My 05 has just crossed over the 16k miles mark. So far, the tires are doing ok, although obviously they are starting to show some wear. With that in mind, I'll most likely have to replace them within the next few months, and I'd like to know what replacement tire gives the best compromise between performance and tread life. My car is a daily driver, but is garage kept and "babied" (which explains the 16k on the current tires with more tread left!!) I know there are lots of smart folks out there in S2K "tire land" and I'd like to hear your ideas!! Thanks in advance.

 

16K miles on a set of OEM tires is actually quite good by S2000 standards. If you like the way they've performed for you, why not just stick with them? Anything else you get that will increase tread life will give you much less performance. Now you need to decide which is more important for you.
There are many, many really good tire models offered by all the major manufacturers. People have had great feedback on Goodyear F1, Goodrich KDW, Michelin Sport Pilot. I'm currently trying the Kumho 712 - not as much grip but I'm hoping they'll last a long time.

 

you might also factor in price.....you can get Kumho MX for 1/2 the price of RE050's and get similar performance and tread life.

 

If you are not as aggressive a driver you may want to look at the Bridgestone RE750 as well. They will wear better with good handling in wet and dry. The MX would handle well in the dry but not as good in the wet. The MX would be a very good tire if you drive the car hard.
If I can help let me know.

 

I am not an aggressive driver, my '04 S is only 13k miles, it is my daily car to and from work on surface streets only and the distance is 5 miles each way, and the rears are almost gone, the wear bars started to show up. I will need new rear tires in few weeks before rainning season, it does not rain a lot in Southern California. I am most interest with Kumho SPT, is there anyone had experience with Kumho SPT ?

 

One thing is for sure, the S2000 is in a completely different league than a family sedan. The tires make a HUGE difference on our cars, while on a sedan you won't notice much difference between tires.

The RE050 is a great tire, it was designed specifically for the S2000... optimized by the Bridgestone engineers for the perfect fit and handling on our cars. There are very few tires that you can put on that will perform as well, it is *very easy* to significantly mess up the excellent handling characteristics of the S2000 by changing to a different tire.

On the S2000 the rear tires wear out twice as fast as the fronts. If your rears are worn, why not get another pair of new RE050 rear tires and by the time those wear out you can choose a complete set of different tires.

Regarding tire life, in all of the threads I have seen here on the forum, nobody that I have seen has increased tire life by going to a cheaper or longer wear tire. They all wear out between 12,000 and 16,000 miles with normal (sports car) driving.

Also, you should never mix & match brands or models of tires, especially on an S2000.

 

anyone have a comparison opinion between re050, goodyear f1 and t615?

 

I agree with these same considerations. The RE 050 is an excellent tire for this car if you drive in a warm climate, or drive only during the warmer months of the year. Unless you consider the different tire dimensions (patch width & weight) of even the same advertised tire size of another brand/model on how it will affect the handling and speed of your car, I would stay with the OEM tire. I thought for awhile that I would switch to the S03 pole positions next but decided against it due to the greater patch width and weight of the SO3.
Remember that just because you can see the wear bars, doesn't mean the tire is worn out. My rears lasted 20K miles.

 

Thank you for your inputs. Your points are valid for aggressive drivers and/or tracking the car. My driving style is average, I do not try to tackle the curvy roads/on-off ramps at high speed, I drive my S during rush hours to and from work, so that highest performance tires is a waste in my case. The main reason I bought the S is the weather in Southern California is nice most of the year, I can drive it with top down more than 300 days a year.

If Kumho SPT is acceptable for my driving style and I should not mix tires, then I could replace all 4 tires for the price of two rears RE050.

A Porsche 911 Carrera Turbo owner said in Tirerack review: This tire is remarkable in its value and performance. As a street tire, it it especially good because it has great NVH performance. It is much easier on the ears! Priced at half the Michelin PS2 but with 90%+ the performance (and better NVH), this is the winning tire for daily driving.
I posted earlier today but forgot to add that the tire wear is stellar. The tires look better with 6000 miles of wear than the Pirelli P-Zeros did (two sets worth) ever looked at 1000 miles.

If this SPT is good enough for 911 Turbo, it probably good enough for non-aggressive S drivers like me

 

I recently purchased from Tirerack a set of SPTs for my MR2. I don't much care for them, unfortunately. They are very loud, to the point where they drown out my engine/stereo and I'm seriously considering eating the $250+ on them and buying something else. Other folks don't seem to have the same experience. Mine also seem to have a little bit of trouble getting the power down, though their traction in curves is commendable considering their treadwear rating and ride compliance.

This is the first Kumho tire (I've had several) that I've been let down by. I can only imagine I got a bad set (all four are noisy).

Friend of mine put some Fuzion ZRi tires on his 2001 S2000 and he's been very happy with them. I drove his car hard with those tires and I too am impressed.