The Lotus Grand Tourers

my last set where £60ea from tyretraders.com, about £75ea now, my mate fits for £10 a set

Oz

EDIT:
TOYO 215/50ZR15 88W R8882G From £72.29
DUNLOP 215/50ZR15.ZR SP9000 From £88.13

http://www.tyretraders.com/SearchType/D ... turer=TOYO

Oz

I need a couple of tyres on the front and was thinking of switching from 215/50 to 205/50 as there is more choice and wider price range. The only thing I'm not to sure about is the speed rating. The current tyres are Z which I understand can be replaced with W rated. But I notice the majority of tyres in this size are V rated e.g Falkens. I spoke to Tyre Traders who said they don't recommend using V rated tyres to replace Z rated.

Can someone please clarify this one for me?

Cheers,

Phil

From : http://www.blackcircles.com/general/speedrating

Speed MPH KPH
Rating
U 124 200
H 130 210
V 149 240
Z 150+ 240+
W 168 270
Y 186 300

So W or Y should be OK as replacements for Z, but V is a no-no.

if you ever drive on R888's in anger the only better tyre is A038/048's and they dont do it in the right size...

If R888's are good enough for a 500hp time attach Exige, they are good enough for me my friend has just got them on his S2 Exige, and had A048's, first impressions is they warm up quicker and still provide 1.2G cornering he also noted more side wall flex and thus not quite so razor sharp steering (which is a good thing in the Exige!)

Oz

dont trust your speedo... the tacho and shift light on my car say verry diffrent things to my speedo above certan speeds...

Thanks for the info Guys,

If you can only use Y or W rated tyres, your choice is cut down considerably.
Top speed for an unmodified Excel is 132MPH so arn't the V's OK
Looking at the hand book, the correct tyres are 215/50 VR x 15
Yet all my current tryes are Z rated.
Still confused but I guess the sure thing to do is to buy the correct tyre ie 215/50/ZR15 but I was hoping to save some money by switching to 205/50.
How many folks on here are using V rated

Cheers,

Phil

You probably have Zs because Vs aren't available.

dont know the rating of R888's think they are V or Z tho...

same compound for exige S2 as mine are...

I did not think it was just about top speed but also the speed and forces generated in cornering. As we all know the Excel does that much better than other cars with a similar top end. It is for this reason i thought the higher rated tyres were advised. Tyre technology does move on of course so i dont know what effect that has had on the ratings.

In any event i would make sure you advise your insurance company of anything any other than the original spec if only for pease of mind.

Hi have you thought about used tyres , i brought a full set of excellent nct from lotusbits for £120.

tricky wrote:Hi have you thought about used tyres

No I haven't - that sounds like a good idea to me. I only need one to be honest. Front drivers side which I wore out at North Weald driver training doing the fast left turns. The other tyres have got a bit of life left in them yet,

Cheers,

Phil

My 1991 handbook says VR or ZR Goodyears - I think those were the only ratings available. If the handbook says that then V rated tyres would be no problem and are within specification.

I have one part worn Goodyear 215/50 ZR which is available for no charge. I took it to Donington but no takers.

Hi Alan,

Yes I will take that tyre off your hands if that is OK but must give you something for it. I know you can't bring it to Tuesdays Litchfield meeting as you are bringing another car with virtually no boot but will see you there to sort something out,

Cheers,
Phil

My pleasure Phil.