s7mon Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I'm after some advice. I have a year 2000 1.6 Superlight with 13" mini-lites (polished aluminium with black centres) with Avon CR500 tyres. I think I have two separate issues. Firstly I would like some more 'modern' looking wheels and secondly I would like the wheel / tyre combo to fill the rear wheel arches and front cycle wings more than my mini-lites (without going to 15" wheels). So to answer point 1, can anyone advise what the best wheel / tyre combo would be? I'm thinking the following: > Front - Caterham Matt Black 8 Spoke Wheels 6 x 13 with existing CR500 tyres > Rear - Caterham Matt Black 8 Spoke Wheels 8 x 13 with new wider CR500 tyres And to answer my second point, how do I fill the rear wheel arches and front cycle wings better? I hear you can change the stations that the front cycle wings are attached to but doubt there is much I can do at the rear? Is this worth doing? Your thoughts would be much appreciated on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Umm. Go for a higher profile tyre or wider in the same profile... I ended up with R888s and they fill the arches very nicely. The CR500s on 13x6's were horribly skinny. My rear 888s are now on 7" rims. Heaven-knows what you mean by 'more modern' rims. How about some 70's Rostyles... 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 Alcester Racing 7s Equipe™ 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 🙆🏻 Alcester-Racing-Sevens.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Have a llok at my website. I have the anthracite version of the wheels you are thinking about........if black had been available at the time I would have gone for them. There are different cycle wings, one set for 13-13" and one for 15"-16" After that its down to ride height.......is your car set up as recommended? Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 Try this photo here Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s7mon Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share Posted November 19, 2006 Thanks Simon. The photos of your car are a great help. Your wheel / tyre / wheel arch combo is exactly what I'm looking for. I suspect I've got my eye on the right choice of wheel (front 6x13 and rear 8x13), but what tyres have you got and would they be suitable for road use (predominantly). As for the setup of my car, I would suggest that it hasn't been changed since leaving the factory in 2000, so standard 1.6 Superlight. Here's a few pics: (I hope 'copy and paste' of these URLs works, I'm not sure how you create Hyperlinks on Blat Chat!) Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 I`m running Yokohama A048R 185/60/13 front and 205/60/13 rear I`ve also got adjustable dampers and I cant` remember how they were set when I took that photo as were tweaking the engine mapping and running it in on the track rather than worrying about suspension settings. The 48`s are fine on the road, most of my driving is touring, road, with a couple of track days per year. They are fantastic in the dry, pretty good in the damp and reasonable, though interesting if its really wet ie standing water but then I find standing water an issue for any tyre on a 7 due to the lightweight nature of the car. There is a more recent photo here The rears are A021 because I couldn`t get the 48`s at the time so I borrowed these. Although ok I still prefer the 48. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 I`ve had a look at your photos and your tyres look to be lower profile.....is that correct. If that`s not the case then I`d suggest you check the ride height and particularly the rake ie difference between front and rear. Yours does look to be set high at the rear. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s7mon Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share Posted November 19, 2006 Thanks for the info. It looks as though my tyres are low(er) profile compared to yours ... they measure 175/55/13. I believe that the 55 equates to the sidewall height (as a percentage of the 175 width). Would you agree with this? I think the car ride height is standard as each Superlight I looked at, whilst looking to buy, had a similar stance and rear wheel arch gap. Looking at the Caterham web site though, they recommend the following Avons for the Superlights: 175/55x13 (as I have) and 205/55x13. I imagine the latter are for the wider 8" rims. I think what I should do is get the black eight spoke wheels (6" width at the front and 8" at the back) and a set of Avons to match, as they are recommened. I'll see how the car stands then and investigate if the ride height needs altering. Sound like a good plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageyH Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 The 55 is a % of the width I have 205/55/13's on a 7" rim. Looks ok. With a standard superlight, you may find you have too much rubber on the back to fully use. Well, that is what I was told when I bought mine. The CR500's are good tyres, but it would be worth looking at Toyo R888's as well. I have tried the A048's, and don't like them for road use on a 7. The sidewalls seem to be too stiff. Only dead fish go with the flow.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gridgway Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 personally I would be careful choosing tyres on purely aesthetic grounds. Depending on what you do with your car and how you drive, you may find it over-tyred at the back for a 1600 superlight. The best of course is exactly the rims you have with 6" ACB10s on! GRaham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s7mon Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share Posted November 19, 2006 Thanks guys. This is all really helpful. Seems to be a mindfield though . I think the combination of CR500s and wider wheels at the rear are a good compromise between aesthetics and performance. When speaking with Caterham South they suggested Avons and 6" rims all round ... but when speaking to Caterham Midlands they suggested Avons all round but 8" rears. Use wise, I'm doing mainly road touring but plan to do track days in the future. Power wise, I'm happy to keep my Superlight as the standard 135bhp. A few people have mentioned I may end up having too much rubber for my power ... what are the downsides to this other than cost? Any thoughts welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted November 20, 2006 Support Team Share Posted November 20, 2006 If you put the 8"rears on with 205 tyres and do nothing else with the setup of the car, it will probably understeer horribly at the limit. I went to 8" rears when I upgraded my 1.6SS engine to a 1.9 (a leap of nearly 100bhp) and it has taken some time to dial out the understeer (still not completely eliminated). If you are really that worried about the looks then go for a taller profile tyre such as a Yokohama A048 in 60 profile - this will of course alter the gearing slightly and you may notice a change in the acceleration of the car. A048Rs are also much heavier than CR500s and you will notice this on the road. Yellow SL #32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Support Team Shaun_E Posted November 20, 2006 Support Team Share Posted November 20, 2006 And here is a picture of my car with the new 13" rims in matt black. And another. Yellow SL #32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s7mon Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 This is extremely useful information. I'm glad I'm getting this advice before taking the plunge. The more I read, the more I'm tempted to either: a) stick with the mini-lites I have and just replace my near illegal rear Avon CR500s like for like, or b) change my mini-lites for 13"x6" all round (purely for aesthetics) and again, replace the Avons like for like I'm not over keen about changing the dynamics of the car too much, being a novice and with a)and b) above, essentially nothing changes. I think it might be the safest bet for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Given your power and yur desire to keep it that way I`d stick with 6" at the back. Althought the CR500 is essentially a great all rounder, lightweight and designed for a lightweight car they are pretty expensive. Do you know anyone local to you who would let you borrow their wheels / tyres to try out. You shouldn`t have to look too far to find 21`s, 48`s, R888`s. Try a few over the same section of road to see what you think. Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gridgway Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 ACB10, best tyre ever for superlight!! Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham King Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 s7mon, I recently did exactly the same type of change as you, standard superlight (1.8), changed from 13" minilites with 185/60 A032's to 13" Caterham anthracite wheels (new type) with 185/60 R888's, very happy with both wheels and tyres. Caterham South did suggest CR500's but I just couldn't justify the cost of them on top of new wheels when compared to the Toyo's. I think the 13" CR500's are also 175/55 profile so I was also worried about ride height as it runs low enough on the 185/60's. Grham R7 GPK Superlight #85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s7mon Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 Thanks guys. I assumed all these tyres were roughly the same price give or take, but it looks as though I'd better do some price comparisons too! Great advice though by all, priceless . I'm in a pretty good position to make a decision now, once I've done a bit of research on the price. If in the mean time you have any more comments then please do paste them in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gridgway Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 ACB10s and CR500s are about the same price so there's absolutely no reason not to get ACB10s!! Grahan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 You got some shares in ACB10`s Graham Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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