Emira tyres (or tires)

[roundincircles]

One thing that concerns me about changing my spec to the Cup 2 is the warning not to store them near or below freezing temps. My garage is detached with no climate control so it will definitely get below freezing in the winter months...



@TomE we've seemed to digress a bit from the thread's original topic. Is there a tire thread these comments should be moved to?

Just my take, I had Cup 2's on a few cars and they were lethal in the wet, particularly standing water, and would aquaplane at very low/cautious speeds. So, even if the ambient was warm, continuous rain would cool the tyres and scare the hell out of you.

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

Just my take, I had Cup 2's on a few cars and they were lethal in the wet, particularly standing water, and would aquaplane at very low/cautious speeds. So, even if the ambient was warm, continuous rain would cool the tyres and scare the hell out of you.

Same experience here, be very careful on accumulation of water areas, instant aquaplaning

 

[Porter]

Just my take, I had Cup 2's on a few cars and they were lethal in the wet, particularly standing water, and would aquaplane at very low/cautious speeds. So, even if the ambient was warm, continuous rain would cool the tyres and scare the hell out of you.

That's a different Michelin Cup 2. That's what we're highlighting when we talk about the Connect 240 variant of the tire, it has a wider temperature range and deeper tread depth, both of which help with rain and cold. They aren't anywhere near as safe as a traditional summer tire in those conditions, but they are way better than the older, standard Cup 2.

 

[Porter]

One thing that concerns me about changing my spec to the Cup 2 is the warning not to store them near or below freezing temps. My garage is detached with no climate control so it will definitely get below freezing in the winter months...

You generally don't want to let a soft compound tire hard freeze repeatedly. It's not the temperature itself that does the damage, it's repeated temperature cycling with the weather going up and down between freezing and warm temps. And any sport tire (on or off the car) should be returned slowly to appropriate temperatures (delay of 24h+) before driving on them.

It may be worth investing in an efficient, low output space heater to keep the garage above ~40deg or ~45deg Fahrenheit year round. As long as the garage temps don't drop below that frequently, you'll be in much better shape with tire storage than in a totally uncontrolled space. The car itself will thank you too, the same sort of rubber aging from freeze cycling happens (albeit more mildly) to seals of various kinds throughout the car.

 

[VL3X]

You generally don't want to let a soft compound tire hard freeze repeatedly. It's not the temperature itself that does the damage, it's repeated temperature cycling with the weather going up and down between freezing and warm temps. And any sport tire (on or off the car) should be returned slowly to appropriate temperatures (delay of 24h+) before driving on them.

It may be worth investing in an efficient, low output space heater to keep the garage above ~40deg or ~45deg Fahrenheit year round. As long as the garage temps don't drop below that frequently, you'll be in much better shape with tire storage than in a totally uncontrolled space. The car itself will thank you too, the same sort of rubber aging from freeze cycling happens (albeit more mildly) to seals of various kinds throughout the car.

Makes sense. I have a ceramic panel heater mounted to the wall, but it doesn't do much since my garage is just brick with basically zero insulation. It does take the chill out of the air if I leave it running. Maybe I'll run some temp tests and see how cold it gets in the winter, but by then it'll be too late to change my tires spec.

 

[Porter]

Makes sense. I have a ceramic panel heater mounted to the wall, but it doesn't do much since my garage is just brick with basically zero insulation. It does take the chill out of the air if I leave it running. Maybe I'll run some temp tests and see how cold it gets in the winter, but by then it'll be too late to change my tires spec.

A foam panel insulation project would probably go a long way toward making your garage more livable (and Emira-friendly) year-round. 4'x8'x2in panels of faced (moisture barrier) foam insulation are available commercially at fairly reasonable prices, like $25-30 a sheet for R-6 to R-8, which would make a huge difference in your space as long as you don't have huge air penetration elsewhere. I'm not sure how big your garage is, but you've got the better part of a year to get that all figured out if you think it's worthwhile.

 

[VL3X]

A foam panel insulation project would probably go a long way toward making your garage more livable (and Emira-friendly) year-round. 4'x8'x2in panels of faced (moisture barrier) foam insulation are available commercially at fairly reasonable prices, like $25-30 a sheet for R-6 to R-8, which would make a huge difference in your space as long as you don't have huge air penetration elsewhere. I'm not sure how big your garage is, but you've got the better part of a year to get that all figured out if you think it's worthwhile.

Yeah, my garage is tiny. I can insulate the door, but that's about it. Otherwise I'm sacrificing space.

 

[EspritGuy]

Tirerack lists both of the LTS tires, but not in stock.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+Cup+2+Connect+%28240%29&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=435YR0PSC2C2XLV2&tab=Specs

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+Cup+2+Connect+%28240%29&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=93YR0PSC2C2XLV2&tab=Specs

Soon.

 

[Porter]

Yeah, my garage is tiny. I can insulate the door, but that's about it. Otherwise I'm sacrificing space.

You could panel wrap the outside instead, tape the seams, and then put siding over top. Same with the roof, if you're feeling froggy.

With the outside continuously insulated, once the inside gets up to temp the brick becomes a thermal sink and keeps the temp stable compared to outside swings.

 

[Andrea]

I realize it's quite an old post but from the pictures I've noticed that the tires are made with lotus specifications, "LTS", I didn't know that also Emira has it's own tires spec like other brands does

 

[Kentviking]

I realize it's quite an old post but from the pictures I've noticed that the tires are made with lotus specifications, "LTS", I didn't know that also Emira has it's own tires spec like other brands does

I think there is a video somewhere of Gavan talking about the Emira during development and describing just how many iterations of the tyres they went through before they hit on the right spec...there has been a lot of thought gone into them and I am happy to stick with the Lotus stock for the life of the car.

 

[lion shf]

I think there is a video somewhere of Gavan talking about the Emira during development and describing just how many iterations of the tyres they went through before they hit on the right spec...there has been a lot of thought gone into them and I am happy to stick with the Lotus stock for the life of the car.

I once disregarded this but tire tech nowadays is high science. I’m all about lotus Goodyears. Snows will be Mich of course
And Harry’s 5th video running up the mountain pass in the wet he was all in, no front washout

 

[Andrea]

I think there is a video somewhere of Gavan talking about the Emira during development and describing just how many iterations of the tyres they went through before they hit on the right spec...there has been a lot of thought gone into them and I am happy to stick with the Lotus stock for the life of the car.

I hope the did the same with winter tires, I’d definitely go for winter tires with “LTS” on!

 

[TomE]

The description from Gavan is in the Smoking Tire podcast. It's covered on the suspension thread, with a link to the podcast:

Suspension: Touring and Sports options

Lotus promised us a further note on suspension choices. But as that still hasn't arrived, here's my attempt. This draws on discussions with the Lotus team, published info and some of my previous posts. The tl;dr version You've got two suspension options and one of them also has two tyre...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[Andrea]

The description from Gavan is in the Smoking Tire podcast. It's covered on the suspension thread, with a link to the podcast:

Suspension: Touring and Sports options

Lotus promised us a further note on suspension choices. But as that still hasn't arrived, here's my attempt. This draws on discussions with the Lotus team, published info and some of my previous posts. The tl;dr version You've got two suspension options and one of them also has two tyre...

www.emiraforum.com

Got it! Thank you very much! Hopefully they'll do (or have already done) the same for winter tires

Goodyear develops a unique Eagle F1 SuperSport for the new Lotus Emira

Lotus has launched the Emira, the latest in a long line of stunning mid-engined cars from the famous UK sports car manufacturer. Lotus has selected the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport as the original equipment tyre for the new model.The Emira has been developed to offer the trademark precision and...

news.goodyear.eu

 

[rich64]

Collected my Emira last Saturday, done around 400km's to date. Mine has the touring suspension, feels very planted and on NZ back roads ideally suited.

When I collected the car from the showroom, there was another Emira with sports suspension and pilot cup 2 tyres. One thing I noticed was the Goodyear tyres give a lot better curb protection than the pilot cup 2 tyres!!

 

[virtualmacho]

One thing I noticed was the Goodyear tyres give a lot better curb protection than the pilot cup 2 tyres!!

"Whitewall Tire Inserts" that stick on the sidewalls will give you added protection, and also give your Cup 2s the classic look !