Was in a bind - what do you think?

[95gsrturbo]

I just bought Samson's NSX (760NSX) here onthe boards, after a week of having fun and driving I just HAD to let the kid in me out-
after work today i did a donut or 2 (maybe 7) in the parking lot....

needless to say not only was it dumb butcost me a penny... the tires were bald in the rear when i got the car but normal driving i should have pulled another 700-1000 miles out of them... well not the way i shredded them.

So I rode over to discount tire (local-- CAREFULLY because at the inner side wall the metal wires are not only sticking out i have actually ripped the mesh on them as well.

anyhow- I placed an order (nothing to fit in stock) 275-30-19 for BFG g-force TA KDW stole the pic from EBAY auction.Treadwear= AA , Temp rating A, speed rating 186mph

Im currently riding on Bridge Potenza S-03's same size

now the front are staying S-03's b/c they are mint, AND sam was nice enough to give me his extra set.....

any other tire you guys would recommend for SUPERB handling, NOISE reduction as well as good treadlife?

 

[95gsrturbo]

PS: my total package price on the 2 tires with mounting, high speed balance and warranty for road hazzard etc was $505, tires were 225 each....

good deal?????

 

[Cairo94507]

Just a thought, it could be criminal negligence for one to ride around on tires that bald. If one had a blowout while driving and caused an accident which resulted in injuries someone could go after that person for all they had, and maybe ever have, in the future.

I mean how does one buy a NSX and say the tires were bald and then try to squeeze another 700-1000 miles out of them especially this time of year. That is poor decision making IMO.

Not only that, but if one had a non-injury crash and then tired to turn it in to their insurance company for coverage, coverage might be denied for the same reason.

Please drive a safe car and drive safely. At least you were doing the donuts in a parking lot instead of in your neighborhood like some have done. Those are the guys that should probably still be driving a Kia by the way. Good luck with the new tires.

 

[Jin1976]

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3. Almost a year now on my car daily driven. Superb handling on wet road. Thread on the rear is still quite thick.

any other tire you guys would recommend for SUPERB handling, NOISE reduction as well as good treadlife?

 

[95gsrturbo]

Just a thought, it could be criminal negligence for one to ride around on tires that bald. If one had a blowout while driving and caused an accident which resulted in injuries someone could go after that person for all they had, and maybe ever have, in the future.

I mean how does one buy a NSX and say the tires were bald and then try to squeeze another 700-1000 miles out of them especially this time of year. That is poor decision making IMO.

Not only that, but if one had a non-injury crash and then tired to turn it in to their insurance company for coverage, coverage might be denied for the same reason.

Please drive a safe car and drive safely. At least you were doing the donuts in a parking lot instead of in your neighborhood like some have done. Those are the guys that should probably still be driving a Kia by the way. Good luck with the new tires.

Thanks for the post although it had NOTHING to do with my question. For your infomation the tires were not completely bald- I was exaggerating. They had sufficient tread to last that 700-1000 miles but i SHREDDED them by enjoying my life.... thanks for your time....

 

[95gsrturbo]

I edited my last post to remove some possibly offensive material.... sorry i was angry:redface:

 

[Alan C.]

They had sufficient tread to last that 700-1000 miles

At that point the wear bars were most likely showing. It's surprising how few people know the laws in their state as to what that means. Many states consider it illegal to drive on tires at that point even though you might squeeze out an extra 1000 miles.

Have fun on the new tires.

 

[95gsrturbo]

No wear was showing prior to me doing donuts- there was still the lines of tread available- According to the seller of the vehicle "the rears have approx. 25-30% tread left"
The topic should not be whether or not i should be driving on the old tires-- thats done i ordered new one....

The question is the selection i made- do you guys think this is a good tire for the NSX as far as wet/dry traction for handling. This is my second MR car ('93 MR2 was my first) handling is way different, I notice the back end slides out more easily-

so did i make a good choice or should i consider calling the shop monday to change my selection of tires?? thank you for any input on the tires!

 

[ashman]

I had the BFGs on my last set of 18/19s very grippy tires and excellent bang for the buck, I bought mine from tirerack, don't recall how much but 225 sounds like a good deal.

 

[Cairo94507]

Thanks for the post although it had NOTHING to do with my question. For your infomation the tires were not completely bald- I was exaggerating. They had sufficient tread to last that 700-1000 miles but i SHREDDED them by enjoying my life.... thanks for your time....

Yeah, well I could only go by what you said in your post. Not a mind reader. I was just trying to keep one of my NSX brothers from getting in trouble by making them think a little. Sorry, I will let you enjoy your life so long as it infringes not on another's life. But I am still glad you burned up your tires in a parking lot and not on a residential street.:smile:

 

[QWKSLVR]

If you have fresh so3's in front and I think you said you've got another unused set for the front, why wouldn't you try to get matching so3's for the rear? Samson had awesome taste when he put that NSX together, it would be crime to have mismatched tires on that NSX, IMO.

 

[95gsrturbo]

If you have fresh so3's in front and I think you said you've got another unused set for the front, why wouldn't you try to get matching so3's for the rear? Samson had awesome taste when he put that NSX together, it would be crime to have mismatched tires on that NSX, IMO.

I HIGHLY AGREE.
I wish i could have but they are discontinued, I agree with you his taste is immaculate and i am reaping the benefits. I checked Discount Tire, Disc. Tire Direct, Tire Rack, Butler tire and numerous online places, everyone says out of stock

as well Disc. Tire says they have one-- ONLY ONE! and its in Washington State.... I need two becuase i have 2 rear wheels.. lol

 

[nsxtasy]

The S-03 has been discontinued, and the 275/30-19 size is no longer available (at least, not at the Tire Rack, which means you might not find a pair anywhere else, either).

The S-03 you have for your front tires are very good tires. Very good on dry pavement, very good on wet pavement, last a reasonably long time.

The BFG KDW you are considering for your rear tires are okay tires, but they're not as good as the S-03. Not even close.

In general, it's a bad idea to use mismatched tires, but you can get away with it if your front tires are similar in performance to your rear tires. It's a VERY BAD IDEA to use mismatched tires where one end doesn't perform as well as the other. When your front tires grip better than your rear tires, your car will oversteer, i.e., the rear end of the car will tend to swing around on you, because it doesn't grip as well as the front. I would NOT mix a pair of KDW with a pair of S-03.

I hate the idea of throwing out two perfectly good tires in order to have a matched set. If I had front S-03 tires that were still good, I would look for a pair of rears whose performance is similar to the S-03. In 275/30-19, I would get a pair of the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position to use along with the front S-03.

 

[95gsrturbo]

this is the kind of answer i was looking for.
Will it make much difference for street driving? and occasional mountain drives with some winding roads-- no auto cross ortrack events...

 

[NSX_BOB]

the KDW is a prety good all around tire for the money. Next time you mite want to check out the TA-KD's. Maybe you should get em just before summer. Its one of the best dry gripping tires out there for the money. Along with the PS2's

 

[mickeylex]

this is the kind of answer i was looking for.
Will it make much difference for street driving? and occasional mountain drives with some winding roads-- no auto cross ortrack events...

Takes Ken's advice and get the RE050 which will match better w/ the S03.

RE: Street driving. It won't make much of an issue if you drive the car in a straight line at less than 55mph on perfectly dry streets, w/ no gravel and all tires heated up to optimium levels....ok, so my eggageration is to make a point.

You might decide to step on the gas a little, you might decide to take a turn fast for some fun, you might hit some sand or light gravel in a turn, there may be moisture on the road, your front tires might be warm and grippy and your rear tires might be too cold, etc, etc...the point is that tires that are that different can create unpredictable handling and in an NSX that usually leads to a spin out - a spin out could lead to a crashed and totalled NSX, or worse.

It's going to cost more in terms of time and money, but getting the tires Ken suggested would be the thing to do.

 

[QWKSLVR]

Try locating a new old stock or lightly used pair of SO3's on ebay, you might even get a bargain out of it.

 

[SilverStone05]

Takes Ken's advice and get the RE050 which will match better w/ the S03.

And MAKE SURE they are the Pole Position. The regular RE050, and the RE050A RFT are very different tires in terms of treadwear and overall performance as compared to the RE050A Pole Positions. An unscrupulous tire shop might either just be ignorant and order the wrong ones (happened to me before) or try and pull a fast one on you and make a few bucks.

Good Luck.

 

[02#154]

I don't know how much it matters to others on Prime, but the KDWs are as loud as those big knobby mud whompers that Jeb runs on his 4WD Jeep. Okay, maybe not that loud, but the road noise they make at about 40mph and above is unacceptable to me for an NSX.

J

 

[nsxtasy]

the KDW is a prety good all around tire for the money. Next time you mite want to check out the TA-KD's. Maybe you should get em just before summer. Its one of the best dry gripping tires out there for the money. Along with the PS2's

I would not recommend any of these tires, and I especially would never mix any of them with the S-03.

The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2 (that's its full name) is a "budget performance tire" comparable in performance to other decent, but not exceptional, tires like the Toyo T1-R, Yokohama ES100, Kumho SPT, Avon Tech M500, Bridgestone RE750, and Dunlop DZ101. It's also a lot more expensive than all of those other tires. The KDW2 is nowhere near as capable as the S-03, and should not be mixed with it. If you are replacing all four tires, I don't recommend the KDW2 because its performance vs price is worse than other tires; you can get much better performance for about the same money with the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, or (if you're willing to accept lower performance for a lower price) you can get similar performance for a lot less money with the other tires mentioned in this paragraph (particularly the SPT).

The BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD is BFG's specialty tire for those who want the maximum dry traction and who don't care about wet performance or treadlife. It's comparable to the Falken Azenis RT-615, Bridgestone RE01R, and a few other tires that don't come in NSX sizes. It's a bad idea to mix the KD with the S-03 because its performance profile is so different; the KD will grip much better on dry surfaces, much poorer on wet surfaces. And if you are replacing all four tires and looking for maximum dry traction, you're better off with the Azenis, which has better traction and costs less.

The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 doesn't come in the good sizes for the NSX front tires.

Again, just get a pair of the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position. In 275/30-19, they are currently in stock at the Tire Rack ($254/tire).

 

[95gsrturbo]

The RE 050 is rediculous!! it has a tread rating of 140!!!!

thats almost half of the S-03's! (220)
I have spoken with the tire companies directly and both tell me the same things you guys are with exception....

1) normal daily driving should not be of ANY issue
2) be more carefl in water/rain.
3) Sunday mountain curves should be ok as long as im not going too crazy on the throttle inthe corners.

mainly because both are a directional tire that can channel water well

they did not however advise any kind of aggressive driving- which i do not use the NSX for anyway- its my luxury car

I still have not heard back from Bridgestone yet only BFG, Tire Rack, Tires Plus, DTD, Discount Tire and a few guys on the SCCA - which is what i am trusting most...

any further advice is appreciated.

 

[SilverStone05]

The RE 050 is rediculous!! it has a tread rating of 140!!!!

thats almost half of the S-03's! (220)

Lol, you're telling me. They came stock on my car, rears wore in a few thousand miles.

 

[TCroly]

Here is my 2 cents,

Mis-matched tires will not be felt in daily driving, unless you have a situation where you need to make a quick accident avoidance move, and then your car may not handle in a predictable manner. Or if you are someone who enjoys "feeling" the car grip on exit ramps. Then you could have a snap oversteer that would be caused by a combination of driver error (sudden lift), road conditions ( a puddle or broken pavement), and aggravated by the mis-matched tires. These are 2 good reasons to avoid mis-matching your tires. But if you promise to drive like a little old lady on her way to church, then the mis-matched tires won't cause you any problems;-))

I owned a Porsche 996 with the BFG KDW2 tires. They handle and stick very very well, I autocrossed them and they were spectacular. But they are very noisy and the ride quality is pretty stiff. Overall, a good choice for an all around tire, if you can live with the extra tire noise. OTOH I now have the Goodyear GSD3 on both my NSX and my focus SVT and it is a better tire in all regards.

tom

The RE 050 is rediculous!! it has a tread rating of 140!!!!

thats almost half of the S-03's! (220)
I have spoken with the tire companies directly and both tell me the same things you guys are with exception....

1) normal daily driving should not be of ANY issue
2) be more carefl in water/rain.
3) Sunday mountain curves should be ok as long as im not going too crazy on the throttle inthe corners.

mainly because both are a directional tire that can channel water well

they did not however advise any kind of aggressive driving- which i do not use the NSX for anyway- its my luxury car

I still have not heard back from Bridgestone yet only BFG, Tire Rack, Tires Plus, DTD, Discount Tire and a few guys on the SCCA - which is what i am trusting most...

any further advice is appreciated.

 

[95gsrturbo]

Agreed- I have recieved confirmation from Discount Tire that I can swap the tire out within 30 days if i am not satisfied- I plan to drive the can around town normally then take it into the mountains on a sunday drive with some twisties as well as the highway a bit and push the car --

Since it is winter and the weather is a bit colder- i should potentially get poor tractionand results-- If i find winter results satisfactory i expect better ones inthe summer.

 

[Meeyatch1]

If you have fresh so3's in front and I think you said you've got another unused set for the front, why wouldn't you try to get matching so3's for the rear? Samson had awesome taste when he put that NSX together, it would be crime to have mismatched tires on that NSX, IMO.

I am glad someone noticed this. Not only is it kind of cheaping out to do that, but it is actually dangerous. On all cars, especially ones with unique handling traits like the NSX, you really need to run MATCHING sets of tires. Running mixed sets mean you are running your car with a split personality in terms of handling. The limits, dry, and wet handling characteristics, are significantly different between the two tires. Simply put, your S-03's will handle rain, or a high speed dry corner, differently than any other tire will. So where you may be entering that exits ramp at 45 mph and it handled fine with S-03's all around, the ultimate handling limits of another tire may be less, causing the front to grip, the rear not to grip, and you to end up sliding the back end out and getting in an accident. This is not just theory, it is the truth. I spent almost two years working at a facility where we tested tires every week on a track, and mixed the tires just to see the difference it made running matched and not matched sets. You bought a nice car, so I would recommend you pony up the money and run the proper tires or you will regret it later.