Front tyres

[Paul Coleman]

I need to get some tyres for the front of my car and I was looking here... http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?s_p=Summer%20tyres-205-60-R-14-H&one_size=205_60_R_14&dsco=110&m_s=3&sowigan=So&kategorie=6&ranzahl=4&Speed=H&suchen=1

for no other reason than they came up in a Google search. There are a few makes on offer including Falken, Nankang and Nexen. Does anybody have any recommendations?

 

I'm not going to use it on a track and I'm not going to drive everywhere like a lunatic at 100mph, just sedate driving in good weather on a sunny day.

 

Thanks, Paul.

[peteyg]

Don't you need 195/60 for the S1?

 

I can recommend the Nexens. Been pleased with them but have found you need to pump them up a little higher than the 18psi the manual suggests. I have them on 22psi and it makes quyite a difference to grip. The Falkens were horrible, stay well away!

 

Pete

[Paul Coleman]

Pretty sure they're 205/60 front and 205/70 rear? They don't have a Nexen offering for the rears on that website. My rears are actually brand new but must be getting on for 10 years old.

 

Cheers, Paul.

[peteyg]

I think there's no reason you can't run 205/60 on the front but originally they were 195/60 on the S1. Rears are a bugger. My Fuldas are coming up to 7/8 years old but they're no longer available. There are no matching sets for front and rear available as far as I know. I think I'm going to go for the Toyos on the back when it comes to replacement time in the near future unless they've sorted out the right size in thethe Michelin XWX for the front so I can get a matching set and close to the original dunlop pattern look.

 

Pete

[marcbria]

Originally they were 205/60 front and 205/70 rear. There is quite a bit of confusion regarding this since later models had 195 front.

[winners]

Hi all

Never bought Tyres for my car. Any views changed since this post was last updated. Nexens still available for front but rear is less clear.

Mark

[peteyg]

Not much has changed.

[greentengu]

If you are willing to go to a 195 front, maybe try:

Kumho Solus KR21. 195/65/14 front & 205/70/14 rear

Falken SN211 195/65/14 front & 205/70/14 rear

Scott

[esprit22]

Considering new tyres for the Esprit, Bf Goodrich do 235/60/15 rear and 205/60/15 fronts in matching tread with the raised white letters. Would there be any noticeable difference fitting the 205's in replace of the original 195's? 

[Brainy]

I have just replaced all 4 tyres on the car as part of the re commissioning after it had sat in Lotus for 4 years. Scott gave me a set of part worn NCTs with car but they were pretty old (1992) and as I plan to use my car I did not take the risk. I did a lot of research around brands and sizes and spoke to Longstone tyres and Camskill who were both very helpful and knew their stuff. Although when I told the guy at Longstone it was a Lotus he said "as long as its not an SI I am sure we can help!"

 

I came to the point where I could find a matching set of tyres if I was willing to go away from the recommended 205/60. I had thought that going to 195/60 would the best as there are a few matching sets but actually when you use a tyre size calculator

(www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php) there is quite a lot of difference. As someone told me Lotus are engineered not designed so the tyre size should not be messed with.

 

In the tyre guys opinion the wrong size tyres but match tread/brand would effect the handling more than a different tread pattern front and rear, especially as modern tyres have improved so much and the Lotus is pretty gentle on tyres compared to a 1.5t turbo diesel.

 

I had two choices Falken FK07U on the rear and 2E912 on the front. Or Nexen CP661 on the front and CP641 on the rears.  The guys at Camskill who sell a lot said that by brand Flaken is probably a bit better than Nexen who were budget but now have moved into Mid. BUT the FK07U is a old non developed tyre that has a terrible rating compare to the 2E912 where as the Nexens are only a development of one another.

 

I bought the Nexens (which I found as cheap as £160 for 4 online delivered) and they look great not at all out of context with the car and the tread is very very close match front and rear. Plus they are a modern advanced tyre which must be the better than the technology 37 years ago! I am going to put at least 2500 miles on the car this year so I will tell you how they perform.

 

One small ray of light is that the only other classic car with 205/60s is the first generation Celica. I am working in Japan at the moment and I have asked my contacts out here to see whats available.

 

If anything comes up I will put a post out in case we want to ship a load back if there is a matching set of something good.

 

I hope this helps and saves someone the time I spent researching the subject! When I get a chance I will take a pic of both front and rear and post it.

 

Matthew

[jonroberts]

Great info, thanks Matthew. The Nexens are listed as H and T rated which is a fair bit lower than the (unobtainable) V rating. Did you need to clear it with your insurers ? 

[Brainy]

Great info, thanks Matthew. The Nexens are listed as H and T rated which is a fair bit lower than the (unobtainable) V rating. Did you need to clear it with your insurers ? 

I had not even thought about it and as a man that works in insurance I was happy that I had decreased the risk by buying newer tyres and that I would only cruise at 80 isn as a vMax with this lovely car!  I will makes some discrete inquiries about whether that would cause an issue in the event of a claim.

 

Knowing how the insurance world works I am confident that you could demonstrate you had made the right decision based upon the best expert advice at that time.

 

Let see if I find anything good out here in Tokyo!

[peteyg]

I asked the insurance question and was told that it wasn't a problem. I explained that V rated tyres were unavailable in the correct sizes. But it is probably worth mentioning it so that they have it on record.

 

Personally I wouldn't drop below an H rated tyre but I guess it depends how often you have trips to the autobahn as to whether you'll be doing the necessary speeds.

 

Pete

[Paul Coleman]

I've been looking at this recently and I'm going to go with Nankang on the front and rear. Does anybody have any experience with these tyres?

 

My main reason is that I have a pair on the rear that are new so I just have to buy the fronts and it seems you need to match front and rear if you can?

[Bibs]

If you've already got them on the rear can't you judge for yourself what they'll be like?

[peteyg]

What sizes are you using Paul? I wasn't aware you could get a matching set all round int he correct sizes? Am thinking about Nankangs on the front soon.

 

Pete

[Paul Coleman]

If you've already got them on the rear can't you judge for yourself what they'll be like?

No, I've never driven the car!

 

What sizes are you using Paul? I wasn't aware you could get a matching set all round int he correct sizes? Am thinking about Nankangs on the front soon.

 

Pete

205/60R14 for the front and 205/70R14 for the rear as per the manual. There are a few choices to get matching front and rear...

Nexens, Falkens and Nankang. Initially I was going to go for Nexens but the rears are only available with a T speed rating and I was aiming for H. But having looked at my rears which are brand new and have never seen the road they look in pretty good shape so I was thinking about keeping them and matching the fronts.

 

Paul.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Paul Coleman

[marcbria]

Has any one looked at Federal SS657 they are available in both original sizes 205/60R14 and 205/70R14

 

If I can find a set locally I think I may buy them.

[gvy]

Hi Brian,

 

I don't know regarding my esprit, but I have some Federal SS731 185/70R13 86H on my other oldie.

It is an 1970  Opel GT  but with a pimped 2.2 injection engine 140hp  instead of the factory 1.9l 90hp

That GT only weights 970kg so it is fast but its roadholding qualities and steering reactions come not near those of my esprit S2.2.

 

Anyway I have driven it for some time with cooper cobra GTS and General XP2000 tires 205/50/13 and that was really scary, really not good. But since I mounted the federals things got just fine. It became a different car.Much better grip.

 

 

 

Watch out:

 

The federal SS657 205 70 R14 are T rated : 190km/u

The federal SS657 205 60 R14 are H rated : 210km/u

 

I would choose tires that are H rated.

You don't find V rated these days in these measures.

 

Geert

Edited May 11, 2015 by gvy

[giorgio67]

Pneumatici KENDA Kaiser KR-20

205/60 R14 88V   available here in Italy and V rated, Kenda is a part of the Toyo brand.

Fulda Carat Assuro205/70/14 95 V are still available here and in EC, not easy to find but they are good and you will have a full V rated set front and rear.

[marcbria]

Hi Geert,

 

Given the age of our cars, are T and H rated tires really that big a concern? I'm certainly never going to be taking mine up to those types of speeds and I have no plans for track days. I appreciate the need for a good amount of over engineering. Realistically I'm unlikely to exceed 120km/h in my S1. 70km/h extra seems like a lot to me. Although I've never actually taken it over 80km/h yet as it keeps braking down and catching on fire 

 

Brian M.

[gvy]

Brian,

 

I try to stick with H rated. I don't care about V rated.

 

I don't want to lose my drivers licence, but on occasions I have gone past 180km/u, just because....stupid I know and no fun also.

Mine is driving very stable at speeds past 140km/u unless when there is a lot of wind.It is very sensitive to windspeeds

Most of the time I am doing B roads between 60km/u and 90km/u

I don't do track days.

I guess a good sticky T rated tire will do the job fine, but then it is not safe to search its real limits, should you suddenly feel the urge ....

[marcbria]

Haha, yes those urges to see if can go just a bit faster do suddenly over come you don't they = )

[Brainy]

Hi Geert,

 

Given the age of our cars, are T and H rated tires really that big a concern? I'm certainly never going to be taking mine up to those types of speeds and I have no plans for track days. I appreciate the need for a good amount of over engineering. Realistically I'm unlikely to exceed 120km/h in my S1. 70km/h extra seems like a lot to me. Although I've never actually taken it over 80km/h yet as it keeps braking down and catching on fire 

 

Brian M.

It is worth remembering just how light the S1 is compared to the cars being fitted with these tyres now!

[marcbria]

Hi Brainy, 

 

What impact do you think the weight would have on the speed rating of the tires?

 

Brian