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Tire recommendations - stock wheels

Joined
13 September 2007
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1
Looking for tire recommendations, using stock wheels 16/17's. Do most driving in dry, would like something with good traction and low road noise. Appreciate your suggestions.
 
I'm surprised there are no replies so far. I am hardly the tire guru that nsxtacy is.

But I have stock 16/17s. My car had mismatched front/rear tires when I bought it - Michelin Pilot Sport PS (?) on the front and a Dunlop SuperSport D8000 (or something like that) on the rear. Both sets are original sizes. I still have the fronts but replaced the rears with Kumho Ecsta SPT 255/40/17. Noticably better performance all around than the Dunlops. I have about 3,000 miles on them so far.

My fronts will need replacements soon. Will put Kumho on but not settled on size since the OEM size is not available. Could go 205/45 or 225/45. Some say the 225 will rub but others have said it won't.
 
I say 225/45/16 and 255/40/17. Some complain they get rubbing, but I've never had it.
 
I would not use 225/45/16s in the front with 255/40/17 in the rear if you have an early model NSX (up to 95). There is a chance you will most likely trigger an ABS/TCS problem throwing the wheel sensors off. On my 92 i used the tire sizes mentioned and ended up replacing two wheel sensors as the TCS was constantly engaging. On my 16/17 7 spoke wheels i ran the Dunlop Direzzas DZ101 >$500 for the set of 215/45/16 and 245/40/17 (or even 255/45/17s in the rear will work) with no issues. Car handled great, no hydroplaning as i used them in several rainstorms. Exceptional grip on dry pavement. For a low budget tire they exceeded their value. However i cant comment too much on the dry weather as i never really pushed them to their limit on the street. I had them on the car for ~2k miles. But for the price i was satisfied, low noise, confortable ride, low treadwear, cheap price. You also have the option of Bridgestne RE1010s which will run you about $750 or so for the set. I personally have never used them so i cant comment on their performance. Hope that helps.
 
I would not use 225/45/16s in the front with 255/40/17 in the rear if you have an early model NSX (up to 95). There is a chance you will most likely trigger an ABS/TCS problem throwing the wheel sensors off. On my 92 i used the tire sizes mentioned and ended up replacing two wheel sensors as the TCS was constantly engaging. On my 16/17 7 spoke wheels i ran the Dunlop Direzzas DZ101 >$500 for the set of 215/45/16 and 245/40/17 (or even 255/45/17s in the rear will work) with no issues. Car handled great, no hydroplaning as i used them in several rainstorms. Exceptional grip on dry pavement. For a low budget tire they exceeded their value. However i cant comment too much on the dry weather as i never really pushed them to their limit on the street. I had them on the car for ~2k miles. But for the price i was satisfied, low noise, confortable ride, low treadwear, cheap price. You also have the option of Bridgestne RE1010s which will run you about $750 or so for the set. I personally have never used them so i cant comment on their performance. Hope that helps.

91-93s would throw a TCS issue. 94-01 that had OEM 16/17 won't ;)
 
I have Kumhos Supra Ecsta 712's on my car and have been very happy with the performance and wear. I have about 14k miles on them but they are near- replacing due to the inner area wear typical on NSX's. My only gripe is that they have become pretty noisy with the increased wear this summer. I don't think that they make this model tire anymore, but Kumho has a number of very reasonably priced high-performance tires to choose from. There certainly are many better tires if you want to spend extra money, but these are more than satisfactory for spirited street useat a real bargain price.
 
As I've often said:

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 above recommendations should apply to over 90 percent of NSX owners, including csconsx.

I agree with Angelo08; 225/45-16 is too big in the front. In addition to causing TCS problems on some years, it is also likely to rub, at least some of the time.

The ancient Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 is one of the worst summer tires on the market. (To see this, you need only look at the comparison test the Tire Rack conducted about five years ago when the Yokohama ES100 came out, in which the ES100 beat the 712 in all 23 out of the 23 characteristics tested.) Kumho has mostly moved away from it in favor of its much improved SPT replacement for those looking for a tire offering a combination of both value and performance. I think the only reason they keep making it is that there are a few people out there who haven't tried newer, better tires and don't realize how inferior it is in comparison.
 
Next week I get F1 GS-D3 205/45/16 for the front as the 215-stock size is hard to find. 255/40/17 get it to a 7.6% F/R ratio which is only 0.1 % off the 91 tires combo, so it should work perfectly for a 91. Not sure about when TCS was changed.
 
Next week I get F1 GS-D3 205/45/16 for the front as the 215-stock size is hard to find. 255/40/17 get it to a 7.6% F/R ratio which is only 0.1 % off the 91 tires combo, so it should work perfectly for a 91. Not sure about when TCS was changed.
I would stick with 245/40-17 in the rear, with the 205/45-16 in front. Better handling. And the TCS will still be fine.
 
I've mounted the F1 GS-D3 205/45/16 today in the front and man! they look very different from the stock H022 tires. I know I have to be patient but I guess she won't perform as good as with the Yokos. The weight is 8.8 kg exactly. The sidewall is very similar i stiffness, the Yoko only slightly stiffer.

(Damn, where are my Volk, waiting in the 7th month now. :()
 
They should be comparable - about as good on dry pavement and even better in rain.

You were right. :wink: I did a long trip today and got the new front ones stickier than two days before.

The F1 GS-D3 is an old model and here in Europe will get substituted by the Eagle supercar (as it's know in the US) an asymmetric tire. They don't produce 215/40/17 yet but the suitable rear sizes are available (I won't mix :)). I've seen the feedback on tirerack but what do you think about these from the perspective of max dry performance only? Is this tire comparable to the legendary S-03 I liked very very much?
 
I think the F1 GS-D3 is better than the S-03.

There are some side-by-side comparison tests of the two on the Tire Rack website, if you're interested.
 
Well, the NSX needs a new set of shoes and tire selections for stock rims is very limited since this thread was started. So, can anyone help recommend some new tires?

The car's not tracked and rarely sees rain (maybe once a year) or cold weather. No snow of course. I don't drive the car hard, but want good handling if the situation calls for it. I take the car on long trips occasionally, and probably wouldn't like noisy tires.

Bridgestone RE010's don't last long enough, in my opinion. The rears only lasted 3-4,000 miles.

RE11's felt like they handled better and lasted longer, but the rear size (245-45-17) isn't available anymore(???) I really liked the RE11s more than the RE010's.

So, I guess I'm looking at 205-45-16 for the front & 245-40-17 rear. RE760's are available in those sizes. They should last longer, according to the tread wear rating, but I wonder if I'll notice the handling difference.

Thoughts?
 
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. . . but the rear size (245-45-17) isn't available anymore(???)

245/40-17 is the correct size for the rear anyway. A 245/45-17 is almost 4% larger in diameter and would probably cause TCS issues. Looking on Tire Rack there are a bunch of good tires in the sizes you are looking for (205/45-16 + 245/40-17). Many with better ratings than the RE760's you are looking at.

The Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 and BFG G-Force Comp-2 A/S are two of the highest rated in the group. Both have dry performance ratings over 9 and treadware ratings over 8.5.
 
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:rolleyes:

Does anyone have a helpful response regarding tires currently available?

I do and apologies I posted something that you will find of interest in the wrong place. See http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...act-SPORT-tire-review-with-Motec-Data-(MotoIQ). I am running a set of these new Continental Tires -- they were the subject of a piece in Car and Driver this month -- got a very good review. Rather than repeat here what I said in my various posts take a look at link - hope it works. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

Best,
Jeff
 
I'll keep this short and sweet. Good price, excellent traction. Big difference. Highly recommended.
(That was weird. I tried to include the link to the Tire Rack review, but the link went to some unknown truck tire company...) Anyway, you can check out the specs and reviews on Tirerack.com.
AJ

Front: Falken Azenis RT615K 215/45/16
Rear: Falken Azenis RT615K 255/40/17
 

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Thanks, Guys. That's several new tires for me to consider... :smile:

Will post back with my decision & impressions. Although it may take a while to consider the options!
 
Michael, one of the car mags arrived in the mailbox day before yesterday -- thinking it was Car and Driver -- short test on high performance tires. The Continental was in there and possibly the Falken -- can't recall offhand. The Conti was highly rated (just behind the Michelin). The other 2 or 3 tires were well below the Conti and the Michelin for what it is worth. Good luck with your choice. Assuming you took a look at the thread I posted the link to, I put a lot of stock in the advice of Billy and Doc. There was a marked change in the feel of the car as soon as I adjusted the tire pressures based on Billy's advice.

Best,
Jeff
 
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