17/17 and 17/18 Tire Choices - not much left.
- Thread starter stuntman
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Thanks...I have seen "calculators" in the past but this is straight forward!
So…did you do this? Only reason I’m asking is because I’m looking for correct sized fronts still.
With that in mind, I forgot to give an update on the Indy 500s I’m running. Since my last post, I did a 4000 mile round trip to NSXPO in Arizona. Handled nicely in the turns, good normal driving performance. I note that with 205s in the front, I have a bit more understeer than I’d like, but nothing uncontrollable, just something to be aware of.
Ran into heavy downpours in Oklahoma on the way to AZ. Good hydroplaning resistance, but not as good as the Pirelli Zero Nero GTs I had been running. Had to slow down from my usual cruising speed of 80-85 to about 55-60 in the rain. On the Pirellis with good tread, I wouldn’t have had to slow down much at all.
The trip back to Cleveland was much worse. It rained heavily from NM to Indiana and temps were in the 40’s F all day. Again, no big issue, just had to slow down. As soon as I hit the Ohio border, temps dropped into the upper 30’s and it started to SNOW. Holy fsck. Thankfully, the ground was still warm and the snow melted on impact. But man, driving a NSX in near white-out conditions on summer tires was NOT fun. Not wanting to risk life or limb, I slowed down to around 40. Still had no trouble with traction, but then again, I was really babying my NSX at that point. I stayed on the road only because the weather maps showed a 30-mile stretch of snow, then back to rain and upper 30’s. I almost needed new underpants after that road trip.
So in short: Great dry performance. OK but not great rain performance. Skeeeeeeetchy cold + precip performance, as would be expected with any summer tire. Cold alone performance would probably have been just fine.
After that experience, I’m actively thinking about just switching to all-seasons and no longer tracking at NSXPOs. What I really want, though, are summer Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or 5S, which would have handled wet weather far better than the Indy 500s (I have 4S on my S2000, *chef’s kiss* they are everything I want.). Maybe I’ll go with 205 fronts in Michelins Pilot Sport 4 AS instead, so I can drive in all conditions but have good dry grip?
Uuuuuuuuuuuugh
So being the contrarian that I am, I decided to try a unusual front size, because Tire rack had it in stock with the 255 rear in 17
I'll let you all know how it goes once mounted
Im trying the conti extreme contact force XL as a street tire...225/40/17 front...Interestingly it keeps the nearly 1 inch height rake as the oem 16/17 tires..
I'll let you all know how it goes once mounted
Im trying the conti extreme contact force XL as a street tire...225/40/17 front...Interestingly it keeps the nearly 1 inch height rake as the oem 16/17 tires..
Waiting for your review Doc. I'm needing to replace my tires, 17 all around, and trying to decide what tire to get................
That's on my radar. I wouldn't hesitate to use that size. Suppose to be an excellent tire. A bit pricey
No, never got around to it. Back on the hunt for tires now, and I'm debating between the new Pilot Sport 5 (also imported from the UK), and seeing what happens with @docjohn 's test of the Continentals. I'd prefer to go the local/domestic route for sure...
those look quite sticky! What suspension setup are you running? I'm on stock so hoping to learn whether those 225/40 fronts rub at all.
I believe the Bee is running on NSX-R right now but is about to switch to those oh-so-fancy Ohlins.
TY! My understanding of the suspension geometry is that lowering things pulls the wheels inboard a slight amount - so if the 225/40s work on Doc's lowered car, there should definitely be no trouble with stock suspension...I believe the Bee is running on NSX-R right now but is about to switch to those oh-so-fancy Ohlins.
so just drove first time on these.....first impressions ....winner winner chicken dinner
quiet/good dry grip/no hum/better as a 200 treadwear than the direzza starrspec 3 that I replaced
no audible rub but very close to rear front well... my old track set of 235/40 rubs at 2/3 lock
wheels are ssr comp kinda narrow at 7.5 inch
type R suspension alignment is zanardi spec..
quiet/good dry grip/no hum/better as a 200 treadwear than the direzza starrspec 3 that I replaced
no audible rub but very close to rear front well... my old track set of 235/40 rubs at 2/3 lock
wheels are ssr comp kinda narrow at 7.5 inch
type R suspension alignment is zanardi spec..
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Nice to see that the Bee is getting some love and drive time.
Nice! Extra thanks for the pictures, really helps show what we're working with here. What offset are your front wheels? A quick search shows SSR Comps at 7.5 may be a +42 offset?
I'm thinking about mounting them on a set of Titan S5s which are 17x8+37 in the front. I think at full lock that might move the wheel out enough to rub the rear fender liner.
I'm thinking about mounting them on a set of Titan S5s which are 17x8+37 in the front. I think at full lock that might move the wheel out enough to rub the rear fender liner.
So, finally bit the bullet on the import option. Ordered a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 from the UK. They're available in 215/40/17 and 265/35/18. Ordered on eBay so supposedly customs/duties are all taken care of. ETA mid June
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I'm super curious as well doc. Have 2 front 17x8.5 +45 ZE40s waiting on the right tire. Looking at your photos, I'm afraid that extra width will shape out the edge of the sidewall to prohibit any spirited/track driving.
Have you been able to put this setup through its paces, any rubbing on hard driving?
Have you been able to put this setup through its paces, any rubbing on hard driving?
My tires arrived, took less than 2 weeks. No issues with additional customs delays or import duties. Total for everything was $1072 given exchange rates at the time. Will be getting them mounted this Friday
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So I've been running Kumho Ecsta PS31 on 17/17 for the last 2 years and really like them. 215/40-17 in front and 245/40-17 in rear. Very nice dry grip, have made two trips to Tail of the Dragon on them, plus many other road trips in the Southeast (two NSX Mideast meets, Amelia Island Concours, Hilton Head Concours, Petit Le Mans, etc). Wet traction is good when I need it although I try not to drive the NSX in wet weather. In fact I got caught in a flash torrential storm last week and was still confident at 45mph on the highway, with expected some hydroplaning in the puddles. I do *NOT* track my car. About 10k miles on them and tread is still good up front, but the rears have some slight camber wear. So I just acquired a set of 17x8/18x10 wheels (sorry Bob but leaving the Model 5 gang lol), and they have this tire in 265/35-18, so I am ordering those for the new rears and will re-use my current fronts. Why change a good thing? Will stick with these tires until they show me otherwise that they are not suitable for my driving style.
So far, the eagle f1 asymmetric 6 feel absolutely great on the car. Way quieter and better ride quality than the BF Goodrich comp-2 A/S I have on my OEM wheels, even with .5" less sidewall. I've never driven a car with Pilot Sport 4S, but this is what I imagine they'd feel like. Steering input is very smooth and natural, and grip levels are obviously much better. No rubbing or anything, but that wasn't expected given the sizes.
My only nitpick is that the front tires especially are VERY narrow, despite being the 215 that SoS recommended for the 8" titan7 front wheels. So it's got a bit more "stretch" than I would ideally like. This may just be the price for an 8" wheel on the front, which I don't care about.
Also a nitpick about the titan 7 TS-5 wheels - the high offset has them sticking out just a bit more than I'd like. I think they're really meant for lowered cars. So I guess a set of bilsteins is in my future...
Will add some pics soon!
My only nitpick is that the front tires especially are VERY narrow, despite being the 215 that SoS recommended for the 8" titan7 front wheels. So it's got a bit more "stretch" than I would ideally like. This may just be the price for an 8" wheel on the front, which I don't care about.
Also a nitpick about the titan 7 TS-5 wheels - the high offset has them sticking out just a bit more than I'd like. I think they're really meant for lowered cars. So I guess a set of bilsteins is in my future...
Will add some pics soon!
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So far I have only good things to say about those Goodyear F1A6. Fantastic grip on dry road. I'll see soon enough on wet surfaces...
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So I got my new Advan RGIII wheels mounted up with NSX-preferred sizes of tires, and they didn't end up the way I wanted. Tire/wheel specs are as follows:
Front 17x8 +38 with Kumho Ecsta PS31 215/40-17
Rear 18x10 +35 with Kumho Ecsta PS31 265/35-18
I used the Ecsta PS31 tires on previous wheels (215/40-17 front and 245/40-17 rear), and I really like these tires. Great dry grip, decent wet grip (although I drive really slowly on these tires when it's wet), comfortable ride without a lot of road noise, decent wear, and affordable. So decided to stick with them on the new wheels. However, I failed to specifically note the tread width on these tires, as I'm just used to looking at the tire width. My bad, because it turns out the tread width on the PS31 is a full inch less than the same size tires of other manufacturers like Advan Neova AD08. So on my wheels, the tires are decently stretched which is not a look that I favor, even though I used the NSX-recommended tire sizes for this size wheels.
I'll probably just live with them until I use up these tires, and then figure out if I can get PS31 in the fitment that I want, or if I need to switch to a different tire. So fair warning to everyone, even though the Ecsta PS31 is shown as available in NSX-preferred sizes, you probably don't really want them unless you are specifically going for this stretched look (i.e. you stance bois)
Front 17x8 +38 with Kumho Ecsta PS31 215/40-17
Rear 18x10 +35 with Kumho Ecsta PS31 265/35-18
I used the Ecsta PS31 tires on previous wheels (215/40-17 front and 245/40-17 rear), and I really like these tires. Great dry grip, decent wet grip (although I drive really slowly on these tires when it's wet), comfortable ride without a lot of road noise, decent wear, and affordable. So decided to stick with them on the new wheels. However, I failed to specifically note the tread width on these tires, as I'm just used to looking at the tire width. My bad, because it turns out the tread width on the PS31 is a full inch less than the same size tires of other manufacturers like Advan Neova AD08. So on my wheels, the tires are decently stretched which is not a look that I favor, even though I used the NSX-recommended tire sizes for this size wheels.
I'll probably just live with them until I use up these tires, and then figure out if I can get PS31 in the fitment that I want, or if I need to switch to a different tire. So fair warning to everyone, even though the Ecsta PS31 is shown as available in NSX-preferred sizes, you probably don't really want them unless you are specifically going for this stretched look (i.e. you stance bois)
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Current issue of NSX Driver has a great article on tires, by none other than the infamous Ken Sax. Does anyone have experience with the Pirelli P Zero GTs that he has in the 17x17 OEM sizes for an 02?
Confidentially, I will be mounting 4 new tires on an original set of correct 5 spoke 1991 wheels for our 711 mile Red/Ivory car which is currently live on Bring-A-Trailer. Since the original tires are not dry rotted, they are still suitable for display. But I want the new owner to have a safe set of proper wheels and tires to install should they want to drive the car any distance beyond the delivery truck and their storage facility.
So what tire would everyone agree is the most standard looking and modest performing? I also need them before next Friday when the auction closes.
Thoughts?
So what tire would everyone agree is the most standard looking and modest performing? I also need them before next Friday when the auction closes.
Thoughts?
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