bentheswift

Hi all,

I've been lurking here for a couple of years and recently found the "right" car. It is a 2003 in excellent shape, and I'm massively enjoying it -- I thought about this car purchase for a long time and I know I made the right choice now. Unfortunately the previous owner, wanting to advertise it with "new rear tires," put on some marvelous Yokohama non-directional all-seasons (treadwear 520!) which I'm sure were the cheapest tire he could find at whatever discount shop he called first. The fronts are still the stock 205/16 Potenza S-02s, which have maybe half tread remaining.

I can't say I really want to stick with the S-02s -- they are sticky but this car will be used first and foremost as a regular daily commuter. I hope to do my share of HPDEs, but I also don't want to buy tires every year, and I will be driving it through the winter. So I am open to the prospect of switching to a ultra-high-performance summer tire instead of the stock level of stickiness. I could spend a solid $400 and get a set of four Yokohama S.drives or the equivalent, which is only one step down in dry grip from the S-02/Star Spec/RS3/etc class, and these tires would last me probably 30-35k miles, with the sort of driving I do.

But, I also figure that I don't need to throw these front tires away, and it's not like I don't enjoy having sticky tires, so I thought I would see if anyone had a set of AP1-size rear S-02s lying around, possibly used (225/50/16). I have priced a set locally at about $415 installed, just for the rears. From what I read, the fronts tend to last about twice as long as the rears, so I could probably get a solid 15k miles out of the fronts and a new set of rears.

I'm leaning towards going with the less sticky, less expensive tire, for now, and maybe when they wear out in 2-3 years going to a stickier compound. But I think if I could find a set of slightly used rears I would just go for it and put off my decision until next year. I haven't gotten to really push an S2000 on a full set of stock tires (and my car definitely lacks rear grip at the moment) so I can't say I know exactly how much it would add to the driving experience. But it's clear that it would not be much fun to autocross in this state.

Thanks for the help,
Ben

#172CR

Ben,

You have a PM. Congrats on finally finding the right car for you. I know you had been looking for quite some time. Do you have any plans to change the wheels to AP2 sizes?

I did have an "all season" performance tire on my car for a year last year when it was my DD and I was extremely happy, along with a higher treadware rating than the "ultra high performance summer tires".

Not sure if they have sizing for AP1's though. Nothing wrong with driving your car throughout the winter too Can't wait to see pics!

-Ira

bentheswift

Thanks, Ira. I am very happy with the car I ended up with. I first had a Suzuka car sold out from under me, but I'm glad I ended up with this one instead (this one is red).

I like the look of the AP2V1 wheels, but the stock wheels that came with this car are literally flawless. I looked at a half dozen AP1s and never saw one with unscratched wheels, until this one, so I can't possibly get rid of them. Plus smaller tires = cheaper!

RobHimself

Agreed, I just paid $108 per for RS3's in 225 all around on my AP1 and they dont rub in the front at all lowered on my s-techs.

Sabre

I know Doug ran AP2 sized DZ101 which are the next level down from the Star Specs and he got a lot of miles out of them and felt they were great in the wet too.I'm not sure if they're available in AP1 sizes though. I ran Star Specs a couple summers ago on AP1 size and enjoyed them for the 8k miles I got out of them.

bentheswift

RS3s and Star Specs are both very reasonably priced, but with mounting either would be more expensive than just replacing the rears with S02s for now. Next time, they are a definite possibility.

I had a set of DZ101s on another car I owned, and I was not too impressed with their total grip level. They had good durability and wet weather traction though. I would probably go for another UHP/summer tire that had higher subjective grip ratings in Tire Rack or similar tests (such as the s.drives or the equivalent ecsta, I can't remember the specific one).

woodburn

yes but they make better tires for 17s. I have bridgstone re-11s and they handle like a dream.p

mezzfin

S2KANDNSX

I have a set of Falkens ziex ze912's and love them. Also put a set on my NSX and they are great. They also have a 40000 mile warranty which is nice. If you want info on great prices and where to go send me a pm and will get you in touch.