Sumitomo Tires

[Robert'sSEVEN]

I am looking to replace the worn tires that came on my car.
I plan to use my 1996 Caterham for 90% road use.


I called on the tires. The Tire Rack said they had a
Sumitomo HTR 200 Tire in 185-60-13 & 195-60-13 & 205-60-13

My spoke wheels are 6 inch x 13 inch.

How have these Sumitomo HTR 200 tires worked on the 7?

What is the best size tire to use on these wheels for road use?

I have my fuse problem traced out.

I will treat the fiberglass part as suggested.


Thanks,


Robert

[SkinnyG]

I have Sumitomo HTR 200 P185/60R14's on my Locost, 14x5.5 rim.

They are perfectly fine on the street, unleashed wretchedness in autocross.

They have a very soft sidewall which helps ride quality somewhat. They are wearing very well despite some peculiar "autocross" alignment settings.

G

[BritishChris]

Skinny...
What tyre pressures are you running in those on a) street and b) autocross.....assuming for example a 60 degree day and nothing odd with asphalt temp?
Chris.

[SkinnyG]

I run around 16-18psi on the street. I tried both higher and lower for autocross, and just
C O U L D _ N O T _ G E T _ T H E _ C A R _ T O _ P E R F O R M in a happy sort of way.

Mind you, I've made a number of significant tweaks since then...

I now run Formula Atlantic slicks (20x9.5x13) on 13x10 rims at around 14-16psi and am MUCH happier. Though probably too much tire.

[Roll a 7]

I would not rush into buying the Sumitomo tires because almost none of us use them. The light weight of a 7 is very easy on tires and I would expect long mileage from the Sumis.

This exactly what I DO NOT want!!! I WANT grip and tires that will drift. If this means that I have to buy tires more often to fully enjoy my 7; OK, I'll do it.

Best autocross tire: KUMHO V710----NOT much of a street tire.
Best street tire: So far, in order, KUMHO Ecsta V700, AVON ACB10, AVON CR500
Next to be tried for the street: Yokohoma AO48, or the new TOYO 13" tire

My suggestion to you: Call John Berget Tire in Delavan, WI and try some of his used tires at bargain prices to get an idea of what you might like.

Tires make huge difference in performance & enjoyment of the 7!!!

[Robert'sSEVEN]

Ordered new tires.

Thanks for all the help.

I went with the tires suggested. The Toyo R888 in 185-60zr-13 80V

Operating temp. 140'f to 220'F.

The Toyo RA 1 are being phased out I was told.

Several of the other suggested tire brands were not in stock in this size, the R888's were in stock.

I hope these will work out well.


Robert

[Elv15]

Robert,

Good choice. I think you will like those. Can you tell us where you sourced them?

Best street tire: So far, in order, KUMHO Ecsta V700, AVON ACB10, AVON CR500

Brad, Have you run ACB10's? If so was your car setup for bias tires? I'm just surprised to see anything other than slicks being better on a se7en.

Tom

[slomove]

Tom, I think the only area where there is more subjective opinion and less scientific data than tire choice is engine oil.....Everybody has only a small set of own data points in form of times and comparison with others while there are so many other factors that influence the performance.

If a professional racing team does a systematic study of performce of different tires in a series of side-by-side comparisons on track tires I would tend to believe the result. Otherwise my best bet is to follow the majority of other user's opinion. For that matter the ACB10 used to have the nod for grip and lightness from many Se7en drivers for the track but I am not sure if there are newer models that may be better. What the heck, I am still satisfied. I do however know from personal experience that they require a firm grip of the steering wheel on the road.

Gert

[Roll a 7]

Tom,

My SLR came with ACB10s which I have pretty much run off between street/autocross/track day use. They now reside in a corner of the garage. My statement about best was in the context of "street" use, for which the car was originally set up. Today the car is set up for autocross/track use. Several years worth of changes to arrive at the current setup!

The ACB10s best quality is that they are very light @ around 12# each. In contrast the Kumho tires weigh 20-22 lbs each and you can feel the difference, especially at low speed. In performance applications the kumho tires stick much better, especially the V710s.

The very best tires I have ever run were a set of Hoosier DOT A6 autocross tires. A little better then the V710s and frightfully more expensive. Good for about 40-60 laps of autocross use, then they die.

A question for you: Will you be joining us @ Buttonwillow next weekend? Hope to finally see your 7 exercising its birthrite on track, accompanied by your grinning face.

Brad

[moosetestbestanden]

The threads on BC that I've read about the 888 say...

They are good tires for trackdays and dry roads but less good in the wet.

Run them at no greater than 19 psi for best results grip-wise.

Probably not a problem here but...

nice to know just the same .

According to this here it appears they like lots of negative camber.

I liked the Avon CR500s for street use although they are slippery when cold, which is pretty much all of the time on the public way. Impossible to find and expensive.

I've found the ACB10s pretty uncomfortable on the street - the car moves around a lot - and they too are slippery when cold. On the track they're pretty good once they get some heat in them but, well, once you start using slicks the ACB10s feel pretty slow. So I use them for the 1st session of the day and then pull em off. Like the CR500s, they're impossible to find and expensive, relative to the Toyos.

The tire you've chosen really looks like the right way to go for Caterham street use. A nice option to have. Finally.

[Roll a 7]

Does anyone know if these Toyo tires are available in more than one 13" size?

[Elv15]

Brad,

Looks like they have a 185/60R 13 and a 205/60R 13.

Chris,

I liked the Avon CR500s for street use although they are slippery when cold...

You can say that again! Although I find that they start sticking after a few miles. However there is lots of wheel spin when they are cold!

RE: ACB10's - I spoke to Mr Murphy and he said his fastest lap ever was on ACB10's. I'm aware that they tramline, but once these CR500s are gone, I'm hoping to switch to ACB10's. Anybody have some bias dedion ears they want to get rid of? :)

[Rich H]

Brad,

You can say that again! Although I find that they start sticking after a few miles. However there is lots of wheel spin when they are cold!

RE: ACB10's - I spoke to Mr Murphy and he said his fastest lap ever was on ACB10's. I'm aware that they tramline, but once these CR500s are gone, I'm hoping to switch to ACB10's. Anybody have some bias dedion ears they want to get rid of? :)

Another observation regarding ACB10s is that they are noisier than CR500s. It doesn't matter on the track, but is quite noticeable on the road.

ACB10s are also available in a range of rubber hardness compounds. Caterham parts doesn't sell ACB10s any longer, as far as I know. But when it did the compound was on the harder side with an eye toward more economical trackday use - these tires actually had "Caterham" molded into the sidewall. And they required a couple oif laps on the track to develop good traction. In that regard they were not very suitable for autocross.

I've also observed that the rubber compund on Caterham-supplied CR500s has gotten softer over time. I'm wondering if there is even a new, softer still, version for the new R500.

[moosetestbestanden]

ACB10s are also available in a range of rubber hardness compounds.

The set I got from Roger Krause were A-33 compound, which was at the time was the Caterham std., as mentioned by Rich.

Mr. Murphy should have had slicks on the car that day. He was on fire.:D

I noticed on one of the BC Toyo 888 threads that those tires are available in different compounds, at least in the U.K. There is no mention of this on Toyo's website. A call might be in order.

[Doug Liedblad]

M. Murphy and I both got sets of ACB10s when we bought our Kodiak wheels thru Woody at MSI.

I believe they were the softest compound.

Still lasted several track days.

Doug.