Lotus Elise Service Notes page 517

Lotus Service Notes
Section XA
XA.15 - YOKOHAMA A038-R COMPETITION TYRES
The Yokohama A038-R tyre has been jointly developed by Lotus and Yokohama specifically for the Lotus
Elise, and whilst the specification is optimised for track use, the tyre is road legal in the U.K. and Europe. The
tyre offers a high level of grip in both dry and wet track conditions combined with good braking performance.
The water clearing ability of the tyre is limited in standing water, such that appropriate allowances should be
made in these conditions. For competition use, the eligibility of the tyre should first be checked with the
appropriate organising authority. Note that the tyre tread pattern is directional, with the correct rotation marked
by an arrow on the sidewall.
The potential chassis loadings provided by this tyre require that it be used only in conjunction with the
sport road spring and damper set, lowered ride height, specific suspension geometry (with increased negative
camber), uprated front anti-roll bar and Uniball rear toe link kit. The tyres should be mounted on factory
approved Elise 'race' wheels (6J front, 8J rear) in order to provide good tread stability for ultimate performance.
Tyres
Tyre designation Yokohama A038-R
Size - front 195/50 R15 82V (K-5243)
- rear 225/45 R16 89W (K-5244)
Pressure (cold) - front 1.6 bar (23 lb/in
2
)
-rear 1.7 bar (25 lb/in
2
)
Suspension Geometry
Refer to sub-section XA.8 to set the chassis to the lowered ride height of 100/110mm front/rear, and to set the
steering rack height and rear bump steer shimming. The following suspension geometry setting is recom-
mended for dry circuit use:
Item
Front Camber:
Front Caster:
Front Toe:
Specification Tolerance
- 1 . 8 ° + 0 . 1 ° , - 0 . 2 °
+ 3.8° ± 0.2°
0.5mm toe out overall + 0.2mm, - 0
Max. difference side/side
0 . 2 °
0.2°
Rear Camber*
Rear Toe:
-2.7° + 0 . 2 ° , - 0 . 2 °
2.5mm toe in each side + 0.2mm, - 0
0 . 2 °
* It may be necessary to machine the top ball joint plinth in order to attain sufficient negative camber.
2000 / 02
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