A 2

OK, so I was at Albany Speed Shop today and we had the car up on the lift and took a look at the tires.

Right Front is worn on the inside. No tread visible, and you have seen pics of the left front which even with all the graining still has some meat on it. For Lime Rock, they asked me to keep the tires as they are and not flip them, but to watch wear on the Right Front in between sessions. Obviously the best thing to do, they said, is to get two new front tires. Looked at the rears and while they have worn down, they still can be used as the tread is visible and not completely down to the wear bars.

Obviously understeer is the cause for the fronts wearing out the way they did. It is likely I will continue to experience it as long as I keep the car relatively stock, but it got me thinking:

- was the wear on the fronts exacerbated by the fact that I was running 255-40-17's on the rear?
- If yes, will using a size 245-40-17 on the rear help some way towards reducing the understeer or does it really not matter because the difference in the rears is not significant?
- OR should I order a size 225-45-17 for the fronts? Will that fit in the stock wheel well?

I am thinking about this as I think about what tires to order for the S2K (as I will soon have to do).

Any information and advice specifically related to the tires is welcome. The car has CR sway bars front & rear and CR springs and dampers. Next saturday the car will go in for an alignment and one of the things we will be looking to cure is the understeer. Just wondering if staying with base S2000 tire sizes will help in addition to the alignment

kdiringer00nfr

I'm surprised that with the CR suspension you were experiencing under-steer, with mine I want to move up to the 255 as I feel there isn't enough rear grip. I probably am not qualified as I don't have as much experience as some others. I am fairly sure that a 225 will fit the fenders without mods on stock height. I'm not sure how it would affect the performance, but in theory would make the steering a little stiffer but probably not noticeable.

A 2

Keith - no expert here either but discussion is always welcome.

I think understeer is present at any stock setting unless you go the route of adjustable shocks etc.

The car was largely driven on track and autocross exposed . Usually its the rears that wear out on our cars, but in my case it was the fronts that are in worse shape. Keep in mind I did ~70 miles on the autocross track and skid pad last weekend. That abuse could have further degenerated the fronts more than it did the rears.

As I largely drive the car only for track/autocross or our group drives, I was wondering if fiddling with the tire sized would help somewhat.

Even with the CR sways, springs and dampers, my car is not quite the CR that has additional tweaks, so it will likely under perform (however little that is) compared to a stock CR.

EDIT: Thanks for looking up 225s for me. I subsequently looked it up and saw that the tire would fit. Perhaps I'll get that tire.

Conedodger

Check the alignment. I don't think you should have too much under steer with the CR set up.

pgss2k

Usually the outsides wear badly when tracking/autocrossing until you go with pretty aggressive camber settings. You seem to be having an inside wear issue. Is the toe out of whack? Until I maxed out my front camber I was killing the outer shoulders. Maxing out the stock settings slowed it for me, but I do no street driving.
Check with the R&C crowd on tire sizes. I have been square 245/255 for so long now that I can not remember what will fit on stock front wheels.
I dont think the CR suspension should give you horrible understeer even on a base AP2. The sway bars should have given you a similar balance..... I think?

A 2

Let me clarify - I am not getting a lot of understeer. Definitely not any more than what I used to get with the stock suspension. If anything the car is more responsive now.

The Left front inside is fine, while the outside is somewhat worn. The Right front is worn on the inside to the point that the tread has worn, but it is fine on the outside. The track we were on last weekend had 4 decreasing radius off-camber right turns. Four Left turns of where grip was kinda low. Very abrasive asphalt too.

Next week is alignment, and the last time I had it done based on the recommended settings in R&C for autocross. Maybe I need to pay attention to the line in BOLD below
EDIT: CR FSB is 1.12598 inches

2.1.3 ALIGNMENT

A proper alignment is important for autocrossing, and compared to the other changes you'll be making, a bargain at less than $100. Individual alignments vary, but the general consensus falls in the following ranges:

Front toe - 0" to 1/8" total toe out

Front camber - maximum available (generally between -1.5 to -1.8 degrees)

Rear toe - 1/16" to 1/4" total toe in

Rear camber - -0.2 to -0.5 degrees more than the front camber


Drivers with stock shocks or sway bars smaller than 1.375" may want to consider more conservative settings (e.g. more rear toe-in or less front camber).

A 2

So it looks like tire-wise I should be fine with either 215 or 225 in the front.

Mark355

A2, I've run a 225 in front since I've had the car. Wouldn't go any bigger on a 17x7" wheel.

A 2

Thanks Mark.

daktruckie99

I have run a 225/255 combo for the last 3 years. I found it to be very similar feeling to the 215/245 that I ran previously. I do feel that overall grip was increased, but car control was unchanged.

-Mike