Turbo Owners who track their cars - what wheels and tyres?

Anonymous · December 5, 2007, 12:24

Hi all, my car is runing SP Stage 1, TTE Turbo, exhaust @197 bhp. I'm running stock (pre-facelift) wheels and 195/50/15, 205/50/15 T1R tyres. Suspension is braced as per TTE, plus FSB, (and just fitted Whitleline Front ARB and Tein SSs.)

I have been through all the threads about merits of 17" versus 15" and the various tyre options but I'm looking for someone who is regularly using their Turbo on the track to let me know what they have tried and what their opinion is.

Last month at the Nurburgring in wet & cold conditions I was having to be very sensitive on the throttle to avoid oversteer - conversely with the newly fitted FSB it was understeering much less, so I was having quite an exciting time (and great fun of course!) The Ring in the wet is notoriously slippery so I'm not reacting solely to that but it has got me thinking, always a dangerous thing...

My question is am I now running tyres that are too narrow for the power - I like the handling to be quite 'drifty' as opposed to oodles of mechanical grip but I wonder if there is a combination of rim and tyre that ups the grip to cope with the extra power without losing that lovely MR2 poise through the corners?

I have noted Juansolo's view about fitting T888s or similar without roll protection and agree wholeheartedly so wouldn't want to go that route (although a cage is in the offing) but I am very conscious of the soft sidewalls of the T1Rs and the amount of shoulder scrubbing after a day on a short circuit (less so at the Ring).

If I go the SP 17" route or similar will I achieve my aim (appearance is totally secondary - I prefer as stock a profile as possible, it's more fun toasting 964s that way....)?

Thoughts, and if I have missed a key thread then please point it out!

Richard

Anonymous · December 5, 2007, 12:31

Get yourself some 16" post facelift rears and then run teh Advan Neovas, as designed for the S1 Elise. Trust me, absolutely nothing comes close to those in terms of everyday usability combined with absolute feel for track work.

Personally I see no issue at all with running 888/048s on the MR2 at all, and they're ideal if you want absolute grip on track. As you say you prefer feel near the limit rather than full-on grip though, I'd suggest they're probably not for you. They'd make you a hell of a lot quicker round the track though.

markiii · December 5, 2007, 12:41

yep advan neovas are what you want

Anonymous · December 5, 2007, 15:13

Thanks. That seems pretty clear! I know where I can get the tyres, where is the best place to get 16" rears?

markiii · December 5, 2007, 15:18

Toyota if you want to spend £400 per wheel

other than that ebay? or here if you get lucky and someone is selling some

ninjinski · December 5, 2007, 18:49

Quote from: "markiii"yep advan neovas are what you want

Fully agree Im on my second set and wont go back - well worth it!!

markiii · December 5, 2007, 18:54

2nd set already, my god man thats quick :-) :-) :-)

mrsmr2 · December 6, 2007, 09:26

It's because he's a nutter s:)

s:)

heathstimpson · December 6, 2007, 11:15

I rate the SP 17's s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

markiii · December 6, 2007, 11:31

you ever tracked it?

ninjinski · December 6, 2007, 12:43

Quote from: "markiii"you ever tracked it?

me nope just on the A406, A40, M25 and M4 s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

mrsmr2 · December 6, 2007, 19:41

Yes, but you tracked it before the turbo.

I have still have a clip of you spinning in front of me s:D

s:D and another one with you going faster than me on track s:(

s:(

ChrisHumes · December 6, 2007, 21:18

some alloys on ebay at the mo 16"

ninjinski · December 7, 2007, 09:26

Quote from: "mrsmr2"Yes, but you tracked it before the turbo.

I have still have a clip of you spinning in front of me s:D s:D and another one with you going faster than me on track s:( s:(

Very true thanks for reminding me LOL s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:lol: :lol: s:lol: s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

Anonymous · December 7, 2007, 10:38

I have 16" wheels courtesy of MR2ROC now I'm about to order the tyres - are buyatyre.com (via bookatrack.com) still the favoured source - 94 for a front, 124 for a rear? Any other options, it doesn't appear on most peoples' stock list?

Thanks for the help and advice thus far.

markiii · December 7, 2007, 11:08

other than them eliseparts are teh only other source I found

Anonymous · December 7, 2007, 15:50

I'm pretty sure that every Lotus dealer will be able to get hold of them too, although you'll pay dealer prices.

markiii · December 7, 2007, 15:50

god yes

eliseparts have been teh cheapest for me every time yet.

Anonymous · December 7, 2007, 18:52

Quote from: "markiii"eliseparts have been the cheapest for me every time yet.

Eliseparts list a full set of Advan Neovas at £384.95+VAT (£452.32) - not sure if that includes shipping or not.

BaT sell them for £*** inclusive of VAT and shipping :-) :-) :-)

Great tyres BTW - I run them on the elise all year round for road & track. I used to use the A048R's but the price difference and speed at which you need to replace them (for me) wasn't worth the extra grip.

Jonny
BaT

(mod - your price has been edited out until this is confirmed or otherwise as a commercial sale)

Liz · December 7, 2007, 18:58

Quote from: "jleroux"BaT sell them for £*** inclusive of VAT and shipping :-) :-) :-)

Jonny
BaT

Did you miss this bit on the forum?

** All commercial sales MUST be approved by the committee BEFORE being posted. Please contact 'Liz' via PM to approve the content. Commercial sales that have not been approved face deletion***

So, as you work for BaT - I take it that this is a shameless plug and also IMHO a commerical sale - funny how you join today and then this is your first post..please correct me if I am wrong. s:? :? s:?

Anonymous · December 7, 2007, 19:03

shameless is a harsh word - I did think it may be of interest to the members given the topic in discussion - it's also correcting some mis-infomation about my companys pricing.

feel free to censor it if it causes offence - my main business is track days not tyre sale so if I wanted to spam forums for commercial gain i'd be doing it about track days, not tyres.

Jonny
BaT

Anonymous · December 7, 2007, 19:10

Quote(mod - your price has been edited out until this is confirmed or otherwise as a commercial sale)

how utterly pathetic - who's interests do you think you are protecting? the members, the moderators or the clubs? get some perspective - this is hardly a spam attack - i've replied (on topic) with my own personal opinion and experience of the product in question - correcting someone who has spouted mis-information to your members.

are eliseparts sponsors of this forum? if so, does that give them the right to lie to your membership about pricing?

feel free to delete my account - i've obviously overstepped the mark and won't be rushing back!

Jonny
BaT

Liz · December 7, 2007, 19:28

Where did eliseparts post a price?

You posted their price and yours which is cheaper..what am I missing?

Anonymous · December 9, 2007, 11:04

I ended-up buying them from Buyatyre, they worked out at 444 for a set versus 452 from Eliseparts. Both include delivery. BaT were very fast to respond and happy to be flexible around delivery arrangements which is important for me.

My 16" rears are now on their way south from Yorkshire and new tyres arrive same day so we are nearly set for Bedford on the 22nd - very excited. Only hope it isn't covered in ice as it was the last time I went!

Thanks to all for their contribution; as an occasional user of the forum it really demonstrates the value - good depth of experience and knowledge plus a willingness to share. Plus a great source of used parts! Cheers.

Richard

markiii · December 9, 2007, 12:33

Rich if you have teh opportunity get them nitrogen filled as well

didn't need to adjust my pressure in 6 months and 2 trackdays :-) :-) :-)

and I suggest dropping teh pressures a couple of PSI alround from stock, sidewalls on teh neova are very very hard