New tires for 96 NSX-T 16/17

I currently have the Kumho Ecsta XS and have been happy with them - I do occasional tracking once a year at most

Today I went to buy another set at Tirerack and they are back-ordered... not a good sign

Are these no longer available?

If not what are the best options for high performance tires without paying an arm and leg for the Potenza OEM??

The following appear to be available? Each has tradeoffs but is in the same ballpark:

205/45R16 & 245/40R17
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2
Toyo Proxes R1R

205/45R16 & 255/40R17
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2
Toyo Proxes R1R

215/45R16 & 255/40R17
Falken Azenis RT-615K

225/45R16 & 255/40R17
Toyo Proxes R1R

jwmelvin said:

The following appear to be available? Each has tradeoffs but is in the same ballpark:

205/45R16 & 245/40R17
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2
Toyo Proxes R1R

205/45R16 & 255/40R17
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2
Toyo Proxes R1R

215/45R16 & 255/40R17
Falken Azenis RT-615K

225/45R16 & 255/40R17
Toyo Proxes R1R

Click to expand...

Bridgestone RE-11's would be my choice.

jmarksnsx said:

Bridgestone RE-11's would be my choice.

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If you can find them, then I would agree. When I checked TireRack, they didn't seem to have them so I removed them from my list.

jwmelvin said:

If you can find them, then I would agree. When I checked TireRack, they didn't seem to have them so I removed them from my list.

Click to expand...

They seemed to be there a few minutes ago.

jmarksnsx said:

They seemed to be there a few minutes ago.

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Ah, it seems I fell for the staggered-search peculiarity of TireRack. They do have the RE-11 in 205/45-16 & 255/40-17, but they have different speed ratings, so don't turn up with a combined search. Thanks for the correction.

Thanks for the recommendations

I have seen this post from nsxtasy:

nsxtasy
05-14-2013, 07:13
The problem is indeed with the tire sizes you have chosen, with front tires whose diameter is 3.9 percent larger than stock and rears 0.6 percent smaller than stock. Stick with any of these sizes and you won't have problems with the TCS:

Front: 205/45-16 or 215/45-16
Rear: 245/40-17 or 255/40-17

Although any combination of those sizes will work without TCS problems, for the best handling I'd avoid using the 205 front with the 255 rear.

So although I'd like the Bridgestone RE-11's - I am hesitant to get the size combo of 205/45-16 & 255/40-17

Also Tire Rack does not carry the Falken Azenis (had them before and was very happy with them)

They do not have the Toyo Proxes R1R in stock so that is out since I need to get tires in the next two weeks

So it looks like my best choice is this:

205/45R16 & 245/40R17
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2

Any feedback on the tires or the size match?

Are other color NSX owners allowed to post here or just Spa Yellows? Haha.


I have no experience with the RE-11 but because of the tread pattern you don't have the ability to flip them from left rim to right rim. I did just get the R-S3s in 255/40/17 and I have to say they stick like glue, I've only driven in them for 100 miles but I like them so far.

BR96RedTan said:

So it looks like my best choice is this:

205/45R16 & 245/40R17
Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2

Any feedback on the tires or the size match?

Click to expand...

Sounds like a great choice.

If you're interested in the Falken Azenis RT-615K, you are correct, the Tire Rack doesn't carry them. Two places you can get them on the internet are Discount Tire Direct and Vulcan Tire.

I'd still go for the Hankooks over the Falkens though.

Seems like you are headed in the right direction, and I will look forward to reading what you think of the Hankooks, but this might help with some detail.

The 205/45-16 & 255/40-17 pairing is a 7.6% larger rear than front. That is perfect for the 91-93 cars. It is on the big side for 94-01 cars (expecting 4.7%) and 02-05 cars (expecting 5.3%). But if your rears wear faster than fronts, at least it will tend toward more acceptable as the tires wear. And I'm no expert but I would suspect it is fine even when new. Thinking about it, the overly large rear will be rotating slower for a given car speed, so will give your traction control a bit more headroom for slip on acceleration. Whether that's good or bad is up for debate. You certainly don't want TCS engaging under normal conditions, and that is the point of choosing the right stagger.

jwmelvin said:

You certainly don't want TCS engaging under normal conditions, and that is the point of choosing the right stagger.

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TCS operates on the difference (front vs rear) in the tires' outer diameter. "Stagger" usually refers to the difference in width, not diameter. Handling tends to degrade slightly when stagger increases to 50 mm, and significantly when it is 60 mm or more.

However, I wouldn't be afraid to use 205/45-16 front with 255/40-17 rear, especially on a '91-93 NSX.

Thanks for the correction. I was using stagger (incorrectly) to refer to the rear-front diameter difference.

The OP is looking for tires for a '96 so 205/44 & 255/40 is not the ideal size but it still seems like it should work without issue, as it is 3% off OEM and the rear:front ratio is on the large side rather than the small side.

nsxtasy said:

TCS operates on the difference (front vs rear) in the tires' outer diameter. "Stagger" usually refers to the difference in width, not diameter. Handling tends to degrade slightly when stagger increases to 50 mm, and significantly when it is 60 mm or more.

However, I wouldn't be afraid to use 205/45-16 front with 255/40-17 rear, especially on a '91-93 NSX.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that. So the advice is the same for '96?

I hope so since I ordered them from Tire Rack yesterday:wink:

(Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2 x 4 = $588.90 w/ tax and shipping)

BR96RedTan said:

So the advice is the same for '96?

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Yes.

Thanks all for the input!

Will get them installed later today

Going on a trip from LA to SF in two weeks and will report back on performance

BR96RedTan said:

Thanks all for the input!

Will get them installed later today

Going on a trip from LA to SF in two weeks and will report back on performance

Click to expand...

Got the Hankook Ventus R-S3 v2 installed yesterday

First impression is a smooth ride with good response... they did 36 psi saying it would lead to better mileage than a lower psi

However have to say on a sharper turn the old Kumho Ecsta XS provided more grip, I think it is their sidewall strength that was better, you could carve turns with almost no sway/give .

That said, it seems the Hankook is a more comfortable ride and once into a turn seemed to hold well (street driving only so far)

Thanks for the report. Hopefully it's true that tires improve over the first couple hundred miles. Please let us know after you live with them for a while, as it's a very interesting and relevant comparison.