Tyres

From Elise FAQ

IN DEVELOPMENT

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ELISE TYRE ASSESSMENT, Alastair McQueen

   Three different tyre specifications were assessed fitted to a standard Elise S1. The control tyre was the Original Equipment Pirelli.

   * Pirelli P-Zero: OE specification. Front 185 55 15 Rear 225 45 16
   * Yokohama Advan Neova LTS: Front 195 50 15 Rear 225 45 16
   * Bridgestone SO2: Front 195 50 15 Rear 225 45 16

   All tyre pressures set at – Front 1.6bar, Rear 1.9bar

   Dry Assessment
   These assessments were carried out on the Hethel Test Track and public roads in cool, dry conditions.

   Steering

   Bridgestone: Slightly low steering effort on-centre but with highest overall effort. Response characteristics on and off-centre similar to Pirelli.Steering kickback similar to Pirelli. Score 7.5

   Yokohama: Similar to B/S with slightly low on-centre effort but higher self-aligning torque. Overall lowest steering efforts, slightly elastic feel with lowest kickback. Score 8

   Pirelli Score 7.5

   Handling

   Bridgestone: Understeer and lift-off oversteer similar to Pirelli. Tracking and dedication are slightly worse than Pirelli, car feeling nervous on bumpy surfaces and single wheel inputs. Score 7

   Yokohama: Slight yaw, but overall better balanced than B/S and Pirelli. Very good tracking stability and dedication. Score 8

   Pirelli Score 7.5

   Ride

   Bridgestone: Poor secondary ride, especially from rear, duddery and unmatched to chassis damping. Score 7

   Yokohama: Good rolling comfort, secondary ride and impact absorption, better than Pirelli. Score 8

   Pirelli Score 7.5

   Grip

   Bridgestone: Overall slightly higher dry grip than Pirelli, but with slightly less progressive limit characteristics. Score 7.5

   Yokohama: Highest overall dry grip with good progression at limit. Grip retained for longer at extreme slip angles. Score 8

   Pirelli Score 7.5

   Noise

   Bridgestone: Score 7
   Yokohama: Score 7.5
   Pirelli Score: 7

   Dry Summary

   Overall the Yokohama tyre showed characteristics which enhanced the performance of the Elise, particularly in ride, tracking stability and grip. The Bridgestone tyre characteristics were similar to the OE Pirelli but slightly worse in ride, tracking stability and limit grip performance.

   Wet assessment

   These assessments were carried out on the Hethel Test Track and public roads in wet conditions.

   Yokohama: Road. Overall similar results to those achieved in dry conditions. Track. Wet grip significantly higher than OE Pirelli, with handling bias slightly towards understeer. The tyre gives good grip to extreme slip angles as was shown in the previous dry assessment, and also has good resistance to aquaplaning. Good yaw stability throughout corner. Wet Grip Score 7.5, Handling 7

   Bridgestone: Road. Similar results to those achieved in dry conditions although it was felt that dedication and tracking stability was slightly
   improved, with good resistance to aquaplaning. Track. Overall wet grip similar to Yokohama, but with slightly less understeer. Lift-off oversteer progressive and predictable with grip maintained to extreme slip angles. Wet Grip Score 7.5, Handling 7

   Pirelli: Wet Grip Score 6.5, Handling 6

   Wet Summary

   The Yokohama tyre offers good wet weather performance, with well balanced and predictable handling. The slight bias towards understeer offers the driver a clear and safe warning that the tyres limit is being approached. The Bridgestone tyre offers similar wet weather performance to the Yokohama.

   Overall Summary

   Both the Bridgestone and Yokohama tyres are suitable alternatives to the OE Pirelli tyres used on the standard Elise. The Bridgestone tyre offers significant gains in wet weather over the Pirelli, but only modest improvements in dry grip at the expense of slightly worse handling and ride qualities. The Yokohama tyre offers similar improvements in the wet to the Bridgestone, but with better dry characteristics in all respects. 

Development elise tyre bible