A look that preserves handling characteristics

[mvanbuhl]

I am seeking advice on reducing the stock wheel well gap while preserving the handling of the NSX. Obviously larger wheels combined with lowering will fill the gap, but what is the effect on handling? Any suggetions on wheel/tire sizes and ride height that produce the best handling?

 

[twizted]

Handling would get better, ride quality would suffer slightly. I can tell you that with 2" drop and 18" rear and 17" front my 91 NSX rides better then my friends 05 Vette by far :biggrin:

 

[nsxtasy]

The proper way to reduce the wheel well gap is to lower the car as much or as little as you like. Larger wheels don't reduce the wheel well gap, but may help in the perception by reducing the amount of rubber visible. Larger tires (larger outer diameter) do, but are not advisable, for numerous reasons (rubbing being the most obvious).

I think you can get great handling with any wheel sizes from the original stock 15"/16" wheels up to 17"/18" wheels. Larger wheel sizes than 17"/18" are not recommended for optimal handling. Best tire sizes for each wheel size:

15"/16" - 205/50-15 and 225/50-16
16"/17" - 215/45-16 and 245/40-17
17"/17" - 215/40-17 and 255/40-17
17"/18" - 215/40-17 and 265/35-18

 

[Pccw]

hey nsxtasy:
sorry to bother u again
i am running advan model 5 with 215/40/17 front and 265/35/18 rear
and i am planning to use Advan A048 tires for the track
the track rims is TE37 17x7.5 +40 and 17x8.5 +40
but the A048 only offer in 215/45/17 and 255/40/17
will the wheel lower at the rear and high up front???
on the model 5 17/18 setup i only have about 2.5 inch or less off the ground with the sideskirt
after i put the 215/45/17 and 255/40/17, will it be too low???
and the front is high???
really need your help
thanks for your time:smile:


ps: just looked at another thread u said the TCS problem, with the new front and rear tire on my track rims experience the TCS problem???

 

[nsxtasy]

and i am planning to use Advan A048 tires for the track
the track rims is TE37 17x7.5 +40 and 17x8.5 +40
but the A048 only offer in 215/45/17 and 255/40/17
will the wheel lower at the rear and high up front???

Compared against your 215/40-17 and 265/35-18 combination, this will raise the front by 0.4 inch. There is no difference in the rear. As for your ground clearance, it's up to you to determine what is "too low" and "too high". That is how much the ride height will change.

Aside from ground clearance, which is specific to your car (due to its lowering and aftermarket body parts), there are two other potential problems with that size front tire. One is that the outer diameter is quite large (6.7 percent larger than the '91-93 stock size, 4.2 percent larger than the '94-01 stock size) and there is a good chance it will rub on the wheel well liners. The other problem, which may not matter to you if you're only using it on the track, is that those two sizes will cause problems for the TCS on a '91-93 NSX. It will probably not cause TCS problems for later years, except possibly when the rear tires are worn down more than the front.

Any time you are interested in comparing calculations for different tire sizes, you can use a tire calculator like this one.

In case you are interested, another excellent R compound track tire is the Toyo RA-1. The RA-1 is available in 205/40-17 and 255/40-17. That combination should cause no problems with rubbing or TCS. It will lower the ride height in the front by 0.16 inch, no change in the rear. You can find a list of dealers who carry the RA-1, including two in your country (TireTrends.com is a third), in this previous post.