[allaergator]

Okay, I will start by saying I've spent hours and hours on this site looking for an answer to this question. I don't speak the TIRE language and couldn't tell you anything about sizes, profiles, etc. All I DO KNOW is I have a 2005 Elise with standard wheels with Yokohama Advan Neova AD07 tires. Fronts are 175/55 R16 and rears are 225/45 R17.

I have 7100 miles on the car and the rears are gone. Fronts look good but I wanted to replace all 4 if I can. Thus the problem.

What kind of tire can I get, WITHOUT replacing the wheels, that would not rub when I turn, and serve the purpose of non-track driving in summer, dry conditions only? I am hoping to find a tire that doesn't cost as much as the stock Yokohamas.

I am clueless with this stuff. I apologize for duplicating a common question - but I need to make the question specific to my car so I don't screw it up! I love the car and just want new tires (Without buying new wheels, adjusting things, etc.)

Thanks in advance for your help!! opcorn:

 

[407Driver]

I keep the stock tires up front (175/55 16 ADO7) and 225/45 17 ADO8 on the rear. The tread design of the ADO8 is different but performance and ride are the same, and they look great.

 

[addertooth]

If you give the range of weather (or location) we can probably come up with suggestions. Also include facts like "I will never track, sometimes track, some SCCA, no SCCA" and we can fine tune the suggestions for your driving habits. Really good track tires tend to be bad rain tires (Advan A048), some rain friendly tires will only hurt your track times a little (Toyo Proxes R1R treadwear 140), but those tend to cost a bit more for their given life. If it is just a cars and coffee car, then you can go with a high treadwear tire (Kuhmo Estca ASX treadwear 420)(but I feel it is a sin to put less grippy tires on a high performance car)

 

[allaergator]

Thanks for the help. I live in Florida (Tampa) and I will never track the car. I drive the car on weekends with my wife and for fun on nice days. Every once in a while I will drive it in the rain, but I try not too.

I have not been able to find a tire that matches the front size with anyone other than Yokohama. That is my biggest problem. What size/kind of tire can I put on these rims without rubbing, or making any sort of adjustments? The rears seem easy enough to find, but not all 4.

Thanks again!

 

[jds62f]

So how much cheaper of a tire do you need on a performance car? whats your budget?

 

[Discount Tire]

That is a tough size on the fronts. Unfortunately the only tire we carry that is the same size as the front is the Yokohama ADVAN Neova. We have this available as a special order only.

Here is a link to our online pricing.

Tire Products by Vehicle - Discount Tire Direct

Give us a call f we can assist you at 1-888-459-4080. Our first available agent will be happy to assist you.

 

[Deja Vu]

I keep the stock tires up front (175/55 16 ADO7) and 225/45 17 ADO8 on the rear. The tread design of the ADO8 is different but performance and ride are the same, and they look great.

I did the same thing. Works great.

 

[allaergator]

@jds62f - I just want a tire that will last longer than these... money isn't necessarily the issue. I don't want to have to buy $300 tires every 7,000 miles.

I will look into the AD08s... Do they last longer as well??

 

[nate379]

I'm in same boat, need new front tires.

I was looking at the Dunlop Star Spec, but not available in the 175/55r16 size. I could run a 205/50/16 though, about 1/2" taller, 1" wider. Those are $115 each.

Car is for summer use, maybe some wet roads here and there but mostly highway driving and autocross. I can trade tire life for good autocross performance provided they don't wear off like erasers.

The stock tires are available on Tire Rack, but at $253 each that is spendy for a small tire.

 

[R4Racin]

Not to cap on Discount Tire, I buy from them, but there is another tire supplier on-line that has a much easier tire-find interactive program. Try a search for tires online and see what comes up. From there you can narrow your search by whatever parameters you like and find out if they carry both front and rear sizes at the same time. I have some Good Year 205/50/16 and 235/45/17s on my 2005 Elise with standard rims and NO rubbing issues.

I wanted symmetrical (as opposed to asymmetrical) tires and went through a lot to find symmetrical tires for my new 6.5 and 7.5 width rims. Your rims are 6x16 and 7x17 - a little narrower rims than my new ones which are getting 205/40/17 & 245/40/17 respectively. Wayyyy too big for your width. Anyway, try different online tire supplier software and then come back to our buddies at Discount Tire and see if they can get the same thing for a comparable price.
Good Luck

 

[nate379]

No offense, but Discount Tire is not much of a deal at all! $240 shipping to ship ONE $125 tire -eek-rotfl

Tire rack has same tires for $100 each and the shipping for the pair is $75.

 

[ErictheBastard]

I have 7100 miles on the car and the rears are gone. Fronts look good but I wanted to replace all 4 if I can. Thus the problem.

These cars go through 2 to 3 sets of rears for every set of fronts. Do NOT replace the fronts until you have to. There really aren't any cheaper options, especially since the fronts are the ONLY tire available in that compound in that size.

If you upgrade to LSS rims you can run Dunlop Star Specs which will give you the same compound at a more reasonable price. There are people running the Star Specs on the base rim, but you get a seriously compromised contact patch due to the bulging.

 

[nate379]

Dunno about that, on my car the tires made it about 30,000 miles, both front and rear where worn about equally. The rears got replaced when I bought it, fronts still had a bit of tread, though I finished that off this weekend at an autocross.

Difference between the stock tire and the star spec is about 1" wider. An 8" wide tire on a 6" wide wheel should be fine. Worth it to me to try it out anyhow vs spending almost 2x the money on the stock size.

 

[squidward]

Aside from maintaining proper tire pressure and wheel alignment, how long your tires will last depends largely on the treadwear rating and your driving style.

If you are just doing regular summer driving, you'll want grand touring tires. If you don't plan to do spirited driving (aka hard turns, launches etc), get a tire with the highest treadwear rating. Under normal driving, they'll perform perfectly fine and will last forever (well not technically ). Back in college when money was tight, I bought a pair of Kumho Ecstas with a TWR of 560 that lasted me well over 60,000 miles (not kidding) on my slammed Honda.

But really, you can get the most out of any tire if you just make sure they are always properly inflated and that your alignment is good.

 

[Aedo]

...

I have 7100 miles on the car and the rears are gone. Fronts look good but I wanted to replace all 4 if I can. Thus the problem.

...

While I understand your desire to change al four tyres at once as a general rule you will go through the back tyres twice as fast as the fronts.

The standard Yokohama should last 15k-20k with the driving you are describing and with your proposed mileage you are likely to need new tyres due to age rather than wear in the future.



PS: these cars are very sensitive to tyre selection - you may find that a cheaper tyre will compromise the ride and handling more than you are will to accept.

 

[FistHammer]

No offense, but Discount Tire is not much of a deal at all! $240 shipping to ship ONE $125 tire -eek-rotfl

Tire rack has same tires for $100 each and the shipping for the pair is $75.

This is bull****

 

[407Driver]

This is bull****

I think its because He lives in Alaska, If I were going to spend that much on shipping....better be the right tire.

 

[jwb4bb]

I know you said you won't track your car, but you live in FL and won't need anything that handles snow. I am using the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs, and I do track the car. I am very happy with the grip I am getting during autocross events. I am running them on the base (non-lss) rims. I am using 205/50/16 in the front and 235/45/17 in the rear. I have no rubbing issues, and I have been tracking the car with these tires on for over a year now, including HPDE's. I also have the base suspension (non-lss).

 

[VisualEchos]

I'm sure I responded to this thread, not sure where the response went though...

Yokohama S-Drive is the answer to your prayers, and a -1.5° front and rear alignment. PM me for more info.

 

[MikeinAlexandria]

When I was at the Lotus factory, I had an hour long conversation with some folks about the tires. The Elise uses the Advan Neova AD07 LTS. Period, that's it, end of story. They are $1190 for a set on Tire Rack, which, frankly, is not that expensive a set of tires for a car that cost $50,000. Any tire without the LTS designation is going to be a comprimise at some level because the AD07s were designed by Yokohama and Lotus together to handle the ultra low weight of the Elise. Remember, our cars weigh almost 2000 pounds less than normal sports cars!

So, just go for the AD07s and dont worry about it. If they seem expensive, save up for a few more months. And as always, enjoy the car, they really are totally awesome!