Which tire? Star Spec, AD08 R, Ecsta LE, or s.Drive?

[jwmelvin]

It makes me sleep better at night knowing that the full weight is not just sitting on tires and springs all the time - thoughts?

As far as I understand, there wouldn't be any concern about the shocks unless they are being forced to full extension, as when the wheels are hanging free. The type of blocks you are using seem like they could only help, though if you drive at least once a month or so I doubt there's much risk to sitting on the tires fully. I like the rug; that's royal treatment.

 

[nsxtasy]

There is another combination that no one has mentionned i.e. the Pirelli P Zero Corsa.

The PZero Corsa is considered a track/competition tire. Not as aggressive as their Trofeo, but more suitable to the racetrack and less suitable to street driving than the "extreme performance" street tires. It carries a 60 treadwear rating, which supports its classification as a racetrack tire.

Nothing against racetrack tires - they're perfect for track driving - but this discussion has been about tires for street use. Track tires are not particularly suitable for street use, due to their high cost, short treadlife, poor traction on wet surfaces, and need for warmup to reach their capabilities.

The sizes are 205/45*17 and 265/35*18.
Allthough the dimension upfront is slightly smaller than OEM for the NSX

Actually, the outer diameter of the 205/45-17 is considerably LARGER than the stock front size, by 5.2% ('91-93), 2.7% ('94-01), and 2.1% ('02-05). They may rub, especially on lowered cars, and may be a problem for the TCS, depending on the year and rear size - especially for a '91-93 NSX.

It makes me sleep better at night knowing that the full weight is not just sitting on tires and springs all the time - thoughts?

That's not a concern. Not at all.

 

[neuronbob]

I’m updating my thread with two years of experience on the Pirelli Zero Nero GTs.

I’ve now had them on the track three times, and driven long distances to two NSXPOs (2016-Orlando, 1100 miles each way and a bit less than 120 miles on the track, and 2017-Road America, 500 miles each way and around 120 track miles). Total miles on the set now is 13000! Tread is still at 6/32 on the rears. I plan to replace the rears in prep for the 2500 mile each way trip to NSXPO 2018 in San Francisco, even so.

These tires are quite comfortable for street driving and are very quiet. They are halfway decent on the track and manage to get through a 20-minute session without overheating, surprisingly. They certainly haven’t felt greasy at the end of a session, but those of you who’ve seen me on the track know that I am not pushing my car like crazy.

Amazing tires in the rain. No hydroplaning, though I never push this car in the wet.

I even drove down to Cincinnati in 20-degree weather once. Don’t want to do that again! Took the first 50 slowly driven miles of the trip for the tires to warm up, but once warm, they were fine. *Disclaimer—DON’T DO THIS UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO!!!! I HAD TO....* Above about 35 degrees, the tires warm up quickly and operate as expected.

So to conclude, these tires are a good all-around tire for someone who drives on the street, drives long distances, and does occasional tracking. These tires have been just right for me. If I didn’t have to drive long distances for NSX meets, I’d go with the Star Specs or the AD08Rs.

Even so....who do we have to bribe, kidnap, cajole, convince at Michelin or Continental to make PS4s or the newer ExtremeContact Sports in 17-18 NSX-friendly sizes? It upsets me to no end that the state of the art is not available in our sizes.

 

[stuntman]

There didn't seem to be that much interest when asking the community.

 

[neuronbob]

There didn't seem to be that much interest when asking the community.

Seems like it. I can't even downsize to stock wheels (16-17 for my 1999) because the selection is even slimmer for them. I'd have to upgrade to 18-19 for a decent modern tire selection, and the car would be useless to me on the track in that circumstance.

So for now, It's the Pirellis or bust. Fronts still have 8 mm so they'll be with me for a while.

 

[ajmr2]

These Falken Azenis RT615K+ were recommended to me last year by the guy I've bought racing and street tires from for over 30 years. He also runs them on his SCCA racing Integra GSR. They are excellent, affordable and available in many sizes.
AJ

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Falken&tireModel=Azenis+RT615K+

 

[Blackhorse06]

The Pirelli's are next for me. I have used the S-Drives (16/17) and LE Sports (17/18). I loved the LE's for Daily and Canyon runs, I never found myself needing more tire. But since Khumo discontinued these and the replacement seems to be no where near the level of the LE, I have been debating going to 18/19 to run Michelin or Conti's. But until then I was hoping that the community would step up and use Billy's influence to have Conti make the NSX friendly size ECS. So until then I will try the GT.

Thanks for the real world review! It helps a lot.

 

[RYU]

Anyone use/try Maxxis VR-1?

Not going to pretend they are as good as something like the PSS or the AD08R but if you read some of the reviews online their new V2 compound has been compared to the AD08R in characteristics (i.e. heat cycle tolerance, overall grip, etc)

I'm pretty close to getting a set once they replenish the backorders.

EDIT: Here's a review https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/street-tire-shootout-class-2016/
EDIT2: Oops. The V2 compound is just coming out. The V1 was tested above ^^. The V2 is 1 sec faster around Buttonwillow sources say.

 

[robbiedawg]

There didn't seem to be that much interest when asking the community.

I would love to be able to get the ExtremeContact Sports in a 214/40-17 and I think a lot of others would. I would definitely buy them based on your recommendation. I believe they already make an appropriate 18" size.

 

[neuronbob]

I would love to be able to get the ExtremeContact Sports in a 214/40-17 and I think a lot of others would. I would definitely buy them based on your recommendation. I believe they already make an appropriate 18" size.

[MENTION=16531]stuntman[/MENTION] has a thread on the ExtremeContact Sports, in which he invited members of the community to express interest in such a beast. One of the efforts included trying to find other cars in which the 215/40-17 size was standard. Turns out there's not much out there. He's tried. I'm sure there'd have to be the group buy of all group buys to make this happen.

 

[Mac Attack]

It's quite confusing indeed.

It seems i'm back to writing hate mail to Michelin while trying to convince to expand their tire line up on the Cup 2s. I've have a few friends who daily drive their Cup 2s on sportscars in foggy/damp/slippery near freezing (early morning) conditions. This tire is still relatively confidence inspiring. It seems to be quite a versatile set of rubber. I know they will probably suffer in deep puddles but if I had to give, i'd give on that category.

In light of not being to own just one tire (Michelin Cup 2 as my preference) i'm back to having a dedicated track set (Maxxis RC-1 or Nitto NT-01) and a street set (probably Conti DW, Z2, AD08R).

If someone knows of a list of OEM performance optional tires please share it. For example, I know McLaren offers the Cup 2's as an optional performance tire on the 650S. The regular performance tire are the Corsas iirc.

[MENTION=20915]RYU[/MENTION] (tire guru)

I'm looking for my next set of performance tires on my '02 wheels and I can go with Cup 2's in 215/45/17 up front and 255/40/17 in the rear.... The fronts will have a sidewall about 1/2" taller than OEM, but I don't have ABS or TCS to deal with. Would you still recommend these or have any better suggestions? It looks like I can go with the Continental ExtremeContact Sport in the same sizes... Maybe the Continentals might be a better choice for more street driving.

Thanks!

 

[RYU]

[MENTION=20915]RYU[/MENTION] (tire guru)

I'm looking for my next set of performance tires on my '02 wheels and I can go with Cup 2's in 215/45/17 up front and 255/40/17 in the rear.... The fronts will have a sidewall about 1/2" taller than OEM, but I don't have ABS or TCS to deal with. Would you still recommend these or have any better suggestions? It looks like I can go with the Continental ExtremeContact Sport in the same sizes... Maybe the Continentals might be a better choice for more street driving.

Thanks!

Thank you, but unfortunately I'm far from a tire guru.

I'm still in early stages but I love my 'cheap' Maxxis VR-1 on my OEM 02's. Quiet, comfortable, communicate well in 2 days of track days, grip is high and progressive... I need more heat cycles and more street miles in the wet.

So far, I really like these tires.

Hard for me to compare apples to apples from my previous 18/19 PSS's though.

Edit: available sizes at this time 215/40-17 and 255/40-17. 18 rears supposedly coming soon

 

[jwmelvin]

[MENTION=20915]RYU[/MENTION] (tire guru)

I'm looking for my next set of performance tires on my '02 wheels and I can go with Cup 2's in 215/45/17 up front and 255/40/17 in the rear.... The fronts will have a sidewall about 1/2" taller than OEM, but I don't have ABS or TCS to deal with. Would you still recommend these or have any better suggestions? It looks like I can go with the Continental ExtremeContact Sport in the same sizes... Maybe the Continentals might be a better choice for more street driving.

I know AJ (NSXSolo Or SoloNSX on Prime?) around here runs that front size in re71r for autocross and it requires removing front fender liners. Probably depends on each specific tire as the sizing isn’t that precise.

Cup2 seems aggressive for street driving. But I don’t know how you drive...

 

[Mac Attack]

[MENTION=28830]jwmelvin[/MENTION]

Interesting. I can't see how an additional 1/2" in radius would require removing the fender liners when the section width and tread widths are similar to other 215 width tires. When going through the range of front suspension travel for my shocks I'm not anywhere close to rubbing the fender liners with my 215 width tires, '02 wheels, 15mm spacers, and a "normal" alignment.

I've used Kumho V720s for street driving recently and they were OK. I'm not an aggressive driver on the street - just trying to simplify street/track setups with one set of wheels/tires. Regan's comment I quoted previously about how they seem to work for his friends at near-freezing and damp conditions made me reconsider the Pilot Cup 2's. My car is loud with little sound deadening and single rear pane engine divider glass, so tire noise isn't really an issue.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[jwmelvin]

Interesting. I can't see how an additional 1/2" in radius would require removing the fender liners when the section width and tread widths are similar to other 215 width tires. When going through the range of front suspension travel for my shocks I'm not anywhere close to rubbing the fender liners with my 215 width tires, '02 wheels, 15mm spacers, and a "normal" alignment.

I've used Kumho V720s for street driving recently and they were OK. I'm not an aggressive driver on the street - just trying to simplify street/track setups with one set of wheels/tires. Regan's comment I quoted previously about how they seem to work for his friends at near-freezing and damp conditions made me reconsider the Pilot Cup 2's. My car is loud with little sound deadening and single rear pane engine divider glass, so tire noise isn't really an issue.

So it’s possible that the re71r were 225/45 rather than 215/45. I forget. I think there was only one size available and those were the clear favorite tires at the time. Also of course depends on ride height.

Edit: yes, here is the post where he referenced the sizes and need for fender removal.

I hear you on a single tire to do it all. I personally find the demands of track so different from the street that I would have a hard time with one car for both, but that also means I currently drive a Civic at the track. Tires are easier for the crossover; I think it just depends on how much capability you want at the track. My Civic uses NT-01 and R888R. My NSX gets 200tw for the street and autocross (even though the SC means I should be running Hoosiers for autocross).

 

[RYU]

At the risk of getting a bunch of PM's for something I have not decided upon yet... We can make a bulk order of RE71R's from Japan. They have our front tire sizes in the 17s. 215 and 235 I believe... I can't remember if it's both or one of them, nor which one. I haven't thought much about it yet because i'm pretty happy with the Maxxis VR-1's but I can inquire for you both if you'd like.

 

[docjohn]

haha the dreaded "group buy"....

 

[NSX-Appeal]

These Falken Azenis RT615K+ were recommended to me last year by the guy I've bought racing and street tires from for over 30 years. He also runs them on his SCCA racing Integra GSR. They are excellent, affordable and available in many sizes.
AJ

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Falken&tireModel=Azenis+RT615K+

My Toyo's were almost shot so I ordered a set of these from DiscountTire on eBay when they had their $100 off $400 sale a few weeks ago. 275/35 18's & 215/40 17's.

The reviews I've read have been positive as well, and they also happen to be great looking tires. Just got them mounted but I haven't been able to test them yet because our weather has been so shitty. Will follow up after I've had some road/track time with 'em.

 

[ajmr2]

The reviews I've read have been positive as well, and they also happen to be great looking tires. Just got them mounted but I haven't been able to test them yet because our weather has been so shitty. Will follow up after I've had some road/track time with 'em.View attachment 157177

I did put some miles on the Falkens and I have been very pleased with the them. You will not be disappointed!
AJ

 

[NSX-Appeal]

I did put some miles on the Falkens and I have been very pleased with the them. You will not be disappointed!
AJ

I'm happy to hear that. How are you finding the tread wear in comparison to your previous set?

 

[ajmr2]

The previous set were square Kumhos when I bought the car in Dec 2016, so the Falkens were like night and day. To be honest I've only put a couple thousand miles on them to determine any wear issues, but I really like the ride quality, handling and grip, so I'm sure wear will be excellent. And they do look great!
AJ

 

[Honcho]

Just food for thought, but I really liked the Yokohama S.Drive on my 02+ wheels. I spoke with Yokohama before buying them and they advised it was the same compound as their AD08, but harder for improved tread life at the expense of peak grip. They likened the difference between a "soft" and "hard" racing tire. I tracked those tires for many sessions and they held up great. Good turn-in and very progressive to the limit. I think [MENTION=31359]jazzmann[/MENTION] finally replaced the rears, but they held up to a couple years of daily driving plus those track days... They are available in the OEM 17/17 sizes.

 

[NSX-Appeal]

The previous set were square Kumhos when I bought the car in Dec 2016, so the Falkens were like night and day. To be honest I've only put a couple thousand miles on them to determine any wear issues, but I really like the ride quality, handling and grip, so I'm sure wear will be excellent. And they do look great!
AJ

I was finally able to test drive the new Falkens tonight. I love these tires!

 

[ajmr2]

I was finally able to test drive the new Falkens tonight. I love these tires!

Great!

 

[Onsoku]

...still hoping the ExtremeContact Sports will come in a 214/40/17...