[Solo2Elise]

Just wondering has anyone thought about how to carry autox tires to event on elise? I would not like to put a hitch on it and tow the tire trailer behind. Cannot afford getting a truck at the moment, so it seems drive them on the street is the only choice now.

Hung-Jen Hung


Finally found a car that could replce my OSP FD.

 

[Randy Chase]

HI, welcome to the forum. It has been discussed here-

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=630&highlight=hitch

I have also asked about it on SELOC and the conclusion so far is that there is no easy way anyone knows of, of putting a removable hitch on the Elise. But I will try. There does not appear to be easy to access mounting points for a hitch.

So.... that makes things difficult.

1. Get a full size car trailer and tow vehicle. A great option. Negatives are cost, storage size, fuel milage. Positives are you protect the Elise during travel and put less miles on it. If a problem occurs, you can just load it on the trailer. You can haul a lot more stuff.

2. Ride on your racing tires. Not a good option unless the distances are very short and/or the tires are heavier duty (not the thin carcassed Hoosiers). Also a very bad idea in the rain.

3. Arrange someone else to carry your tires. You could carry two tires in the front passenger seat. That leaves only a requirement to have someone haul two more tires. You can also ship them UPS.

4. Use a separate support vehicle to carry tires. Downsides are more miles on two cars and it takes two drivers.

 

[Tripledigits]

How's this idea - design a removable hard top designed for securely holding 4 tires. It'd look ugly driving, but get the tires to the event. I wouldn't think the weight would adversely affect the car structurally. The CG would be way up on the ride to the track, though.

Just a thought.....

Jeff

 

[ConeFusion]

I'll figure it out when the time comes. Right now, I'm thinking a hybrid of options 2 and 3 from Randy's list would make most sense for me. I could certainly drive to local events on Kumhos. For larger events out of town, there are normally a few local people who trailer their cars. They could probably be talked into carrying an extra set of wheels.

 

[Tripledigits]

I think I'll be driving on Kumhos to the events - maybe just leave them on all the time. This is assuming there are tires in the right sizes.

 

[z06fun]

Another option is to put 2 on the car and 2 in the car. This works for events that are not quite local but not really really far away. For local events I just drive to the event on all 4 tires. I plan to use Kumhos assuming they fit, and this is what I have been doing for a while with my S2000.

 

[John Stimson]

Keep in mind that the new Hoosiers are going to be more suitable for street use than before, and the new Kumhos are going to be less suitable than before. Both the A3S04 and V710 are going to have steel belts (new for Hoosier) and no tread other than two circumferential grooves (new for Kumho).

The top-mounted rack idea is intriguing. All you would need is a pair of the side rails from a soft top, and you could weld up a frame from there. It wouldn't be weather proof, but if the weather sucks you might just want to compete on your street tires anyway. Otherwise we're talking about buying a second hardtop to modify, or figuring out how to secure a Yakima or Thule rack to the hardtop. Thanks for the idea, Jeff!

Fortunately the seasons are pretty well divided here. I could run race tires in the summer for the Championship season and drive to events, and run street tire class for the winter slush season...or run A048s during slush, if that's what Lotus will supply with the LSS.

 

[OneFastLotus]

Ive carried bikes, kayaks and snowboards on this set up which I put together custom with the help of a yakima rep ( who I cant name because he wasnt supposed to be suggesting things for me because yakima stopped making a miata rack back in 92).

 

[OneFastLotus]

and thats obviously the WRONG pic above....sorry, try again,
Here,

 

[brownsa5]

Thats an excellent idea. I suspect either Yak or Thule load bars could be made to work. May be an idea for a "special purpose" hardtop, maybe with reinforcement where the loadbars attach.

I also think 3 tires inside is possible - I did this numerous times in my miata.

Steve
05 Elise Saffron Yellow

 

[John Stimson]

Yeah, 3 inside could be possible...the fronts won't be any bigger than Miata fronts, and that passenger seat is fixed in position way back. A 225 or 235 tire on a 7.5" wheel will be wider than anything I've put in the Miata though. Then you can put the 4th one in the spare tire bin...oh, wait! Potentially one sideways behind the driver's seat, too, if you're short and like to drive close to the steering wheel like me. How much space is there between the seat back and the rear bulkhead with the seat all the way forward?

4 tires in an Elise may seem impossible, but I didn't think you could put 8 tires in an MR2 until I tried it:

All the photos

 

[brownsa5]

John,

I did 3 225's (albeit on 6" rims) in the miata. Only problem was 4th one in trunk didn't close (this obviously didn't stop you!). The Elise has the potential to carry 4 inside - I think there is more clearance from seat to dash than in miata. It will be interesting to try. Only challenge will be where to stow helmet and jack. Next time I see one I will try to take measurements.

Steve

 

[Solo2Elise]

John,

Only challenge will be where to stow helmet and jack. Next time I see one I will try to take measurements.

Steve

Helmet shouldn't be a problem. What is your head for?

It looks like it's very possible to put 4 tires w/o trunk closed. We will see.

solo2elise

 

[L8BRAKR]

Helmet shouldn't be a problem. What is your head for?

Yeah, that's not gonna scare the bejesus out of people on the freeway. I can hear the 911 calls now "Um I'm on the 101 and there's this guy driving around, he's squished up against the steering wheel and wearing a helmet, and it appears that there are body bags stuffed in the passenger seat, now he's looking at me (muffled and spastic) Don't stare at him Johnny!! ok I'm back sorry, um now he's pointing and laughing at me. I'm really getting scared. I, I... I don't think he likes the 22" chrome rims on my windstar"

 

[John Stimson]

I don't think that the trunk opening is big enough to fit a tire even partially inside, but I could be wrong. However, the trunk would be the obvious place for your helmet and tools. I don't know if a jack is going to fit. Will the standard MVP/Craftsman jacks slide under, or will we need one of those low profile jacks that are larger overall?

 

[Randy Chase]

From what I can tell, it looks like you will need a lower profile jack, or use the standard small jack and drive the car up onto some 2x4 wood bits to get it started.

6 tires in the MR2-

 

[Randy Chase]

If you could fit a tire in the trunk, that would open up the possibilities. At a glance, it looks like a very tight fit.

You should be able to fit two tires in the passenger seat like the photos above show. If you could fit one in the trunk, that leaves only one last tire to solve and could perhaps be carried on a classic carrier style luggage rack.

 

[Russ_S]

It seems like the possibilities are pretty slim that the tires, jack, and everything else I need (small cooler, rain gear, air tank or pump, a few tools, etc.) are going to fit. I'm thinking co-driver. He/she pays for the Hoosiers and brings them to the site, along with the jack and air tank. I already have volunteers.

 

[meat]

Getting everything you need, including tires, inside an Elise isn't going to happen. By everything, I mean jack, jackstands, air tank, tools, driving shoes, helmet, oil, brake fluid, WD40, clothes (if you are going out of town), chairs, spare parts, etc.

Granted I'm more focused on track time, but I know alot of auto-x'ers and they take alot of sh!t to the events.

 

[Randy Chase]

Or you learn to pack light. In that picture above, is close to how I drove my MR2 to Kansas and back more than once.

No room for a small floor jack, brought scissor jack. No jackstands. No air tank, just a small cig lighter plug in compressor. No chair. No ez-up. No cooler or I buy a $2.50 styrofoam one at Walmart when I get there (and then leave it).

I can guarantee I can fit everything I need for a week away at Nationals in the trunk of the Elise, including driving shoes and helmet. You just have to make compromises.