I just had Kumho Ecstas put on: 245 rear, 205 front.

They're nowhere near as grippy as F1's or S02's, but then again, the set only cost me $340.
Plus, it's fun driving tail out around every corner

 

ThatS2KGuy what happens is that even if you end up buying larger rated sized tires you can end up with front or rear, but most notably rear, tires that are as much as 1/2-3/4" narrower than stock. This much would affect handling on any car.

For instance when I was looking for 18" tires I found that the widths of 265s ranged from 8.5" (Goodyer F1) to 10.2" (S02) wide. Guess which ones I bought!

THAT'S ALMOST A 2" VARIANCE IN ACTUAL WIDTHS!! That would have a HUGE affect upon handling.

To protect yourself don't go by rated sizes, go by actual sizes.

The front tires should be 83.5% of the size of the rear. Or another way to say it is that the rears are 1.2 times the width of the fronts.

If you have too much understeer for your tastes get a front tire that is slightly wider than that. The converse would be true if you felt you had too much oversteer.

What seems to have been happening is that people are buying larger rated tires but getting smaller tires than stock and then complaining about the car's handling when in fact it is because they didn't know enough to check actual widths and no one at the tire dealers is telling them.

It's like paying to have your meal supersized, but instead getting a junior meal.

 

Thanks David! I wonder if the Goodyear/Bridgestone comparison was on the same width rim? If the Goodyear wheels was narrower it would in turn round the wheel making the contact patch smaller. I've seen the same with Preludes and the same size tire giving different effects on a 7" wheel then the OEM 6.5" wheel.

 

I would guess that the manufacturers that rate would want to rate at their maximum width and therefore would be on the optimum rim width for that size.

Keeeping in mind that the optimum rim width for the Goodyear would be narrower than the rim width for the S02 since they are different width carcasses.

I have actually put the unmounted S02 next to the Goodyear and the Goodyear looked puny by comparison. It was also taller which creates issues with speedo, acceleration and raises the roll center. The Goodyear store didn't want to believe their tire was that much smaller. I won the bet and got my tires mounted & balanced for free!!

 

Yes, manufacturers do list, among all the specs you need to see, the recommended range of rim widths for a given tire. When going non-OEM, you need to check this along with tread width and diameter. Unfortunately, tire sizes are not well standardized as far as the terms like "225/50/16" are concerned, so we have to "dig deeper" into the statistics.,

Thanks,
Richard

 

FYI, I just replaced my OEM S02's with Falken FK 451's with 245/45/16's on the rear. Handling is like with the OEM's. Ride is about the same, or maybe a little stiffer (they are Y rate tires). The treadwear issue, of course, will take some time.

Thanks,
Richard

 

I just replaced mine with Kumho Ecsta MX, with OE front and rears (they don't make these tires in 245. But I haven't had any problems with them, and I only went with these after Jim assured me that there would not be any handling issues. In fact, I'm very pleased, and as far as I can tell they perform like the S02s.

 

Well, so far the poll is evenly divided between those for whom nothing but S0s will do, and those who are happy with an alternative. But the total numbers are still small. Let's hear from more s2k owners!

Thanks,
Richard

 

I replaced my with Re750 (225/50-16). This set only lasted for 3500 miles since the shop did not do a good job of alignment. I replaced with another RE750 (245/45-16). This set of tire look much better on the rim.

 

andy:

You apparently missed all the info on this board about tire replacement. If you replace with ANYTHING but S02's, you have to go with 245/45/16 on the rears, because the OEMs are oversize for their numerical rating. Also, if your rears are wearing too quickly, try having your rear tow in reduced. Factory specs call for anything between -2mm to -8mm. For the longest wearing rear tires, go with -2mm.

Thanks,
Richard