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Tyre predicament
Yazza54 - 28/3/11 at 03:07 PM

Hi all....

In June I will be taking my Fury to the alps, covering circa 3000 miles in 10 days and there may be some questionable weather along the way. I will need to buy new tyres but I have no idea which ones to shod it with.

It currently runs A048s, in my size I have the choice between these, 888s and A021s.


I wouldn't mind giving the 21s a go for something different, they look more of a forgiving tyre in questionable conditions.

The 48s aren't bad but like the 21s bloody expensive.

888s are a lot cheaper than both yoko types, would like to try these as I've heard they're much the same performance wise as the 48s. Considering they're only going to get hammered and won't last long the cheap factor is a big one. But the one thing stopping me from pressing 'buy' on camskill website is the stories I've heard of people aquaplaning on 888s. This scares me. The idea of losing control on a mountain road is not a nice one!! Are they that bad or is it just a case of being careful? I wouldn't have thought they'd behave much different in the wet to the 48s but I've heard otherwise.

So over to you guys, If anyone can give me their impressions of these tyres it'd be greatly appreciated!!


[Edited on 28/3/11 by Yazza54]

blakep82 - 28/3/11 at 03:12 PM

the 888's are supposed to be a road legal slick tyre (basically the minimum tread you can get away with)

what size wheels are they? your choices you listed seem to be listed as trackday tyres. why wouldn't you just got for normal road tyres as you'll be on the road anyway?

alistairolsen - 28/3/11 at 03:14 PM

This sounds like the perfect conditions for R1-Rs but they are truly sickening money

Yazza54 - 28/3/11 at 03:16 PM

13/185/60 front and 13/205/60 rear. I still want a performance orientated tyre for the twisties over there, just not ones that are going to kill me if it looks like rain.

[Edited on 28/3/11 by Yazza54]

blakep82 - 28/3/11 at 03:21 PM

tbh, unless you're doing track days with them, why risk wet weather grip. toyo CF1 or something with that kind of tread is what i'd go with personally. i can't imagine you'll find that much difference in grip, on a public road, and if twisty, not necessarily fast. but thats my opinion

£40 each too, so not breaking the bank (as far as tyres go). not like the £80 each my tyres will be


i bought a car, it had 'summer tyres' fitted, so not even trackday tyres, and it was hopeless in anything remotely damp, and so because of that, steer clear of nankang...

[Edited on 28/3/11 by blakep82]

Yazza54 - 28/3/11 at 04:05 PM

I think I'd steer clear of nankang anyway!!

Hmm true. I'm not a cheapskate I just don't see the point of paying over the odds for yokos if the 888s are effectively the same(ish)

Wadders - 28/3/11 at 04:13 PM

888's are fine in the wet as long as you use your loaf.

Al





Originally posted by Yazza54
I think I'd steer clear of nankang anyway!!

Hmm true. I'm not a cheapskate I just don't see the point of paying over the odds for yokos if the 888s are effectively the same(ish)

coyoteboy - 28/3/11 at 04:32 PM

Plenty of reading the road ahead needed I hear, never tried, but been told that you're basically screwed if you enter a bend that starts off dry but has a damp patch. Not for me, despite the rather fun grip available in good conditions!

200mph - 28/3/11 at 04:46 PM

you'll find a load of opinions on these from the lotus forums - my exige came with AO48s as standard, and while the sight of deep puddles on the motorway made me 'clench' a little, they were generally fine.

Concensus seems to be the r888s are slightly better in the wet, last slightly longer and are slightly cheaper than 48s. I recently replaced my 4 tyres with Yoko AD08s which are a reasonably new compound (not sure if they come in the sizes listed) and seem a great overall balance between a track tyre and a road tyre.

as mentioned, I'm of the opinion that as long as you are sensible then you'll be fine

Cheers

Mark

skippad - 28/3/11 at 05:17 PM

Like Wadders said. you have to use your loaf.
I've had 888's on for last 4yrs done half dozen track days, done about 5-6000 miles, including motorway driving in torrential rain...(no problem as long as you drive 'sensibly'
Great sticky tyres!

franky - 28/3/11 at 05:32 PM

Sounds like the new toyo r1r would fit the bill

lsdweb - 28/3/11 at 06:10 PM

There are some good tyre reviews here - http://www.ctyres.co.uk/Tyres.php

Regards

Wyn

adithorp - 28/3/11 at 06:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by franky
Sounds like the new toyo r1r would fit the bill


Exept they aren't made in 13".

I did the trip on 888's last year. Had a couple of moments. One was big twitch on standing water (actually a river of water crossing the road) in heavy rain and the other coming over a crest on dry road doing 80 to find 200m of snow (very few tyres would have helped). However they were fine the rest of the time 2x 1/2 day of rain and didn't get stuck on the Grimsel Pass in snow when others needed pushing with road tyres. I wouldn't have been as confident on the way home when they were almost bald but they did OK coming home from the LeMans Classic in the rain a week or two later. Damp patches are OK if the tyres are warm and you're observant

I am considering Yoko' A021's though this year just for a bit more margin. Whatever I choose I'll put them on just before I go. You'll need all the tread depth you can get.

Pezza - 28/3/11 at 07:39 PM

How about Falkens? i've got ze-502's on the Manta and they are a cracking tyre imo.

Yazza54 - 28/3/11 at 10:13 PM

Thanks everyone, I fancy trying the 21s.... I'll probably be fine with any of them but I like the more aggressive tread pattern on the 21s and was thinking of trying them anyway, just a shame they're so much dearer than 888s.