Are the Bridgestone RE55S available in the States? I am looking for the OEM 2003 sizes, and a vendor that will ship them to the UK.
Bridgestone RE55S
- Thread starter j14nsx
- Start date
No unfortunately not. Only places I've seen them offered is Japan and Australia. If you do find a place that will ship update this thread as I would love a set also.
Really!!!!!! for him or me or both:biggrin:
I was under the impression that it isn't as easy as "just shipping" tires such as these, to the states. I always thought that customs may seize or destroy tires such as these because they aren't DOT approved. At least thats what I was told by more than a couple people when I tried to get similar tires.
Holybatman....
$307/each for the fronts and $435 for the rears, not including shipping!!
You still game?
Henry.
Naa too rich for me. I wouldn't mind if they lasted more than a season. Wow almost $1500 before shipping. Thanks for checking!
Custom destroy tires because they're not DOT approved? Doesn't make sense to me. On what grounds? Do they have the right to do that??
Henry.
Henry.
Told you they're expensive :wink:
You weren't kidding. I was thinking as in a thousand bucks ( which to me is pricey for rubber ) ,but man at that much I'd be scared to drive hard on them.
Perry,
I just saw this thread. I guess we know now.
-RJ
I just saw this thread. I guess we know now.
-RJ
Well this is what I was told by a couple people I know, who bring in stuff from Japan. They said, if they did bring in tires such as these, they would have to try and somehow "hide" it in the container, so hopefully customs wouldn't see it. The reason being that it's not DOT approved, and customs may slash the tires. Unless they had some kind of proof that it would only be used for competion or off road use only.
I apologize for sounding argumentative, but it really doesn't make sense. We're not talking about customs in mongolia or some remote boonies, we're talking about united states of america here. They have no right to slash your tires. At most, they might seize your tires if you didn't declare them for taxation purposes and you can probably get them back after they've been taxed. These are tires, not some contraband.
My friend, maybe you were told only half the story. Anyway, doesn't matter. :wink:
Henry.
My friend, maybe you were told only half the story. Anyway, doesn't matter. :wink:
Henry.
No, no need to appologize. I didn't take your comment as being agrumentive at all.
I do know there are ways around this, because there are a few wheel/tire businesses who do bring in wheels from Japan, and sometimes they do have track tires mounted on them. I was just told by a few of my buddies, "we can try and chance it, but there is no guarantee, if customs denies it". I didn't have an extra $1000 or so dollars to "chance", so I didn't get them.
I do know there are ways around this, because there are a few wheel/tire businesses who do bring in wheels from Japan, and sometimes they do have track tires mounted on them. I was just told by a few of my buddies, "we can try and chance it, but there is no guarantee, if customs denies it". I didn't have an extra $1000 or so dollars to "chance", so I didn't get them.
Probably the SO-3. Is that available in the US?
Wouldn't you rather know about the best alternative, rather than the second best? :tongue:
As I've often said:
I believe the Bridgestone RE-55S is a "category (a)" tire. The Falken Azenis RT-615 is an excellent alternative in this category, and is available at Vulcan Tire, among other places.Lots of very good tires are available for the NSX, and my summarized recommendations are bolded below. I'll confine the discussion to summer tires, under the assumption that you do not drive your NSX in snow or frigid cold (or you have winter tires for that purpose), so you do not need all-season tires.
Summer tires tend to break down into three broad categories:
a. Specialty tires with exceptional traction and handling on dry pavement. These tires are almost like track tires. Their downsides are that they tend to wear rapidly and are not all that great in rain or on wet pavement. The best of these overall is the Falken Azenis RT-615; other decent choices include the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD, Bridgestone RE-01R, and Yokohama Advan Neova AD07. (The latter two are not available in North America in NSX sizes.)
b. Top-of-the-line tires with excellent traction and handling on dry pavement, outstanding traction and handling on wet pavement, and very good treadlife ("very good" being a relative term on the NSX). The only downside is that they tend to be expensive. The best of these include the OEM tires for the NSX (Yokohama A022H and Bridgestone Potenza RE010) and the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. (The Goodyear F1 GS-D3 won the recent comparison test of eleven top-of-the-line tires in Car and Driver.) Other decent choices include the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, and Dunlop SP Sport Maxx.
c. "Budget performance tires" which are designed to offer good performance at a lower price. With the best of these, their performance (both dry and wet) is quite good although not at a level of the tires in the previous category. The best tires in this performance category include the Kumho Ecsta SPT, Yokohama ES100, Avon Tech M500, Dunlop Direzza DZ101, Falken FK-452, Toyo T1-R, Bridgestone Potenza RE750, and BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2. All offer similar performance. The first five tend to cost less than the last three, and the Kumho SPT tends to be the least expensive of all of these.
So then it's a matter of deciding which tire category is best for you:
a. If you want the absolutely best traction on dry pavement, and you're willing to give up wet traction and treadlife for it, then go with category (a) and the Falken Azenis RT-615.
b. If you want excellent dry traction and wet traction and treadlife, then go with category (b) and either the OEM tires or the Goodyear F1 GS-D3.
c. If you're willing to accept somewhat lower performance in exchange for a lower purchase price for your tires, then go with category (c) and the Kumho SPT. (Personally, I don't see much point in spending a lot of money on a high-performance car like an NSX, only to then degrade its performance in order to save a few bucks on tires, but hey, different strokes...) (It's also worth noting that if you're going to use your car for an occasional track event, you should probably avoid this category entirely.)
All of the recommended choices other than the OEM tires - IOW, the Falken Azenis RT-615, Goodyear F1 GS-D3, and Kumho Ecsta SPT - are available in 215/40/17 and 265/35/18 for those with 17"/18" wheels. Those with 16"/17" wheels can go with the stock sizes for the OEM tires, with 215/45-16 and 255/40-17 for the RT-615, and with 205/45-16 and 245/40-17 for the F1 GS-D3 and SPT. The F1 GS-D3 is not available in the stock sizes for 15"/16" wheels, but the OEM tires, RT-615, and SPT are.
The Tire Rack does NOT have the Bridgestone RE-55S.
Thanks for that. My tire guy can get RE555s's in 265/40/18's or 285/40/18's for the rear. I am currently running 215/40/17 in front and 275/35/18's in the rear on Blitz Techno Speed's on a lowered NA1. What front/rear size would you recommend?
I will also check out the Falken's.
I will also check out the Falken's.
Those 40 aspect ratio rear tires are MUCH too big (6.0-8.5 percent larger than stock, 1.5-2.0 inches larger); that's HUGE, will cause TCS problems, definitely NOT recommended. Stick with 255/35-18 or 265/35-18 in the rear, along with the 215/40-17 fronts. Even the 275/35 is big enough (almost 3 percent larger than stock) to degrade your acceleration.
The RT-615 is available in 215/40-17 and 265/35-18.
