Ninja Boy Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 I know this topic has been done to death (sorry!), but: I'm picking up my first Caterham (1800 K-series) on Saturday teeth.gifcool.gif, and I know I'll be replacing the rather bare Michelins fairly soon, so I'm looking for a bit of advice. The car has 14" minilites (or minilite-style, at least), and I'm planning on mainly road use, although I may be tempted to do the odd track day, if I can sort out the insurance (currently with MSM, so would have to be done separately). I've looked back through the archives, and heard opinions at the local area meetings, and Yokohama A021s seem to be flavour of the month, as long as you can put up with about 5-8000 miles' use out of them. I'm not sure if I want to change my tyres every year, and I saw favourable comments on the A539s as long-life road tyres, with good grip, though not nearly as grippy as the A021/A032. My current thinking is that if the A539s are fairly good and cheap (I saw ~£35 each mentioned on a previous post), then I'll get them for the time being (to stay legal), and maybe raid the piggy bank for A021s later (possibly with spare set of wheels to allow road/track flexibility). Any opinions/advice (and guestimated prices) gratefully received. Cheers, Mark teeth.gif J777 DMH - Have plate, found car to match... teeth.gif teeth.gif ...S132 CUY arrives in 3 id=red> days teeth.gif Edited by - Ninja Boy on 12 Jun 2002 17:05:11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 Mark, I took your car for a scream round Wales back in November. It was what made me decide to buy a Caterham. Firstly, I must apologise because I am a major contributing factor to the wear on your tyres. Secondly, you're right - those Michelins have next to no grip on wet roads. I found that when the car got very hot there was a slightly odd sound from the radiator - as if the cooling fan was scraping something. I am sure that this would have been rectified by now. Congratulations. It really is a lovely car, and if I had the extra to spend I would have bought it the minute I got back from my drive. Finally, I am in a similar dilemma (Michelins on 14'' coming to the end of their life. I would be interested to hear what your final decision is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 We have AO32's, but the A021's seem to be highly recommended. IMO - and we are on a budget - the fun factor that either of these tyres will give you over the Michelins is easily worth the *relatively* cheap price of approx £50 from GPolley, be it on the track or the road, where we spend 99% of our time. Have no experiance of the A539s. We do big mileage (see below) but these softer tyres make the car - IMO! teeth.gif20,000 miles in less than a year! cool.gifthumbsup.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja Boy Posted June 12, 2002 Author Share Posted June 12, 2002 Thanks for the replies so far. RobF - I'll keep you posted. BTW, am I right in thinking you bought the blue 1400SS from Millwood's that I was looking at last autumn? How's it running? Ta for the info on my new toy, I'll certainly double-check when I pick it up. Cheers, Mark PS - Boing wink.gif! Any more opinions from Yoko A539 users, please? teeth.gif J777 DMH - Have plate, found car to match... teeth.gif teeth.gif ...S132 CUY arrives in 3 id=red> days teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin S. Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 Bridgestone RE720's give plenty of grip for road use, are cheap (£140 ish fitted for 4) and are better than A539's. BRG Dedion 2Ltr Zetec on 45's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ward Posted June 12, 2002 Share Posted June 12, 2002 I don't think there's much difference between any of the list 1A tyres (ie Yoko 539's and Bridgestone RE720's in this thread) - certainly not on the road. I sprint/hillclimb on 539's and have been v. impressed and they will certainly last forever in normal use (whatever that is in a seven!). They are obviously not as grippy as the 021's and 032's but it depends what your priorities are. Anyway if your experience is anything like mine, once you've bought a seven you'll end up with a garage full of 2nd hand wheels and tyres so you have something for every occasion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted June 13, 2002 Share Posted June 13, 2002 Mark, you're absoutely right with your assertion on the 1400ss. It is still in my possession and I'm still enjoying it immensely. I've done a few small upgrade items (starter button, removable steering wheel etc) but it's basically the same car. Have fun. Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Mark, I've got a pair of A021 ordered from Millwood. Cost was £70 per tyre ex VAT. Will be having them fitted this weekend and will let you know how I get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonycaterham Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 Mark, This is a bit repetitive, but suggest 021R's see lots of old threads and the best place to buy from is George Polley motorsport. p.s A021R'much stickier than 720's which I use as class 1A tyre. I would only buy 720's if I was entering class wars at sprinting or wanted long life over grip. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted June 17, 2002 Share Posted June 17, 2002 RobF - if you can, get your tyres from, GPolley and save quite a bit of dosh from what you paid (although I guess it may depend on tyre size) teeth.gif20,000 miles in less than a year! cool.gifthumbsup.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted June 18, 2002 Share Posted June 18, 2002 I use A539s on my live axle car and find them to be quite good. I am particularly impressed with there wet handling. I also think that they are ideally suited toa live axle car because the tread pattern is very horizonatl and so suits the rear live axle well. I previously used A510s and found them much worse than the A539s. Try George Polley motorsport for prices. I paid £35 each for the tyres. See www.polleymotorsport.co.uk. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja Boy Posted June 18, 2002 Author Share Posted June 18, 2002 Thanks again for the infothumbsup.gif. If buying from Polley, how would I go about getting them fitted? I'm not exactly local to Cambridge... Cheers, Mark teeth.gifcool.gif 1800 K-Series - S13id=yellow> 2 id=green> CUYid=yellow> - has arrived cool.gifteeth.gif teeth.gif Still got the tin-top -J777 DMHid=teal> - need to do the paperwork teeth.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alias Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 Angus & Tessa, Thank you very much. George Polley have just quoted me £51 (ex VAT) for these tyres and £8 for the delivery. That's £45 you've just saved me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWJ777 Posted June 19, 2002 Share Posted June 19, 2002 Just bought 5 AO21R * 5 TODAY Great (binned the Pilot) George Polly will send them for £316 (inc PP & VAT) Demon Tweaks 330 fitted Very happy bunny, if not poor Bruce, Self Drive ROLLER COASTER Owner ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaseb Posted June 20, 2002 Share Posted June 20, 2002 Just about to buy some new boots myself, anyone know if the AVS's from Yokohama are worth the extra tenner or so over the 539's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Sewell Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Did you mention to George (or Steve) that you want a set of tyres, as they used to do free delivery for 4 tyres or more.... Cheers, Graham Low tech luddite - xflow and proud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted June 21, 2002 Share Posted June 21, 2002 Ninja Boy, Just get the tyres delivered and then take down your local tyre man to get fitted. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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