A few queries, any help appreciated.

[skams]

Skams,
As for your 'Overtyred' post I'm afraid you lost me when you stated "There is no more grip to be had with a wider tyre, it'll just hang on longer".
That's one and the same isn't it?

What I was saying about there is no more grip to be had is essentially right, the point of total loss of traction as pretty much the same for the narrow tyre as it is for the wider tyre however the narrow tyre will begin to loose traction sooner than the wider tyre and the wider one will appear to snatch as it looses and regains its traction at a faster rate requiring much quicker reactions on the part of the driver to control such nastys . If you can find a copy of BMW CAR feb 2000 you find the article in there. (Now I’ll wash my mouth out)
As for the foamectomy I thank Ian has the credit for that. I must say that I find the seats in my old ’91 NA more comfortable and supportive than the ones in the Mk2.5 and I do miss the headrest speakers especially with the top down.
Thanks Ian for explaining about the contact area remaining the same.

Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner but our IT department won’t let us black handers have email (and wonder why we don’t reply to them!!!!!!!).
Cheers Simon

[SLYDIT]

I TOTALLY AGREE THAT T1-R IS A GREAT TYRE.

with the turbo i need all the grip i can get and these are awesome. Really progressive breakaway and a softer sidewall than other tyres makes for a good ride too. ( i got them for $160 per tyre in 205/45/16 size)

youll find that you can get the Toyo's at a cheaper price than others too so even though they only last 80% of others they are only 80% the cost so its even i think.

[Ian]

Cheeseontoast.

Re your existing tyres: You may well be able to determine when they were manufactured (which may or may not help you deermine if they are the 'originals') On the sidewall, you will see the letters DOT foloowed by some letters and numbers. For tyres manufactured after 2000, you are looking at the last 4 numbers in that sequence. The ast two numbers represent the year and the preceeding two numbers represent the week in which the tyres were manufactured. (Occasionally, some or all of this info is on the opposite sidewall!) In my case, the last four numbers are 3605...so they were manufactured in the 36th week (Sept?) 2005. From memory I had them fitted a little over 2 yrs ago, so they would have been 6-9 months or so old when fitted, which sounds right (made in Japan).
For tyres manufactured before 2000, the last 3 digits identify the date of manufacute...the last single digit represents the year of the DECADE of manufacture, and the previous 2 digits the week, as in the earlier example. Unfortunately, this earlier system led to confusion eg 365 could mean it was made in 1995 or even 1985! It is interesting to look at the numbers on my MX5 space saver - first reg in NZ in Nov 1993. The spacesaver was still warm when the car went on the ship to NZ!!

Sorry for the ramble....someone, somewhere may find this remotely interesting.

Ian

[cheeseontoast]

Ian, no apology needed, that's useful stuff and when the cats and dogs stop falling out of the sky I'll be down to check my tyre sidewalls. You may have just cost me a thousand bucks though, 'cos if its old rubber I'll just have to change it!

[cheeseontoast]

Ian, as promised a quick look at the tyres shows that they were manufactured in 2000!!!!!!!
So, 8 years old, 44,000kms and still with 3/4 tread depth.........must be made of granite...........it certainly feels like it.
Thanks again for your handy tips.