I am considering running my car on ‘normal’ road tyres, rather than Yoko AO48’s or AO39’s. The reason for this is MSA rules on list 1a and list 1b tyres at Sprint events. I must also confess that the fact they are almost half the price also has some appeal
Now I don’t take Sprinting too seriously and will probably only do three or four events per year, and don’t really care about being competitive or not - it is more somrthing I do for fun because I enjoy it. I will also do four or five track days per year.
Does anyone have experience of running normal tyres on an S1 (VHPD) Exige? Will I regret it on the road and track days?
Tyres I have in mind are Goodyear Eagle F1, Toyo Proxes T1-R, Dunlop SP Sport 01.
Any information greatly received!
I will probably just put a another set of 039’s on in the end
You’ll be fine on the road - unless you drive near the exige’s limit (& I don’t believe you would).
You’ll definately feel the difference on track, but you’ll still have great fun.
The 39s are really very expensive, so if you’re going for a “proper” performance tyre, get the 48 equivalent from the Toyo range ie 888R Many on here use them, & are very happy with them (incl me!) & we save about �100 a set over the cost of the Yoko 48s.
The car currently has 048’s (they were on when I bought it) but they now need replacing, and when looking at Sprint classes it is a lot easier if you are not running 1b tyres in a Production class.
On my previous Elise S2 Honda, I ran (at various times) AO48’s, AO39’s and Toyo R888’s - in fact, it has been so long since I have used an Elise/Exige on road or track without ‘R’ rated tyres, that I have forgotten what it is like - hence my worry that I will regret it!
I don’t want to go to the hassle and expense of buying an additional set of wheels for the Exige, so want my tyres to be an ‘all round’ compromise, and must admit I am not entirely comfortable on AO48’s or R888’s in very wet conditions, hence the AO39’s.
Toyo are releasing a tyre called the R1R which is a compromise between the R888 and the T1R, only thing is no-one seems to know when they’ll be in the UK - already available in Japan and the states! Might be what you’re looking for if you’re willing to wait/research?
Alex
Toyo are releasing a tyre called the R1R which is a compromise between the R888 and the T1R, only thing is no-one seems to know when they’ll be in the UK - already available in Japan and the states! Might be what you’re looking for if you’re willing to wait/research?
Alex
Toyo are releasing a tyre called the R1R which is a compromise between the R888 and the T1R, only thing is no-one seems to know when they’ll be in the UK - already available in Japan and the states! Might be what you’re looking for if you’re willing to wait/research?
Alex
I was talking to the guys on the Toyo stand at the Autosport show about the R1R, not only are they not sure if they will be released in the UK, they don’t currently produce the R1R to fit the Exige front. Lets hope they change their mind.
Toyo are releasing a tyre called the R1R which is a compromise between the R888 and the T1R, only thing is no-one seems to know when they’ll be in the UK - already available in Japan and the states! Might be what you’re looking for if you’re willing to wait/research?
Alex
R1Rs are already on the 1B MSA list…
Yep, and I think that R1R’s have been imminent for about two years now! I must admit that if they do ever launch them in the UK, they could be an excellent alternative to AO39’s.
elise_s1, do you have experience of the Kumho’s? I had thought about them, but in my quick internet search this afternoon I couldn’t find them in the correct S1 Exige sizes.
friend of mine had those Kumho on his Exige S (S2) and really liked them, also on track.
also many Elise owners rate them well. I’m going to replace my crappy T1Rs with Kumhos next tyre change.
Seem to remember our good friend Uldis raving about Kumho’s a couple of years back? and for the newbys here fair to say he knew a bit about exploring tyre limite
What happened to the wee Mexican by the way, sadly missed
you may be allowed to run yokohamas as they were the original production tyres,it should tell you in the championship regs.
I’m still waiting to hear whether they (Borough 19) are going to allow 1b tyres in Road Going classes - I don’t think it matters what the car left the factory with. My belief is that they are going to continue to allow them in 2009, but ban them from 2010.
The question is, do I want to switch to inferior tyres just to continue doing three or four sprint events per year? Probably not, but I don’t really know how much difference it actually makes to the on-track driving experience by running normal tyres!
Personally i really like T1-Rs. I find them very good in the wet and not bad in the dry.
A friend used them for sprinting (Evo VI RS), and a few followed. The soft compound worked very well when you have little opportunity to get heat in the tyre. They do need running in though, a few hundred miles on the road, and the blocks can cause some movement for track use. Quite a few people were skimming the tyres down for sprinting, but in that condition they were a very competative road tyre.
Good find - I might give those Kumho a try for the road…the only thing is if I want to exceed 168 mph I will have to make shure the front wheels are off the ground!
Good find - I might give those Kumho a try for the road…the only thing is if I want to exceed 168 mph I will have to make shure the front wheels are off the ground!
Shouldn’t be a problem with the bhp your car is making Wayne
I put up a post last year about these Kumho tyres on Elise/Exige’s. A friend of mine fitted these to his car in the slightly over sized format front and rear and the difference was amazing. On the track like for like he was able to out corner the A048 boys by a huge margin - where as prior to the tyre change his car was more or less the same.
I am definitely going for them on my car once my Yokos wear out. Its worth noting that there are different compounds, and its a particular size that works well on the std Exige size wheels.
There was no down side to them wet or dry - Just positives !!
![http://ssl.delti.com/tyre-pictures/Kumho/ECSTASPTKU31.jpg[/image]](http://ssl.delti.com/tyre-pictures/Kumho/ECSTASPTKU31.jpg%5B/image%5D){kind=link}