Avon Replacement

[Croc]

3 hours ago, Daniel Escobar said:

 

Those rear tires look meaty! how do they fit on the fenders? whats the width and offset of those WESMO BBS wheels? 

 

They are custom dimension 3 part wheels for the CSR - the BBS center is not unique to Wesmo.  I ordered bits recently from BBS for new wheels for another project.  They are off the shelf motorsport pieces you can order direct from BBS if you know what you are doing.   My wheels will not fit an R300 or any de Dion chassis.  Thats ok as you can just show the center to BBS to order it and then ask for the inner and outer barrel pieces to get your custom offset and width to suit your car.  

 

For the record my wheels are:

Front: 7x13 ET40

Rear: 9x13 ET8 (not sure about this offset as I am traveling and I really need to find my paper BBS order files at home) - either way it would be wrong for your car.  

 

The 13 inch wheels always look a little lost in the rear guards of any Caterham - mine is the same.  This is a photo of it wearing the Hoosiers, which I used before I shifted to the P-Zeros.  The P-Zeros fill out the rear guard a little more.  About the same on the front as the Hoosiers.    Width is perfect.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Daniel Escobar]

28 minutes ago, Croc said:

 

They are custom dimension 3 part wheels for the CSR - the BBS center is not unique to Wesmo.  I ordered bits recently from BBS for new wheels for another project.  They are off the shelf motorsport pieces you can order direct from BBS if you know what you are doing.   My wheels will not fit an R300 or any de Dion chassis.  Thats ok as you can just show the center to BBS to order it and then ask for the inner and outer barrel pieces to get your custom offset and width to suit your car.  

 

For the record my wheels are:

Front: 7x13 ET40

Rear: 9x13 ET8 (not sure about this offset as I am traveling and I really need to find my paper BBS order files at home) - either way it would be wrong for your car.  

 

The 13 inch wheels always look a little lost in the rear guards of any Caterham - mine is the same.  This is a photo of it wearing the Hoosiers, which I used before I shifted to the P-Zeros.  The P-Zeros fill out the rear guard a little more.  About the same on the front as the Hoosiers.    Width is perfect.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks great!

 

Slicks and rollbar at the track.... Spicy! 

[Daniel Escobar]

So an update on the last track outing. 

 

Kumho V70A.... Lot of hype form folks in Europe and honestly, very disappointed. 

 

All things the same, lost 2.5 secs from my previous PR using the ZZR Extreme. I would rate this tyre on par or a bit superior to the AR1, both in grip and operating window. 

 

Kind of bummed, since I also opted for the wider front/back expecting at least to compensate to some extent. Breaking was the only truly aspect where they outperformed the ZZR, the wider track meant that I could shift the bias valve forward and push harder before getting the fronts to lock-up

 

On ZZRs I was recording 1.59 Gs on a medium speed left sweeper and with the Kumho was only getting 1.42. this translated to carrying way less speed into corners (sometimes up to 10km/h) 

 

durning breaking, the ZZR recordes a Max of 0.85 Gs on the hardest breaking point, whilst the Kumho did 1.1Gs. 

 

The hunt continues to find the best "road legal" tire for the Caterham. 

 

I imagine the ZZR in the next size 215 front and 245 rears, would be the ultime choice. 

 

Let's hope Nova has a solution soon...

 

On the meantime, I'm debating, either to go full slicks or keep finding a suitable replacements. Tempted to get a set of 15in wheels and try a more modern tire. Hoosier track attack pro has some options coming for 15in, that with maybe different spring rates could be a good option. 

 

So far

 

#1 ZZR Extreme

#2 V70A medium compound

#3/#4 AR1/R888R. (Tied according to my lap times)

 

 

Edited June 27, 2025 by Daniel Escobar

[sf4018]

R7 update: It takes 100 clicks on the fronts to get the correct rake (due to the very narrow rears), but there's enough ride height to get by without having to lower the rear suspension, so that's good. The bad news is I need to add 1/4" spacers on the fronts, there was a significant amount of tire rub on the corners with the wingstays.

[11Budlite]

18 hours ago, sf4018 said:

The bad news is I need to add 1/4" spacers on the fronts, there was a significant amount of tire rub on the corners with the wingstays.

 

 

When I switched to the race wingstays (P/N 76101, 76102) with Hoosier R7's this past winter, there was almost no clearance and I'm sure they would have rubbed at the first corner. I was able to bend the wingstays to gain enough clearance that they didn't rub at all at my first track day. I had to bend the arm in two places on each arm of the wingstay. The first bend was to get the clearance to the sidewall of the tire, and the second was to bring the upper portion of the arm parallel to the tire tread. After the first bend, I had to shim between the tire and the arm to maintain the sidewall clearance. It might be an option for you but YMMV.

[sf4018]

On 8/17/2025 at 11:02 AM, 11Budlite said:

 

When I switched to the race wingstays (P/N 76101, 76102) with Hoosier R7's this past winter, there was almost no clearance and I'm sure they would have rubbed at the first corner. I was able to bend the wingstays to gain enough clearance that they didn't rub at all at my first track day. I had to bend the arm in two places on each arm of the wingstay. The first bend was to get the clearance to the sidewall of the tire, and the second was to bring the upper portion of the arm parallel to the tire tread. After the first bend, I had to shim between the tire and the arm to maintain the sidewall clearance. It might be an option for you but YMMV.

The 1/4" spacers did the trick. I could only get slotted spacers at the local parts store so centering was a rough guess and there was some vibration but it was ok. But the 5 race laps I put in the R7s seemed good, held up to the intense heat (95F) well. It held up better than I did, I pitted after 5 laps as the mustang in front was dropping oil, I was completely covered in oil by the time I came in and about to pass out from the heat.

[CarlB]

I was just on NOVA"s web site and they list ZZR and ZZS tires like they are available. 

 

NOVA Motorsports.pdf

Edited August 19, 2025 by CarlB

[KnifeySpoony]

That's promising!

[Daniel Escobar]

59 minutes ago, CarlB said:

I was just on NOVA"s web site and they list ZZR and ZZS tires like they are available. 

 

NOVA Motorsports.pdf 3.79 MB · 1 download

they've been that way for a while. But wont have stock at least, until end of year according to some wholesalers in europe I contacted..

[KnifeySpoony]

Are these made in US or abroad? Will they be subject to tariffs? I just paid 37.5% tariff on new wheels from Caterham...

[CarlB]

The tires are made in Portugal. I just ordered a bunch of stuff from Redline. I thought auto parts were 25%

[CarlB]

Nova responded to my request for availability of 13-inch ZZS and ZZR tires.

 

  

Hello Carl

 

Thank you for reaching out, apologies for the delayed response

 

Regarding the ZZS and ZZR in the 13” fitments, we plan to have both available next year. These are two examples where the returning products will not be carbon copies of their Melksham-made predecessors. Both will feature new compound formulations. They will also be produced under the Nova branding.

 

The ZZS will remain broadly comparable to the previous version, while the ZZR will initially be positioned between the standard A64 compound and the more aggressive Extreme 333 specification.

 

These two products will no longer be R117 label-compliant. However, they will still carry E-marking and will be classified under the "competition use only" exemption. They’ll also appear on Motorsport UK’s List C. To clarify they will no longer be road legal.

 

This decision stems from increasingly stringent legislation around label compliance. Achieving certification would require significant R&D effort and will undoubtedly compromise tyre performance. So, at least in the short to medium term, our focus will remain on motorsport and trackday applications.

 

Hope that all makes sense, but feel free to reach out with any questions.

 

Kind regards

Dan

[Croc]

 What about these?  Guaranteed to make you a complete pussy in the corners.  Should be accurate for most of us…. 

 

[sf4018]

I had to lookup what R117 compliance is - turns out the UN is now getting involved in tire specifications for the EU, as if the EU didn't already have enough regulation. 

[Daniel Escobar]

Seems like Toyo might be producing the new Sport R in 13in, according to their website. 

 

https://www.toyotires.com/product/proxes-sport-r/?fbclid=IwY2xjawN5xrNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR4NRsjfN2NbpOb1LHkE1LkpF2kh3HZi3LnF_RooVssXqlua-qWRa621OU-erA_aem_3SoGvbQwIUHNy2ZmdeQQmw

 

If they are attempting to cómprate against the latest 200TW tires... We might get a great modern alternative in our sizes. 

[Slonie]

5 hours ago, Daniel Escobar said:

Seems like Toyo might be producing the new Sport R in 13in, according to their website. 

 

https://www.toyotires.com/product/proxes-sport-r/?fbclid=IwY2xjawN5xrNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR4NRsjfN2NbpOb1LHkE1LkpF2kh3HZi3LnF_RooVssXqlua-qWRa621OU-erA_aem_3SoGvbQwIUHNy2ZmdeQQmw

 

If they are attempting to cómprate against the latest 200TW tires... We might get a great modern alternative in our sizes. 

 

Best news outta SEMA for sure!

 

 

[Croc]

9 hours ago, Slonie said:

 

Best news outta SEMA for sure!

 

 

 

 

Is this replacing the RA1 or is it replacing the R888?   Or maybe its a whole new tire in which case where is it positioned in the Toyo range?

[Daniel Escobar]

4 hours ago, Croc said:

 

 

Is this replacing the RA1 or is it replacing the R888?   Or maybe its a whole new tire in which case where is it positioned in the Toyo range?

From what I can see, having followed the evolution of 200TW tires, is that will be a "step down" from R888 because of TW (in theory) but, seeing how these tires have evolved, this will be a faster tire for sure than R888. If you look closely at Nankang (who have been stealing a lot of sales from the traditional brands) Their newest tire, te CRS-V2, is way faster than the AR1. The AR1 is TW100 and the CRS is TW200, and the AR1 competes with the R888 (and is faster). The 200TW space have become the benchmark in track focused tires and if Toyo wants to compete, they will have to provide a similar tires than the rest. They now call them Super 200, and other tires in the category (all TW200) are:

New hoosier Track Attack Pro
Pilot Cup 2R
Bridgeton RE71-RS
Goodyear Eagle Supercar 3R
Nankang CRS
Vitour Tempesta P1

All are miles faster than R888R

 

So im pretty excited!!!



 

[Croc]

 

This article analyzing different tire options seems to track with your observations.  Nor all tires are in our needed sizes.  Also the Hoosier ranking is before they effed up the compounds in the 13 inch tires sizes.  

 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/track-tire-buyers-guide/

 

 

 

[Daniel Escobar]

15 minutes ago, Croc said:

 

This article analyzing different tire options seems to track with your observations.  Nor all tires are in our needed sizes.  Also the Hoosier ranking is before they effed up the compounds in the 13 inch tires sizes.  

 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/track-tire-buyers-guide/

 

 

 

Bright future in my opinion, with the news on the "middle ground" compound for the Nova and this new Toyos... I guess 2026 cant come soon enough to do some testing!!