Rears only vs all 4
 

Hi,

I own a my2005 S2000 AP1 (Euro). It currently has Bridgestone Potenza RE050a all round but:
- The front tires (215/45/17) are from 2017, have plenty of thread (nearly new) and still feel soft when I put my fingernails in them
- The rear tires (245/40/17) are from 2009 (!), have nearly reached the legal minimum, and feel rather hard. In summer temps it's fine, but in colder wet weather they are unsafe and I will replace them eventhough they are legally still ok.

Now the question: rear only of all new, because the RE050A is no longer available.

One of the tire shops proposed to stay in the same brand, and suggested the new Potenza Sport.

I also heard a lot of good things about the GoodYear Eagle F1 Assym 5, in which case I would replace all 4 to avoid mixing.

Obviously replacing all 4's is the safe bet, but also a bit wastefull considering the good state of the front tires.

What should I do?

My tires never get old enough to worry about the age of the tire so I replace the tires when they wear out. I think I've only replaced all 4 tires at the same time twice in the 11 years and 180k miles I've put on our '06 S.
Those G/Y's sure are $$$$

Rod

Many have found our cars very sensitive to mismatched tires hence the recommendation to replace all four tires.

.-- Chuck

I have front and rear different. It's driving fine. As long as you aware and don't push it to limits, you're ok. Hopefully the are the same type (all all season or all dry high performance).

I had the same issue with my 2007 Laguna Blue but I hated the front tires so I replaced all four with Michelin Pilot Sport 4Ss. Yes, it was more expensive but SO worth it for the super grip of the new tires, in warm weather.


I also have a 2017 NSX and have the same issue once again; the fronts have lots of tread left but the rears are at the wear bars. I ordered all four Pilot 4S's on Tirerack and am currently waiting for them to arrive at the installer's. It does cost much more but I decided it was worth it for my driving experience pleasure. At one time I had different fronts and rear tires on my 2001 Silverstone. :yikes: Never again! It wasn't intentional but was due to a screw up by America's Tires in Lancaster, CA. It was damn scary just driving in a straight line. So unexpected, too.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...b0b14c956.jpeg


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...806f91f27.jpeg
^Just for the NSX rears. The fronts were le$$ and in stock.

After some consideration I decided to go for GoodYear Asym 5 rears only. I can always change the fronts later if it doesn't feel ok. Based on recent YouTube reviews I didn't go for the Potenza Sport, they seem to wear very quickly and have lower initial tread depth.

I've had to replace all 4 tires on my S2000 twice with no option to just change the rears 'cuz Bridgestone discontinues tires at the same time mine wear out.

RE11A (discontinued) replaced with SO4 (just discontinued) to be replaced with "something" probably mid 2022.

-- Chuck

I've had that experience in the past, too. :angry2:

Sometimes when I buy a new set I get 2 fronts and 4 rears. My rears wear twice as fast as my fronts no matter what I do. If you put on enough miles every year this works. After a lot of experimenting I seem to have settled down with the Firestone Firehawks. I like them. Hope they don't discontinue them.

That's a good idea when you do put on enough miles.:thumbup: I don't nowadays but I used to.