2.0 / 2.5 Roadster / Roadster Sport Tire Thread

[iamsuperchris]

Hello! Just bought Roadster $861 and recently discovered that Michelin makes a Pilot Sport A/S 4 tire that will fit the rear (225/45R17). I really like these tires on my Mercedes R230, and was considering putting them on the rear of my new (to me) Roadster 2.5, with the Yokos on the front. I'm wondering if there's any reason I shouldn't mix/match brands.

 

[gregd]

Hello! Just bought Roadster $861 and recently discovered that Michelin makes a Pilot Sport A/S 4 tire that will fit the rear (225/45R17). I really like these tires on my Mercedes R230, and was considering putting them on the rear of my new (to me) Roadster 2.5, with the Yokos on the front. I'm wondering if there's any reason I shouldn't mix/match brands.

I had them on my 2.0, and they seemed to work well. But it was pointed out that I was mixing tire types (brand is not so important), with the original "summer" Advan's on the front. In a panic, the two sets of tires have very different grip profiles, and could (more) easily cause loss of control. Fortunately, I didn't have an opportunity to test that.

Since Michelin doesn't make equivalent A/S tires in the size for the fronts, when they finally wore out I replaced all 4 with the Continentals. Very happy with them.

 

[iamsuperchris]

Nice, any chance you could tell me the model/size of those?

I can't seem to find any Continentals that will fit the front for what I have now (currently 175/55R16). Do you run a different size?

 

[Roadster]

Refer to post #1 from this thread and you'll see it under "Stock Sport (alternative)"

Stock Sport (alternative)

• Yokohama A048 Ultra High Performance
  
  Front 195/50/R16
  Rear 225/45/R17

Many of us (myself included) are running Conti ECS on all four corners.

 

[gregd]

Nice, any chance you could tell me the model/size of those?

I can't seem to find any Continentals that will fit the front for what I have now (currently 175/55R16). Do you run a different size?

Continental Extreme Contact Sport
Front: 195/50 ZR 16 (84W)
Rear: 225/45 ZR 17 (91W)

 

[Electro-Artist]

I can confirm that the Continental Extreme Contact Sport gregd mentions is a good choice. I installed them on my 2.5 Roadster this spring. They check all the boxes for me in a summer only tire. I like hard cornering and quiet ride.

 

[iamsuperchris]

I've ordered the Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires, but the front ones are "backordered"... Hopefully not for too long. I'm glad I didn't just go with the Yokos; I appreciate the help!

 

[OakvilleMYP]

Hello! Just bought Roadster $861 and recently discovered that Michelin makes a Pilot Sport A/S 4 tire that will fit the rear (225/45R17). I really like these tires on my Mercedes R230, and was considering putting them on the rear of my new (to me) Roadster 2.5, with the Yokos on the front. I'm wondering if there's any reason I shouldn't mix/match brands.

If you upgtade wheels to 17/18” you can get michelin pilot sport 4 (summer) or the michelin pilot sport 4 AS.
Just an option.

 

[iamsuperchris]

If you upgtade wheels to 17/18” you can get michelin pilot sport 4 (summer) or the michelin pilot sport 4 AS.
Just an option.

Ooh! Tempting, and that would look cool. The thinner tire could result in a firmer ride too. Good to know!

 

[OakvilleMYP]

Ooh! Tempting, and that would look cool. The thinner tire could result in a firmer ride too. Good to know!

Wheels are super cheap, but not a lot of choice in the bolt pattern. Not sure why more people don’t do it…
You can go 205/40-17 and 225/40-18. Wheel diameter is almost identical.

 

[OakvilleMYP]

Ooh! Tempting, and that would look cool. The thinner tire could result in a firmer ride too. Good to know!

And where you live, I would put on A052’s (200 threadwear) Considering the rears get replaced 3x compared to the front, expect the cost to be slightly higher with excellent performance tires.
They are available in the size I mentioned.

The sport had optional A048, and here are some comments from our friends with Lotus’

Yokohama A048 vs. A052 for Elise/Exige - Any recent...

www.lotustalk.com

 

[einhalv]

I finally decided on A052 on my car and had them on this summer. They are fantastic compared to my old tires (AD07 front, Michelin Primacy 3 rear) with aged rubber. Road noise is strongly reduced, the drive feels much smoother and as far as I can tell without having tracked the car, I don't do that, grip is excellent. I changed from cast to forged rims at the same time, but I doubt that is significant to the experience. An obvious downside was cost, but for now I think it was worth it. Having @TEG's roll-of-tape description of the predessor A048 in mind, I am a bit worried about how long they last, but the treadwear spec is much better, 200 as mentioned by @OakvilleMYP above, so I choose to be optimistic.

 

[iamsuperchris]

Whelp, guys, it looks like I "need" to get new wheels.

Literally 2 minutes after getting brand new tires, I took the car on the freeway to test the tire balance, and the freeway was getting torn up for construction. I ended up smashing into a roughly 3" lip and bent both of my front wheels... Now it feels like I'm driving a bouncing jalopy at high speeds... Ugh.

I believe I can just send my current wheels in to get repaired, but I'm intrigued by the idea of getting new wheels all around.

@OakvilleMYP do you have any suggestions for wheel upgrades? I would absolutely love to go an inch larger so I can slap some Michelin PS4 tires on my Roadster.

@einhalv I'm curious what size of wheels you went with. Did you stick with the original size, or change the size?

Are there wheels out there that would give me any kind of a performance upgrade? I'm not sure how it works, I can't find a sticky on this, and I'm somewhat of a n00b when it comes to wheels ;-)

 

[Roadster]

Sorry to hear about that You may want to consider grabbing these if they're still available so you have a spare set...

 

[OakvilleMYP]

Whelp, guys, it looks like I "need" to get new wheels.

Literally 2 minutes after getting brand new tires, I took the car on the freeway to test the tire balance, and the freeway was getting torn up for construction. I ended up smashing into a roughly 3" lip and bent both of my front wheels... Now it feels like I'm driving a bouncing jalopy at high speeds... Ugh.

I believe I can just send my current wheels in to get repaired, but I'm intrigued by the idea of getting new wheels all around.

@OakvilleMYP do you have any suggestions for wheel upgrades? I would absolutely love to go an inch larger so I can slap some Michelin PS4 tires on my Roadster.

@einhalv I'm curious what size of wheels you went with. Did you stick with the original size, or change the size?

Are there wheels out there that would give me any kind of a performance upgrade? I'm not sure how it works, I can't find a sticky on this, and I'm somewhat of a n00b when it comes to wheels ;-)

If you opt out to just get 2 wheels, and have a 1.5, then I would totally be interested in getting the other 2 from @Roadster ‘s link. I also wan’t to replace 2 forged wheels, 1 left and 1 right for cosmetic reasons.

Do you have a 1.5? If so it’s not as friendly with wheel replacement and if you go larger diameter it may throw codes. The wheels are cheap since the size is small, so let me know what you got, and I can make a few suggestions. @X.l.r.8 keeps a list of available options as well.

 

[einhalv]

@einhalv I'm curious what size of wheels you went with. Did you stick with the original size, or change the size?

I have 195/50R16 in front which is a recommmended alternative to 175/55R16. On the rear wheels, I have 225/45R17.

 

[iamsuperchris]

If you opt out to just get 2 wheels, and have a 1.5, then I would totally be interested in getting the other 2 from @Roadster ‘s link. I also wan’t to replace 2 forged wheels, 1 left and 1 right for cosmetic reasons.

Do you have a 1.5? If so it’s not as friendly with wheel replacement and if you go larger diameter it may throw codes. The wheels are cheap since the size is small, so let me know what you got, and I can make a few suggestions. @X.l.r.8 keeps a list of available options as well.

I have a 2010 2.5 Sport model. It has the directional forged rims, currently power coated in black. They look pretty different from what you are likely looking for.

I would really like to execute what you suggested above, and get 17" / 18" rims so that I have a better selection of tires. I'm having a really hard time finding a 17" rim with a 5x110 bolt pattern and 35mm offset though.

 

[OakvilleMYP]

I have a 2010 2.5 Sport model. It has the directional forged rims, currently power coated in black. They look pretty different from what you are likely looking for.

I would really like to execute what you suggested above, and get 17" / 18" rims so that I have a better selection of tires. I'm having a really hard time finding a 17" rim with a 5x110 bolt pattern and 35mm offset though.

40mm offset works too.
You have some options feom fast wheels.
Also the enkei ev5.
You can go with 17&18, the 2.5 won’t throw codes.

 

[iamsuperchris]

So would this setup work? Should I get a 3mm spacer to get the correct offset?

40mm offset works too.
You have some options feom fast wheels.
Also the enkei ev5.
You can go with 17&18, the 2.5 won’t throw codes.

 

[OakvilleMYP]

So would this setup work? Should I get a 3mm spacer to get the correct offset?

View attachment 720501

That should be correct, including the spacer comment, but it may only be required only in the front.
Best if you wait for @X.l.r.8 to confirm, he has this set and I was going to try it on to see if the 1.5 throws codes with it.

You can see what they look like and get some details in this post:

Tesla Roadster Wheels/Tires :: Enkei EV5 Wheels w/Yokohama Tires

For my FULL review of these wheels/tires when we originally installed them on our Roadster, please read here: Aftermarket Wheels/Tires/TPMS :: My Enkei Setup (Photos & Info) DETAILS (FOR SALE): Wheel Brand: Enkei Wheel Style: EV5 Front: 17x7,0 ET 38 (P/N: 446-770-5238HB) Rear: 18x7,5 ET 38...

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