Ok I am finally going to pick up some new tires next week hopefully. Being that my car is made of paper machette I wanted to know if anyone knew of any good shops to get the tires mounted and installed onto the car. I currently live in kitsap county but would venture to other places if their work is reputable.

RB

 

I don't know of any tire shops on your side of the water - I only go to

www.ftlperformance.com or www.tightntidyracing.com

Both places run by certified car crazy people. Good - and very affordable

Forgot one place - Dependable Wheel in Renton

You might give Alex a call @ maxrpm in Bremerton too...

 

This shop came highly recommended for the Elise.

 

call Alex at MaxRpm in Bremerton. He's close to you. I just use Les Schwab on my cars. Try the www.tirerack.com to see it you can get the correct tires needed prior. They typically have pretty good prices for the rubber

 

That's gangsta! It didn't fall of the lift its got hydraulics haha. You see plenty of pics like that on the lotus forum. If that happened to me my ricer wing would be smashed my car has wayy too much downforce for that to ever happen anyways

 

I'm oredering from a sponsor on the lotus board. I may get two sets so I can have some for the track on the stock wheels.

 

If you really really wanted to come to the Seattle area then I'd recommend Group 2 Motorsports. They did a great job on mine and I'm VERY **** about scratching my wheels. I don't know how MAXRPM is with tires though. I'd avoid Les Schwab/Discount Tires if you don't want scratches.

 

Honestly, for just tires/mounting... I'm happy with Discount Tire Co.

 

Tight n Tidy racing is highly recommended on other boards too for mounting tires, just get em online somewhere and have TnT mount them for you.

 

Les Schwab SUCKS

Weights fall off all the time, they cross threaded the lug bolts on to my hubs, made me replace my tie rods when it wasn't necessary and charge me a different rate on the same things every time I go there.

 

Group 2 rocks for tires. Only guys I'll go to.

 

RB, a couple of things as I have owned a couple lotus now, and track my current lotus pretty often (3 times a week at my best)

First, really think about your tire selection given your miles and how much grip you need. Stock tires, as you know, have great grip but wear fast with a tread wear of 60 (hoosiers have a 40).

Also, be sure to be very clear with the shop about what your tire pressures are supposed to be and what your torques should be. This should be less of an issue with any of the race shops listed above, but Les S, and Discount need to be watched.

As a story to drive home my point, I took the Exige to my local Les S. I was very specific what I wanted and how much I would pay. I could not stand there and watch, as I had errands to do and thought I could trust them to follow the instructions that I told them and that are printed on the B pillar.

When I got back to the shop, they were shoving my old tires into the passenger seat (yes, like leaning into the tire to squeeze it into the space).

I got the car home, check the pressures. LOWEST TIRE was at 45 psi!!! Checked the torques. My torque wrench didn't go high enough. Borrowed a buddies, 150ft lb!!!!

FYI pressures should be 26/29 front/rear and torque should be 77 lb ft.

also FYI, at the track, I pull 3 lbs out of each tire cold on AO48s. Most of the lotus cars (Elise/Exige) run between 2-4 lbs less than stock on the track. I found my temps using a pyrometer, but that is another thread.

 

Thanks for the info Trevor. I am look at r888 for the stock wheels for when I do get around to the track and probably fallken azenis (so mitchel will get off my back ) or toyo t1rs

 

I always go online to tirerack.com look at their prices then head to Discount Tire and they match tire rack prices. They might also provide discounts if the company you work for has an agreement with them.

 

RB, do Falkens on the street.