s2k2002_spa yellow

I'm looking to get some good all-season tires off tire rack. I'm up in the air about getting rims... if I did get new rims I was thinking all black would like good on my s2k... I was in a car accident six weeks ago and got body work done to fix the car (the back end spun out on an on-ramp and I did a 180 and hit the guard rail). While the body shop guys said there was no frame damage, there's definitely alignment issues. I'm fine with the look of the stock rims, but I'm thinking that new rims may be the safest way to go, since the wheels did hit the guard rail I'm thinking its a good idea to do both the rims and tires (or maybe I'm just self-justifying a big purchase in my mind.. any suggestions?

cosmomiller

I have an 09 in the same color. Have gone back and forth on wheels and decided to repaint mine to the original color. (Previous owner painted spokes yellow to match.) Did it twice; the second time was much better. I think when I will replace my PSS tires I may have them professionally powder coated.

You may want to keep the originals in case you sell the car. That means having space to store them.

Manga_Spawn

If you want wheels you will need to stick to near oem size. Rolling your fenders with recent body work is really risky. I would think that they would have checked to make sure the oem wheels weren't damaged by the wreck. If they didn't I would have them checked. I would also get the alignment figured out before you get new tires on the car. Again I would have expected the shop to fix that before taking the car home.

Bama Dave

Look at the Tire Rack TRM C3 in the 17x9 +62 offset no fender rolling just have to watch it at full lock left or right. You will be able to run the 245 or 255-40-17 tires and rotate them front to back. I have an 02 Spa and an 06 Black running that set up on both.

Chuck S

Another lesson in handling a real wheel drive performance car. Sorry it happened but it's fairly frequent.

There are reproduction "AP2V1" 17" wheels available for a reasonable price and 17" tire choices seem better. Buyers here have reported they're pleased with the wheels and they're not PRC knockoffs (non-buyers can be doubtful ). These are properly staggered and will fit with no modifications to your car whatsoever. If you use the CR spec tire size 215/45R17 front an 255/40R17 rear the larger rears will cut bit of the oversteer in your model year. I'm running these sizes on my 2006 car and am pleased with them. Bridgestone S-04 summer tires though.

Have no idea your location. All seasons tires will handle poorly compared to good summer tires. You really gonna drive this car in the winter? Save these wheels and tires for that use.

BTW: From the photos it appears your roof is not retracting properly. Worn out elastic bands between the roof bars -- happens to us all. Replace them.

-- Chuck

s2k2002_spa yellow

Hey Chuck,

I'm living outside of Washington D.C. in northern Virginia. I know this my be Blasphemy, but I was planning on driving the car in the winter. Fortunately winters are fairly mild and we don't get too much snow. Ultimately, that is the reason why I was looking into getting all-season tires.

thanks for the info on the tires and roof. I had no idea there were any issues with my soft-top... Are there any other tell-tale signs to know its compromised?

I think like the previous replier said – i definitely need to do an alignment check before I go forward with the wheels, tires.

Thanks,
Tom

cosmomiller

Top Care

s2k2002_spa yellow

So I found a coupon for a local Honda dealer that said "free alignment check." I drove my s2k there thinking I'd get some answers regarding alignment issues (if any) for free. Basically they said since this is an s2000 its going to cost me $249 for an alignment and $59 for wheel balancing... then they would tell me what the problem was... I did not go through with it, as I was thinking that I was going to get a "free alignment check" as advertised on their company website, I told the rep I was going to take my car somewhere else for another opinion before I drop $300+ The rep also said that you can't just take this car to any mechanic or dealer for an alignment, it has to be done at a Honda Dealership... Is this true? And do I really need to spend $300+ to just figure out if the alignment is off and I if I need new wheels after the wreck??? Please help.

Thanks,
Tom

lookstoomuch

No don't listen to that idiot at the dealer. I had my car aligned by an alignment shop which I would trust 10x more than the dealer and it cost me $125 to align to a custom specification. There's nothing special about these cars and getting their alignment checked. You could probably even find a local tire shop of some sort with a decent alignment rack to check it for around $60 I'm guessing.

Car Analogy

Dealers. Hope you learned your lesson. Don't go back. Many horror stories.

This car can be aligned by any shop. Only issue would be if you lower the car it might have trouble getting up the ramps on some equipment. But that is true of any lowered car. And your car isn't lowered.

Better alignment shops will have newer, better equipment. Ask what they have, then google it to see if its a newer machine.

I strongly urge you not to go with all season tires on this car. Get summer performance tires, then get performance winter tires for winter. Not for snow, but for cold temps (and for snow when you do get it).

These cars are sensitive to tire sidewall stiffness. They need a stiff sidewall or they handle wonky. All seasons on this car is not like all seasons on a normal car.

You already had an accident that really good tires might have saved you from (I presume tires at accident time were worn out). Don't repeat that mistake.