Chuck S

The CR got 255mm rear tires to help curb over-steer. If I put them on my 2006 S2000 will the car tend to under-steer? Handles just as I like it at present but new tires are needed.

-- Chuck

Langelo DeMysterioso

255 will plant the rear more solidly. I wouldn't quite call it understeer though.

Chuck S

Thanks for the feedback.

Still debating tires which tires to put on. Brand as well as sizes.

-- Chuck

ViperASR

On the street you will never, ever, notice a difference. The car may be more comfortable on throttle, but again, if you can pitch the car sideways on a 245, you will be able to on a 255.

Fokker

Even at the limit, with a factory suspension the car will still lean towards oversteer with 255s. Driven more sedately, you will not see understeer unless you do something special.

Manga_Spawn

The suspension is different from the CR to base model. The CR has stiffer springs and sway bars I think the damping is also different but not 100% sure on that. Also the brand and category of tire will have as much if not more of an effect on how the car feels.

Bullwings

What do you have up front? 215 or 225s?

I found that as I got better driving on track (all stock except for camber joints), both a 215/245 and 225/255 setup on the stock ap2v2 wheels tended to slightly understeer more than I would have liked at lower speeds < 85mph. Once, the aero started to come into play, and the rear would get a little bit floaty and balance out.

If you're doing 215/255 on the OEM wheels, I'd advise against it - worst of both worlds.

215/245 - really crisp and responsive. feels good, but not as fast.
225/255 - higher grip, and better heat capacity (especially up front for braking). slightly number feeling due to very slight pinching of tires (still within recommend wheel/tire specs, per http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Size-Calculator)

215/255 - never tried it. doesn't sound like a combo that I'd like.

My current favorite setup
-255 square on 17x9 square or 17x10 square with cr-front sway, custom bilsteins, no-aero. Playful and fast. not as fast as with a wing, but a lot more fun and exciting.

TLR - stick with 215/245, or 225/255. 215/255 will definitely understeer. Reference - my car is an '06 that I tracked for 25 days in stock trim.

B serious

215/255 is the tire combination that the CR came with.

Paired with the CR suspension and aero, the object was to make the car understeer. The CR is more stable...which is one of the reasons its so fast in stock guise.

On a stock base model, it will make a difference in stability because most 255/40's tend to run a bit wide. And yes....at the limit, the car will understeer a bit longer before transitioning to oversteer....all driver inputs being the same.

nibble

It is not going to matter on moderate street driving. however, use same company/model/compound on all 4 corners to minimize inconsistency and/or unexpected behavior.

s2000Junky

You always pair the tire grip/width to the spring rate. The 215/255 is more balanced on the CR because it has a higher rear spring rate both on the coils and the sways over the 04+ years. Its more akin to an ap1 spring balance, where 215/255 also works very well. 235-245/255 stagger generally works the best on factory ap2 spring rates. If your going to improve the compound of the tire over stock ie R comps etc, then maintain the spring rate balance front to rear but increase the overall spring rate to handle the added G load and maintain the cars handling composure.

I find running the same front and rear spring rate when moving to aftermarket suspension works the best, then change the sway bar weight to fine tune the cars grip bias front to rear to your liking.