I have an MY00 AP1, and need new tires all around. I bought the car used, and it came with random tires. The front were 205's, rotation!?, tires, while the back 2 were 225's. The handling is worse than a civic si I used to own.

I read the sticky, and it said that the front two 205 tires were actually 215 or something.

I need to know what tire sizes I need to get for oem AP1 wheels, say, with Falken Rt-615's or Bridgestone RE-01R's. -under $500

 

RT615's you'd have to run 225/50-16 rear, 215/45-16 front. The fronts would be way smaller in diameter, not necessarily a great idea (though I have run 225/50 F, 205/45 R at the track with no seriously ill effects).

RE01R sizing is easy, stock sizes are yer only option: 225/50-16 R, 205/55-16

GRM article on RT615 vs. RE01R:
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/news/0420...e-vs-falken.php

 

Also check out the Hankook RS2. You can get those in 225/50 for the front and 245/45 for the rear. They won't have the absolute maximum grip of the RE-01R's, but they're no slouch from all accounts I've seen, and they're some of the best bang for the buck tires you can get. Should easily come out to under $500 shipped to your door. Could also do 205/55 front and 245/45 for the rear and save a few dollars.

 

Yeah, get the Hankooks, great tire for the price and they come in the right sizes

 

I think you mixed the numbers or the F and R.

 

Oops, that'd be 205/45-16 front, 225/50-16 rear.


Speaking of the Hankooks, I've got them on my car, seem to offer a lot of wet and dry grip, and are a very good street tire.

Aesthetics-wise, 225/50-16 front, 245/45-16 rear is a good choice for autoX and track performance, but looks goofy on stock wheels. The fronts are bigger in diameter and bulge out a lot more, so it really looks like the fronts are much bigger than the rears (I thought they'd put the wider tires on the wrong wheels at first when I had a set of VictoRacers these sizes mounted).

For street tires, I went with 205/50-16 front, 245/45-16 rears, Hankook RS2's (on 7" and 8" wheels), so the fronts are a little smaller in diameter than the rears, rather than vice versa. Looks pretty cool

 

Did the smaller fronts affect handling and braking? Using 205-50-16 instead of 205-55-16 is a smaller tire.

 

thanks for the quick replies. I don't think i'm going to go with RE-01R's after talking to my local wheel works, the total cost came out to be a little above $630 including tax. I forgot to mention I do a lot of driving in the mountains, sharp corners. So would you guys recommend RS2's? especially since winter is coming up?

 

No apparent ill effects. FWIW, 245/45-16 is also a smaller diameter tire than the stock 225/50-16 size. With 245/45 rears, you have the choice of going with 205/55 fronts which are 0.3" LARGER in diameter, or 205/50 fronts, which are 0.5" SMALLER. The smaller-diameter/lower profile fronts look about a million times better. If there is a *minor* change in braking it should increase bias *slightly* to the front. I do think I noticed this when I went with the REALLY REALLY small 205/45-16 fronts at Mont Tremblant recently.

As for handling, theoretically the shorter front sidewalls should improve turn-in responsiveness. I haven't done back-to-back tests of the same tire make/model in 50 vs. 55 aspect ratio, though... Handling remains a high point of S2k ownership with the 205/50s//245/45 RS2's

 

Does Winter include driving on snow?
If so, you WILL NEED all-season tires.
DO NOT drive on RE01R's in the snow!
DO NOT drive on RS2's in the snow!