Hello everyone

I'm about to order a set of new tires and just want to make sure I make the right decision here. Please trust me when I tell you I have already done a shit-ton of searching on this forum, but still really haven't found the info Im looking for. Unfortunately I have also found lots of conflicting info.

My car is a bone stock 2006 s2000. I have noticed that when sticking with OEM tire sizes, no other brand of tire looks as good ON THE REAR as the tire it came equipped with when new. Any rear tire in 245/40 seems to have a slight stretch to it. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if the fronts had a slight stretch and the rears were meaty...but to me it just looks bad.

So- my question is, if I was to go with OEM CR sizing (215 & 255), does the handling of the car REALLY change as much as people on here say it does? Several people said it works well on the CR suspension, but on a regular AP2 I should be expecting "understeer city". I thought it would barely be noticeable. Can someone confirm this?

I would really like to go with 215 / 255 set-up, in order to avoid the rears being stretched. On the other hand- I have no desire to alter the car in any way. I absolutely LOVE how neutral this car feels in stock form and don't want to mess anything up. Thanks in advance.

 

I guess I should add that this car only sees some spirited-driving on some mountain roads. It is never on a track...so even more of a reason why I thought I wouldn't notice a difference handling wise. I doubt I ever push this car close to its limits.

 

Tread width varies between tire manufacturers, so not all tires will look the same even with the same tire specs. I went with Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires last summer on my AP2, with 225 & 255 sizes and they are definitely wider than the previous Dunlops and Bridgestones I've used using the standard AP2 sizes (215 & 245).

On Tire Rack's site you can see the tread width sizes of various tires, that's what I use when I'm looking at tires. The car feels more planted with the wider tires, turn in is a bit different than before on the Dunlops (Direzza ZII) but not worse by any means. I haven't noticed any understeer changes with the wider tires.

 

Thanks for the quick response. Those are actually the tires I am going to purchase. You say they run wider than your previous tires...Do you think those Contis in 215/255 would work best, or should I stick with the standard 215 & 245? (I rather not due 225 up front).
Thanks

 

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/wheels-t...nsion-1114060/

 

I'd probably just stick with 215/245. The 225/255 match front to back with how the tires fit the wheels, there's no stretch on either. The 225/255 look beefier on the wheels, I think if you went with the 215 up front with the 255 out back it may look goofy.

The reason people go with the 225's up front is because the width on the 215's on the CR were closer to a 225 from the other brands. It goes back to my initial response about tire widths being different from manufacturer to manufacturer.

 

You think so? I don't think it looks bad on the CR's. I know their wheels are a different style, but the dimensions are exactly the same.

Or were you referring to giving it "rake" or something?

 

Re-read what I said about tire widths being different between the tire manufacturers. Not all 215's are the exact same width, neither are 245/255's.

The 215 RE070 Bridgestone's fitted to the CR had a tread width of 7.4". The Continental 225's have a tread width of 7.6", the 215 version is 7.3".

FTR, the Dunlop ZIII's in a 225 have a width of 7.9", the 215's are 7.6" (same as the 225 Continentals). The 245's are 8.8" and the 255's are 9.0"

 

Look up the Federal 595. Its really a great handling budget tire. Best one I've ever run for something outside an Extreme summer on this car. 2 steel belts for the sidewall. A bit on the heavy side but firm handling. Its sticky rubber compound is great in the summer/dry, but the tread design is more akin to wet traction and does well there, and even though its a 240TW they last. The tread depth is quite deep. They run wide, so the factory 215/245 would suit what your looking for well.

 

Thanks everyone. Looks like I have some more homework to do before spending any money on tires.

s2000Junky- are you referring to the "SS" 595?