• Protip: Profile posts are public! Use Conversations to message other members privately. Everyone can see the content of a profile post.

17/17 and 17/18 Tire Choices - not much left.

I found that Pilot Sport 4 (not 4S) are available in 205/40/17, 265/35/18. Seems like it might be the answer to my search for a 17/18 set of "max performance summer tires", if those sizes will play nice with TCS on a 2001.

based on the guidance from threads past, that would be moving from a 4.7% ratio to a 7.7% ratio which should be within the allowed move of 5%. might give it a shot. this combination doesn't show up in most 4-tire staggered searches since the load ratings of the front tires is only 84.
 
Last edited:
I have no idea what i’m doing. Looking for advice. My wheel setup is 5zigen GN+ 17/18. Needing to have the tires replace soon and asking if it’s ok to run 215/45 for the front? Current tires is 215/40-17.
wheel spec:
Front: 17x7.5 +43
Rear: 18x9.5 +38

current tires:
F: 215/40-17
R: 275/35-18

wanting to know if it’s ok to run 215/45-17 for front and 265/35-18 for rear without rubbing issue.

thank you all
 
Last edited:
. . . wanting to know if it’s ok to run 215/45-17 for front and 265/35-18 for rear without rubbing issue.

thank you all

No. With 215/45R17 you will rub. 265/35R18 is OK for the rear.

You would be better dropping down to a 205/40R17 in the front (stay with the 265/35R18 in the rear). There you have the highly rated Michelin Pilot All Season 4.
 
Last edited:
yep you will have issues with that 45 series front in 17...esp if lowered..
 
yep you will have issues with that 45 series front in 17...esp if lowered..
Yes, i forgot. I am lowered on tein springs. Thank you for pointing that out. I had forgotten to mention that earlier.
sounds like i will go with 205/40-17 for the front and 265/35-18 for the rear.

thank you [MENTION=32537]mwagner10702[/MENTION] and [MENTION=4282]docjohn[/MENTION]
 
AD08Rs are a good all around summer tire. Probably less finicky in the cold than the RT660s. The RT660s are pretty much a sticky track day tire IMO but capable of street driving if you approach with care. For a street car i'd much rather do the Falken 615K which run narrow so you can go up to 265's in your rears. I'd also try the Maxxis VR1 for street. It's what I run on most days.

EDIT: I just checked and Maxxis has 215/40/17, 255/35/18 & 265/35/18 available https://www.maxxis.com/us/tire/victra-vr-1/

Ordering new tires on the 17/18 size and couldn't get the 660 right now and need tires. Was about to order Indy500 but see your post about the 615 being better for street over the 660.

What is your reasoning for this? I don't purposely drive the car in the rain but I do road trip the car. So driving in the rain happens sometimes. Is the 615k+ decent enough on the rain to no have to slow down under the speed limit?
 
I think Ryu mention the reasoning was fun factor (street driving) for choosing the 615K over the 660. From tire rack ratings the 615K is better in the rain than 660. As long as you have decent thread left I think it's plenty safe for the rain.
 
In Europe the Yokohama AD08R has been discontinued and replaced with a higher TW variant called AD08RS. Unfortunately it's not as good as the -R variant, by a large margin, enough that people report Michelin PS4 being superior. I suppose my next tires will be Goodyear Eagle F1 A6 which seem to be excellent in all conditions. Question remains how they will behave on track (I do only club track days, so 10-15 laps at a time)...
(disclaimer: '98 NA2 tire size match is 215/40r17 front, 255/35r18 rear - official match is 285/30r18 rear but that's silly - so that limits the tire choice, excluding Michelin high end models, Toyo Rxxx etc. only R tire that remains is Yoko A052 but that's a track only tire really).
 
If I may add to the discussion - bought a set of RT660s in 235/40-17 up front and 285/30-18 at the rear. Ran into a severe rain storm coming back from the track, which is about 50 miles away. Holy crap. Great streetable track tires but less than ideal in the rain. Granted they were brand new but I've never felt the car so unstable. Only felt safe at 45-50mph and even then I was constantly correcting for wheel spin.

Haven't been in another rain storm with these and I'm sure the level of traction will be bit better since they're much more "scrubbed in" but that was a harrowing experience that I won't soon forget.
 
Last edited:
RE-71R is not available for 17/17 or 17/18 fitment as there's no proper front size. Cant see the RE-71RS listed yet on Bridgestone website, but i'm not optimistic.. Potenza Sport is the only one that fits so far (and it may not compare favorably to Goodyear Eagle F1 A6).
 
I've found Pilot Sport 4 (NOT 4S) Available in 205/40R17 and 265/35R18. Going to give them a shot this summer, but holding out for a few weeks in case the Pilot Sport 5 actually shows up and might be available in the same sizes.
 
If I may add to the discussion - bought a set of RT660s in 235/40-17 up front and 285/30-18 at the rear. Ran into a severe rain storm coming back from the track, which is about 50 miles away. Holy crap. Great streetable track tires but less than ideal in the rain. Granted they were brand new but I've never felt the car so unstable. Only felt safe at 45-50mph and even then I was constantly correcting for wheel spin.

Haven't been in another rain storm with these and I'm sure the level of traction will be bit better since they're much more "scrubbed in" but that was a harrowing experience that I won't soon forget.

Stories like this are what has kept me away for a 200tw tire. I do have two sets of wheels for the car so for road trips I could switch but some of the trips like to Tail of the Dragon I would really prefer the stickier tires. The thought of being caught out in the rain on them scares me a bit. I mean I would imagine as long as I just replace them more frequently than other types of tires, ie. well before they are full worn, then I probably would be fine at some lower speeds.

For now went with the Indy500 for one set of wheels and then will look to grab something like the 660 or ziii for the other set soon.
 
Stories like this are what has kept me away for a 200tw tire. I do have two sets of wheels for the car so for road trips I could switch but some of the trips like to Tail of the Dragon I would really prefer the stickier tires. The thought of being caught out in the rain on them scares me a bit. I mean I would imagine as long as I just replace them more frequently than other types of tires, ie. well before they are full worn, then I probably would be fine at some lower speeds.

The Advan AD08R are great in the rain if you want a 200TW class tire for primary street use. They are also quieter and more comfortable than the RT660. The new Advan AD09 should be coming out soon as well, but we'll have to see some reviews on them.
 
It seems like Falken has been doing a good job marketing the RT660. People are not realizing how much of a track tire (vs. street tire) that actually is. I have them... I hardly use them on the street and I live in warm SoCal!
If that is the case then how similar is the Indy500 and say the Falken 615k+? Is the Falken still a step up while being more street friendly than the the 660?

The AD08 is of interest as well but they seem harder to find and the AD09 is coming out soon. Issue is it doesn't come in the right sizes for a lowered 17/18 setup. I will be putting this second set of tires on a set of 17x8.5/18x10.5 TE37s. I wish I had tried an crammed a 215 on the 17x7.5/18x9.5 set I have in the front but the offset is higher and I was worried more than 205 would rub. I probably could have added camber in the front if I needed though.
 
If that is the case then how similar is the Indy500 and say the Falken 615k+? Is the Falken still a step up while being more street friendly than the the 660?

The AD08 is of interest as well but they seem harder to find and the AD09 is coming out soon. Issue is it doesn't come in the right sizes for a lowered 17/18 setup. I will be putting this second set of tires on a set of 17x8.5/18x10.5 TE37s. I wish I had tried an crammed a 215 on the 17x7.5/18x9.5 set I have in the front but the offset is higher and I was worried more than 205 would rub. I probably could have added camber in the front if I needed though.
The Indy500 and 615K are pretty similar. You're splitting hairs but look at the Tirerack reviews to pick your personal winner. Though, out of these two I prefer the Maxxis VR-1 which you can only buy direct from their website.
 
The Indy500 and 615K are pretty similar. You're splitting hairs but look at the Tirerack reviews to pick your personal winner. Though, out of these two I prefer the Maxxis VR-1 which you can only buy direct from their website.

I'd take the Indys between those 2.
 
For now went with the Indy500 for one set of wheels and then will look to grab something like the 660 or ziii for the other set soon.

I think that's a wise choice. Please report back and let everyone know what you think of the Indy500s.

It seems like Falken has been doing a good job marketing the RT660. People are not realizing how much of a track tire (vs. street tire) that actually is. I have them... I hardly use them on the street and I live in warm SoCal!

FWIW, I'd say 80% of the drivers at a recent ChampCar endurance race wore the RT660. Wasn't expecting that but am glad Falken engineered a good race tire. With all of the the race knowledge coming from their RT660, their next tire should be pretty darned good too.
 
I think that's a wise choice. Please report back and let everyone know what you think of the Indy500s.
Early impressions. Attend the East Coast NSX meet last weekend so put a bit over 500 miles on them. Mostly, dry highway miles, with a little wet but not raining miles. So far happy with them. Had some spirited back road driving as well and they felt extremely stable. Will update more after I get some more miles on them and more spirited back road driving on them as well as some driving in the rain.
 
I’ve also been on the Indy 500s since October. I wanted some stickiness in the dry and I REQUIRE rain stability. I am also not a tire expert, so take what I say with a gain of salt.

I run 205/40/17 and 255/35/18.

I hit rain en route to the MidEast meet last month, including at least one heavy downpour. Very stable, I didn’t have to slow down significantly.

Dry performance was better than the Pirelli Nero Zero GTs I had been using. I’ve done I-77 in the West Virginia mountains four times now in my NSX. This last time was my fastest transit as I was able to keep speed up more stably. Note that I just changed to the Sakebomb-modded Öhlins DFV for NSX in Grand Touring spec, so that may have also added some high speed stability in the turns.

They are not quite as comfortable as the Pirellis but still slow for high-speed GT use of my NSX over long distances.

For the price, I’m satisfied at least over the first 1500 miles. Their true test will be how they survive the 4000 mile trip to AZ for NSXPO later this year. Will report back then. (I didn’t sign up for the NSXPO HPDE this year, so I won’t be able to give a track impression.)
 
I've found Pilot Sport 4 (NOT 4S) Available in 205/40R17 and 265/35R18. Going to give them a shot this summer, but holding out for a few weeks in case the Pilot Sport 5 actually shows up and might be available in the same sizes.


Well, I waited too long, and now the PS4 in 265/35/R18 is out of stock everywhere. and the PS5 only has 7 sizes none of which are useful for the NSX.
 
I'm waiting over a month for contis for my suv....so its a lot of the same ...
 
Back
Top