Caterham tire recomendations

[Hettric]

Just purchased 1998 Sprint with 1800 miles. Tire size 205/45/16 (I believe). Tire date stamp 1/1997 - think I'm in the market for tires!

Street use, doubt enough miles to worry much about wear rating, but don't want tires I have to worry about cracking in the cold garage, or "pick up stones" sticky. There are Michelin's on it, must be stock. Recomendations?

Thanks

[S1Steve]

Hettric,

Please go to the Wheel and Tire section, alot of good comments on the subject.

 

Good Luck with the new 7..

[Hettric]

Thank you, Sorry guess this question is in the wrong place.

Edited August 22, 2012 by Hettric

[11Budlite]

Eric - A local friend with a 92 Caterham just went through the same search. I told him to get the lowest tread wear tire that he could afford and I think he ended up with the Toyo R1R. Treadwear rating was 140 and I think it was also one of the lightest tires in that size. Here's a Tire Rack search for that size: [/url]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=205%2F&ratio=45&diameter=16

[Ian7]

If money isn't too big a deal, strongly consider downsizing the rim diameter.

Much lighter unsprung weight, and the smaller tire might have a chance to warm up to a decent operating temperature.

Unless you have stupidly high levels of power, a 16" tire is pointless.

[Taber10]

While I'm sure that Ian7 is correct as far as lighter unsprung weight and tire temperature,

I often wish I had a larger diameter rim/tire combo ON THE STREET because of the clearance issue. I recommend you check what that does to your sump clearance before downsizing. Just a thought.

 

Taber

[JohnK]

See the Aug Car & Driver. Comparison of 9 of the latest crop of high performance tires. I'm looking at the Hankook Ventus R-S3 and the Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08 for my Ultralite. Kibitzing about these welcome :-)

[Hettric]

Thanks guys - Wow! I feel I just stumbled into a fighter pilot's gathering.

Having ridden in a Seven once and yet to drive, if there are reports of one seen driving around at 23 with the left blinker on--------

I think for this first set of tires I don't want "summer tires" that have to be stored above 15*, It drops below 0 here occasionally, don't want to be limited to a heated garage.

And the sump is definitely a concern, don't have the car in my possession yet but it looked mighty close to me.

[Guest Terry]

Cr500

[Kitcat]

Yes, CR500 is a great tire, tho at $450 each, hardly affordable.

[turboeric]

I often wish I had a larger diameter rim/tire combo ON THE STREET because of the clearance issue.

 

Taber

Downsizing the wheel diameter won't necessarily change the ride height. If he goes from the 205/45x16 to a 205/50x15 (a very common size), the ride height will decrease by only 0.1 inches.

[Hettric]

At the moment new rims are not in the picture.

[supersportsp]

At the moment new rims are not in the picture.

 

Take a look at the Toyo T1R. Grippy, but not pick-up stone grippy. They also won't crack in colder temps like an R-compound etc. They are also the lightest tire for a Caterham save the CR500. I did a ton of research on this, and they are typically 2 pounds lighter than comparable tires.

 

A lot of R-compound tires have a very stiff sidewall, because they are designed to be used on 3000 lb plus cars. This isn't always a good thing with a Seven.

 

I used these for street and two track days. While my R-compound Avon's on the 13 wheels put my car in another league on the track, on the street they offer plenty of grins.

[Jackal]

I've heard great things about the Toyo R888. I'll let you know how they feel in a month. :seeya:

[twobone]

A good place to check on tire feedback for that size is the pelicanparts BBS. I use to own a Porsche 911 with 205/45/16 tires. You can be sure to get a massive amount of great info off of that site