[cashxdr]

My buddy and me will be driving our cars at the end of july from Ohio to Washington State. I have my 06 Elise and he has a 09 370z. We will be driving back to Ohio in November. We have already planned to take the north route on the way there and the southern route on the way back.

So... Considering I will be seeing every type of road and all types of weather, (hopefully avoiding the really cold) is there any tire that would work well.

We deploy for a living and only have a short time home, so I can assure you that the tires and car will be pushed as hard as humanly possible for this trip.

And well, I got to keep up with his high powered fancy sports car (I think it has a latte maker in the dash) yet not feel like I was beat up everyday from the road. I know it is a pure sports car and the ride will be a pure sports car ride, but if there is something that takes the edge off, that would be nice

I know this is a tall order for any tire, but I thought I would at least ask.

Thanks,

D

 

[kestrel74]

R888's

 

[luxige]

Good for you! Have a great, safe trip. (How about some posts and pics from the road?)

Since you'll be in some remote areas:
http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f91/answer-lack-spare-tire-70749/

 

[cashxdr]

Yes, that is the plan to document the road trip. The plan is to take at least a week for the drive each way. Maybe stop at Oshkosh if our timing is right and I would love to go back through Yellowstone. Probably see the Grand canyon again on the way back.

How are the R888's in rain and on bad roads?

 

[cemaykan]

be careful...!

 

[cashxdr]

I'm currently on a really small base in Afganyland, so the road trip would have to be safer than were I am now.

So looking at the R888's, to match the stock tires diameter and to fit the stock rims, seems I would be looking at the 195/50-16 and the 235/45-17

Correct?

 

[GregD]

Stock sizes are 195/50-16 and 225/45-17.

 

[cashxdr]

Ah, thank you, I did a typo.

 

[bgsterling]

This sounds vaguely familiar. I did Oregon to Ohio and back and back last summer. It's a great trip and the car is surprisingly comfortable. I was on A048s on the way out with about 5k miles on them and new R888s on the way back. Both behaved pretty much the same. I saw some rain in Montana on the way back. Pretty good dumping of it. With the new R888s, I had to slow down to 55-65 mph as the car felt light. That's not a reflection of the tires as the A048s felt that way when newer in Oregon rain. I think the bottom line is to make sure you have good tires and don't push it. I did run the pressure a couple pounds higher than usual (30F and 28R, IIRC). I figure the extra air could help rolling resistance and gas mileage. Plus, no real twisties on the interstates.

I put in about 13 hours a day each day of the trip and was plenty comfortable. The two problems were pain in my right heel and occasional noise issues. The pain was due to not moving my foot very often. For long, open cruising sections, like pretty much all of North Dakota and Montana, you can use your left foot on the throttle. Otherwise, you can kind of put your right foot against the center divider. The noise issues were only on concrete roads with the windows down. The pitch of the tires on the road was annoying. For those sections, the windows were up and the A/C was on.

Oh, and I almost ran out of gas in Montana. Don't assume that gas stations are open late. You may find yourself dried out and in the middle of nowhere.

Enjoy the ride. Seriously, it was the highlight of my year. Let me know if you have any questions I might be able to answer.

-Brad

 

[cashxdr]

Thanks Brad! This is my 7th trip across county, but the first in a sports car. I am looking forward to it.

I will be getting the R888's in May when I get home, so they should be good and broke in for the trip in late July.

How funny, I almost ran out of gas in Montana also on my last road trip.

I am a little concerned about the return trip in November. I guess I will just keep a eye on the weather and pick up some S-Drives or such if it is going to be extraordinarily cold.

D

 

[ghastley]

Last that long?

Will one set of tires last that long? I note that the only other poster saying he'd done the distance replaced them halfway. I think you need a few sets pre-positioned along the route! :shift:

 

[bgsterling]

Will one set of tires last that long? I note that the only other poster saying he'd done the distance replaced them halfway.

To be clear, I started my trip with A048s that already had ~5000 miles on them. At ~7500 miles, they weren't on the wear bars by the time I got to Ohio. Heat-cycled, probably, but not worn down. Arguably, I could have driven them back since I was just cruising on the interstates and there was low probability of rain. However, I was doing a 2-day HPDE at Mid Ohio. I didn't want to take those tires on the track, so I swapped them out. I doubt the OP will need to swap out tires along the way. That being said, if there are no track days on the schedule, a less expensive move might be to put on a less aggressive tire, like the A07.

-Brad