Ongoing Plus 2 tyre conundrum

[PhilatHooton]

Dear like minded enthusiasts,

In the 33 years i've owned my S130 it has only ever worn Goodyear GPS tyres ? 165/80 x13 on its oem alloy wheels. The car has had very little use the past 15 years and the tyres still look great with good tread but when I looked back in an old diary I found I fitted them in 1997 and they were made in 1994. Gulp !
I have trawled every comment here on this topic but of course there is no right answer as the subject is ,well, subjective. Also a lot of the comments are no longer relevant as the tyres mentioned have long ceased production.
I appreciate the choice advantages of going for a 175/70 x13 but I feel I want to stick to the original size. I'm not into driving it in the poring rain,just fair weather days. I cannot stretch to the Michelin XAS so there are Falken,Uniroyal,Kumho,Continental and Michelin Energy E3B which get very good reviews. Anyone fitted these ?
Also is it necessary to go for the XL (87) option for any of these tyres given that GPS had a load rating of 490kg equivalent to a 83 rating today.. Would a higher rating help in the corners ?
All comments and advice much appreciated .
Phil

[Orsom Weels]

Hi Phil

Unable to source my favoured Vredesteins, & like you, wanting to keep to original spec, on the advice of my supplier, who happens to be a good friend, & having used them on other cars, I opted for Kumhos. I can't speak highly enough of them ! Excellent grip in both dry & wet, & I've been through a couple of 'monsoons' with them, very little noise on the majority of road surfaces, good wear characteristics, & they don't look out of place, as some modern tyres do. I will certainly stay with them while they are available, excellent value for money.
My Elan is shod with Uniroyals, they were fitted by the previous owner & to be fair, have some wear. They are good, but I think I prefer the Kumhos & plan to replace them for such next year. I have to confess I don't like the side wall pattern of the Uniroyals, so am biased there

Just my humble opinion,

Regards, Tim

[rgh0]

You can get the current track day road legal Yoko A-050R in 185 and 175/60 x 13 at least here in Australia. The previous versions i.e. A-032R ans A-048R were the same. I run the 175 size on 6 inch wheels on my Elan S4 with plenty of clearance with small diameter springs and the right offset wheels i run 185/60 versions on my Plus 2 with the standard springs and wheels with the seats on the springs hammered flat for clearance

cheers
Rohan

[Spyder fan]

I run 185/65/R14 tyres on my +2 as these equal the correct diameter to the original 165/82/R13 radials. I have 2 sets of wheels, one set is bright and shiny for summer use shod with Kumho tyres and they are excellent, the other set has Yokohama C drive2 which are also excellent but don't look as good as the Kumho's.

One of the perennial annoyances with +2's is the perceived ride height and Spyder certainly didn't help by supplying their conversions with 185/60/R14 tyres which are virtually an inch less in diameter, couple this to a stupid exhaust manifold design and you have a recipe for an off road look.

https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/ Here's a useful tyre calculator, if you can get a similar diameter in 13 inch Kumhos to the original I would thoroughly recommend them.

[Sea Ranch]

For the "bottom of the pile", at least in terms of price, I have come across Nankang CX-668. It seems fairly widely available in North America, generates reasonable reviews, and comes in two relevant sizes:

165/80R13 83T BSW . . . http://www.ebay.com/itm/302170351599?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

185/70R13 86H BSW . . . http://www.ebay.com/itm/291976114277?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

Both these sizes have almost identical diameters - 23.4" and 23.2" respectively - which is important to me as I am attempting to keep the overall gear ratio of my car as high as possible (4 speed with 3.77 final drive). And it helps in filling the wheel well

The choice between the two sizes above comes down to width (does it look right to your eye, do you want more rubber on the road, can your rear suspension handle it - my uprights have the Rohan-approved hammered-flat spring perch) and also speed rating: nice to see that the H rating is available.

Here's a review: http://tirereviewsandmore.com/nankang-cx-668-reviews/
And another (which suggests they are available in the UK, but then so are the nice Kuhmos): http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rtest. ... N&dsco=110

They also make a 175/70R13 82H BSW, but the diameter is less.

Regards,

Randy

[Orsom Weels]

Hi Randy
One of my other cars is a 2.8i Capri, it had been unused for a few years, before my daughter wanted me to take her to her prom in it last summer. It was shod on Kumho's which were excellent, but they were old & showing some side wall cracking so I thought it best to replace them. The only tyres I could find in the correct 205/60X13 size were Nankang Toursport 611's, so I really had no choice, I had a fixed deadline for the car to be finished. They were quite cheap, & I think it's a case of you get what you pay for! They look ok, & in the dry they aren't too bad, but when it gets a bit damp, they are ruddy useless! The car slides at the drop of a hat, & despite not having the best brakes for a car of it's performance, the tyres will lock uncontrollably. They have no grip whatsoever! As soon as I can replace them with something else, preferably Kumho or Dunlop Eagle NCT's as I know the car works well on both, they'll be in the bin! Unfortunately, being a very odd size, manufacturers only run a small batch once in a while, so I'll just have to wait, & in the mean time my Capri is very much a dry weather car only! How a lighter Elan or +2 would be with them I can't say, but I would recommend you take it easy in the wet.

Regards, Tim

[Sea Ranch]

Tim, you're breakin' my heart!

Seriously, though, thanks for the in-person report.

There does appear to be a difference between the toursport 611 and the Cx 668 (presumably the latter tire is a new design:

http://tirereviewsandmore.com/nankang-xr611-reviews/

http://tirereviewsandmore.com/nankang-cx-668-reviews/

I will continue my search!!

Randy

[Orsom Weels]

Hi Randy,

(From the 611 review)
"What Could Be Better?

Increase the Wet Traction ? Perhaps the biggest knock on this tire is in its wet traction. While the siping around the tread and circumferential grooves do help, we?ve heard many drivers mention having traction and hydroplane issues on wet pavement, especially at higher speeds or in harder cornering."

Well at least they agree

Yes, the CX668 is obviously a different tyre, & a good bit more expensive, so one would hope a good bit better.
I guess the only way to find out for sure is to try them, I know sometimes certain tyres suit certain cars better than others. It's always a nightmare when an old favourite is NLA & you have to find a suitable replacement. It's a shame you can't get the Kumhos over there, I can definitely recommend them. Could they not be ordered somehow?

All the best buddy,
Tim

[Robbie693]

There is another H rated tyre available and that's the Dunlop Aquajet SP sport but they are just as expensive as the XAS FF. They were original fitment back in the day.

Has anyone tried the Michelin Energy's? http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=11035188.110.10218&sowigan=So&Breite=165&Quer=80&Felge=13&Speed=T&kategorie=&ranzahl=1&tyre_for=&x_tyre_for=&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&Label=E-B-69-2&details=Ordern&typ=R-143344

By the way, what does the last number on the tyres mean - 83T, 87T etc?

[rgh0]

its a load and speed rating i think - e.g. 83T is T speed rated at 830 kilo maximum load - but I stand to be corrected as I cant be bothered doing a google search on it

speed rating not really relevant for tyre on Elan as the speed rating is determined at 3 or 4 times the Elans maximum load on a tyre. Any modern radial tyre will last longer than an Elan will at at Elans maximum speed

cheers
Rohan

[nmauduit]

I'm not sure exactly how is construed the load index formula, but you can find the outcome there :

http://www.tyresizecalculator.com/chart ... ndex-chart

[Robbie693]

Ah I see, thanks both