I'm looking for a set of summer tires for the Titan 7 17x8, 18x10 wheels I bought years ago. Noticed that I can import Pilot Sport 4 in 215/40R17 and 275/35R18 from the UK (confirmed they have dot markings etc.) From what I can tell these sizes play nice with the TCS on an '01...
So…did you do this? Only reason I’m asking is because I’m looking for correct sized fronts still.
With that in mind, I forgot to give an update on the Indy 500s I’m running. Since my last post, I did a 4000 mile round trip to NSXPO in Arizona. Handled nicely in the turns, good normal driving performance. I note that with 205s in the front, I have a bit more understeer than I’d like, but nothing uncontrollable, just something to be aware of.
Ran into heavy downpours in Oklahoma on the way to AZ. Good hydroplaning resistance, but not as good as the Pirelli Zero Nero GTs I had been running. Had to slow down from my usual cruising speed of 80-85 to about 55-60 in the rain. On the Pirellis with good tread, I wouldn’t have had to slow down much at all.
The trip back to Cleveland was much worse. It rained heavily from NM to Indiana and temps were in the 40’s F all day. Again, no big issue, just had to slow down. As soon as I hit the Ohio border, temps dropped into the upper 30’s and it started to SNOW. Holy fsck. Thankfully, the ground was still warm and the snow melted on impact. But man, driving a NSX in near white-out conditions on summer tires was NOT fun. Not wanting to risk life or limb, I slowed down to around 40. Still had no trouble with traction, but then again, I was really babying my NSX at that point. I stayed on the road only because the weather maps showed a 30-mile stretch of snow, then back to rain and upper 30’s. I almost needed new underpants after that road trip.
So in short: Great dry performance. OK but not great rain performance. Skeeeeeeetchy cold + precip performance, as would be expected with any summer tire. Cold alone performance would probably have been just fine.
After that experience, I’m actively thinking about just switching to all-seasons and no longer tracking at NSXPOs. What I really want, though, are summer Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or 5S, which would have handled wet weather far better than the Indy 500s (I have 4S on my S2000, *chef’s kiss* they are everything I want.). Maybe I’ll go with 205 fronts in Michelins Pilot Sport 4 AS instead, so I can drive in all conditions but have good dry grip?
Uuuuuuuuuuuugh