Unfortunately the OEM tires that come on the car do not conform to the numbering system very well.

OEM 16" tires (off-spec): Actual width is close to 195 (10 less) in the front, 235 (10 more) in the back.

Aftermarket 16" tires: You must buy 205's in the front, so to keep the +40 balance you should add 10 more to the back to make 245's.

Below is a visual of how that all stacks up. All tires end up being wider, but at the same ratio.

Notice that all tires have exactly the same outside diameter. To accomplish this, you have to buy 245/45, not 245/50.



Click the image to open a bigger view if you can't read the numbers.

I always wondered why Honda chose to provide these tires off-spec. Could be that nobody sells the actual size they used on the aftermarket, so instead of letting everyone get worried about what they were going to do at replacement time, they chose to adjust the size printed on the sidewall to something more common on the aftermarket. What they did is confuse lots of people, that seems worse to me!

 

Great post destiny.

Keep bumping this until it's sticky.

 

Thanks, ruexp67. Both sets are still sitting down in the basement.

I'm still getting good grip from the original tires, now at over 12,000 miles (the ones on the car, not in the picture). Not quite bald (rears), but starting to get close.

When it turns cold I'm going to take the Dunlops to the dealer and have them mounted. The OEM tires just can't get up to temperature when it's below 50F, I hope these all-season tires do the trick.

It's hard to tell, but the rear S0-2's in the picture only have a couple hundred miles on them.

 

Great info. This should "stick" for while.

 

It's a Note in the s2000 forum now due to popular demand.

 

I'm from Portugal, have a black S2000 and I've find great informations here. thanks for all.
I'm no Schumacher at all, but I'm using now the Bridgestone S03 and I think that the S02 were better.

 

 

Remember that (runflats aside) the car is held up by the air pressure in the tire/wheel. So the actual contact patch area is dependent mostly on the load and the inflation PSI. Wider tires mostly affect the SHAPE of the contact patch. With a wider tire and the same approx contact patch area, the patch is shorter in the fore/aft direction. Wider is better for cornering for the most part.

Stan

 

Then you've gotta think about the "land-to-sea" ratio. Tires can be very different... A wider contact patch might have as long of a contact patch as a skinnier tire if it has "less land". You get better wet traction, load rating, and heat dissipation... but in the dry you have higher weight and wind resistance than a narrow tire with a higher "land-to-sea" ratio, and on the street your tires may take longer to get up to temperature.

(I apologize in advance if I'm not making sense )

[QUOTE]Originally posted by E30M3
[B]Remember that (runflats aside) the car is held up by the air pressure in the tire/wheel.

 

I got this response from Bridgestone when trying to deal with the same problem:

[COLOR=blue]1) Contact patch is not a recognized number