Tyres

[SteveRST]

Is it that simple that a 45 profile a to 50 profile is 5mm. I know it is but would it make a difference if I could get them which I think I can.

No.
The 45/50 is the 'profile' of the tyre - the height of the tyre side-wall. It is indicated as a percentage of the width of the tyre.

So, a 195/45 tyre is 195mm wide and the tyre side-wall height is 45% of that width so would be about 88mm high.
A 195/50 tyre has a side-wall that is 50% as high as the width so would be about 98mm high.

So - the difference between side-wall height of 45/50 profile tyres is about 10mm (20mm total diameter difference of the tyre) which means the tyre will sit 10mm up higher in the wheel arch.

I wouldn't think 10mm is a problem. 195/50/15 is a more common size too I think.

[Wingco]

Many thanks Steve , very helpfully information.
When I get the car back I’ll have a message up, as you say 10mm is not a lot so fingers I can get the 50 profile

[Wingco]

Right time to buy some rubber for my kit. I am going to get some Toyo R1R as suggested by a few people on here. At the moment Oponeo have 195/50 R15 82 at £65 each, it doesn't sound to bad to me but there again I don't spend lots of money on tyres as I only have a pop pop to run around in.
Any thoughts on where I can get these tyres from other than Openeo ?

[David T]

I've searched on tyrecomp before, but recently openeo was best when looking for winter tyres.

[David T]

R1Rs getting pretty rare now since no longer compliant with latest green regs and no longer made. I think T1Rs are going the same way. I'm not sure what the 'go to' alternatives are. Nankangs perhaps?

[Weathers]

R1Rs getting pretty rare now since no longer compliant with latest green regs and no longer made. I think T1Rs are going the same way. I'm not sure what the 'go to' alternatives are. Nankangs perhaps?

Yes they stopped making the R1R last year. They were a great tyre and very good in very wet as road and Brands trips showed. Thankfully I have a brand new set on the car and a new set on my spare wheels so I should be ok this year as I went through 3 sets of tyres last year (3 rear, 2 front).

I was told the T1R were a lot harder and didn’t switch on as well with light weight kits. I was told to avoid them. But if they’re on their way out too what next?

As was said above all the tyre reviews are performed using cars that weigh at least 3 times what ours do and therefore are less relevant to us.

I’d be interested to hear what the conclusion is on the top few tyres for both dry/wet road and mixed road/track use and for a variety of budgets. Perhaps that’s one for a kit car magazine...... I guess ultimately it comes down to what you want from a tyre, the type of driving you do, what conditions you drive in, where you do it, what you drive, how heavy your right foot is and your budget.

[Fury1630]

I thought Toyo R888Rs were better than the R888s they replaced & are compliant with the new regs, but I've just put Uniroyal RainExperts on the 13" wheels & have been very impressed with them & I got the wheels & tyres for less than a set of R888Rs would've cost (ish - there may be a little man-maths there).

[Wingco]

Well i have now come up with a snag, so 195 x 50 R15 they do so ok for the front, 205 x 50 R15 they don't Doh

So who else uses the rain expert Tyre ? and what do you think please.

[Fury1630]

Duncan, Matt & someone else, can't think who at the moment.

[DJ.]

I bought Rain Experts after Yokohama 21s got very expensive. At the time Matt was running them on his Spartan and he didn't have trouble keeping up, although that was probably his driving too .

I've been really pleased with them, but they may not fit your wheels. I believe Matt is now on Uniroyal Rain Sports which are lower profile tyres.

Hope this helps.

Duncan