feel of the car was very similar, but the Mk1 rolled a lot more in corners and needed to be hustled through chicanes - the old suspension and springs would have played a part here though
The Roadster felt flatter and more able to flick through the chicanes, but on the pictures that I've got from the day it actually was deceiving me - it was quite well rolled over! (see pic below)
The Roadster's brakes though were fantastic in comparison with the Mk1's. The steering was great too, as you can tell from using the car on the road - you do have to be very smooth with inputs though as the steering is so responsive. In terms of raw speed, coming out of a corner following a Mk1 and accellerating down a straight and through a corner doing 40mph to 110mph it was completely even - which suprised me as I thought the extra 20BHP of the roadster would make more of a difference.
In comparison, I'd personally say the Mk1 though was more confidence inspiring for a complete novice with very progressive break away of grip, but the Mk3 was more rewarding allowing you to brake later and having better overall balance.
All in all, very good - I'm looking forwards to getting the turbo kit fitted shortly and scaring some Mk2 Turbos s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:
(http://home.btconnect.com/benf2/Mk1/bruntingthorpe/DSC_3148.JPG)