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Tyres.... which way to go?


Andrew G

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ok, so i am looking to get a new set of tyres (15" prisoner alloys) and realy not sure what to do......

 

Do i replace my Avon ZV1's with similar road tyres, Good Year F1s, Yoko A539's etc or do i take the plunge and go for some A048's or R888's.

 

I mostly do dry miles on the road but are worried what the A048's and R888's are like in the wet and cold?

 

Any pointers or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Andrew

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With A048's and R888's you have to be careful/respectful in the cold and wet.

Especially if there is standing water.

 

With normal road tyres, you have to be careful in the dry!

 

Another more expensive option is the CR500, which is a reasonable all rounder.

 

Only dead fish go with the flow....!

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Depends very much on what you want to use the car for and whether you are likely to get a spare of wheels for track days. I used Stunner Scudo's which is an excellent road tyre but could easily overheat and become slippy on a warm track day. Not sure you can get stunners anymore but Toyo Proxes T-1R's are very similar and still dead cheap.

 

CR500's are pricey but do last a decent amount of time. They are an excellent all round tyre though but the money you might save between buying a new set of CR500's or T-1Rs, might be enough to get a second-hand set of 13" wheels to keep for TD's with a set of slicks on them which can be as little as £10 per tyre...

 

HTH

 

Nick

 

The BEC has gone - now onto an R400!!

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Avon zv3 (same as zv1 but later version I believe) never inspired me with confidence and were scarey many times in the wet in France/Germany, including going off road on a hair pin bend at relatively slow speeds. I got home from the trip and straight away changed, I now have A048r, fantastic grip but not tried them in the wet yet. They don't last long though, mine will only have done 4k but I didn't check what compound they were *redface*. I am thinking of Toyo R888s next as they appear to have more tread to start with. If you are doing plenty of wet driving then A021s might well be the best option.

Whatever you go for get rid of the ones you have, they are useless other than if you have a LSD and do donuts.

 

BRG and Yellow nose VU06 XZX

 

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I have competed 14000 miles on 48's in all weathers with no dramas. In the dry they are simply fantastic, once you have tried them you will not want to go back. In the cold you need to work them to keep the heat in them, similarly in the damp.

 

In standing water they are the same as any other tyre on a lightweight se7en, a bit hairy, so you adjust your driving style accordingly.

 

The thing about 48's and R888's is that you need to keep the pressures right and run them quite low. We run 14-16psi and certainly never higher than that. R888's seem to particularly pressure sensitive from a few peoples experiences, I've never tried them myself.

 

Mileage wise 4000 is probably the most you can expect unless you are doing a lot of gentle driving on straight roads.

 

Simon Bell - Caterham 7 Duratec R

I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Check out the website here

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IMO best allround road tyre is the Yoko Ao21 - same compound as 48's but awesome in the wet too - only prob with 21's is that they wear out quick on trackdays if the sun is shining - Rare in UK I know but worth remebering 😬

Expect 4-5000 V fast road miles

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I changed from 185x13” 70 A021s allround to 185/205x13” 60 R888 this summer gone.

 

I found the car immediately became more skittish over uneven surfaces with the R888 but cornered better in dry conditions when the tyres were warm. This could be bump steer which was masked with the 70 profile tyres – I don’t know. Need to investigate.

 

Not as confident in the wet as I was with the A021s. Reading previous threads this would appear to be a common view of R888s.

 

Phil

 

Summer Lightning Haze *tongue*

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I used to run A048's on 13"s but found them far too twitchy on the road due to the stiffer sidewalls. I now have a set of R888's to go on when the weather gets better, many people say these are more compliant on the road and take away some of the nervousness, doubt they are much if any better in the wet though.

 

My current wheel/tyre solution set up is this:

13" minilites with R888 which stay on the car throughout summer unless I am doing a big trip or euro jaunt in which case I put on my 15" Prisoners shod with Yoko A539. On big trips I don't drive the car necessarily hard and its no problem when I get caught out in the rain.

Best of both worlds imo!!

 

Dave

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I will be trying R888 this year, I found the A048r a massive improvement on the Avon zv3. The problem I have found that on bumpy surfaces the car is either steering into the middle of the road or a headge (using anything from 16-18psi). I understand the R888 has a less stiff tyre wall so I'll see how I go.

I dont think you will go too far wrong with A048 or R888 over Avon ZV1/3 tyres!

 

 

BRG and Yellow nose VU06 XZX

 

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Another vote for the R888's. In the wet they are better than you'd expect, but just stay away form the standing water. And another vote for Steve at Simply Tyres, a top bloke who's honest and will give after sales advice re. pressures etc.

 

Where am I?

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🙅🏻‍♂️ One note of caution...

 

If you go for 50 profile 15" tyres, they may not fit under the cycle wing supports - the R888 15"s don't.

 

CR500s are 195/45 R15 and fit with a mm or two to spare...

 

Several of us have spoken to Toyo about 45-profile R888s, but they have no plan to produce them ☹️

 


See some pictures of the build here. 13000 miles completed!
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