Right after a very wet day at Silverstone I can comment the A048’s are a bloody nightmare in standing water of any depth.
Yes they’re progressive in the damp and not too bad when a bit wet but when it starts to rain properly I did not enjoy aquaplaning down the hanger straight well into three figures or coming out or Priory backwards on to the start/finish straight !!
Of course some of it’s down to driver ability (or lack of it) and I do like a bit of sideways action but for high speed circuits my preference will be for a tyre that can cut through the standing water … so have put the A039’s on for Brands on Monday to give me a reasonable back to back comparison.
Just thought I’d update the thread … as it is all down to peronal preferences I’m not ungrateful to those who posted the A048’s were fine (they were until got really wet) - just not for me !!
At those sorts of speeds, a light car & any wide tyres, you’ll find it a struggle to keep the car on the black stuff!
Tip - drive the car with your “fingertips” in the wet - don’t grip the steering wheel like you would in the dry, & ,of course, brake & steer smoothly & progressively.
Cheers Mr P - hear what you say about the light touch and normally do but was really trying to find out what the 48’s were capable of when it got very wet where I had space to do so safely on a very nice wide bit of blackstuff.
I used to run either Advan Neovas or A038’s on the Elise and got very good at deciding which tyre to use depending on how wet it was going to be. I wanted to know if same was true of the Exige or whether it was really possible to have a tyre perform OK/well in the wet as well as be so fantastic in the dry as the A048s are.
My opinion is the A048 is that it’s much better than the A038 but not still not to be used when there is any danger of standing water (i.e. on a motorway or fast A road) for me to be comfortable with it.
Like I said I’m not complaining as each to their own so will give the 39’s a try.
Have also got through full set of pads (Mintex 1144’s) in 3,000 miles and a set of front discs. So have now gone for the Pagis RS14’s and set of the EBC Turbo Groove Discs on the front and already the braking feels better but a bit more bedding in needed before Monday so oh dear will have to go out early tomorrow morning.
Truth is I’ll probably be trying harder as I know Brands well and have done it a few times in the wet in the Elise so will be fully committed - still treat paddock with respect though !
Ive only just got some decent tyres on mine as when I bought it, it came with some right cheap budget things
I got hold of a good set of used A039’s but cant believe how good they.
I had a very scary moment in my Elise a couple of months after getting it, ending up almost backwards round a wet bend I somehow kept it on the road but I think it was more luck than judgement!
Even though I always kept it on the P Zeros it always felt lose in the wet and as Pesky says I found myself driving it with my fingertips.
I do use my Exige for daily use but hope to start doing some trackdays next year. I like the look of the 48’s but wonder what they would be like in the wet everyday.
Im so impressed with 39’s though I’ll stick to them at the moment.
Juat came back from Knockhill which was VERY wet.
I had not seen rain like that since I was in the south of Mexico. The car was aquaplaning all over on my (very worn) A048’s.
So, I agree David, fairly ok in the damp, but not when it’s shiny with standing water. The fastest cars were the heaviest ones with the skinniest tyres.
not fun going up the straight and almost spinning there, car moving sideways A LOT
Checkered flag came in 1/2 hour before the end, went to ask why to Ian (Forrest): safety reasons, too much rain. He had seen a few car (mine included) sliding in the straight
But A039’s wouldn’t be of mch help in that case, you’d need skinny rain tyres.
Uldis is Ian Forrest the guy who was part of the Sky TV E Type rebuilding project? - he took 10 classic cars out around Knockhill with their owners as passengers? - brilliant TV - one of the owners commenting thro’ gritted teeth that ‘My Hillman Imp Sport isn’t used to being driven this fast’ - absolute classic
Uldis - Hope you had as much fun in the wet as I did then - sounds like it !! If weights the bets thing then maybe I should just go and eat some more pies before a wet day out…
I’ll report back after Brands but jusy had 3 hours out this morning on some quite a slippy roads beding the new pads and discs in and I LOVE THIS CAR !!!
After a very wet day at Brands I thought I’d update this thread.
The A039’s were great in the running stream that was Brands at times and far better at cutting through the standing water - not so good at cutting through the oil after a flaming (literally) engine failure from an MGF but then nothing would be
As far as the tyres are concerned when it started to become only damp they performed I think equally as well as the A048’s and it was only when we had a very few laps with some dry line did I think the A048’s would have been better.
Im summary;
Dry - has to the A048’s
Wet - has to be the A039’s
Damp - take whatever.
But then I’m sure you all knew that and I’m teaching granny to suck eggs but it’s been interesting for me to compare and decide.
Now need another set of wheels to make swapping easier - any offers ???
Toyos also perform well on the wet (but suck in the dry)
Uldis
It might be that I need to play around with tyre pressures but i’m on Toyos at the rear at the mo’… IMO they ain’t better that a039’s (wet or dry)… well they are better than the a039’s i had but then again i’m sure a048’s would be better than those… except your a048’s…
I wanted to keep it a secret, but… I am getting a set of Colway Traxtars today.
I’m going to be trying them at Oulton. They are different sizes, 205 and 235 to be able to get the stiff carcass, and they have water channels!
Seeing how well Tut and the others go on the Maxsports, I’m anxious to see how these behave in the track.
Can’t be any worse than my (shot) A048’s
Competition bred from success on British race circuits, the new Colway Traxtar offers track day drivers high performance and affordability. Produced by C-Tyres Ltd, the manufacturers of Colway brand quality retreads, the Traxtar has been developed from experience gained supplying tyres for the Porsche 924 racing series over the past four seasons, and from the company’s long success in rallying. Featuring a special two-stage rubber compound developed with Cooper Avon, the new Colway is available in most popular sizes, to fit wheel diameters from 13 ins to 18 ins.
Available only in matched sets for optimum performance, the Traxtar’s compound structure allows the tyres to reach their proper working temperature in only one or two laps of an average length circuit. Additionally, all the tyres are buffed on computer-controlled machines to provide the ideal tread depth (approx 4mm) for fast lap times in wet and dry conditions. Although Traxtar is road legal and E-marked, C-Tyres do not recommend the tyre for everyday road use as the two-stage, competition-inspired, compound requires hard track day driving to achieve optimum grip.
The new tyre benefits from Colway’s long success in motor sport. The brand has been a top choice for rallymen for over 15 years, and in 1999 became the first (and, to date, only) retread to be accepted by the Motor Sports Association for circuit racing on British tracks. Competitors in the highly popular Porsche 924 racing championship report that their Colway control tyres have resulted in improved lap times compared with the previous make used in the series. It is also not uncommon for the championship winner to have used the same set of Colways for a complete season, over 12 events and hundreds of competitive laps! The Traxtar range is available on special order (minimum four tyres) from most UK tyre specialists. (9/2003)
I know Pesky doesn’t like the idea of rethreads, but some people are getting excellent results with Maxsports, and the Colways are available on our sizes (well, more or less).
…and they were �200 at my door
I know Pesky doesn’t like the idea of rethreads, but some people are getting excellent results with Maxsports, and the Colways are available on our sizes (well, more or less).
…and they were �200 at my door
We’ll try them on at Oulton
Uldis, I don’t think I’m alone, but…
At the end of the day, it’s really down to how “comfortable/confident” you feel whilst on track. As I need all the the help I can get, I personally wouldn’t use anything other than the 39s or the 48s at the present time. It’s unlikely that we’ll be likely to test the real limits of our cars/tyres next week, cos of the weather, so I’m just looking forward to having an easy going fun day/evening out with everyone else