Hi everyone! I hope you and your S are doing well. I have a question. I'm starting to notice that my rear tires are beginning to wear out so I'm already thinking about replacing all my tires soon. I have an 2002 s2000 with AP2V1 wheels. I was looking into the Toyo Proxes R1R tires and they seem like a pretty good buy. I daily drive my S to work and school too here in SoCal. I need to know what would be the best specs to run on these wheels. I've been hearing that 255's in the rear are better than 245's. Let me know know what you think! I also want to get an alignment done at the same time. What would be an ideal alignment for my S? I don't want an aggressive alignment (I don't track the car), but I'd like an alignment that would balance the car perfectly. On the alignment issue, I've been told to run max camber in the front and match that with the rear...lowest caster possible...and a 1/8 toe-in (not sure if rear or front). Does this alignment make any sense? haha. Please chime in and educate me about treating my S to some fresh tires and new alignment. I really do appreciate it![=

 

Check the tire and wheel forum. Are you lowered? OEM specs are the perfect alignment if you don't track the car. OEM sizes in those tires would be the best sizes for street use as well.

 

As with any question of better on any topic it's subjective. What are you looking to accomplish? What are your priorities?

Same thing applies here. What has been deficient about the stock alignment specs for you?

Don't put the cart before the horse. The specs come from your needs/wants -- not the other way 'round. And don't overlook Tires & Wheels where this thread belongs.

 

Agree w/ takeshi, optimal tire depends entirely on your individual wants/needs/usage/priorities.
Dry grip, wet grip, snow/ice/cold grip, price, longevity, track use, autoX, etc.

Based on DD SoCal, I'd say Extreme Perf or Max Perf tires, unless you want reasonable tire life, in which case Max Perf or Ultra High Perf Summer.
Go to the Tire Rack site: www.tirerack.com . Check out test results and customer survey results for tires under consideration. Make sure you get tires that excel in the wet.

OEM AP2 tire sizes are fine. CR sizes (215 fronts w/ 255 rears) also fine. Or 225/45-17 fronts with 255/40-17 rears. For non-track non-autoX usage, that would be my order of preference, as well (AP2, CR, 225/255).

Regarding alignment, OEM AP1 spec calls for too much rear toe. The MINIMUM spec rear toe (~0.33 degrees total) would be OK, max spec (~0.67 degrees total) is way way way too much. I generally recommend ~0.2 to 0.3 degrees total.

I almost agree with the camber advice you got. If max lateral grip is important, yeah, maximize front camber, but then go 0.5 to 1 degree more than that in back.
If tire life is more important, I'd say -0.75 front, -1.5 rear (or thereabouts).
Agree with minimum caster, I've never been a fan of big caster (though there may be benefits for autoX).
The 1/8" toe in recommendation must be for the rear, front is usually set to zero.
1/8" rear toe in is 0.3 degrees total, that's fine. I wouldn't go much/any bigger than that. Too much rear toe sucks for tire life, sucks for mileage, sucks for straightline stability over undulations or traction-challenged surfaces, sucks for turn-in, sucks for everything.

 

ZDan, thank you for explaining everything to me! I don't autoX btw. I just want good tire wear for now and tires that can handle the occasional socal rain. I think I'm going to go with your advice on the tire size and alignment. I really appreciate the detailed response ZDan![: