I am rebuilding a 1975 Lotus Elan +2S130 and the first stage is almost complete and I am close to getting the MOT done. But I need 4 tyres 4 it. It had Pirelli P4 size 165 R 13 T on Lotus alloy wheels and the spare is a good year GT-- all these are obsolete. I am not a great stickler for that much originallity so do not wish 2 pay ?150 for Dunlop SP sports.
Any suggestion please for a resonable priced tyre that seems to be OK. Unlikely to race the car mainly touring and perhaps the odd track day.
There’s an advert in the latest club magazine for a company that specialises in tyres for classics, I think they were mentioning they had some old patterns remade for the Elan rather than the +2, I will look it up later, unless someone beats me to it.
Vintage tyres UK tel 01590-612261 web site www.vintagetyres.com they are advertising Dunlop Aquajet 165HR 13 which they describe as ‘Finally the right classic tyre for your Lotus’.
Tread pattern looks nice and classic and the speed rating is correct.
Hiya
I got Yokohoma A Drives kast year for about ?25 each mail order and then got them fitted by a local dealer. I selected them after asking for advice on here and they seem to hold pretty damn well.
Bob, remember that the Lotus +2 has very different tyre requirements to the Elan. The Plus 2 needs 165/(82) radial section tyres to fill the wheelarches, give correct gearing etc. H Speed rating is an issue for most replacements because nearest equivalent tyre size, ie R13/80s are almost exclusively made as budget tyres for eastern european obsoletes or trailers and are T rated
Also be aware that a lot of the tyre talk on this forum confuses the fitments between Plus 2 and Elans, even when folks are talking about Plus 2.
However if you dig, you will find various ideas. One of them is to up size to 175/70 (too small) or 185/70 (about correct diameter but runs into clearance issues with inner front guards). Check my posts from earlier this year and you will find feedback from some people who managed this without any issues otherwise all sorts of problems.
Bottom line is to be clear about what you are using the car for. If its only going to be driven for its annual MOT, obviously anything will do. One extreme is some nice track day road legal tyes, with treads/compounds that will give reasonable wet grip. The other extreme is very high mileage cars where you want 30,000 miles. Gordon Lund has posted what he uses for this kind of application (around ?30-?40 per tyre). If you are spending above ?100 each, Michelin do the XAS. Handi Andi sings the praises of the “A” drive, a tyre formulated for economy cars
Each to their own.
Regards
Gerry
PS, just a quick check now on mytyres.com for 165/80R13 gives a nil result
My selection of A-drives was based on askign the same question on here as has been asked. They do seem to hold well and I am running 175/75s and they seem to hold the road better than the drive can maage. Only time will tell though, was a move away from my usual selection of Pirelli P6000s that I use on my audis and had considered but the cost of them put me off.
Andy, tyres for the Plus 2 are one of those things where we are pretty short of real choices, compromises have to be made. I see that you have gone the up-size route (ie 175 section compared to 165 which is what the car was designed for). Internal clearance issues against the inner fender (on lock and bump) is something to check for. Some Plus 2 owners have had the guards rub right through.
Again, 175/75R13 is a very odd tyre size. Mytryes are not able to quote online for example. However specialist dealers, often Motorsport orientated (think of all those Escorts running around on 13" rims) can come up with obscure sizes, designs and compounds.
On your A drives, I’m sure they wipe the floor with my Barums (A UK sports car company fitted them). From memory, they are H rated too.
I saw a set of Sumitomo HTR’s going onto a Triumph GT6. The size was 175/70 R13 82H. This may not be correct size for out Elans and +2’s but they may be available in other small sizes. The tread and construction look reasonably modern.
Ken
Thanks for all the interesting info. Like most things in life not as straight forward as one might expect!! Ian ( rocket) the Goodyears you used were they 165 13? I don’t really want to increase the size following the other comments on the post. Local dealer has Goodyear Dura Grip in that size for a reasonable price ?38 +vat each all balanced and fitted.
I’ve just been reading this and I’m getting worried. I thought I’d just walk into a shop and get some more Goodyear GT70 185/70/13
Does anyone know the nearest current tyre to this as apart from a little rubbing on full lock I’m very pleased with them
I don’t want a tyre that says “Trailer” on the side!
This is the size I bought for my '71 Plus 2 Federal with 5 1/2" Minilites. I wrote the following in my note book, which IIRC I got off of the TireRack site. I ordered the tires through a local dealer as shipment to Canada is a bit of an issue. They were an easy order item for him.
Sumitomo HTR 200’s
175/70/R13 82H
High performance summer 4.5" to 6" mounting width
22.7" diameter, 576.6 mm diameter
Not sure I did this correctly, but I figured them for 96% of stock diameter? The tire dealer told me the stock tires with no profile figure in their specification are 78 profile, but I have not seen this bit of info in the previous posts on tire sizes?
Cannot definitively speak to clearance issues at the extremes as car is presently disassembled, but static fitment looked fine and I didn’t see evidence of rubbing.
I know any interesting thread will receive a lot of replies and it can be as obstructive as it is well meaning.
Based on some experience with my old MK1 MR2, I replaced my nearly new but awful 165/80 Goodyears on my 130/5 with 175/70 Firestone Multihawks, at less than ?100 a set, and the results transformed the car, as they did on the wonderful old Toyota. They were suggested by several colleagues who run very silly turbo Japanese metal.
Expensive is not always better. With their boldly lettered sidewalls the Firestones don’t have the look of period tyres but they are well priced with superb performance wet and dry (given my very low mileage I cannot comment on life span) and they don’t catch the arches/springs or upset the gearing too much, you still feel every pebble on the road and the handling remains Lotus sharp running 25 lb pressure.
Tyres are very, very important and I would not hesitate in spending top money on rubber even if it meant scrimping on other things, and although I admit to being an extremely fussy bugger I recommend them whole heartedly.
My 71 130/s is running on Firestone F630 175/70/13, They look period even down to the Firestone letters in the old style typo… I have small problems with the space around the springs though. Only when driven hard