I'm on my third set of Bridgestone SO2's in 19,000 miles. OK, I drive aggressively. But my problem is - that even though my rears are only half used up, their grip is 75% gone. I had this same experience on the first two sets. Each time after the handling got scary I replaced the tires. Is there a better tire out there for the S2000 - one that will retain it's grip through more of the useful life of the tire? If so what? And in what size?

Thanks

 

AFAIK, for maximum grip on the street there is no better tire than the OEM. Since you admit to driving aggressively, that may be the reason the tires are losing grip earlier than you would like - too much heat cycling. Repeated hard acceleration, especially with wheelspin, heats the tires leading to hardening of the rubber over time. Any tire on the market responds this way to aggressive use.

 

CoralDoc is correct. You have the best street tire. Normally if a tire only gets 9K on tread life the rubber won't even have enough time to get hard. If you are only getting 9K per rear set you may want to look at an R Compound like the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup. They will be even stickier than the S02.
If I can help let me know.
Thank you

Jim 877-522-8473-364

 

How are the S03s compared to the S02?

 

QuickS,

I just put a set of S03s on my S2000 last month and have approximately a thousand miles on them. I love them, especially in the rain. They are not as "sticky" as the S02s on dry pavement but only at the extreme edges of cornering. In a perfect word I'd have a set of S03s for wet weather and S02s for dry (and of course the pit crew to change them as required). Living in the Southeast I chose the S03 for it's wet handling capability (plus I hope a little longer tire wear). As you are in NJ I would think about the S03 as well, especially with all the rain the Northeast has had (of course watch you'll go into a dry spell now). If you get the S03s make sure you go easy on them for a couple of hundred miles (till release compound is off). Mine felt a little slick for the first week - after that they were great.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jim@tirerack
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