Good to know!

 

I may have been born at night but not last night!

I've got about 200 miles on the new tires and I'm not sure what I think yet. Since they're new and I'm still breaking them in it's tough to have an opinion. I'll post my thoughts on the whole deal once I get the new fronts on and have the traction more balanced.

 

This still won't help much. The problem is the rear Pilot is about 1/2" narrower than the stock tire plus the Michelin front tire is 1/3" wider than the stock S02. Everybody is correct in the aftermarket tires should be 205/55R16 and 245/45R16 for the best handling.

Jim

 

Wow, I can't believe the dealer wouldn't switch the tires. Those are flat-out the wrong size tires, and they are endangering your life by refusing to put the correct size on there. Another point to note is that the front SO-2's are somewhat narrower than the listed 205 IIRC, so even with non-OEM 205's up front, you still have too much rubber there. Combined with much less rubber on the rear, I think you're going to have severe over-steer issues if you ever push the car. If you don't ever push the car, you're losing half the fun of owning an S2000.

I hate to say it, but if the dealer refuses to correct the situation, you should dump the 225's the idiots put on there, chalk up the loss to life experience, and buy the proper tires.

 

The dealer won't replace the tires because they are the correct size as stated on the sidewall. He does not feel that my word is enough in stating the tires should be 245 for any other than the S02. He is doing some research with Honda but will not change them unless Honda says I'm right. He has a valid point - without any documentation from the manufacturer to support it why would he put himself in a liability situation by recommending tires that are sized other than the sidewall on the stock tires?

 

Well I guess I can see his point, but he's still wrong . If he hasn't disposed of the old SO-2's, just have him compare the width to one he put on your car. Or have him call Jim @ TireRack. Still not "official Honda" info I guess, but maybe it'd be enough to convince him.

 

if the dealer is being a jerk and want to get technical. od you new tires have the same load range and speed rating as the so2?

so2
205/55r16 89w
225/50r16 92w

 

I've got him working for me. He's going to try and get the Tire Rack guru on the phone with the Honda tech and see what they can come up with. Another problem here is that Honda has never heard of this "issue" so they can't offer any advice on it. Maybe they'll finally wake up to the fact that the S02's are different and update their recommended specs!