Having driven just about 12’000 miles, I’ve used up 1 pair of front 195x50x16 and 3 pairs of rear 225x45x17 Yokohama A048 LTS on my Lotus Exige S2.
Thing is, before the supercharger was fitted, my driving style permitted me to get around 3750-5000 miles of rear tires. Since the supercharger was fitted, it’s now down to 2800 miles. (no track days btw!)
Since both front and rears are down, I’m able to switch to other tires - but which ones?
Am looking at Toyo R888 which are a bit cheaper which I hear are just as good, but how long do they last? Heard the compound may be a bit softer which makes me assume they’re likely to last even less? Is there anyone here that switched from A048s to R888 that can tell me if they’re about equal or how much less they last?
Other alternatives would also be greatly appreciated - a fellow friend with an identical Exige had his run on A039 which are not quite as grippy, but still excellent tires that lasted for ages. Sadly, these tires aren’t sold anymore?
Wouldn’t mind giving up a bit of grip if it means I can get around 5000-6000 miles on them…
888R’s ar 100 hardenss so should last a little longer.
Utimately they are very slightly down on grip but not by much. Had them on my n/a s2 until reently when ive got a new one so back on 48’s.
Gav
Thanks Gav
Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Though I do have to ask: where did you read this about the hardness and is the 60 hardness for the 48’s for compound “LTS” or one of their softer compounds (M / MH)?
i have read this article and agree that the kumho’s seem to be great. and on an exige you can put 195 or 205 on the front and 225, 235 or 245 on the back. so best dry results and wider to boot. a friend of mine has slightly wider kumhos on toyota elise and is untouchable. so much grip. we yoko users are all jealous.
Sounds interesting, but are you sure they’re no more prone to aquaplaning than the Yokos? I’ve only had one scary moment on the A048s, but that was enough
Let me tell it to you this way, when close to the wear indicators the Yokos 048’s can do no more than 60 mph, the car is sliding all over the place, on the motorway, on a straight line
Can’t say about the rears, but the fronts have no issues touching anywhere.
Although they are a slightly lower profile than the 50 series, so the car sits a few mm lower at the front.
Doesn’t affect handling though, on the contrary, I really like the 205 front width.
Here’s a pic of me at KH, let me know if you see the (slightly) lower front profile:
Very interesting info in here, thanks to everyone!
Uldis,
I’m assuming you’re using 205 at the front because the 195/50x16 tyre isn’t available? I’m still in contact with Kumho but am yet to receive definite confirmation that they don’t have the front tyre in that dimension…
Total shame though, the Kumho seems to be a great tyre at a very, very reasonable price. :-/
Would a 205/50x16 tyre fit on the standard Exige S2 rim, without issues of touching anything? Or would it have to be a 205/45x16 instead?
ALso, if I do go for wider front tyres, should I go for 235 at the back in order to balance it out? Don’t really want to upset the balance of the car - or change the characteristics of it…
ALso, since you’re running the KUMHO tyre - how many miles do you get on them? How do they compare with the Yoko 048 tyres?
tintin52,
Thanks for the link! Very interesting, though I’m not quite sure I’ve figured out how to read it yet…
I’m assuming you’re using 205 at the front because the 195/50x16 tyre isn’t available?
Exactly
Total shame though, the Kumho seems to be a great tyre at a very, very reasonable price. :-/
No shame, why? they’re good!
Would a 205/50x16 tyre fit on the standard Exige S2 rim, without issues of touching anything? Or would it have to be a 205/45x16 instead?
The 50 seris would be bigger overall than the original one, so no, wouldn’t go for that. the 205/45 fits the std S1 exige wheels well, I assume the S2’s are the same size…
ALso, if I do go for wider front tyres, should I go for 235 at the back in order to balance it out? Don’t really want to upset the balance of the car - or change the characteristics of it…
It would, but I hate understeer, so the 205 has a better balance in my view, less understeery. Maybe 235’s at the back would bring back that original balance.
I’ll eventually try, you could as well, don’t worry too much
ALso, since you’re running the KUMHO tyre - how many miles do you get on them? How do they compare with the Yoko 048 tyres?
To give an update as to where I stand at the moment: Since the Kumho’s are very difficult to get ahold of at the moment (waiting time is up and over 4 weeks at this point in Switzerland) and the fact that the price including tax + shipping put them just under the price of Toyo’s R888 - I’m wondering if I should not just better go with the easier option for now. The R888 and the Ecsta V70A tyre seem similar, so either bet would be probably a safe one for now.
888R’s ar 100 hardenss so should last a little longer.
Utimately they are very slightly down on grip but not by much. Had them on my n/a s2 until reently when ive got a new one so back on 48’s.
Gav
Thanks Gav
Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Though I do have to ask: where did you read this about the hardness and is the 60 hardness for the 48’s for compound “LTS” or one of their softer compounds (M / MH)?
Cheers Phil
On the side wall of most tyres (although not always on both sides) there is usually details of the Traction rating (usually ‘A’ or ‘AA’), Temp rating (again usually ‘A’) and Wear rating. The latter is usually between 400 (for non-4x4s) and 100, with 60 being just about the softest. Officially these ratings should not be used as a comparison between manufacturers but I understand it is a standard and hence should mean something.
I think I’ll try a set of 888s when I finally finish my batch of Yoko 39s.
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