Tyre advice

[James.Burton]

I recently got my first 7.   Loving it for weekend blats on the road.

It's a VXi, and a previous owner has put 205/60 R13, on 8J wheels at each corner. The A048s it came on are running low, so I'l looking to get some new tyres for the spring.

On the road, on hot days all sticks well. Only braking traction with hard work (only 150 horses). Cooler days and things slide beautifully. Tramlining, makes me think the tyres are too wide, but having just got the car, I thought I'd try one more set on the 8J wheels, before getting news wheels, which would also mean needing new wings, ..., ...

I gather CR500s were developed for the car, but I can't find any. Also having difficulty finding ZZs in 205 width. The 215s I found are only 55 high, so I guess this would be worse not better for tramlining.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[Jonathan Kay]

Road only, or some use on track?

How important is grip in the wet?

Jonathan

[Dave Rayner]

Hi James, if you're looking for a dryer weather tyre which is same profile then the Toyo R888R would be the answer, however, a couple of points are I think 8" wide on the front would be the reason for tramlining so I think I would be looking at 6" front 8" rear running 185 and 205 Avon ZZS which is the later development of the CR500 and much better in wet conditions. Lots to consider, best of luck!!   

[James.Burton]

Road and dry only - at least that's the plan.

Just read some comments on 888r. Could be the next try. Sound like they are cheaper, better in the wet, and not to bad in the dry. Better suited to my needs than the A048s. - Thanks

[Lotus Boy]

8J on the front for normal use seems quite excessive doesn't it?  Often see similar for sprint and hillclimb cars.

Also, know the Fredy Kumschick cars in Switzerland run wider from wheels which seems to be the preference out there.

As for tyres (I have a VXi HPC too!), I fitted 048s a long time ago and when I first tried the car with them on it would tramline but more alarmingly it would give a big wiggle when I went over the white lines in the road when overtaking, to the point where when it first happened I had to pull over to check obvious things like wheel nuts.

A bit more research suggested that the stiffness of the sidewall and the sharpness of the shoulder of the tyre lends itself to give more of those characteristics in our little cars. 

I switched to R888s as they were back then and the difference was night and day.  So much better and no more wiggling and much more compliant.

That's not to say the 048s are bad tyres, sure lots us them fine, particularly on track, but I found them too nervous on the road.

Cheers,

David

 

[K7 VCT]

Try nankang  ns2r  tyres, I have them on my 310, very good value, lots of sizes to choose  from, you will probably want street compound, 

I have 6x13 rims with 185 60 13 all round, can be a little easy to lite up the rears until warmed up....

Drove 60 plus miles yesterday in the cold but dry, all good.

Seem to be an up and coming  tyre in various  car clubs, 

 

Best of luck 

 

[James.Burton]

David - Thanks. Describes just the issue I'd like to improve. The A048s have been great on smooth roads. Twisty back road with lorry ruts, and I've veered violently off course.     I'm in Austria and can confirm that charging at mountain roads with fall offs, or walls to hit, you want as much faith in the front as possible. Feathering the throttle on the second half of the corner is fun, after you made it through the first half safely. Probably why my car is now on wider wheels. Sounds like the 888s could be the next step for me.

Thanks also for the Kumschick name. The Austrian dealer is a 5 hour motorway slog away. this guy seems much closer, so could come in very handy.  Still need to find a friendly place to help pass the annual MOT, where the odd thing like speedo reading may not be 100% standard. Alas a Swiss dealer can't help with an Austrian MOT.

 

J Berry - Thanks. I'd not heard of the NS2Rs. Will look into them.

[martyn]

If you reduce the width of your front wheels, you may want to consider doing the same at the rear as well..  

I also have 150bhp and run 185 width tyres all round.  Its a nice balance, but even still I have the rear ARB fairly stiff and rear tyres pumped up to encourage a bit more movement.  In my opinion 185 front / 205 rear would be over tyred at the back (for my preference at least).

[Ivaan]

R888Rs are a great tyre for a 7.

The tracking set up will also affect tramlining. You may need a touch of toe in for road use.

Clive

[Lotus Boy]

Can't help with a friendly Austrian MOT centre ( perhaps the Kumschick garage can offer a suggestion?) but yes Kumschick will look  after you. They love their 2.0 VX engines. They built some beautiful turbo versions called the Seven Competition, back in the nineties,  not that turbo charging is probably the best route. Must have helped with high altitude motoring??

[James.Burton]

Narrower tyres would be the next step, if this doesn't do the trick.

The Austrian guy also does turbo options. I guess it must be easier than a supercharger.

Next season I'm sticking with stock power, and playing with tyres. It's more than fast enough on the road. Having said that, I have noticed myself missing umph on some overtakes (I come from big bikes). So I'm betting by the end of next summer I'll be wondering if 200 bhp won't be better.

[James.Burton]

888 are now on, and have transformed the feeling. Much less tramlining, and lighter steering.

To be fair the A048s I got the car on were old. Worn a fair way down, and I know the car had been standing for two years. So probably old and stiff too.

With regards to the width (205 front and back), which I was thinking to be too wide. I'm holding off for more experience. A blat up the Silvretta Pass today, with lots of 180° switchbacks, accelerating out the tight ones had the fronts chirping rather than the backs. Okay I was in 2nd gear and I good old prod in first would have changed things, but still I was surprised it was the front singing.  Probably just my poor driving style.

[Lotus Boy]

Great to hear that the 888s have restored some confidence and mirror my experiences with them. 

As for the the fronts chirping, don't forget the VX engines are quite heavy and probably do understeer a little more than say a K engined car. A few people here in the club 'affectionately' refer to the VX as a boat anchor ;-). 

I experienced the same plenty of times when I blasted up and down the Alps on the Swiss trips  

One way to help improve that is to go down the wide track front suspension route.