Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi

My apologies for the blatant commercial posting However i thoughtt you chaps would be pleased to hear, what can only be considered good news. Pirelli have started to make a 145HR13 Cinturato https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/catalo ... gory/2618/ again. which is the best tyre for your early cars.

I wonder if you know what tyres Lotus fitted in period? If there is and pictorial evidence that you could post, so i could use it for my web site that would be a great help.

Hi Dougal,
The Lotus workshop manuals for both my Sprint and Plus 2 list these tyres:
Firestone F100 tubeless
Goodyear G800 with tubes
Dunlop SP Sport with tubes

I use the Dunlops on both of my cars because they "look right" and keep the cars in original spec. Maybe modern tyres are better but, then again, I probably drive less than 200 miles per annum in either.

Just my humble input!

Martin B

Were radial tires available in 1965? I thought standard issue was bias plys.

Not sure about sizes, but I ran Michelin X on my Chevy II wagon, starting in 63 or 64. Yes, they were 13's. Used it as a tow car for my S7 starting in 65.

Radial ply tires appeared in Europe and the UK in the early/mid fifties-first made by Michelin and then by Pirelli. The US started using them in the late seventies.

edited.

We had them earlier than that. I was only a kid, but I remember the word 'radial' used often in tire-ads back in the '70s.

Oops! sorry meant seventies!

Being an Ancient Briton, I remember when Pirelli radials were called Cintura. The to came later, in the early 60s.

Being one of the Ancients, I had a set of Cinturato fitted to my MG midget (1098) in 1966. My garage had never heard of them. I had my new Midget (1275) in 1968 fitted, as an optional extra, Dunlop SP Sport?s.
ps as I recall the change over from cross ply was a step too far, the Cinturato had such soft sidewall the car went all over the place.

RogerFrench wrote:Being an Ancient Briton, I remember when Pirelli radials were called Cintura. The to came later, in the early 60s.

The original invoice from the Chequered Flag for my Elite lists "Pirelli Cintura Tyres", the option priced at six pounds, ten shillings, zero pence. The invoice is dated 21September 1962.

Pirelli Cintura 155/15 tires were original fitment on my Sabra GT. When I purchased the car the original spare was still in the car. What is amazing is, the tire has never been on the ground, still has the mold sprues on the tread area, no evidence of cracking in the sidewalls, still holds air pressure for a reasonable mount of time, and the rubber is still very soft and pliable. If forced to use it, I think speeds up to 10 mph are probably safe.

While in college, I had a 1959 Peugeot 403 which was shod with Michelin X radials. When I graduated, I bought myself a brand new 1965 Lotus Elan which was equipped with Dunlop SP41 radials. Radial tires (tyres?) have been around the US a long time.

My S1 manual shows the tire as 5.20x13 Goodyear, standard. Other tyres "follow manufacturers' recomendation." Europeans adapted radial tires years before Americans. I think my handbook would have more info, but I can't find it now, due to a recent move.

The invoice on my 69 S4 Elan (Federal) - picked up at the factory has listed under Optional Extra Equipment:

SP Sport Tyres at 9 0. 0. pounds extra

I remember opting for these but I don't recall what was standard at the time.

My 69 S4SE UK spec came with SP Sports radial tubeless tyres.