2005 LOTUS ELISE tires

NOTICE:
• On cars used on a race track or in a competitive manner,
special vigilance is required due to the severity of tire operating conditions, with careful inspections carried
out between sessions.
• Take care when parking to avoid tire contact with high
or sharp edged kerbs. Such mistreatment can cause
internal damage to the tire structure and this may not be readily apparent. The wheel rims may also be distorted or damaged by careless parking, and result in wheel
imbalance or loss of tire pressure. Similar damage may also be caused by potholes, rocks or other highway
debris.
WARNING:
• Damage to wheels and tires may cause an accident in which you or others may be killed or seriously
injured. If the wheels or tires have been damaged,
have them replaced.
• Safety considerations should always be paramount when assessing tire condition and serviceability, and the tires replaced if any doubt exists, or if the
legal tread depth limits are approached.
• Poorly maintained and improperly used tires are dangerous.
• Overloading your tires can cause overheating as a result of too much friction. You could have a blow
out and a serious accident in which you could be killed or seriously injured. See ‘Tire Placard La
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bel’.
• Underinflated tires pose the same danger as over loaded tires. The resulting accident could cause serious injury, or death. Check all tires frequently
and maintain at the recommended pressure. Tire
pressures should be checked only when the tires
are cold.
• Overinflated tires are more likely to be cut, punc- tured or broken by a sudden impact - such as hitting a pothole. Keep tires at the recommended pressure.
• Installing improper tires on your car can affect handling and stability. This can cause a crash
in which you can be killed or seriously injured.

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Always use the size and type of tires recommended
in this handbook.
• Using incorrect tires or tires which are excessively worn or improperly inflated can cause a crash in
which you can be killed or seriously injured.
• Please note your car is not fitted with a low tire pressure tell tale lamp so it is especially important
that you regularly check the tire pressures.
When driving on wet roads, surface water is squeezed
out from between the tire and road. However excessive
speed or water depth can overwhelm the water clearing capability of the tread and lead to a condition called 'aq
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uaplaning' or ‘hydroplaning’, where the tire rides on a film of water and provides little or no grip on the road surface,
leading to a loss of control. This condition is more likely
to occur with worn tires having little depth of tread, or with incorrect tire pressures. Drivers should keep a vigilant check on tire wear and condition, and moderate their
speed in adverse weather conditions.
Tire Care Wear indicators are moulded into the bottom of the
tread grooves at intervals around the tire, indicated by small pointers on the outer tread blocks. The tires should
be replaced before being worn to this minimum legal
tread depth. The cold tire pressures should be checked every week,
or every 1,000 miles (1,700 km), whichever is the sooner,
and corrections made as necessary. See ‘Technical Data’
at the back of the handbook for tire pressures. For track
use, tire condition and pressures should be checked be
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fore each run. Under-inflation will cause excessive wear, rapid deterioration of the tire sidewalls and heavy steering,
whereas over-inflation results in a hard ride and increased susceptibility to tire damage. Both conditions will cause a degradation in the handling qualities. It is important that the tire pressures are adjusted only
when the Tires are cold (when the car has been standing for a minimum of 3 hours, or driven less than 1 mile), as the pressures may increase by 0.3 - 0.5 bar (4 - 8 lb/in²)
when the Tires are warmed to normal running temperature.
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Use a good quality proprietary tire pressure gauge and always replace the tire valve dust cap to prevent the
ingress of dirt and moisture into the valve, which could cause leakage. Many fuel filling stations provide tire inflation facilities,
which specific usage instructions should be carefully fol
-
lowed. For tire pressure information, refer to ‘Technical
Data’ or the Certification Label on the driver’s door jamb
(see page 121).
Replacement Tires When replacing tires, refer to the ‘Technical Data’ sec
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tion in this handbook, or consult your dealer to check the current Lotus specification and recommendations. Do not
use tires which differ from these specifications.
WARNING: Note that some tread patterns are directional, so
that the tire must be fitted onto the wheel with regard
to which side of the car the wheel is to be used. In
these cases, a direction of rotation arrow is included in the tire sidewall markings.
When balancing the wheel and tire assemblies, the
wheels should be located by the centre spigot hole - NOT by the wheel bolt holes. In order to maintain the correct
ohs115b
Direction of rotation arrow
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handling feel and minimum steering wheel shake, it is very
important that the radial and lateral run out of the Tires are to the high standard required by Lotus Cars. If any difficulty is experienced with replacement Tires, refer to
the tire manufacturer.
Tire Characteristics The Yokohama AD07 or A048 Tires fitted to the Elise
are suitable for all normal weather conditions, but are optimised for dry road sports driving. The constructions
of both tire types have been specially tailored for the
Elise and are identified by the letters ‘LTS’ moulded on the tire sidewalls. Ensure that any replacement Tires are similarly marked. The tire characteristics include good
feedback (‘feel’) from the road surface to the steering
wheel, a high level of steering linearity and response, and little performance degradation with the high temperatures
which may be reached in sports use. However, tire performance will decrease at low ambi
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ent temperatures, resulting in reduced levels of grip and
an increased susceptibility to damage from impacts. In
these conditions, especially below 15°F (-10°C), it is recommended to fit a car set of the recommended winter
Tires (see below).
Winter Tires If the car is to be used in ver y cold territories, or
driven on snow covered roads, it is recommended to fit a

car set of winter Tires developed specifically for such
conditions. Lotus approves the use of Pirelli 210 (front)
and 240 (rear) Snowsport winter Tires in sizes specified
in ‘Technical Data’. These Tires should be fitted on regular
Elise wheels.
WARNING:
• Winter Tires are optimised for use on snow covered roads. When used on roads free of snow, winter
Tires will produce different handling characteristics and less grip compared with regular Tires.
• When winter Tires are fitted, a maximum speed of 118 mph (190 km/h) must be observed.
• Pirelli Snowsport Tires are NOT suitable for stud
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ding.
Tire Chains In extreme weather conditions, Lotus approves the fit
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ment of Pewag Neon X3 - NX373 snow chains, used only in conjunction with winter Tires (see above) and fitted only on the rear wheels. Close attention should be paid
to the fitting and tensioning instructions supplied with the chains, and the chains should be removed as soon as
road conditions allow.
Uniform Tire Quality Grading Quality grades can be found where applicable on the
tire sidewall between tread shoulder and maximum section
width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
The following information relates to the system de
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veloped by the United States National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, which grades Tires by treadwear, traction and temperature performance (This applies only
to cars sold in the United States). The grades are moulded on the sidewalls of most
passenger car Tires. The Uniform Tire Quality Grading system does not apply to deep tread, winter-type snow
Tires, space-saver or temporary use spare Tires, Tires with nominal rim diameters of 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm), or to some limited-production Tires. While the Tires available on Lotus cars may vary with
respect to these grades, they must also conform to federal safety requirements.
Treadwear The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based
on the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified government test course. For example, a tire graded 150 would wear one and a half
(1.5) times as well on the government course as a tire graded 100. The relative performance of Tires depends
upon the actual conditions of their use, however, and may depart significantly from the norm due to variations in
driving habits, service practices, and differences in road
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characteristics and climates.
Traction - AA, A, B, C: The traction grades, from highest to lowest are: A A, A, B, and C. They represent the tires ability to stop on wet pavement as measured under con
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trolled conditions on specified government test surfaces of asphalt and concrete. A tire marked ‘C’ may have poor
traction performance.
WARNING: The traction grade assigned to this tire is based
on braking (straight ahead) traction tests and does
not include acceleration, cornering, hydroplaning, or
peak traction characteristics.
Temperature - A, B, C: The temperature grades are A (the highest), B, and C, representing the tire’s resistance to the generation of heat and its ability to dissipate heat when
tested under controlled conditions on a specified indoor laboratory test wheel. Sustained high temperature can cause the material of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire
life, and excessive temperature can lead to sudden tire fail
-
ure. The grade ‘C’ corresponds to a level of performance
which all passenger car Tires must meet under Federal Motor Car Safety Standard No. 109. Grades ‘B’ and ‘A’ represent higher levels of performance on the laboratory
test wheel than the minimum required by law.
WARNING: The temperature grade for this tire is established
for a tire that is properly inflated and not overloaded. Excessive speed, underinflation, or excessive load
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ing, either separately or in combination, can cause
heat buildup and possible tire failure.
These grades are moulded onto the sidewalls of pas
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senger car tires. All passenger car tires must conform to Federal safety requirements in addition to these grades.
Tire Placard/Label The tire and loading Information label stuck on the
driver’s door jamb specifies the correct size and pres
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sure of tires to be used on the Elise. It also specifies the total weight the car can carry, called the car capacity
weight. This includes the weight of driver, passenger and luggage. Also to be found on the driver’s door jamb is the Cer
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tification label (‘Manufactured by Lotus Cars Ltd.’) which stipulates the Gross Car Weight Rating (GV WR). The
GVWR includes the weight of the car, occupants, fuel and luggage. Never exceed the GVWR or the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) for either the front or rear axle. The maximum load which may be carried in the rear luggage compartment is 110 lb (50 kg). Note that the Elise is not designed to tow a trailer, and no such attempt should be
made.
WARNING: Do not exceed the GVWR, or front or rear GAWR.
Exceeding these limits may cause unstable handling or car or tire damage which could cause a crash
in which you or others could be seriously injured or killed.
The Elise should never be used to tow a
trailer.
Federal Motor Car Safety Standards require Lotus to in
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clude the following verbatim statement in this handbook:
Steps for Determining Correct Load Limit:
1) Locate the statement “The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXX pounds”
on your car’s placard.
2) Determine the combined weight of the driver and pas
-
senger that will be riding in your car.
3) Subtract the combined weight of the driver and pas
-
senger from XXX kilograms, or XXX pounds.
4) The resulting figure equals the available amount of cargo and luggage load capacity. For example, if the
“XXX” amount equals 1400 lbs. and there will be five 150 lb. passengers in your car, the amount of available cargo and luggage load capacity is 650 lbs. (1400 - 750
(5 x 150) = 650 lbs.)
Note: Maximum load to be carried in the Elise rear lug-
gage compartment is 110 lb (50 kg).
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5) Determine the combined weight of luggage and cargo being loaded on the car. That weight may not safely exceed the available cargo and luggage load capacity
calculated in Step 4.
6) Your Elise should never be used to tow a trailer
In the case of the Elise:
• The combined cargo and luggage load capacity is 551
lb (250 kg).
• The maximum load in the luggage compartment is 110
lb (50 kg).
• The maximum combined weight of the driver and pas
-
senger is 441 lb (200 kg).
WARNING: Exceeding any of the above loadings may cause
unstable handling or car or tire damage which could cause a crash in which you or others could be seri
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ously injured or killed.
Tire Markings Designation:Example; Yokohama Advan A048 195/50 R16 84W
Yokohama = manufacturer. Advan A048 = tire model. 195 = nominal section width in mm. 50 = height of tire cross-section expressed as percentage of width. R =
radial construction. 16 = rim diameter in inches. 84 =
load capacity index, indicating the load in kg the tire can carry at the speed corresponding to the speed rating. W
= speed rating indicating the speed (in this case 168 mph) at which the tire can carry the load corresponding to the load capacity index.
Tire Identification Number: On the left hand sidewall as fitted to the car. Commences with DOT (Department of
Transpor tation) followed by a two digit manufacturing plant code, a two digit tire size code, a three digit tire construction code, and a four digit date code for the week
and year of production.
‘LTS’
: Indicates Lotus specific construction.
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