Rear OEM (Yokohama) tires almost gone at 3500 miles?

[Hrant]

Well, let's put the tire wear once the tread wear line shows up in perspective.

On my last oem yoko rears, I drove about 700 miles, in summer, after the treadwear mark just started to be even with the center parallel lines using 36 psi [up until then I was running 38 psi and got about 8700 miles out of them with several track events]. About 300 of the last 700 miles were moderately aggresive driving as we took a club trip to Tahoe. I was concerned, checked with a few and on the list and decided to see how much I could stretch the tire life as well as my patience . and there were quite a few spares that I could rely on just in case ........ LOL! I constantly checked the wear. If I was the gambling type, I would say I could have eaked another 300 miles in city driving - at this point the center groove of the center parallel lines was gone, it was flat. But since I already had 2 new yokos in my garage and had a track event coming up .......

Moral of the story is if you just start seeing the treadwear mark being flush with the center parallel lines on the oem yokos, you can most likely stretch another 1000 miles on dry roads with 36 psi and moderate driving. YMMV.

 

[tabasco]

My '00 with Bridgestones has 4,975 with very little tread wear. Front and rear look almost the same. My guess is that I will get > 10,000 out of the rears.

I drive like a little old lady. Never put any stress on the tires other than the 1,200 mile trip from FL to MD.

Matt, when it's time to replace, what will you do? Will you buy two Yokohamas for the rear, or go with another brand?

I hope that my first replacement will be for four and I'll change to Michelin. If my "boss" lets me I will get a new wheel/tire combo from Tire Rack or somewhere.

 

[NSXForEver]

Originally posted by tabasco:
Matt, when it's time to replace, what will you do? Will you buy two Yokohamas for the rear, or go with another brand?

I hope that my first replacement will be for four and I'll change to Michelin. If my "boss" lets me I will get a new wheel/tire combo from Tire Rack or somewhere.

This is a good question and one that I am now facing. I think I will get a new set of OEM Yokohamas for the rear. The fronts are in pretty good shape so I think they will last long enough to make it through another set of rears.

Barney recommended Bridgestone Pole Position S0-3's or Michelin Pilot Sports. I am toying with the idea of replacing all of the tires now and trying one of those brands. I like the look of the Bridgestones better, but Barney said the Michelin's are getting better reviews.

I know some people on this forum don't recommend using anything other than OEM, but I would like to find that out for myself. If I don't like the other brands I will go back to the OEM Yokohamas.

My "boss" approved tires but not wheels. I want to get a set of OZ Vela's for my car. I think those are the wheels on Enriques 92 NSX.

I also like the wheels on gomaidy's yellow NSX.

Matt

[This message has been edited by NSXForEver (edited 12 February 2002).]

[This message has been edited by NSXForEver (edited 12 February 2002).]

 

[Hrant]

Presumably the 2002 NSX tires were also made specifically to enhance the driving response and handling when they designed the oem Yokos, Bridestoes and later Dunlop.

If that is the case, and asuming the same Bridgestone compound for the front 2002 is also available in 225/45/16, then I think one can further improve the car's handling with the 16/17 upgrade by going with 225 in the front and 255 in the rear no?

 

[tabasco]

Originally posted by NSXForEver:
...Barney recommended Bridgestone Pole Position S0-3's or Michelin Pilot Sports. I am toying with the idea of replacing all of the tires now and trying one of those brands. I like the look of the Bridgestones better, but Barney said the Michelin's are getting better reviews...

Over the years I have replaced OEMs with Michelins without any problems. The Pilots are a little softer and ride accordingly. They also feel stickier. Treadwear is far greater than any other tire I've used. (I have Michelins on my '87 Legend. The last set lasted > 80,000 miles -- this set has ~50,000 and still looks and rides great.) The Michelins on my Corola will probably last more than 100,000.

I have Pilots on my '93 300ZX TT and love them. I will have to be proven wrong by my own purchase for my NSX.

BTW, that red NSX is really something. A friend?

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'00 Candy Apple Blue / Black, #264

 

[johndoh]

This is starting to sound like a broken record player, but keep in mind that the OEMs are manufactured and designed specifically for the NSX. Anything other than the OEMs will sacrifice some performance.

I have had great experience with Pilot Sports on my M3. Excellent grip(dry and wet) and great feel. You get a very good sense of the limitations of the tires. I replaced them(rears) at about 20k. Pole positions and Pilot sports are probably the best street tires out there, but I would recommend getting them only if you are upsizing your wheels.

 

[nsxtasy]

Originally posted by johndoh:
keep in mind that the OEMs are manufactured and designed specifically for the NSX. Anything other than the OEMs will sacrifice some performance.

True. The primary performance criteria will be in handling and turn-in. On the NSX, the OEM tires (the Yokohama A022H and the Bridgestone RE010) provide incredible turn-in characteristics; it seems as though the car is turning in the direction the instant your brain thinks of doing it, before your hands and feet have time to respond. Same thing with the handling; with the OEM tires, you feel as though the car is a slot car, because you can position it so precisely at a particular point on the road.

Those characteristics are accomplished by having tires that are designed, not only to be used on the NSX, but even to be used on specific corners on the NSX. The compound is different between a front tire and a rear tire, and the belts are biased in a way to work with the car's alignment. This is described in the FAQ section here and if you've never read it before, it's fascinating reading.

 

[Barn Man]

Lets put the tire issue into perspective. Tires are like women, they come in all shapes and sizes. One guy (or gal these days) may like one girl, but another won't. So my point is, go with what YOU like. It doens't matter what anyone else likes. Thats why we have choices in women, religion, cars, tires, etc. (You get the point).
Try one brand, see what you think, then try another. Or if you have a buddy with the same car, (Coupe for coupe, Targa for Targa), with the same suspension, drive his and see what you think. It's that easy.
Barn Man...

 

[Hrant]

I guess I will restate my questions in perhaps clearer terms .... pushy heh!

1. Do we know if the new oem tires on the 2002 (assuming they are not only Bridgestone) are specifically designed for the NSX; i.e., the fronts have a better turn-in to compliment the suspension and the rears are still a softer compound?

2. If so, would the same tire in 225/45/16 or 225/40/16 for the fronts and 255/40/17 for the rear have the same characteristics? It will definitely improve an oem NSX's handling with more grip. I checked Discount Tire Direct, they don't feature the 2002 yet ....

 

[nsxtasy]

1. Yes, they do.

2. No, only for the OEM NSX sizes. Tires made in other sizes are not designed for the NSX and do not have characteristics that are designed to be used on a specific corner of the car.

How do I know?

On number 1, I'm guessing. But I'm confident in my guess.

On number 2, on sizes that are not OEM for the NSX, there's no way for them to distinguish a tire to be used on the front of the car from one to be used on the rear.

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 12 February 2002).]

 

[NSXForEver]

Originally posted by tabasco:
BTW, that red NSX is really something. A friend?

I don't know the person who built that red NSX. I just saw a picture of it on this site and I really like the wheels. Actually, I think the whole car is well done. I will be keeping my NSX pretty close to stock, but that red NSX is one of the best looking customized NSX's I have seen.

Matt

 

[tabasco]

Originally posted by NSXForEver:
...but that red NSX is one of the best looking customized NSX's I have seen...

I agree. I wonder what it would do to the value of a newer NSX to modify it like that.

Does anyone know more about this car?

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'00 Candy Apple Blue / Black, #264

[This message has been edited by tabasco (edited 13 February 2002).]

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

Originally posted by nsxtasy:
1. Yes, they do.

The Re040 has been on some interesting cars for OEM, some that seem to have very different handling chracteristics and tire requirements. Here's a 99 press release from Bridgestone showing the RE040 used on the A8:
http://www.bridgestone-usa.com/news/90108a.htm

Maybe Honda just got tired of us bitching about tire wear?

-- Chris



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http://www.NSXClassifieds.com - free NSX classifieds site!

 

[nsxtasy]

The Re040 has been on some interesting cars for OEM, some that seem to have very different handling chracteristics and tire requirements.

It's possible that the RE040 has, or has not, been designed specifically for the NSX. In the absence of detailed technical information, the easiest tip-off will be to see whether tires are corner-designated (such as "right front") or not. The RE010 in the NSX sizes are designated that way because they are designed to be used on the NSX. The RE010 (and Yokohama A022) are also available in other sizes (such as 195/55-15 for the Integra Type R) without the corner-specific designation, because those other sizes do not have the belting bias or compound differences inherent in the corner-specific design. It could be the same thing with the RE040 - that the NSX-specific sizes are designed differently from other sizes. It's possible that that's not the case.

 

[Barn Man]

One way to tell if a tire is (more than likely designed for a particular car is to look (as Ken said) at the sidewall. Around the area that you see the direction indicator if there is something that says (outside rotation direction) or something similar, that is a good indication that the tire was meant for a specific car. That's not to say that all corner specific tires are made for a specific car, but it's usually a good indication.
Barn man...

 

[nsxtasy]

There are two different indications that can be found on a sidewall. One is the arrow showing the direction of rotation; many tires are rotational, meaning that the tread pattern is designed to roll in one direction and not the other (primarily to shed water in the rain, to reduce the risk of hydroplaning). The other is an indication of which side faces outwards; this is used on some tires that are of asymmetrical construction, where they are designed for the outer part of the tread and sidewall to handle different loads from the inside.

Some tires, like the OEM NSX tires, are both rotational and asymmetrical. However, this does not mean that they are corner-specific; this only means that a tire is designed to be used on one SIDE of the car, either front or back. What makes the NSX tires corner-specific is that, in addition to being rotational and asymmetrical, different sizes are used in front and rear. Thus, the 215/45ZR16 size of the NSX OEM tires was designed by the manufacturer only to be used in the front, and similarly, the 245/40ZR17 in the rear. And that's why these tires are labeled on the Tire Rack website (for example) as left front, left rear, etc.

 

[Hrant]

OK, one more excuse why I need to warm up the queen for a trip to Niello Acura to personally check the tires on their 2002 white/white ....... stay tuned.

 

[Lud]

Originally posted by tabasco:
[BDoes anyone know more about this car?

[/B]

Yeah, Enrique is a semi-regular here on the message forums. He sent me a whole writeup on his car. http://www.nsxprime.com/Gallery/owners/ethompson/enrique_thompson.htm

[This message has been edited by Lud (edited 13 February 2002).]

 

[tabasco]

Originally posted by Lud:
Yeah, Enrique is a semi-regular here on the message forums. He sent me a while writeup on his car.

Thanks LUD. That's one of the best



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'00 Candy Apple Blue / Black, #264

 

[Hrant]

Originally posted by Hrant:
OK, one more excuse why I need to warm up the queen for a trip to Niello Acura to personally check the tires on their 2002 white/white ....... stay tuned.

OK, I checked the OEM Bridgestone RE040 (by the way the new wheels come with chrome covered valve stems and the valve caps are generic chrome).

1. They are directional (they show the arrow)
2. They are not asymetirc (both halves are alike)
3. They do not appear to be side specific as there was no right or left nor "this side out" stamp.
4. Treadwear was still rated at 140

I am not sure if Yoko will also supply the 2002 with new OEM sizes. Perhaps the limited production numbers and forthcoming new generation NSX, Honda decided to go with a tire that is not customized for the NSX and tweaked the springs and sway bars to compensate for this ....

Sooooooo, if the RE040 is available in 225/40/16 (or even 225/45/16)then with the 255/40/17 in the rear should improve the handling of the car. Have not seen those sizes on the market yet.