I figured I’d ask here as well since you’ve all got far more experience with these cars than we do. I’ve only picked up my (fed) S2 Exige ten days ago and am already shopping for new tires. Unfortunately, the LTS ones are presently in short supply in the States.
Although far too late, I’ve come to realize that the pressures were too high and my geo may be a bit suspect (cupping a bit in the rear) - is this what’s to be expected from the A048s? She’s not even been on the track!
I’m planning to have the geo set and have her corner balanced when the new rears go on.
You’re running your tyres overinflated.
The recommended tyres pressures are for the UK weather and short stints that don’t heat the tyre, therefore you’d be safe with 29 psi at the rear.
BUT in the US, for YOUR weather and YOUR roads and YOUR driving style, the tyres are effectively running too hot, and that (as pointed out already) is balooning your tyres. Less grip and more wear in one strip only.
Changing gauges won’t do anything. You need to change pressures.
I wasted a couple of sets of Yokos A048’s until I learnt MY correct pressures:
General road 21F-23R psi
Cold road 22F-24 psi
Track starting point: 19F-19R psi (and then I adjust/drop according to pyrometer temps)
I’d recommend you DO NOT use Lotus recommended pressures, they’re made for numpties only (liability purposes).
You’re better off understanding your car/driving/road/conditions.
Considering that your 700 miles shold be running in miles and that the pressures may well have been those set by the dealer, then I would consider going back to them and seeing if they will make a sizeable contribution to a new set.
I’m trying to find a set of A048 LTS rears as the fronts still look very good. I’ll keep the other options in mind for future reference though.
The Lotus recommended pressures certainly seem silly now - afraid I’m learning an expensive lesson regarding this class of tire.
On a positive note: I called Yokohama US today to ask for assistance finding a set and they’ve asked that I take the car by an authorized Yokohama dealer to have them looked at. No telling what may come of that, but the man I spoke with seemed very concerned that they’d worn down so quickly with street use.
bit late and you seem to have advice from lots of others, i agree with the opinions which say Too High pressure (assume you measured ‘cold’ ??) I’d recommend you look for around 20psi frnt and 23psi rear COLD but then have a look at pressure after a spirited drive - they shouldn’t be much above the 23F 26R if they are then adjust to suit.
I also think your geo looks to have insufficient -ve camber… and/or the wrong toe.
I’ve taken the car to a Yokohama dealer and in their words, “Yup, no point in tread gauging them - they’re bald.” A few phone calls later and I’ve got a set of LTS A048 rears on the way to me courtesy the fine folks at Yokohama. They’ve exceeded my expectations on all counts, doing far more than I ever expected. Funny though, they asked if I’d had it on the track yet - as if to imply there’s no question that it would end up there.
I’ve had a go at measuring the rear toe on the garage floor. From wheel to wheel, I came up with 4.03 degrees total toe in. I could be a bit off, so I calculated it again with a large margin of error and still arrived at 2 degrees total toe in. Yes… that’s degrees!
In hindsight, it’s all adding up to toe being off: I’m told she goes a bit sideways over bumps (by someone following), there’s cupping around the grooves (like a well worn front motorcycle tire), and the cold tires gave an awful squeal when I turned while backing her out the other morning to go to the tire shop.
As soon as the new rears get here, she’s off to the dealer for mounting them up and having the geo checked. Been talking a bit with Lotus and am hoping they’ll cover the geo (a non-warranty item here) - provided an ECU dump doesn’t show clutch dumps and smokey burnouts, which it won’t.
Hmm well if your alignment is out that much it’s not surprising they didnt last long. Depending where you are in the colonies will make some difference on the preferred street temps. I run mine at lower pressures as a pyro shows them to be overinflated, but we are at 4500’ cooler air but hotter tarmac. You’ll be surprised how much better the car will feel with a correct alignment.
Indeed - I went for a drive yesterday evening while it was still sunny and hot out, came home, and set them hot. I’ll definitely be keeping a very close eye on them.
I appreciate all the help and recommendations.
Front camber wasn’t touched and is set at:
L -0.3�
R -0.4�
Front toe (before → after):
L 0.12� → 0.00�
R 0.11� → 0.00�
Caster (also untouched):
L 4.0�
R 3.7�
Rear camber (before → after):
L -1.5� → -1.2�
R -1.8� → -1.5�
I’d have preferred camber set more aggressively, but the dealer is charging it back to Lotus, so I’ve little say. I left very strict instructions that if I would have to pay for it, that they were to call me and I’d give them my spec.s over the phone.
And they’ve only scratched one wheel doing it all.
The rear camber change will most likely be due to them changing the toe, like you mention… it could probably do with a wee bit more, esp at the rear… but it’ll be night and day driving it now… no?