Suphawk, new S02s behave the same as your RE050's. The problem only becomes serious with older S02s.

At 9k miles, my rear tires still had some tread left, but I found the tail end did not feel planted on wet pavement at anything above 45mph. Solution - I stayed under 45 in the wet until I got new tires (at ~11k miles). I don't even want to think what they would have been like in STANDING WATER.

It is critical to know the condition of your tires, and exercise appropriate caution in wet conditions.

If you're looking for a tire with better wet performance, understand that you will be trading off some dry performance. Or, simply accept that the S02s are for max dry performance, and drive like grandma in the rain. I live in South Florida, which gets more rainfall than just about anywhere in the country, and I fully intend to stay on S02s as long as I have the stock rims.

 

My rear's have lasted me 17k now although I am having them replaced this week. The S02's SHOULD NOT be driven in the rain above 40-45mph and even then do so with extreme touch in regards to the gas pedal. It may seem strange having to go this slow on the freeway in a downpour but that is a small price to pay, IMO, for having one of the best handling(in dry conditions of course) vehicles on the market.

I was lucky when I first experienced this problem because I was only doing about 65mph at the time. I would dread being around 90 and hitting a major downpour or wet roads. The description of the rear feeling "like it's lifting up" is completely accurate. It simply feels like your rear's are becomming disconnected from the road. If you find yourself in this scenario do not panic and do your best to keep the steering wheel straight while letting off the gas and allowing the car to slow down on it's own.

 

I have addressed how hazardous the SO2's are before. Thay are great when it's dry though and I replaced my rears with SO2's until the fronts wear out then I will switch to something safer in the rain. Mine were toast at 11k. If your car is a daily driver it becomes an issue. I drove home from a driving event a few months ago 200 miles in torrential rain. It was pretty much a white knuckle experience all the way with the rear end squirming around at 50mph+.

 

The amazing thing to me about this whole tire issues is that while the S02 is a good dry tire, it is by no means the best performing tire on the market dry or wet. And other tires that give better dry performance, also give better wet performance.

I also live in FL, and see quite a lot of rain. To me, it is FAR more important to have a tire under me that I can rely on in the rain, than to have a tire that will turn 1g in the dry. Almost ANY high performance tire wil grip well enough such that if you found the edge of the tires in the dry, you'd be tossed in jail. So why worry about it? Just find a good tire that will let you 80-90 on the highway safely, and if you want a track tire, get Hoosiers, or Vitoracers, or Advans.

I plan on putting my car on the Goodyear GSD3, or the Toyo Proxes T1-S. The previous owner has installed Kumho 712s and they are SCARY in the wet since the rears are almost on the treadbars.

 

It just floors me when we continue to hear of bad wet performance from the SO2s, when folks are running these things bald. If you have 17K on your SO2s they are way beyond safe - unless you have been driving around on carpet. Yes and some folks even admit to wearing their SO2s out at 8K. I'm sorry but if you drive these or any tires down to the limit you are going to have problems. Add to that a lightweight car with decent power, and this is not really rocket science. I live in FL too and get plenty of rain. I know when the SO2s are down beyond safe - about 10K for my semi conservative driving style. And I know how to drive in the rain here during the wet months. The cost of driving this car with the soft tires includes ponying up the $$$ to replace the tires when needed. Yes they are expensive. Yes, because of that folks tend to stretch them as far as possible. But don't blame this on the tires, and for sure not on our beloved car. You really have to work hard to get the back end loose when the tread is there. When it is gone - another story. Be safe out there friends!

I gotta go now and order me my third set of rear SO2s replacements cause the rainy season has returned.

OK I'll get down off my soapbox.

Joser
Silver/Red

 

I have ES100s on my car and it seems pretty stable in the rain. However, I have 225s in the rear instead of the recommended 245 for aftermarket tires, so the car is very prone to oversteer.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by joser
It just floors me when we continue to hear of bad wet performance from the SO2s, when folks are running these things bald.

 

that's a really poorly though-out blanket statement.

i've got 18,XXX of my S-02s and they've got plenty of 10ths left. i don't do clutch drops, i don't go ass-first around turns, but i drive plenty quickly yet responsibly. i can count on one hand (or less) the number of times that i've done a teenager-style burnout. there's no need for it and it certainly eats of the tread.

if you're getting 8K out of these tires, either your alignment is shot, you do alot of track events or you're clutch is ready to quit.

the s-02's SUCK in the wet (and by wet, i mean rain soaked roads), they suck in cold but they kick arse in the dry, as they were designed to do.

 

I agree with you 100% Ace. They must have given the 03's the best alignments from the factory.

 

Er, .... ummm.... Some of us live in places like South Carolina, or Florida, where heavy rainshowers appear quite suddenly, even on apparently fair and sunny days. I appreciate the comments in this thread, since I experienced an unpleasant unsteadiness on a rainy day at a sane 50 mph or so. That happened at 15,000 miles, which represented the time to replace those rear OEM S02's. I personally intend to avoid taking long trips in the rain, but I recognize that I cannot absolutely avoid driving on a wet highway with standing water. In a few thousand miles, it will be time to replace all 4 tires, and my guess is that I will get something with closer to an all weather capability, and surrender the few hundredth's of a G which I never really needed.