I have a 2002 S2000 and am in desperate need of tires and am unsure what to buy. The last time I left it up to the salesperson and whatever they put on made the car handle like crap and it wasn't even fun to drive. I commute about 50 miles a day (except for the winter).I don't always drive it in the rain as I have hydroplaned a few times but sometimes it can't be helped. Any suggestions?

 

How much performance do you want? What type of commute do you have? Do you mind buying tires every 12000 miles?

We need for information before we can help.

Mike

 

I personally have the Bridgestone Potenzas RE-11.. They are an extreme summer tire.. Good for 10k miles.. I've heard a lot of good reviews on the Hankook v12s.. It depends how much $ you want to spend, if you track or not, and how much u want to get out of the tires. Good luck. There are a lot of people on here who will help you out.

 

Hankook v12's are the way to go. I just put a set on my car and though I only had the car out a few times they handle very well. Cant't wait to see how we'll they handle in warmer weather.

 

Continental Extreme DWS is a good tire. It is rated for handling in Dry, Wet and very light snow. Should cost you $478 for a set of 4 on Tire Rack. The Hankook V12's are good too as well as the V4 ES H105 that I had on my car in the past.

The above are great for driving on street and some spirited driving. Decent on track as well if you do the occasional autocross or track day.

 

What tires do you currently have on your car? Make and model?

 

Just put these on the TSX. Haven't had them long enough to form an opinion yet, but they had good reviews. Discount Tire Direct was cheaper than Tire Rack for the TSX sizes.

 

My instructor at the NASA event (the guy with 3 S2000s) last year had these on his Rio AP1 street car. He had no problem getting around and passing other cars on slicks and racier rubber on track.

 

Last fall, I bought a set of Sumitoma HTR Z III, rated as a maximum performance summer tire. I've only taken the car to the track this spring, so maybe 75 street miles and 80 track miles. I have to say, I was very happy with the tire's performance on a cold day. They seemed to have more stick that the stock Potenzas that I had had on the car. I felt pretty comfortable on them.

Some of the guys that went to the track said the event had chewed up their tires more than expected. I did not feel that the Sumitomas were eaten up at all, even though I could hear tire squeal in the corners.

I bought the Sumitomas because they had a longer wear rating than some of the other max performance summer tires. If you go on TireRack.com they have fairly detailed discussions and tests on all of the tires that will be mentioned here. Compare and make your decision.

I did not buy from Tire Rack. I went to a local repair & tire shop. They ordered the tires for me from their supplier and installed. No real cost savings, just keeping the business local.

Ford dealers seem to carry the Hankook line.


If the car is handling "like crap", it might be worth taking it in for an allignment. Although I've never had my car alligned, these cars can be alligned at all four wheels. Perhaps someone here can post what the stock allignment numbers are. If not, you might pick those numbers up in the research threads. You probably want the numbers in hand so you can tell the allignment shop - and you probably want a specialty shop at that.

 

^ Another good choice Jeff