Time for new tires and I don't see many options. Your input is appreciated.

[Da Hapa]

Hi all.

I have a 1998 with a stock suspension on the factory 16/17 wheels. I've been looking around on the internet (Tirerack, discount tire, etc.) and I can't find much of anything that seems to fit the 215/45/16 front and 245/45/17 combo that Honda shipped the car to the US with.

Tirerack has a few sets of the Bridgestone RE010's left as well as a few of the Yokohama OEM's. The Yoko's are a grip more expensive than the Bridgestones are so I'm leaning towards the Bridgestones.

It almost seems to me that I'd have better luck if I bit the bullet and went with a 17/17 (like the 2002+ NSX) or a 17/18 wheel combo. Am I off base with this and merely looking for another reason to hit the better half up for more money or is this really the case?

BTW - I don't really track the car and while I do drive enthusiastically, I don't drive like a mad man. I don't want to ruin the handling of the car and that's the biggest reason I'm leaning towards the OEM tire choices.

Have I missed something or is there another tire choice I should be investigating?

Thanks for your input in advance.

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

Hi all.

I have a 1998 with a stock suspension on the factory 16/17 wheels. I've been looking around on the internet (Tirerack, discount tire, etc.) and I can't find much of anything that seems to fit the 215/45/16 front and 245/45/17 combo that Honda shipped the car to the US with.

Tirerack has a few sets of the Bridgestone RE010's left as well as a few of the Yokohama OEM's. The Yoko's are a grip more expensive than the Bridgestones are so I'm leaning towards the Bridgestones.

It almost seems to me that I'd have better luck if I bit the bullet and went with a 17/17 (like the 2002+ NSX) or a 17/18 wheel combo. Am I off base with this and merely looking for another reason to hit the better half up for more money or is this really the case?

BTW - I don't really track the car and while I do drive enthusiastically, I don't drive like a mad man. I don't want to ruin the handling of the car and that's the biggest reason I'm leaning towards the OEM tire choices.

Have I missed something or is there another tire choice I should be investigating?

Thanks for your input in advance.

I was recently also looking for tire alternatives and found the same results.

You can either get fronts or rears but not both with alot of the other offerings. I dont drive that much because I am in the northeast and the car is seasonal so I just go with the OEM yokos.

 

[MegaZap]

I suggest you check with Mark Johnson at Dali Racing. He sells super tires for the NSX at gr8 prices - even beats Discount Tire's price! (Maybe that is a Texas chain of tire stores?)

Zap

 

[ss_md]

Christian,

Call Tucker Tire in Laguna Niguel - 949-364-3225. They beat prices from TR and a local Bridgestone dealer that used to price match.

 

[nsxtasy]

There are lots of options.

One is the OEM tires, of course.

Another, if you're looking for great dry performance and don't care about treadlife or wet performance, is the Falken Azenis RT-615, which is a supersticky tire that's available in the stock sizes from dealers like Vulcan.

Another is to use slightly different sizes from stock. For example, you can get the outstanding Goodyear F1 GS-D3 in 205/45-16 for the front and the stock 245/40-17 for the rear, and they will work fine.

 

[mikec]

I have ES-100's on mine and I'm happy. Good price, great treadwear, quiet, and the car handles fine the way I drive it. I'm not aggressive. YMMV

 

[Da Hapa]

There are lots of options.

One is the OEM tires, of course.

Another, if you're looking for great dry performance and don't care about treadlife or wet performance, is the Falken Azenis RT-615, which is a supersticky tire that's available in the stock sizes from dealers like Vulcan.

Another is to use slightly different sizes from stock. For example, you can get the outstanding Goodyear F1 GS-D3 in 205/45-16 for the front and the stock 245/40-17 for the rear, and they will work fine.

Hey Ken.

As always, I appreciate your input.

I thought that switching from a 215/45/16 tire to anything else (including 205/45/16) would alter the "rolling circumference" of my wheel/tire package and therefore mess up handling/balance/speedo calibration. Was I misinformed?

I've heard good things about the Goodyear product but I can't find it in OEM sizes.

 

[Da Hapa]

I have ES-100's on mine and I'm happy. Good price, great treadwear, quiet, and the car handles fine the way I drive it. I'm not aggressive. YMMV

Thanks Mike. I had the ES100's on our Lexus IS300 before we gave it to my sister. I was initially very happy with those tires but I found that after they began to wear, they got very, very loud. Have you experienced the same thing?

 

[Da Hapa]

Christian,

Call Tucker Tire in Laguna Niguel - 949-364-3225. They beat prices from TR and a local Bridgestone dealer that used to price match.

Thanks for the lead. They're not far from my house so I'll try them this weekend.

Do you have anyone in particular that you've worked with?

 

[Caveman]

I installed Toyo T1Rs on my NSX about 5000 kms ago and they seem to have a lot of life left. I don't have a lot of experience to make comparisons but I do find them better and quietier than the ES100s and they seem to be lasting longer than the OEM Yokos.

205/45ZR16 front and 245/40ZR17 rear.

 

[NSX Status]

toyo t1R's..... They made my p-zero's feel like S**T... The toyo t1r's give it a total different ride... Try it, you will be happy that you did...

Status Auto Design

 

[Jin1976]

The same thing happen here in Brunei. There is no longer many option for the 215 front tire for the 16" wheels. I may go up to either 17 or 18 where the 215 tires are more available on the good brand (Bridgestone, Michelin and Goodyear). The rear is not a problem infact I would go wider with wider wheels. At the moment I'm using BFGoodrich G-Force sport 205/45 front for the 16" wheel. No TCS problem.

 

[nsxtasy]

I thought that switching from a 215/45/16 tire to anything else (including 205/45/16) would alter the "rolling circumference" of my wheel/tire package and therefore mess up handling/balance/speedo calibration. Was I misinformed?

Yes and no. Changing tire sizes can have those effects as well as causing problems with the TCS, but only if the tires are sufficiently different in size, particularly the outer diameter. The 205/45-16 front size is 1.5 percent smaller than your stock 215/45-16 and that small difference is not enough to mess anything up (including the TCS). The 205/45-16 front size can also be used on the '91-93 NSX; it's 0.8 percent larger than the stock front size for those years. The speedometer and odometer are calibrated from the rear tires so changing the front size has no effect on them. Unlike the 215/45 size, 205/45-16 is a popular tire size for Civics and Integras with 16" wheels, so you'll have a lot more choices for tires by using that front size.

The Yokohama ES100 is a "budget performance tire" designed for those looking for a low purchase price and willing to accept significantly less performance than today's top-of-the-line performance tires like the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. Other decent budget performance tires include the Kumho Ecsta SPT and the Dunlop Direzza DZ101.

The Toyo T1-R is the top of Toyo's line but it is nowhere near as good as the best street tires out there. Car and Driver really hated it in their recent tire comparison test (which the Goodyear won). It's a bit less expensive than those better tires, but more expensive than the budget performance tires mentioned in the previous paragraph.

 

[asylum]

The GoodYear is overrrated in the US because it's a US tire. I won't rate it better than a T1-R or a P-Zero for example. All these tires have soft sidewalls compared to Yokos and Bridges. But this is a question of the feeling you like in curves, not really of performance.

 

[magictooth]

Hi!

Just on the phone with www.tiretrends.com in Canada, and they told me if I were in Vancouver they wouldn't mount the Goodyear GS-D3 205/45/16 245/40/17 combo on my car. The reason? Different speed ratings on the tires. He says that the compounds are different even though they're the same tire and manufacturer. Any thoughts? I'm getting pricing on the Michelin Sport (OEM sizing) and the Yokohama ES-100 (downsize fronts).

 

[Osiris_x11]

rubba'...

The GoodYear is overrrated in the US because it's a US tire. I won't rate it better than a T1-R or a P-Zero for example. All these tires have soft sidewalls compared to Yokos and Bridges. But this is a question of the feeling you like in curves, not really of performance.

Goodyear may get some added support and praise for being am US tire. However, the Goodyear F1 GSD3 is manufactured in Germany!

Is there a variant Pirelli P-Zero in Europe distinct to the US-version? I've heard from many NSX owners that the P-Zero did not live upto expectations on their NSX, relative to it's costs. And that they had excellent past experiences w/ the P-Zero Asymmetrico line w/ their Mercedes Benzes and Jaguars. Just goes to show you that one model of tire might be phenomenal on one make of car, but mediocre on another.

IMHO, for 15/16, 16/17, 17/17, and 17/18...

1.) Yokohama A022H [OEM] (limited availability)
2.) Bridgestone RE010 [OEM] (limited availability)
3.) Bridgestone S0-3
4.) Goodyear F1-GSD3
5.) Dunlop SP8050 [OEM] (very limited availability) or SP9000
6.) Bridgestone RE040 [OEM]
7.) Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
8.) Pirelli P-Zero Nero/Asymmetrico
9.) Kumho Ecsta MX
10.) BF Goodrich Ta/KDW

Wild-Card: Yokohama A032R (75%-90% treadlife of OEM)

Falken Azenis RT-615 sounds interesting, as per nsxtasy. I might have to look into that for myself!

I have the Goodyear F1-GSD3. It's a great ultra high-performance tire for the money in terms of grip, wet-traction, treadlife. Well-rounded w/o compromise, to sum it up!

 

[nsxtasy]

The GoodYear is overrrated in the US because it's a US tire. I won't rate it better than a T1-R or a P-Zero for example. All these tires have soft sidewalls compared to Yokos and Bridges. But this is a question of the feeling you like in curves, not really of performance.

That's ridiculous. The article in Car and Driver was all about objective, quantifiable performance, and not feeling or opinion. Testing was performed using professional drivers with many years of background testing tires, and was done blind, i.e. the drivers did not know which tires were on the car at the time that they were running the tests. The article included detailed graphs (omitted in the website version) showing test results for the following measures:

Braking distance, 50-0 mph, dry
Braking distance, 50-0 mph, wet
Autocross lap time, dry
Autocross lap time, wet
Skidpad g force, dry
Skidpad g force, wet
Overall dry performance score
Overall wet performance score

The F1 GS-D3 was consistently among the top scores in every category. Comments from Car and Driver:

As an all-around high-performance tire, you can't beat this Goodyear. It was the best performer in all three wet-track tests and was very competent in the dry. It generated 0.94 g on the dry skidpad, only 0.01 g off the first-place BFGoodrich and tied with the Yokohama and Hankook.

The Goodyear gripped so well that you might not have been certain the road was wet, and it lost traction in a gentle, predictable manner. It held onto the wet track with 0.82 g of stick, an impressive figure considering the worst tire in that test made only 0.67 g.

The Eagle F1 got a lot of favorable comments. In the wet, Geswein called it "direct"—a way of saying the tire provided clear signals about its contact with the pavement.

There were tires that performed better in the dry, but the Eagle wasn't far off. It was a little less precise than the BFG and Yokohama on a dry track, but not by much. And like the Continental, the Goodyear had a high 280 tread-wear grade. At $145 each, it's $34 cheaper than the most expensive tire here.

The T1-R was consistently among the lowest scores in every category. Here's what Car and Driver said about it and how it ranked among the eleven tires tested:

the Proxes never placed higher than eighth in any test, and in two dry tests, the autocross and the skidpad, the Toyo finished last, trailing the top finishers by significant margins. In some tests it felt better than it actually was performing, but overall, Geswein noted it was "soft and imprecise" and didn't "feel like a sport tire."

In the end, the Toyo has its high wear grade (280) and attractive price ($135) to thank for its eighth-place finish. In performance terms, there are lots of tires that do better.

Just on the phone with www.tiretrends.com in Canada, and they told me if I were in Vancouver they wouldn't mount the Goodyear GS-D3 205/45/16 245/40/17 combo on my car. The reason? Different speed ratings on the tires. He says that the compounds are different even though they're the same tire and manufacturer. Any thoughts?

That's ridiculous, too. It's true that the front and rear have different speed ratings (W, or 168 mph, for the 205/45-16 and Y, or 186 mph, for the 245/40-17). But both exceed the speed rating originally specified for the NSX (Z, or "over 149 mph").

Tire dealers are notorious for steering customers away from tires that they don't have in stock and/or on which their profit margins are low.

I'm getting pricing on the Michelin Sport (OEM sizing) and the Yokohama ES-100 (downsize fronts).

Anyone who is looking for the performance of the F1 GS-D3 should not have to settle for a lower performance tire like the ES100. And the Michelin Pilot Sport and Pilot Sport PS2 tires, which are excellent but expensive, are not available in the OEM '94-01 sizes.

 

[nsxtasy]

Is there a variant Pirelli P-Zero in Europe distinct to the US-version? I've heard from many NSX owners that the P-Zero did not live upto expectations on their NSX, relative to it's costs. And that they had excellent past experiences w/ the P-Zero Asymmetrico line w/ their Mercedes Benzes and Jaguars. Just goes to show you that one model of tire might be phenomenal on one make of car, but mediocre on another.

Even in the United States, there are quite a few Pirelli tires sold with the PZero name on them, all with different compounds and tread patterns.

1.) Yokohama A022H [OEM] (limited availability)
2.) Bridgestone RE010 [OEM] (limited availability)

Both OEM tires are readily available from the Tire Rack.

3.) Bridgestone S0-3

The S-03 is in the process of being discontinued by Bridgestone. Excellent tire, expensive.

4.) Goodyear F1-GSD3

Excellent tire, as noted above.

5.) Dunlop SP8050 [OEM] (very limited availability) or SP9000

The SP8050 is very difficult to find, and I don't know if it is still being manufactured. The only ones the Tire Rack has are front left and front right tires for the '91-93 stock sizes, and they are on closeout.

The SP9000 is Dunlop's old top-of-the-line tire, and it is not very good in comparison with today's best tires, or even in comparison with the best budget tires. That's why Dunlop came out with their current top-of-the-line SP Sport Maxx tire (which came in sixth in the C&D test).

6.) Bridgestone RE040 [OEM]

An excellent choice for those with 17"/17" wheels.

7.) Michelin Pilot Sport PS2

Excellent performance, expensive, not available in the sizes commonly used on the NSX.

8.) Pirelli P-Zero Nero/Asymmetrico

Excellent performance, expensive, only available in NSX sizes for 17"/18" wheels or larger.

9.) Kumho Ecsta MX

Like the Toyo T1-R, the performance of the MX is not on a par with the best street tires available (the MX came in last overall in the C&D test). But like the Toyo T1-R, it is priced less than the best street tires, so it may be worth considering for those who want something whose price and performance is in between the best top-of-the-line street tires, and the budget performance tires like the ES100 and SPT.

10.) BF Goodrich Ta/KDW

The KDW is another budget performance tire. Its performance is similar to the ES100 and SPT, but it costs almost twice as much. Not a bad tire, but you can do better for the money (either better performance for a similar price, or similar performance for a lower price).

Wild-Card: Yokohama A032R (75%-90% treadlife of OEM)

I wouldn't recommend the A032R for street use, for a whole bunch of reasons. First, it's being discontinued. Second, it's an R compound track tire, and shares all the downsides of R comps for street use: rapid treadlife (it's actually closer to 50% treadlife of the OEM tires, which are not known for their longevity to begin with), poor wet traction (the A032R is better than many other track tires, but worse than virtually all street tires), and the need to warm up before achieving effective grip. I've used them on the track, where they're one of many excellent track tires on the market. But I don't recommend them on the street.

There are other very good tires on the market, but for the NSX and those looking for performance, it's really tough to beat the OEM tires, the Falken RT-615, or the Goodyear F1 GS-D3.

 

[magictooth]

That's ridiculous, too. It's true that the front and rear have different speed ratings (W, or 168 mph, for the 205/45-16 and Y, or 186 mph, for the 245/40-17). But both exceed the speed rating originally specified for the NSX (Z, or "over 149 mph").

Tire dealers are notorious for steering customers away from tires that they don't have in stock and/or on which their profit margins are low.

Anyone who is looking for the performance of the F1 GS-D3 should not have to settle for a lower performance tire like the ES100. And the Michelin Pilot Sport and Pilot Sport PS2 tires, which are excellent but expensive, are not available in the OEM '94-01 sizes.

Hi!

Actually, he didn't steer me towards any tire in particular. The Pilot Sports come in 215/45/16, but the ES-100 come in 205/45/16 only. He said that the compounds of the tires may be different, hence the different speed ratings. He said that the backs compared to the fronts may give different grip characteristics and may give some understeer or oversteer.

 

[nsxtasy]

The Pilot Sports come in 215/45/16

Interesting - and you're correct. The Pilot Sport is available in that size in Canada, but not in the States.

He said that the compounds of the tires may be different, hence the different speed ratings. He said that the backs compared to the fronts may give different grip characteristics and may give some understeer or oversteer.

...and you believed him?

 

[magictooth]

Interesting - and you're correct. The Pilot Sport is available in that size in Canada, but not in the States.

...and you believed him?

Hi!

I remember from an earlier thread that I had put out regarding using different tires, and you had said that there might be some issues with under/over steer because of the different levels of grip in the tires so what he said had a ring of truth to it. In any case, I emailed a different place (tirerack) and also goodyear to see if there's any truth to it.


BTW, they have the Goodyears in stock and can ship within a couple days whereas the ES-100 need to be trucked in for next week.

 

[ss_md]

Thanks for the lead. They're not far from my house so I'll try them this weekend.

Do you have anyone in particular that you've worked with?

John is the owner. However, anyone over there can help you. If you know what you want just call them. That way you don't have to drive over there. They can usually get most tires within a couple of days. The tires for my '02 were ordered late in the day and were there the next afternoon. They will often order the tires you want w/o requiring a deposit or to pay in advance like other tire dealers. :biggrin:

 

[nsxtasy]

I remember from an earlier thread that I had put out regarding using different tires, and you had said that there might be some issues with under/over steer because of the different levels of grip in the tires so what he said had a ring of truth to it.

The differences in levels of grip will be far more with drastically different tires than between a Y-rated vs a W-rated tire of the same model.

In any case, I emailed a different place (tirerack) and also goodyear to see if there's any truth to it.

Good idea! Please let us know what they reply.

 

[808NA1]

I am also looking for tires in 215/40/17 and 265/35/18. Shame that the Potenza S03's are going to be phased out. That was going to be my first choice. Now im kinda stuck and dont know what to buy. I didnt really have a second choice.

 

[asylum]

But... tire performance also depends from the car and it weights. Results on different can be really different.

Try and feel it.