Avon Replacement

[CarlB]

I need some treaded tires. Does anyone have any information on the Kumho Ecsta V-70 tires? Jack Webb says they are about the equivalent of a ZZS. They are close to the size of the Avon / Nova 13-inch tires. 

[Daniel Escobar]

44 minutes ago, CarlB said:

I need some treaded tires. Does anyone have any information on the Kumho Ecsta V-70 tires? Jack Webb says they are about the equivalent of a ZZS. They are close to the size of the Avon / Nova 13-inch tires. 

Ive tried them. very good, but not that much better than AR1, specially since they need to be sourced from UK. Your best bet would be Nankang AR1, 

https://philstireservice.com/product/nankang-ar-1/ has them in stock, fronts 185/60/13 and rears 205/60/13. These are my everyday tires and are way better than the R888R

[CarlB]

Thank you - I appreciate the input. I am going to see if I can find these here. 

[sf4018]

I went to Spa race track a few weeks ago for a race, there were a ton of Caterham races and different classes of cars there, all wearing the new Nova tires, they performed very well on track. Nova had a full support presence there also, so they are serious about it which is good to see. Very positive.
 

 

As a side note, it was a stormy day but the lightning didn’t stop the racing unlike the US.

[pethier]

3 hours ago, sf4018 said:

I went to Spa race track a few weeks ago for a race, there were a ton of Caterham races and different classes of cars there, all wearing the new Nova tires, they performed very well on track. Nova had a full support presence there also, so they are serious about it which is good to see. Very positive.
 

 

IMG_0919.mov 18.67 MB · 3 downloads  

As a side note, it was a stormy day but the lightning didn’t stop the racing unlike the US.

Nice little video clip.  Of course, I did have to turn my laptop upside-down.

[Croc]

MRF tires being tested today. 
 

 

 

 

Someone here has a set of Nova slicks to try out today.   

[11Budlite]

7 hours ago, Croc said:

MRF tires being tested today. 
 

Someone here has a set of Nova slicks to try out today.   

 

 

Let us know how it goes Croc. Are these going to be available in the US?

[Croc]

15 hours ago, 11Budlite said:

 

Let us know how it goes Croc. Are these going to be available in the US?

 

They will not be available as road tires but may come in as track tires - to be determined.  I imagine you could import yourself?   They are the standard tire for Caterham race series replacing the Toyos.

 

Very good tire.  Takes a relatively long time to scrub in - 15 mins of track time.  Quite slippy until scrubbed in.  I had no problems getting them up to temp as its warm here but, according to the other race guys here, in February in winter on a cold track, they will never come up to their optimum 26psi hot no matter what you do.  I was releasing tire pressures after each session to keep at 26psi hot. 

 

Not quite as good as the former Avon ZZR - fraction less grippy - but still a superb tire to track a Caterham on.  Releases very gradually so you get lovely drift rotations under throttle in corners.  Really flatters as a driver.   Very communicative about losing grip so very easy to catch - somewhat like a bias ply tire in that respect.  

 

It turned out a hot day but the MRF tires were consistent all day.  Wearing quite well.  So much nicer than the Toyo R888s I was using at Le Mans the previous day.  I will use these from now on until the Novas come on line.  I have an order placed for a set of Novas which may be available for my Zandvoort trip in September or Spa in October.  

[Daniel Escobar]

7 hours ago, Croc said:

 

They will not be available as road tires but may come in as track tires - to be determined.  I imagine you could import yourself?   They are the standard tire for Caterham race series replacing the Toyos.

 

Very good tire.  Takes a relatively long time to scrub in - 15 mins of track time.  Quite slippy until scrubbed in.  I had no problems getting them up to temp as its warm here but, according to the other race guys here, in February in winter on a cold track, they will never come up to their optimum 26psi hot no matter what you do.  I was releasing tire pressures after each session to keep at 26psi hot. 

 

Not quite as good as the former Avon ZZR - fraction less grippy - but still a superb tire to track a Caterham on.  Releases very gradually so you get lovely drift rotations under throttle in corners.  Really flatters as a driver.   Very communicative about losing grip so very easy to catch - somewhat like a bias ply tire in that respect.  

 

It turned out a hot day but the MRF tires were consistent all day.  Wearing quite well.  So much nicer than the Toyo R888s I was using at Le Mans the previous day.  I will use these from now on until the Novas come on line.  I have an order placed for a set of Novas which may be available for my Zandvoort trip in September or Spa in October.  

 

great news! more options is always great. 

are those on the same sizes than the Toyo? 185/60 and  205/60? 
 

[Slonie]

On 1/9/2026 at 6:29 PM, CBuff said:

Just saw this from Toyo. Proxes sport R coming in 13” sizes in Q1 2026. They seem to be street dot compliant 200 tread wear. Likely less effective on track than the r888r but maybe for the road going crowd another option. 
 

https://www.toyotires.com/product/proxes-sport-r/

 

As I was watching this one... It seems they may have slowly been sneaking out — there are some sizes listed as available now at Tire Rack (as small as 15"), but the 13" is still MIA (and I did email trackdaytires.com and they said they had no idea when the 13s would come). Strangely though, for a tire that's supposedly out, I haven't found a single review or impression on it yet (on tirerack or otherwise). So we're still waiting to see if this is a step up down or sideways from the R888R for the street.

[KnifeySpoony]

For us Bay Areans, I have just heard that Roger Kraus has closed up shop...

[Vovchandr]

1 hour ago, KnifeySpoony said:

For us Bay Areans, I have just heard that Roger Kraus has closed up shop...

Oh no. 

 

I guess I'll have to go to the son then. 

[toldfield]

I’m at Laguna Seca.  I’ll go see who’s doing the tires. 

 

[Croc]

22 hours ago, Daniel Escobar said:

are those on the same sizes than the Toyo? 185/60 and  205/60? 

 

yes

 

front

 

 

rear

 

[redursidae]

On 8/11/2026 at 12:24 PM, Slonie said:

 

As I was watching this one... It seems they may have slowly been sneaking out — there are some sizes listed as available now at Tire Rack (as small as 15"), but the 13" is still MIA (and I did email trackdaytires.com and they said they had no idea when the 13s would come). Strangely though, for a tire that's supposedly out, I haven't found a single review or impression on it yet (on tirerack or otherwise). So we're still waiting to see if this is a step up down or sideways from the R888R for the street.

I’ve been watching these as well and was planning on running them late 2026 or early 2027. No reviews that I’ve seen, but worth the gamble for me. I dislike the R888Rs enough that I’ll try just about anything.

 

Edit: I love the Nankang CRS V2 on my Miata. They’re fast, grippy and communicative. But I would fear their sidewalls are too stiff for a Caterham in the street? I don’t remember how the R888Rs felt in the Miata compared to the CRS

Edited Wednesday at 11:30 PM by redursidae

[pethier]

4 hours ago, redursidae said:

I dislike the R888Rs enough that I’ll try just about anything.

Have you tried the Yokohama A052?

[redursidae]

7 hours ago, pethier said:

Have you tried the Yokohama A052?

I drove a Miata with them but only on the road. The sidewalls felt stiff too. How do they feel in a Seven?

[Daniel Escobar]

19 hours ago, redursidae said:

I’ve been watching these as well and was planning on running them late 2026 or early 2027. No reviews that I’ve seen, but worth the gamble for me. I dislike the R888Rs enough that I’ll try just about anything.

 

Edit: I love the Nankang CRS V2 on my Miata. They’re fast, grippy and communicative. But I would fear their sidewalls are too stiff for a Caterham in the street? I don’t remember how the R888Rs felt in the Miata compared to the CRS

Sadly CRS V2 are not available in 13s.. I think these are the top 200tw tire, the AR1s are just not there

[pethier]

8 hours ago, redursidae said:

I drove a Miata with them but only on the road. The sidewalls felt stiff too. How do they feel in a Seven?

I drove Yoko A052 tires on an Elise and on 2 different Sevens.  I like them on the road.  I really like them for autocrossing, because they have some stick right away.  I run them at 20psi cold for both road and autocross,

 

I don't know that the 13" size Yokos have a DOT number.