I've just come home from a track day in my Cappuccino which was a lot of fun. The strut braces have transformed the car's handling buy have shown the tyres not to be that suitable. I need a recommendation for a tyre in a 14" size.

A bit of background. The cappuccino is 725kg - so fairly light weight. It is front mid engined and RWD having a 52% front weight distribution. I have the stock 14" rims and as they are light weight at 4.75kg each I want to keep them. I have Toyo CF1 tyres (which are the best toyos that come on 175 65 R14).

I started off at 26 PSI but on track driving they felt all squashy and the car squirmed when turning in. next I tried 28 PSI all round which improved the squirmyness but reduced the rear end grip too much. I know from experience that in the wet, 28 PSI is too much and the car is far too tail happy. Finally, I reduced the rears to 27 PSI which seemed to be the best compromise. Still not really enough grip but not too soft.

My impression is that the tyres want a higher inflation pressure to support the side wall but the car isn't heavy enough to push the tyre into the road with that much pressure.

Can you recommend me a tyre that is good on light weight cars but that is available in one of these sizes please:

165 65 R14 (factory fit size)
175 65 R14 (makes the speedo read closer to the true speed)
185 60 R14 (will also fit the stock rim)

R888 in 185/60 R 14

in that case lower the pressures as they are supposed to have stiff sidewalls.

I quitelike rainsport 2 by uniroyal. Used on a 1.5 ton car in the dry, on track.
Good grip, but could have done better with the car being lighter. In the wet they are amazing!
Darren

Thanks for the R888 recommendation. I might give them a go.

Xtreme Kermit,

Lowering the pressures made the car more wobbly. I wouldn't want to go any lower than they are currently. For the record, Standard fit tyres were specced at 23 PSI. I tried that when the tyres were new and it was plain dangerous. Sadly, the stock tyre is no longer made and there is no direct replacement.

I have previously used Marangoni Tyres with great results.

They have a good range of tyres patterns and sizes

Hope this helps

Tom

Yokohama's

^^ x2

Andy

185/60/14 r888's are the tyres I use on my locost. You "can" get 205/50/14 in R888 too I think camskill had a few left last time I called them.

I have a spare set of R888's if you want to look at one next meet colin.

Shaun

quote:

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Originally posted by Xtreme Kermit
in that case lower the pressures as they are supposed to have stiff sidewalls.

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There are a few choices then in 185 60 14. What are the real differences between them? More importantly, which are more likely to suit my application?

AO21R
AO48R medium
AO48R soft
R888

khumo do a large range of widths!

I'd second the marangoni's. I've got their Zeta Linea tyres on my Indy and they're quite good given the price. I only paid £217 for all four fitted. The Indy is on the lighter end of what they're designed for so they should be suited to your car.

Either the A048R Medium or the R888 would be the best bet. The 021Rs are really a wet tyre.

The R888 will last slightly longer than the A048R but the A048R will produce more grip. Pay you money and make your choice....