CR Restoration question...
 

I'm about to order new tires for the OE wheels on my CR. Fortunately, the tires that are on the OE wheels are the original tires the car was delivered with. Amazingly, the tires still have a lot of tread left, unfortunately, because they sat for years and years, they have developed cracks in the tread and will not be used even for the car to sit on. With that, I'm about to order a set of Bridgestone RE71R. Should I consider Bridgestone S04PP? Also, the old tires, should I keep them for collector reasons.

No sorry, original tires aren't worth sh#t on the market. You may wish to consider SO4 only because RE71 is more of a track tire. However it is very capable for street as long as the weather is good. I have RE71s on my car.

Taste and noise tolerance vary. The RE-71R tires are obnoxiously loud on the road. And their soft compound will shower the side and underside of the car with every tiny bit of gravel on the road. Both reasons why I did not replace my RE-11A tries with them and went with a more moderate but still great performing S-04 tires in CR spec. 215 front, 255 rear.

-- Chuck

You bring up a very interesting question from a collect-ability stand point. If you've kept everything off this car, like all the spare parts you've replaced, documented etc, then there could be merit in retaining all the old spares as part of 'collectible package' if you ever sell in the future. As with all collectibles having items in a 'set' adds value. But this begs the question of how much. I've been for some reason hoarding the replaced parts for the car lately, keeping core items like fuel injectors and valve covers as I probably will keep the car for many more years.

Reminds me of this gent in the UK who had the foresight to stock pile parts for his dream car he bought in the 1920's that would last a life time. A bit of a reverse of what you have but still the package deal is worth more then alone.

I know this doesn't exactly answer your question OP but I understand what you are asking.

Cars with with hundreds manufactured are not "collectible" in the sense as those produced in the dozens are. Consumables like tires (and engine oil) ain't gonna matter. Not in our lifetimes, anyway. :) Not unless the car has (say) 16 miles (not 16K) on it.

-- Chuck

Original tires can be a cool thing, but only a concourse car that is being preserved as a showpiece. I have come across various CRs with original tires as well as '91+ NSX with the original Yokohama AO22s and Integra Type Rs with the original Bridgestone RE010s - it's always a cool idea in theory, but you would need to keep these on a shelf and get a separate set of wheels and tires for driving.

Worn out or out dated original tires are not worth keeping. CR is a limited production but not vintage. I don't see it becoming that any time soon.

AD08Rs were great on my CR. They have a high tread depth with stiff sidewall. Take a look at the ExtremeContactSport. They are worth a look if you want a great all around tire that can do everything well and it will last a while with a proper alignment. They remind me of the RE070 tire with slightly less agressive shoulder blocks softer sidewall. I just put them on my other S2000.

RE11A's eere the best tires I had on the CR that did everything well. Another tire to consider is the ZIII.

100% agree with others saying that the old original tires hold zero value. I mean would you pay extra if someone had the ratty old brake pads that originally came on the car? If the question is replacing them with the same exact tire make and model over something else then I can maybe see it adding some value since it keeps it as it came from the factory but even then. Falls in the catagory of using NOS parts rather than aftermarket replacement stuff. Years from now maybe companies will sell period correct tires for this car and others like they do for classic cars now.

The RE070 is no longer in production. Brake pads aren't visible, tires are, and the CR looks just "right" on its original tires. But, keeping them would take up space and require a spare set of wheels to mount newer tires, so this only really applies to hardcore collector types with garage-queen examples. For probably 90% of CRs, this question doesn't apply, as the RE070s are gone at this point.