Which tyre to replace CR500

[rj]

Quoting James.S: 

Toyo's for me are in the same group as A048 and V70's.

 

Ruin the cars handling due to weight, stiffness and grip.

 

JM2P

 

+1

 

 

[subirg]

ZZRs are a significant step up from CR500s and don't go off too quickly. I have been using them for a couple of years, and will never go back to CRs. My car is a 220hp R400 Duratec used mainly on track - and driven there/back. The set up needs to be properly sorted though. I got Fauldsport to do mine after Caterham made a right pigs ear of it the first time round. They are very sensitive to set up and if you don't get that right then the fronts burn up on the outer edges even though the rest of the tyre surface could be reasonably even.

[N Blandin]

Quoting James.S: 

Toyo's for me are in the same group as A048 and V70's.

 

Ruin the cars handling due to weight, stiffness and grip.

 

JM2P

 

I've used 48's for ages and thought they are great...

I know the Avons are lighter, do they make that much difference?

 

Also, do 48's have too much grip?

[rj]

Quoting nigel blandin: 

I know the Avons are lighter, do they make that much difference?

 

Also, do 48's have too much grip?

 

Yes and no

[bertie]

I'm just in the exact same predicament myself!

 

My R400 needs a new set, I do very little mileage so durability isn't an issue, just want the best tyre I can get for road / track.

 

I had A048 on my last car and loved them, the CR500s on currently seem to go off after a few laps on track.

 

Is the concensus that ZZR are the best available then?

[HeMan]

"Toyo's for me are in the same group as A048 and V70's. Ruin the cars handling due to weight, stiffness and grip."

 

Weight is too much, stiffness presumably also too much for such a light car, but what do you mean by "grip"? Too much, too little? I have heard they grip well, wet and dry?

[rj]

I'll be doing some tests with the ZZRs today, I shall report back....

[CageyH]

[James.S]

Last time I drove a car with 48's, a mega I think, the grip level was too high IMO in the dry. While ultimately quicker on a lap it there is a massive drop in feedback from the chassis.

 

Oh, and they are complete bollocks in any kind of damp.

 

 

[rj]

There is no such thing as too much grip!

 

OK, until I had a minor incident with the loud pedal stuck at full welly at the end of the long stright (No bent tubes, just brown underwear) I manged to do a couple of observations:

 

Firstly: Aiming for around 20PSI hot made a huge difference. The driving style needs to be adjusted as the car seem a little understeering compared to what I'm used to.

 

I don't konw the exact geometry as I have altered it from how it was set up initially, where it was set up at 1.5 deg negative camber and parallel tracking - as in no toe. ISTR that the camber is set at -2, and that it has a little toe out.

 

After a few laps the inner of all four tyres was 10 deg. warmer than the outer, which would indicate that it has either too much camber or too much toe out.

 

Being more aggressive on exiting the corners this changed for the rears to being absolutely spot on. However the fronts still came in a little out of balance. I might try to adjust it back to 1.5 deg negative camber and to see how it goes from there, but due to the scary moment I have a little engine work to do, and unfortunately no more trackdays on the schedule this year 😔

[James.S]

Quoting RJ: 

There is no such thing as too much grip!

 

OK, until I had a minor incident with the loud pedal stuck at full welly at the end of the long stright (No bent tubes, just brown underwear) I manged to do a couple of observations:

 

Firstly: Aiming for around 20PSI hot made a huge difference. The driving style needs to be adjusted as the car seem a little understeering compared to what I'm used to.

 

I don't konw the exact geometry as I have altered it from how it was set up initially, where it was set up at 1.5 deg negative camber and parallel tracking - as in no toe. ISTR that the camber is set at -2, and that it has a little toe out.

 

After a few laps the inner of all four tyres was 10 deg. warmer than the outer, which would indicate that it has either too much camber or too much toe out.

 

Being more aggressive on exiting the corners this changed for the rears to being absolutely spot on. However the fronts still came in a little out of balance. I might try to adjust it back to 1.5 deg negative camber and to see how it goes from there, but due to the scary moment I have a little engine work to do, and unfortunately no more trackdays on the schedule this year 😔

 

 

 

Depends whether you want to drive or be driven.