Hey guys I was having a convo with a friend today and I told him I was going non-staggered 17x9 all around with a 255 he told me that would ruin the handling and I should go with a staggered setup, he was telling me why its better and got all technical about it so I didnt really understand what he was saying. I always thought that a non staggered setup for an s2k was best of course with some suspension mods(sway bars etc) and alignment. Anyways can someone elaborate on why a non staggered setup is better than a staggered setup?

 

More tire more grip

 

^Thats what I said lol then he got all technical and started talking about turn in issues etc

 

From my experience, I can definitely see that the rear of the car eats more tire than the front. I always end up rotating my tires once due to rear wear. I could see having a wider tire out back to negate that. Unfortunately, I can't find any good street tires in more than a 255 with the exception of the XS (wears too fast regardless). I guess I would go to a 10 in the rear if I chose to stagger, but I would also go to a 10 in the front if that were the case... I like to run the largest practical amount of rubber under each corner, and like I said earlier, tire choices make anything larger than a 9 or a 10 on all corners impractical.

I run 255 non stagger and my car handles great. I think there are definitely suspension modifications that need to be performed to compliment a non staggered setup, but that should be a given for any person with a general knowledge of automotive suspension and handling characteristics.

I would be curious to hear his "technical" argument on turn in... I'm not being a smartass or argumentative; I genuinely want to hear what he has to say on the subject. Try and have him write it down or post in here, or try and remember what he says.

 

Have him debate with proven results. Non-staggered 255 is faster than staggered with 255 in the back, period. I do believe, however, that this partially stems from the lack of a wider rims and tires being readily available in 17" sizes.

He's more than welcome to prove us wrong at the track.

 

This. Non-staggered is proven to be faster around the track.

 

for lower hp 2WD cars I recommend putting the tire where the weight is. A 50/50 split front/rear weight distribution car will typically work well with a non staggered tire setup. FWD/front engine with slightly more front tire and RWD/rear engine with slightly more rear tire.

Back to the S2000, as horsepower starts to increase substantially, say over the 400whp mark, the rear tires are working harder for longer, they are now able to be at their peak longitudinal grip much further off the corner and consequently will run hotter. Using a larger tire will help better manage the heat and maintain grip over the course of a session. Consequently I'm starting out with a 250 front 280 rear Advan slick tire setup on the unlimited time attack build. However when I ran my NA AP2 I ran the 255's all around and they worked very well, though before the rear wing and close to 0 rear toe the car still overworked the rear tires causing them to fall off in extended sessions. After the wing and fine tuning the alignment this was no longer an issue.

 

Definitely non-staggered but you do have to play around a little bit more to get the car back to more neutral whether it be a wing to balance out the rear or a larger front sway or increased front spring rates. Without one of those you're likely to have a car very prone to oversteer.

If you think the car goes where you point it running a regular staggered setup wait until you move to non-staggered. I'm not sure I'd ever go back.

 

I wasn't blown away when I went from 235/255 to 255/255. I think a larger front tire/rim scrubs a bit of speed and might not feel as "sharp".
But right away you will feel the extra tire under braking. Once you get the car setup to use the extra front grip and you've adjusted to it you won't go back I'm sure

 

First thing I remembered when hitting the track & local twisties with 17x9 + 255/40 all the way around & an Eibach Front Sway at the stiffest setting with an AP1 100 rear sway = go kart, predictable, easier to drive & control the rear end.

Never going back & going to do the same setup soon from stock 16", 205/225 on my 2nd S.