I am concerned about the cold grip and hydroplaning problems people are having with the OEM S02's. Living in Atlanta, I need a good rain tire, snow is not a concern, but cold weather can still be a problem. I'm thinking of replacing the stock tires with Pole Positions or Michelin Pilot Sports as soon as i get it, as this car will be my wife's daily driver (let the smart ass comments begin). Anyone made this switch? Any cold weather (not snow) problems with the S02 PP's? Tire Rack says we have left them thoroughly confused over the whole S02 OEM, non OEM, Porsche, Honda, PP debate. I know this has been discussed to death, but I haven't heard from anyone yet who has actually made the switch to Pole Positions or Pilot Sports.

 

I like the S02 PP's they are absolutely incredible in the rain, I am not sure about the cold though, as long as the tires warm up you will be fine.

 

Hey guys,

I drove around southern Wisconsin last weekend with completely worn out OEM S02s. The weather was cold- very cold (for the tires), around 26 degrees or so, and it was flurrying, with some slight accumulation on the grass by the highway.

With care, I think that's the limit of conditions of what I'd ask any summer tire to perform under.

-Nick

[This message has been edited by GTRPower (edited November 22, 2000).]

 

Is it possible to E-mail Honda headquarters somewhere to get their blessing on the tire switch? I understand they recommended somewhere staying with the particular stock tire which may be hard to find. I too would rather have a tire that performs better on wet roads. The stock tires appear to not be very good on wet roads.

 

FWIW I am on my second set of 215/50/17 and 245/40/17 S02 Pole Position and have no hydroplanning incidents to report. I do not drive a lot in the rain, but I did have a few scares with the original tyres.

I believe the bias towards a wider tyrefootprint at the back, helped me regain what I lost by going to a sparser(read: less rubber on the tarmac) thread. I feel no more tendency to oversteer than before. In fact I fishtailed twice with the original tyres and never with S02 PP.

 

Luis,

Did the tire size change affect your speedometer, or did the 17" wheels compensate?

 

225/50/16 -> 837 tyre revs/mile
245/10/17 -> 843 tyre revs/mile

so a +0.7% difference on the speedo. Or you can also put it as: when driving at 150MPH the speedo will display 151MPH.

Big deal. (oh, yeah and I also have an extra 0.7% torque at the wheels!)

 

You could also go with
285/30-18 -> 837 tire rev/mile

that should be enough rear bias to stop the oversteer deal

 

I'm about to replace all 4 tires, too (10.5K miles). I was wondering if Kumho tires are any good in the cold/rain compared to the oem tires? Also, what's the difference between the two Kumho models besides tread life (260 vs. 280)? Thanks!

 

I heard Kumho's are very heavy and old technology, but then again they're cheap (inexpensive).