Just joined the family as an S1 Exige owner. My ownership kicked off with a brand new set of Toyo Proxes T1-S on the back of the car, with the correct spec A039 still on the front. This was advised to the previous owner as it was a woman driver who did not use the car hard nor did she track it.
So what do I do? Are they rubbish? Am I going to have an accident due to a massive loss in grip from moving away from the Lotus specific Yoko ADVAN’s?
I don’t want to throw new tyres away if in reality, there is only a minimal loss of performance, perhaps noticeable to the best of “trackers”!!
I raise the point that I am not a tracker yet, nor qualified at this point to explore the full potential of an S1 Exige. (but with the intention certainly of getting there!!)
I’d love to comment on grip but my recent post will show I have no comprehension of this idea (or is that ideal) LOL!
But seriously, mixed tyres will make things very odd, especially so on track, never had the A039’s so can’t comment but the toyo Proxies are a pretty good tyre, loads of warning, pretty noisey (i.e. will screetch loads before letting go) and nice and progressive when they do start to go… However most on here run A048’s which are a road legal cut slick. Pretty mean stuff!!!
I’d personally say it’d be safe to change to one make all round, if the toyo’s are new then a set for the front would be cheapest (Proabbly about �100 all in ) then you’ve got new matched tyres all round Much better!!!
I’ve used the Toyo’s on track with no problems, not the quickest out there but not a slouch either
But get booked up to a 1stLotus day (www.1stlotus.co.uk /.com IIRC) or somewhere like bedford autodrome where you can get to grips with it in relative safety…
The Exige is a mean beast and a harsh mistress (don’t I know!) and can be pretty brutal on mistakes!
I haven’t tried Toyos, but I do know the A039s are a very grippy tyre. Mixing different makes is a bit of a no-no, and having more grip at the front than the back is a recipe for disaster. I would strongly recommend you get the same tyres all round, and if you drive the car enthusiastically (is there any other way?) I would suggest you invest in Yokos.
If it were me, I’d put A039s on the rear now, and when they’re worn out I’d think about whether I’d like to try a full set of A048s.
Yes, I have owned an �84 Esprit Turbo in pretty prestine condition (had 13,000 miles on it!). No slouch either, although not on par with the technology of today! Understandable I suppose!
I am in a bit of a dilemma as even if I do replace the Toyo�s, I�ll want A048�s and not the 039�s�so I will still have different tyres front to back!
BTW, what is the most competitive price out there for a set of A048�s? That would be useful to know!
I have just moved to Chessington near Surbiton, Surrey so am also keen to learn about any nice local roads that fellow enthusiasts use for �early morning sessions�.
I have just moved to Chessington near Surbiton, Surrey so am also keen to learn about any nice local roads that fellow enthusiasts use for “early morning sessions”.
Welcome Cartman - I am down the road in Kingston so might be up for some early morning runs! I think there is another Exige in Kingston as well and Kingston Uni have one!!
Hi,
I live in surbiton, just bought an S1 exige, will be picking it up in 10 days or so, would appreciate a run out to some nice roads to get to grips with it.
One of the local guy’s had a mixed set and after a few track day’s came and got my old set of yokohama’s as he said the car was atrocious with the mixed set.
In my limited experience the toyo’s are designed for much heavier cars and do not work as well with the light exige.
Personally i’d throw them away and keep the rear in check.
Cartmann, are you perhaps from SA or do i have my knickers in ak knot.
I learned today that the Toyo’s compound is about half as grippy as the A039s (which are almost half as grippy as 48s BTW). I’d strongly advise you not to mix them!
If I was just driving it on the road I’d perhaps put Toyos on the front. But for the track, proper Yoko rubber is VERY much the way to go, it really makes the car.
The best thing is to get another set of wheels and keep one set for trackdays with your Yoko rubber on (which you really should experience in an Exige, as it’s where it belongs).
IDG and the others have said it all, not great to mix, so i’d try and have the same all round. If you do stay with the mix then you need to be careful… but at least you have more grip at the front which i’d prefer.
I actually found that Toyos let go pretty quick in the wet without any warning… even tho most others say they are progressive.
I think you should keep your Toyos in the garage and put some A039’s on the rear… when they wear out you can either put a full set of Toyos on or do something else.
Anyway, enjoy the car and keep coming round here for achat.
Understeer is safer then oversteer, so grippier tyres on the front is surely a bad thing. And if I was learning a car I think I’d start with the lower grip rubber and then switch to the top stuff, rather then giving myself a shock when it won’t go round a corner at anywhere the same speed (although less a problem on the road as finding the limits of the A039s is daft anyway! ).
I wasn’t just thinking of a bit of understeer… but if you lose grip i’d rather be losing the rear than the front… also I HATE understeer. I think the kind of understeer you might be thinking about is the kind that Gavin Kershaw and Co designed into the S2 and that might be fine in a’ lets help folk out here’ kinda way fine but i’m thinking more like …holy eskimo batman when did we move to the icekingdom…
Having lower grip rubber to learn is fine but -in the wet especially- i didnae find the Toyo’s particularly progressive. This is at odds with most other opinions… so maybe its just me.
I really don’t recommend Carttman keeps mixed tyres front and rear, not least because it spoils what this car is all about, but if he does -must be a Yorkshireman - I just think that at least he has most grip on the front and can play a little with the rear end to find out where the grip is and isn’t 'cause the front should stick around pretty well… of course if he gets well out of shpe then the tail is gonna come round anyway… we all know thats a characteristic on 60ish % weight behind yer skull…
i think when Lotus set about designing the S2 they wanted to get rid of the snap-oversteer of the S1, so they build in some (too much for track-day hooligans) understeer.
I’m always happy to be corrected but i think that’s right…
EDIT – BTW i’m talking elises here… so what has that got to do with exiges… don’t know mate…
Tim, any car should understeer a little to get it’s best grip (slip angle and all that jazz) so the S1 would have had at least a little dialed in (because it’s a pigging fabulous race car type thing).
Trust me, after Friday I like understeer a lot more than I did! That oversteer lark can be mighty tricky to control (if VASTLY more fun and rewarding! ).
Having had both the a0-39’s and the toyos on my car I have got a fairly good idea of how they compare.
Firstly, DONT MIX THEM. Seriously, don’t do it, it’s not worth risking the safety of yourself or your car for the sake of a pair of tyres.
Toyo’s and Yoko 39’s are very differnt tyres but both very good. The Toyo is a fast road tyre and probably one of the best fast road tyre out there at the moment. The Yoko’s are really track tires and they are far quicker on the circuit than the Toyo but far worse in bad conditions on the road.
Well those posts have enough info in there for me to make some decisions now! I’ll keep all posted.
JasonR - You are on the money…Durban boy who met you a few years back at Catz PJ’s to catch a ride in your Exige and talk cars. I said I wanted one!!
I was under the impression you had sold yours? Bought another one, or was I wrong?
On other things…Catching up with some of the locals around the area sounds like a great idea for a Sunday morning… Did the A25 from the Leatherhead A243 / M25 roundabouts, ended up in West Horsley and Bell & Colvill for a quick squizz…was a good drive…I love that hill that goes up from the Albury turnoff near Guildford. Anyone know it? Copper country?
Congratulation i am very pleased for you, i would say enjoy it but that goes without saying.
After 3 months of negotiating and several other drives in possible track cars i got Ruan’s silver car, it was the only one close to my previous cars spec. Mine was sold, it is being butchered to go drag racing, brings tears to my eyes.
PS: if you ever sell yours and need to convince your better half you need another one, just break 2 legs in 2 seperate MX accidents and she’ll be begging you to get a toy with 4 wheels again, it worked for me.
Hope you enjoy your new home and many happy miles.