Hey all,

I have a MY04 AP2. I recently installed a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires on the car. It originally was on Michelin A/S 3 all season tires. I noticed that with the summer compound tires on it, it’s next to impossible to break the tires loose on either the front or rear end which i used to be able to on command all the time with the all seasons. I can’t make it understeer going into corners if i want, i can’t make it oversteer on the power, it’s completely planted to the ground. Which of course is great, it handles better than before and i can take turns far faster than I could on the all seasons. But it almost feels like too much tire for the car; like it’s too sticky for what the S2000 was intended for.

But then a quick google search showed me something i didn’t know, that our cars were shipped with summer tires from the factory.

My question is, what is the intended level of grip that our cars are supposed to have from the factory? On the OEM tires was it this hard to get the tires loose? Or were summer compounds back in 04 just much less sticky and therefore the car had some play?

If i’m being honest with myself, i enjoyed driving the car more with the all season tires on it because it was more playful and fun to toss around. It’s lost that bit of fun with the summer tires, and i wonder if this is how it was supposed to feel from the factory.

Interested to hear everyone’s thoughts.

Christian

 

You want more grip not less. It was not made to be a drift car, and thus not made to just break the tires loose all the time. Those of us autocrossing, tracking, etc not only run MUCH stickier summer tires, but widths of 255 are common. So you improved the car and made it better for what it is made for, which is handling well. Drifting the rear end out is slower for autox, slower on the track, etc. It is of course fun as hell, but not the fastest way around a course. And if you are driving it that hard, it will absolutely break the rear end loose even with good, sticky 255 summer tires on it.

If you are wanting to just make it easy to slide around under power, then yes, go back to less grippier tires or give it more right foot. You can do burnouts in this car with 255 wide sticky 200TW summer tires on it too, just have to adjust for it.

Also, the car came with summer tires as far as I know. RE050's I believe. Not sure any S2k came with all seasons.

 

Interesting discussion. Honda worked hard to eliminate the very early car's reputation of the rear end breaking free exciting as it was. Discussion earlier this year theorizes the problem was with replacement tires as the originals (TW140?) wore out fast, not the OEM tires. To my knowledge all generations of the S2000 came with Extreme Performance Summer Tires which are designed to stick not slide. Current racing requiring "street tires" is TW200. (?)

This Tire Rack article explains tire factors better than any forum note. Read -- heck print it -- and use it to determine what tire you want for that exciting driving experience. Executive summary: you want as high a Tire Wear number with high alphabetical (wet) traction and temperature ratings. These tires will be easier to slide. Even when you don't want them to.

Happy motoring. Set up your car the way you want. I personally prefer Extreme performance summer tires or Max performance with under TW300 ,

-- Chuck

 

All S2000's came with summer tires.

The RE050A wasn't super sticky, even for its day. The AP1's S02 were arguably a more sticky compound. But the RE050A was quieter and more refined, with longer tread life.

I think by the time the AP2 had come out, the car had moved towards trying to be refined and quiet enough for people as old as I am now. However, I feel like people were just older back then. U know what I mean?

The RE050A was what came on a ton of sporty cars back then. BMW's and the Nissan G cars and etc.

Plenty of car manufacturers (especially back in the early 2000's) choose less sticky tires simply to make the car seem more engaging and playful, so I'm sure there was some consideration towards that as well.

Its the year of our lord 2023 now, though. And car manufacturers market their cars with numbers and world beating specs rather than actual driving engagement.

OP, the Michelin is in the same category as the OE tires, but its been 19 years of tire development and is aimed at cars which are built under a totally different mindset. So...yeah, its just a shitload stickier.

Remember when you went to the tire shop and they told you how much grip and performance the tires you chose have? Or remember reading the marketing which lead you to make the choice in tire that you made?

Then remember when you bought a super sticky tire knowing it was super sticky?

If you wanted the car to slip around, you'd want to look for a tire that allows for that.

 

Not sure why everyone thinks op was questioning if car came with summer tires. He knows that, said that.

He also already suspects the modern tires he bought are stickier than the originals, and just wants confirmation.

He also clearly isn't interested in lap times.

Our cars were never about numbers, always about the experience. I think its okif someone wants that experience to be one wherethe car feels alive, and moves around a bit when pushed, even while keeping to sane speeds.