Tyres again (sorry) - go with the obvious choice or...........

[TdM]

I agree with Mik, this does pose an interesting point though. The car was originally specced on Pirelli Pzero, which from experience are rock solid on the tyre wall. They then expected a higher pressure than I run on Michelin.

Might have been OK on the 18/19 combo with a higher sidewall and the original cars also had slightly softer suspension (softer bushes and smaller anti-roll bar at the rear) but surely wasn't a great match for the later suspension setup and larger wheels. I haven't driven one on original tyres but it does seem logical that they would be too stiff (though very direct I'm sure!).

[Cdm2018]

I had my rears inflated at shell garage and the gauge thing set at 34 but after my first hard run out with a lotus group the reading on the car  was 36 

I know hard drive will increase the psi but it was a very cold day 3-4c , however the ride was a bit rough on the old spine ?

[pat_t]

I just ordered the new highly rated Continental Sportcontact7 for my 400 so will report back once they're on! 

[jerzybondov]

I’ve got a set of the Sport Contact 7s on my Evora S - but not had a chance to have a proper drive with them yet!

 

[Phaeton91]

On 05/04/2023 at 21:36, pat_t said:

I just ordered the new highly rated Continental Sportcontact7 for my 400 so will report back once they're on! 

Picking up this thread and also @jerzybondov - how are you finding the continentals?

I’m getting a bit concerned about my front tyres.  There is still loads of tread but they are dated 2015!  Starting to see some very slight cracking in between read blocks and want to get them changed before the summer.  
 

I still have good PSS on the back, so will likely go PS4S front but open to other suggestions too.

[Cdm2018]

Check out the you tube guy who does a load of tyre reviews can’t recall his name but if you search tyre reviews he will come up with big view numbers 

my PSS & PS4s are still going good after 2 years and 20k hopefully be another 7-8 k before changing ?

[EuropaSman]

https://www.tyrereviews.com/

[jerzybondov]

11 hours ago, Phaeton91 said:

Picking up this thread and also @jerzybondov - how are you finding the continentals?

I’m getting a bit concerned about my front tyres.  There is still loads of tread but they are dated 2015!  Starting to see some very slight cracking in between read blocks and want to get them changed before the summer.  
 

I still have good PSS on the back, so will likely go PS4S front but open to other suggestions too.

The Contis have been a revelation. Haven’t had the opportunity to push them right up to the limit of grip - but the feel they give is much better than what I had one before (Avon on front, Yoko on back). It feels like it’s sharpened up the already sharp handling by another 20%.
 

Ride comfort also improved, as is cabin noise and fuel economy. Very happy!

[pat_t]

I agree, they're excellent better in every single objective and subjective way with the possible exception of wear. I can tell they're soft and whilst I've not done enough miles yet to gauge the wear, reading online reports from other brand forums it sounds like they don't last anywhere near as long as MPSS.

 

Given how much better the SportContact7s are and they fact I will track the car reasonably often anyway I've factored this in and don't care though!! 

[JimH]

Text of an email from Lotus to a member of the Lotus Cars club of Sweden in March 2016 [Source : http://www.lccs.nu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6023&start=45] :

Further to your recent enquiry, I have spoken to our Ride and Handling Engineers and as a result I am pleased to be able to report that we have conducted a series of tire assessments that were completed using an Evora S at the Michelin proving ground in France and our own test track, fitted with 235/35/19 and 275/30/20 Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres.

These tests used the standard Evora pressures of Front 2.4 bar Rear 2.6 bar. The tires performed well and were considered an acceptable alternative to the Pirelli Corsa LS.

These tires were also originally installed on the Evora GTE. (with 380ps engine) and during our tests, the overall tire performance was very good, with predictable and linear grip levels in both wet and dry.

Therefore based on this information we feel that the Michelin Pilot Super Sport (non-branded) 235/35/19 91Y XL and 275/30/20 97Y XL are an acceptable alternative to the Pirelli Corsa LS tire used on Evora S vehicles, with no modifications or alterations to existing suspension geometry settings being required.

I hope this helps.


Yours sincerely,


Neil Turner – Customer Services & Warranty Manager
LOTUS CARS LIMITED, Hethel, Norwich, Norfolk, NR14 8EZ, England

 

Of course, these have been superseded by the PS4S (since 2017) but at least there was an alternative "official" recommendation.....

[Phaeton91]

Thanks for the comments.

After much deliberation, a few hours of you tube and same on various forums I’ve gone with Goodyear F1 Supersport on the front in place of my 7 year old (with plenty of tread) PSS.

Fitted yesterday (Tyres on the Drive who I can recommend), I had a run down to Thruxton this morning.

Immediate observation is that there is a substantial difference in feel between these and the Michelins.  This manifests in significantly more stable steering on any road surface and the crazy tram lining of the PSS is gone whether on motorways or a/b roads.  The steering wheel no longer moves continually in my hands. I’m not entirely sure if this is good or bad yet.  I don’t think I’m losing important feel but I guess I’ll work that out over time but it is certainly a bit more grown up now. 

I still need to play around with pressures etc. 

In terms of decision making, I had it down to Conti 7, PS4S, PSS and the Goodyear. The biggest swing factor was the tyre reviews test where the Conti 7 won, but the presenter gave an unequivocal recommendation for the Goodyear on anything that either sees a track or is a dry weather sports car.  

Incidentally, my trip to Thruxton was on their wet painted skid pan in my car.  Objective was to finally work out what the sport and race buttons do, plus to get a feel for how the car moves once grip is completely lost, which it regularly was.  I’ll write up my thoughts later.

 

[jerzybondov]

Looking forward to those thoughts on the skidpan!

[j141]

Just a heads up Costco now do PS4S in 19/20 cheapest I could find: