The explanation is in Part II:
http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_artic...on-tricks.aspx

 

all other things being equal, a narrower tire/wheel will have a quicker, more precise steering response. the wider the wheel/tire the slower, more difficult it is to turn. i also just don't feel the lack of grip on the front end during turn in. it's generally a gradual process and hopefully begins when most of the braking is done. unless for some reason you are jerking the wheel or angling hard or still braking hard while you turn in then i could see front end grip being a problem. it's actually even rare for me to feel the loss of grip on the front end at all. typically it's only at the end of the track day when the tires are a bit greasy feeling and when hitting the throttle on corner exit. otherwise it's always the back end that breaks loose first. which in my mind means more grip is needed in the rear, not the front.

 

looks like the moral of the story is that a square setup can enhance handling if the rest of you suspension is tailored toward it. but just slapping a square setup on your car is not going to help...

 

There is no right or wrong, only a preference to the driver for the track layout. Every track is different and so is every driver, use the appropriate set up for the right conditions is what it comes down to. Typically a square set up is used more in Auto X and smaller, tighter tracks where less speed is present and therefor less weight transfer. More front traction helps rotate the car in this situation and re bias a more balanced control. On a bigger track with long sweepers and higher speed, this same set up can bite you in the ass or just hinder you if not accounted for.

I generally don't agree in the philosophy of adding a thicker front sway bar to regain rear traction bias again, it doesn't makes any sense, it defeats the purpose of adding traction up front to begin with, why not just leave it staggered then. Its a band aid, and one that seems to be popular, I wonder if its because everyone else is doing it so people think its what is best, or if people are actually finding real purpose in it. Sway bars add body control primarily, secondarily can be used to balance traction front to rear among other means in the tool box. Adding more traction up front first and then adding the sway bar makes no sense in this regard. Having the sway bar tailored to the right body control preference first and then adding the traction bias through tire sizing make better sense to me. Now if you just want to run the widest size tires you can fit front and rear and leave it alone, then run adjustable rear and front sway bars and adjust those to the specific driving conditions, then that would be the better tuning approach. So with this, one other problem I see is you can almost always have more room to run more rubber in the rear where the wheels are fixed, unlike the front. Also on a rear wheel drive car, your asking more duty from a tire that has to propel the car forward, so almost always having more rubber in the rear is going to create a more balanced car to control. This is my 02.

 

looks like the moral of the story is that a square setup can enhance handling if the rest of you suspension is tailored toward it. but just slapping a square setup on your car is not going to help...
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Well it might help, or it might hurt.

 

My guess would be tire rotation, cost effective!

 

the cost savings will not be amazing taking into account u have spend the time and money to go down to the shop to get it cross rotated.

there are people who go fast on staggered and those who go fast non staggered. The devil is in the details of the setup.

 

Why it makes sense: If you add wide tires up front without changing roll stiffness bias, you aren't fully utilizing that added grip up front.

That said, I wouldn't have any qualms about running 255 all around on the stock suspension. But I doubt it's optimal.

Best/maximum utilization of the tire grip available is the name of the game. A stiffer bar should better utilize the additional grip up front and also alleviate the outside rear, so you're adding grip up front and in back. That's the idea, anyway...

Of course it makes sense. See above^^^ If you take a car that has good handling balance and add a ton of front grip, you're no longer balanced. Bias roll stiffness to the front a bit and you'll still have more grip up front vs. originally, and also have more rear grip. For me, sway bars are *the* way to balance grip after you've got appropriate camber levels and spring rates.

For minimum autoX/lap times, generally that's exactly what you'll do: maximize total grip available. Then balance the car with roll stiffness distribution (sway bars being the obviously easy way to do this).

Problem with the S2k is that to go wider than 255 in back, you have to go taller as well, which hurts gearing. And you can fit 255s up front. And typically you're not putting down a ton of power (unless boosted or engine-swapped). So square 255 setups are typical.

Honestly, I think people make a LOT more out of handling balance vs tire size than is really in it for a production-based car. In my (admittedly limited) experience, sway bar changes make more significant changes to handling balance than changes in tire width +/-20mm or so. I don't think there's anything magic about "non-staggered". For me, if I'm interested in lap times, I just want to stuff the widest tires I can at both ends of the car given the space limitations and taking into account gearing ramifications. For many/most tracked S2ks, 255 all around is the best solution for maximizing total grip.

 

The S2000 has a near 50/50 weight balance, so theoretically non stagger should be best. All of you saying the car feels fine stock with the factory stagger are correct, but thats because the suspension setup was designed around that stagger. However if your interested in lap times around a track then chances are you're going swap out your suspension for something better, which opens the door to pick a square setup and optimize it. With a 245 or 255 up front you have way more mechanical grip up front, your braking ability increases greatly because of the bigger front contact patch. There was a slight change in steering feel when I switched but its nothing big or anything to really complain about. Changing your alignment could also bring some of that feel back. On top of everything the added bonus of being able to rotate wheels and tires is very nice, you never have to deal with having new fronts/old rears or vica versa. You just wear all 4 down and replace with a new set so all 4 tires have consistent grip through out their life. And you should be able to rotate your wheels yourself with basic tools and know how.

 

Oh... you could just rotate the tires yourself. Just need a jack and some jack stands. Takes about 20 minutes total to rotate all four and that's being conservative.