Hi Jim,

I have a 2002 S2000 I bought back in March 05 with only 4100 miles.

Everything was original on the car of course because of the low mileage. It has the OEM Bridgestone Potenza S-02's. The rears are completely shot now at 15,800 miles, the belts are starting to show on the inside of the driver's rear tire. For handling/performance purposes I should stick with the S-02's until the fronts need replacing, correct? The fronts seem like they might have 50% left on them, but I'm not sure. Are there any rears that would be a good match with the S-02's up front? If not, I am considering going with a different tire once I need to replace all four. Are there any tires with comparable performance to the S-02 that are more economical? I realize that to have the same performance it will be soft compound and wear quickly, but maybe there is something of comparable performance with a better price?

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

 

If anyone else would like to give their input as well, please feel free!

 

Most owners report a rear tire usage of 2 to 1 (compared to fronts). Just get another set of OEM SO2s for the rear and the next time you need tires, both ends should be worn out about the same time.

 

That's what I was thinking of doing. When all 4 wear do you have any suggestions of a comparable tire to try in their place? I live in Florida so I drive the car year round, in the summer we get a decent bit of rain. The S02's were good enough for the rain, but I wouldn't want anything with worse wet traction.

 

Take a look at the RE750 if you want longer wear. They offer much better wet traction, longer tread life and more comfort.
If I can help let me know.

 

[QUOTE=Jim@tirerack,Dec 20 2005, 12:27 PM] Take a look at the RE750 if you want longer wear.

 

Another tire you might want to consider is the Bridgestone S-03. These are the "next generation" from the S-02, and have a higher UTOG rating, and are considered better in the rain. I have these on the back and like how they handle the rain here in central NY.

If you're looking for alternative tires, Car & Driver has an article rating a number of performance tires. This article has graphs for each aspect of testing (wet/dry) for each tire. By using the graphs, you can decide what factors are most important to you, and adjust the outcome accordingly.

This is a good place to start to see a balanced overall look at tires that S2000 owners might be interested in.