Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin RE002 205/50/15 W

[Lotus-e-Clan]

One of the problems with modern tyres I reckon is that they are constructed to carry a 2 ton modern so their sidewalls are far too stiff (stops them over-heating /degrading) for a 1.1 ton Excel and need a lot of inflation pressure so any enhanced grip over yesterdays OEM Excel tyres is likely down to the modern compound - unlike a modern, the Excel doesn't need stiff side walls to make the steering responsive ...it has brilliant steering designed-in via geo..

What I like about the Potenzas is their rounder shoulder but time will tell - the Toyos T1rs were good when new ( due to siliconised modern compound) to begin with but the shoulders universally wore badly on all tyres leaving the centres with loadsa tread -despite increasing pressure to a silly 30 psi to get the centres worn. I know the T1Rs have stiffer , squarer, sidewalls as a feature - that's one of the documented differences over the superseded T1Ss.

Contrast that with Avon CR500's specifically built for 500 kg Caterhams - I have some on the Clan. you can run low pressures and they grip massively on the soft compound (wear rate 20 versus more like 200 on a normal tyre) at pressures 16 psi front 20 psi rear - but they still last a long time on the lighter cars.

[don.hasi]

Martin, I have a brand new set of 2tires for £75 + shipping. If you are interested I could have a look for the shipping costs.

[Sirclip]

Guys, Many thanks for the feedback on these. Lotus spent a lot of effort to give the Excel good 'road feedback' and I am keen to preserve this quality. I'm pleased to hear that these tyres don't diminish this. Once I have my alloys refurbished I shall go for a set of the 205/50R15 RE002's then.
Martin.

[CHRISYD]

ive got these tyres on mine. all 4 changed at same time. as they are narrower than standard 215, what is the best pressure do you think?

[Lotus-e-Clan]

Tyre pressure to get best contact patch can be influenced by width - but also the carcass construction & kerb weight /loading too may dictate a minimum operating pressure per se. If the carcass is particularly stiff then you might need higher pressures just to prevent too much sidewall distortion/ shoulder tread deterioration as low pressures may give less support to the sidewall.

I haven't driven my Potenzas in all operating conditions to know what's best - so when the Excel is back on the road this summer I intend to take a IR temp gun on trips to measure tread and sidewall temps to be sure they don't overheat on too low a pressure - I'll start with 26 psi and go 2 psi either way to see what's what.

[don.hasi]

I have had them on 2bar... There is a little piece of autobahn on my labour GP