2.0 / 2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread

[mookhead]

Well, now I have Toyo R1R on my car, with the over-sized 205/50-16 on the front (stock rims) and it seems to be working well. The tires are a tight fit and are just about touching the rubber mudflaps when cornering at exactly the wrong angle, but steering effort is lower than before and it feels good. I got the tires via Tire Rack and had them fitted at Trackspec Autosports in Fremont, where they setup the suspension alignments to be similar to an Elise. I don't have many miles on the car yet, but will update as I get more experience with the combination. The extra rubber at the front reduces understeer and helps braking. I did have to reset the traction control for it to learn the new tire diameter and drive it for a few miles to get it to update. I'll get some pictures eventually. Toyo R1R take a while to get delivered, they don't have many in stock.

What size did you go with in back?

 

[strider]

Let us know how those R1R's do in the rain!

 

[Adrian Cockcroft]

Standard size 225 wide R1R rear tires and gearing is unchanged. They work very well in the wet, just don't try them on mud and snow.

I drove 130 miles today, mountain roads (hwy 35) and freeway, very happy with the tires and Elise alignment.

 

[m0rph]

Well, now I have Toyo R1R on my car, with the over-sized 205/50-16 on the front (stock rims) and it seems to be working well. The tires are a tight fit and are just about touching the rubber mudflaps when cornering at exactly the wrong angle, but steering effort is lower than before and it feels good.

Strange.. The Brabus monoblock S wheels are 215/35-18 in the front...
I'm now planning to install 205/35-17 on new aftermarket wheels.

 

[wiztecy]

Standard size 225 wide R1R rear tires and gearing is unchanged. They work very well in the wet, just don't try them on mud and snow.

I drove 130 miles today, mountain roads (hwy 35) and freeway, very happy with the tires and Elise alignment.

If I had a 2.x I'd try running 235/245's on the rear to help balance out the look. I know people with Elise/Exiges who run the 205 fronts and they say it throws off the aspect ratio a bit when looking at the car. I also read that the 205 combined with either the 235 / 245 (forget which one off the top of my head) was the perfect balance between the front/rear in terms of width.

Also keep any eye on your kw/h used or ideal miles consumed to see if that goes up or down. Since their wider it might have a little impact on your mileage but that should be minimal.

Lastly I'd play around somewhere to see how much more sticky the front has become going wider. I also don't know how they aligned your camber settings in your recent alignment. You want to know how your car reacts and what it'll do when the sh*t hits the fan coming around a turn and seeing a deer or stopped vehicle there. Anytime I mess with a change of traction dynamics I always retest and see how the car has changed.

 

[n2mb_racing]

This has probably been covered a million times, but can we use the Yokohama Neova AD07 on the fronts and Yokohama Neova AD08 R on the rear? I have the AD08s on my other car and love them.

 

[hcsharp]

This has probably been covered a million times, but can we use the Yokohama Neova AD07 on the fronts and Yokohama Neova AD08 R on the rear? I have the AD08s on my other car and love them.

Yes lots of us are running this combination. It works well.

 

[wiztecy]

Yes lots of us are running this combination. It works well.

+1

I run this combination pushing them pretty hard on my 1.5 and agree they work well. I've paired my front AD07's with the original AD07 rear, the AD08, and AD08R and getting ready in the next week or two to purchase another set of AD08R tires for the rears. Can't really tell the difference really in handling performance on the street between the 07/08 other than a little longer tread life.

 

[Adrian Cockcroft]

Pictures of the Toyo R1R installed. The handling and turn-in feels much more like my (very custom) Lotus Elise. Next upgrade I need is the brakes... also waiting for a 3.0 battery upgrade.

 

[mookhead]

Adrian, cuz I such a copycat, I did the R1Rs right after you confirmed they fit. I have to say I love them: they're very communicative and gradual, you can really feel where the limits are. Because of their slightly higher profile, the ride feels smoother and (maybe?) quieter? My only caveat is visual - as wiztecy suspected, the front-to-back ratio now looks a bit off (not enough to be visible unless your looking for it). The fronts also bulge a bit more than the rears.

 

[strider]

Ok, so I'm obsessed w/ this topic.... Someone sanity check my thoughts here...

The stock 175/55-16 AD07's yield 882 revolutions per mile. I'm running the older Toyo Proxes 4 in 195/50-16 and they are 876rpm. The R1R in a 205/45-16 is 894rpm and in a 205/50-16 is 856rpm. So I would think that the 205/45-16 would be closer to stock. But we can't use those because of rim width. The Roadster has a 6" front rim and the 45-series is rated for 6.5-7.5 whereas the 50-series is rated for 5.5-7.5. Ok, so 50-series it is.

Now for the rears.... 7.5" rim width. Stock size of 225/45-17 in the AD07 is 835rpm. In the R1R it's 832rpm. In 235/45-17 size the R1R yields 820rpm. That makes this combo a 36rpm delta front-rear vs the stock delta of 47. The config that Adrian and Mookhead are using have a diff of 24rpm.

So it seems like consensus would be:
Front: 205/50-16
Rear: 235/45-17

Anyone concerned that the rear R1R's are not XL load rated?

 

[Adrian Cockcroft]

I'm getting a slight scrape on the 205/50 R1R front tire when it's in compression on a tight corner (mountain hairpin) otherwise they are fine, also seem to stick well in the wet and cope with puddles well, they also seem smoother and quieter than the R888's I had before and I don't remember how the stock Yoko's felt. Liking them more as I put more miles on them. I'm running 26psi front and 37psi rear.

- - - Updated - - -

Strider - Waze and the car speedo agree to within 1mph at 70mph, I didn't want to change the rears to 235 because I thought having the speedo off by 2% wouldn't be a good idea and I think the speedo is linked to rear wheel rotation like it is on my Elise. I also wanted more traction at the front for turn in and especially for braking, and decided I had enough drive and rear grip.

 

[wiztecy]

I'm getting ready to purchase a rear set of Yoko AD08's again, came across a fantastic deal if you're in the market for tires. Discount Tires who also have a store on Ebay are offering $100 off a purchase of tires and/or rims when you purchase $400 or more. Offer is until the 16th. A great deal if you're in the market for all 4, I'm about $40 short of $400 unless I buy another tire.... odd situation. They're comparable to the Tire Rack's prices with taxes, shipping, and all that jazz since Discount Tire has free shipping. Here's the link for the rears:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-NEW-225-4...ash=item2c90249192:g:vdkAAOSwmmxW2MzJ&vxp=mtr

 

[BartJ]

Why don't you buy 2 fronts and 4 rears Wiztecy !

 

[n2mb_racing]

Anyone nearby in Durham, nc need tires? I need rears. Could order four and split the discount.

 

[Adrian Cockcroft]

Something to watch for if you are changing tires and wheels, I noticed that my (standard) rim was rubbing on the wheel sensor cable and had almost cut through it. The other side was fine, and I moved the clips around to make sure it cleared after I put patched up the cable and put the wheel back on. Lucky I caught it, I was changing my brake discs to the group buy type (thanks to visionik for selling his spare set to me).

 

[ChadS]

The 29k is only for the battery.

There has been absolutely no word on when, or even if, they will offer the other pieces of the 3.0 package. Bummer.

At one point (several months ago?) somebody posted a link to a document that said Tesla would not offer the other pieces, but the document quickly disappeared. I will note that Tesla's ordering system has a new type of tire for the Roadster in it that seems similar in most specs to the default tire, but is marked as a "green" tire with low rolling resistance. But there is no price or availability information on that tire, and the manufacturer doesn't list the Roadster's size as one they build.

So...nobody knows. In these type of situations I find it easiest to assume it will never come and get on with my life. Then I am not forever waiting and don't miss out on anything else, but I can be pleasantly surprised if Tesla ever decides to offer to what they promised.

 

[ecarfan]

I will note that Tesla's ordering system has a new type of tire for the Roadster in it that seems similar in most specs to the default tire, but is marked as a "green" tire with low rolling resistance. But there is no price or availability information on that tire, and the manufacturer doesn't list the Roadster's size as one they build

What do you mean by "Tesl's ordering system"?

What manufacturer is listed?

 

[ChadS]

Tesla's internal parts catalog. I asked my service center what tires were available, and they said the usual suspects plus "Michelin Pilot Sport". Except they can't actually order the Michelins on their parts system (which is apparently separate from the catalog? I've never seen the system; I'm just repeating what I was told when I asked what tires Tesla offered), and there's no pricing or availability information.

My assumption is that Tesla found that tire to meet their specs for the Roadster 3.0 package including low rolling resistance and asked Michelin to make them in the proper size. Did Michelin agree? Will Tesla ever offer them? Who knows.

If Michelin DOES ever make the Roadster's size and offer them, even if Tesla doesn't offer them for sale we can buy them on our own and Tesla Service Centers will be happy to install them as long as they are in the parts catalog. I did that with Sottozero 3's on my Model S - they were in Tesla's catalog, but Tesla's system couldn't actually order them yet (they were probably trying to clear out their stock of Sottozero 2's). So I ordered the Sottozero 3's on my own and Tesla was happy to install them.

 

[gregd]

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 is what I have on the rear of my 2.0. Came that way from the prior owner over a year ago. Seem to be wearing reasonably well, no issues with traction. Nice to know that Tesla approves...!