Hello

I own a HONDA S2000
This car is originaly equiped with S02 tires.
I recently nedded to change my rear tires and since the S02 is no longer available in France, I mounted S03 tires . ( 225/50/16)
At this moment the car began very difficult to drive. I decided to change the front tires too ( 205/55/16) but my car is still very unsafe.

The tire pressure is set to 4.85 pounds ( which is originally required for the S02)

Over 100 km/h , the rear of the car seems to slide gently and the steering is "floating"
Could it be a snubber adjustement or an other problem ?
Did you hear about such problems ?

Here, in France, nobody seems to know what'happening, and no one could give me an answer and/or a solution ( neither the Honda dealers, nor the bridgestone dealer)

I hope that you can understand my "poor" english... ( sorry, but I don't practice a lot ;-)

I'd be realy pleased if you could give me a solution

 

How long have you had the tires? I find new tires always feel "loose" for a while. They need to get scrubbed in and get rid of the mold release compound. Usually takes a couple weeks.

I don't understand the pressure "pounds", because here most tires are filled to 30 or more pounds per square inch (psi). Please clarify.

 

Also, most drivers agree that you should go with 245/45 - 16s in the rear when installing SO3s. They are closer in size to the SO2s than the 225s you put on.

 

An actual 225 size on the rear may be the reason why you have the observed instability. That's why Honda went to the staggered size that they did and why other high performance cars do the same. A significantly wider rear tire than the front helps to stabilize the car at speed. The 225 SO2 is actually 245 so you're almost an inch too narrow on the back.
eg. Vettes are 245 front/285 rear. Vipers are 275 front/335 rear.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by xviper
[B] That's why Honda went to the staggered size that they did and why other high performance cars do the same.

 

Make sure that they installed the tires with the proper rotation.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Russ
[B]

I agree in most regards, but my 2000 Camaro SS had four tires/wheels sized equally and felt smooth as silk doing 160mph.

 

I don't consider 100km/h to be "high speed". 100km/h = 62 miles per hour.

It could be a combination of new tires and the difference between OEM S02's and the S03's?

 

All of the things mentioned can be the problem. Mixing tires is never a good thing. You also do need to break in the tires and wear through the release compound on the tire.
The other thing is the size. I do recommend the 245/45R16 with the 205/55R16 front on the S03. They keep the same amount of stagger as the OE tires on the car. They are both a little wider than the OE tires front and rear.
I hope this helps.

Jim

 

Perhaps "high speed" was a bit misleading. Yet, 100 kph is high enough such that an unbalanced tire will show itself quite remarkably. Therefore, changing tire size, type, wheel size, type, etc. will also show up at those speeds if the combination is not quite right. That was my point.