I know this has been asked and discussed a million times and I have read all the posts. I am looking for some solid advise. I have a 98 with OEM Yok's. The rears are bald with 3500 miles on them. No hard driving, just highway...very frustrating! I want to put a longer lasting rear tire on but want to know what will work ok with the OEM fronts (as they have a ton of tread on them). Can I mix and put Bridgestone on the back? RE750's? I want to stick with the stock size of 245-40-17. Suggestions?
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- Thread starter Rexer
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I think it's okay to mix the Bridgestone OEM tire on the rear with the Yokohama OEM tire on the front, as their performance characteristics are similar. I would not mix a lower performance budget tire (like the RE750) on the rear with the sticky OEM tires on the front, as your handling will suffer from oversteer (in which the less sticky rear tires lose traction first and the back end comes around on you).
If and when you decide to replace all four tires, the decision at that point is how much performance you're looking for and willing to pay for. Some excellent top-of-the-line performance tires, such as the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and Bridgestone S-03, should give you a bit longer treadlife than the stock tires, and are similarly priced. You can get even longer treadlife, and pay even less for tires, with budget performance tires like the Yokohama ES100 and the Kumho Ecsta SPT, but their performance is a substantial step down from the others mentioned here. (The ES100 and SPT offer performance similar to the RE750 at a price that is significantly lower.)
If and when you decide to replace all four tires, the decision at that point is how much performance you're looking for and willing to pay for. Some excellent top-of-the-line performance tires, such as the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 and Bridgestone S-03, should give you a bit longer treadlife than the stock tires, and are similarly priced. You can get even longer treadlife, and pay even less for tires, with budget performance tires like the Yokohama ES100 and the Kumho Ecsta SPT, but their performance is a substantial step down from the others mentioned here. (The ES100 and SPT offer performance similar to the RE750 at a price that is significantly lower.)
My 98 ate the oem rears in 6500 miles after being aligned with the tire saver alignment.
I bought a set of Michelin PS2, found an alignment guy that had experience with aligning track NSX's, and told him I wanted "normal" tire wear. I lost maybe 15% of the handling sharpness, put about 7000 miles on the rest of last year with no discernible wear. The front oem's were put on at the same time as the oem rear's and still look quite good after about 13500 miles.
I am very happy with the handling, still the best I've owned by far, and the tire wear and the rear tire grip is excellent.
The PS2's were bought and installed by Discount Tire for just over $450.
Neil
I bought a set of Michelin PS2, found an alignment guy that had experience with aligning track NSX's, and told him I wanted "normal" tire wear. I lost maybe 15% of the handling sharpness, put about 7000 miles on the rest of last year with no discernible wear. The front oem's were put on at the same time as the oem rear's and still look quite good after about 13500 miles.
I am very happy with the handling, still the best I've owned by far, and the tire wear and the rear tire grip is excellent.
The PS2's were bought and installed by Discount Tire for just over $450.
Neil
Try running 28-30 PSI in the rear, it will give you 6K extra miles on the tires.
No, it won't. And that inflation is much too low. Underinflation is unsafe, as it can lead to tire failure.pelletz said:
I find that the recommended 33F/40R gives me the most even and longest tire wear, but I know some others go as low as 32F/34-36R. Adjust yours however you want - it's your car, your risk - but I think it's a very BAD idea to let the rears go below around 34 psi. And going any lower than that WON'T give you greater treadlife.
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Every 2 psi below 40 on the OEM tires gave me about 2000 miles more wear. But anything below 36 psi on street driving you will start noticing the rear acting up even while shifting in the upper revs. Of course the toe in the rear alignment makes a difference too. YMMV.
nsxtasy said:
I am running 35psi on my car. I was just told that 30psi could extend the tire life. You hear so many different opinions, it is hard to know what to believe. Do you or anyone else have any real data to back this up. I do not. Obviously, we know that the "recommended" PSI is, but is their any data on if lowering or raising the PSI affects treadwear. All that is out there is anicdotal evidence, which means nothing to me.
Here's what it says on the Tire Rack website (bold added). I do not consider pressures of 32F/34-36R to risk the negative effects mentioned; however, anything less than that, I do.
Advantages of Correct Tire Inflation
Maintaining correct tire inflation pressure helps optimize tire performance and fuel economy. Correct tire inflation pressure allows drivers to experience tire comfort, durability and performance designed to match the needs of their vehicles. Tire deflection (the tread and sidewall flexing where the tread comes into contact with the road) will remain as originally designed and excessive sidewall flexing and tread squirm will be avoided. Heat buildup will be managed and rolling resistance will be appropriate. Proper tire inflation pressure also stabilizes the tire's structure, blending the tire's responsiveness, traction and handling.
Disadvantages of Underinflation
An underinflated tire can't maintain its shape and becomes flatter than intended while in contact with the road. If a vehicle's tires are underinflated by only 6 psi it could weaken the tire's internal structure and eventually lead to tire failure. Lower inflation pressures will allow more deflection as the tire rolls. This will build up more internal heat, increase rolling resistance (causing a reduction in fuel economy of up to 5%) and reduce the tire's tread life by as much as 25% while increasing the probability of irregular treadwear. Drivers would also find a noteworthy loss of steering precision and cornering stability. While 6 psi doesn't seem excessively low, it typically represents about 20% of a passenger car tire's recommended pressure.
Disadvantages of Overinflation
An overinflated tire is stiff and unyielding and the size of its footprint in contact with the road is reduced. If a vehicle's tires are overinflated by 6 psi, they could be damaged more easily when encountering potholes or debris in the road, as well as experience irregular tread wear. Higher inflated tires cannot isolate road irregularities as well causing the vehicle to ride harsher and transmit more noise into its interior. However, higher inflation pressures reduce rolling resistance slightly and typically provide a slight improvement in steering response and cornering stability. This is why participants who use street tires in autocrosses, track events and road races run higher than normal inflation pressures.
Advantages of Correct Tire Inflation
Maintaining correct tire inflation pressure helps optimize tire performance and fuel economy. Correct tire inflation pressure allows drivers to experience tire comfort, durability and performance designed to match the needs of their vehicles. Tire deflection (the tread and sidewall flexing where the tread comes into contact with the road) will remain as originally designed and excessive sidewall flexing and tread squirm will be avoided. Heat buildup will be managed and rolling resistance will be appropriate. Proper tire inflation pressure also stabilizes the tire's structure, blending the tire's responsiveness, traction and handling.
Disadvantages of Underinflation
An underinflated tire can't maintain its shape and becomes flatter than intended while in contact with the road. If a vehicle's tires are underinflated by only 6 psi it could weaken the tire's internal structure and eventually lead to tire failure. Lower inflation pressures will allow more deflection as the tire rolls. This will build up more internal heat, increase rolling resistance (causing a reduction in fuel economy of up to 5%) and reduce the tire's tread life by as much as 25% while increasing the probability of irregular treadwear. Drivers would also find a noteworthy loss of steering precision and cornering stability. While 6 psi doesn't seem excessively low, it typically represents about 20% of a passenger car tire's recommended pressure.
Disadvantages of Overinflation
An overinflated tire is stiff and unyielding and the size of its footprint in contact with the road is reduced. If a vehicle's tires are overinflated by 6 psi, they could be damaged more easily when encountering potholes or debris in the road, as well as experience irregular tread wear. Higher inflated tires cannot isolate road irregularities as well causing the vehicle to ride harsher and transmit more noise into its interior. However, higher inflation pressures reduce rolling resistance slightly and typically provide a slight improvement in steering response and cornering stability. This is why participants who use street tires in autocrosses, track events and road races run higher than normal inflation pressures.
This topic does seem to come up a good bit, so I will add my 2 cents... if you want to maximize tire life, as you do a lot of highway driving/commuting, here are a few ideas:
Alignment:- Use appropriate alignment specs to maximize for tire wear, again- having had your NSX precision alignment done accurately and correctly.
Keep in mind that for absolute minimum tire wear and power loss, the wheels on a given axle of a car should point directly ahead when the car is running in a straight line. Excessive toe-in or toe-out causes the tires to scrub, since they are always turned relative to the direction of travel. Too much toe-in causes accelerated wear at the outboard edges of the tires, while too much toe-out causes wear at the inboard edges.
You'll also want your alignment to minimize negative camber. Less negative camber (until the tire is perpendicular to the road at zero camber) typically will reduce the cornering ability, but results in more even wear.
For most, the OEM specs should be a good overall middle of the road compromise, but you can even regress back from those specs if a little less wear is needed.
Tires: Use less grippy, lower wear tires that can be rotated. There is nothing wrong with retaining a set of wheels/tires just for highway use. Use the tires that are right for your specific application, which may not always be an expensive higher ultra max performance 180 or less summer tires if your honestly commuting 75 miles a day to work and back on the turn pike. Just be aware of your reduced envelope approaching the limit.
Tire Pressure: Tire pressures are very dynamic. When measuring cold pressures, don't significantly under/over-inflate your tires, slightly on the lower side as others have mentioned is ok if you would otherwise see uneven wear once they get hot. If done properly (and I'm not thinking of filler-ups promos at Costco), using a Nitrogen bleed can also help to an extent.
Tire Usage: Be easy on your tires accelerating, braking, and cornering. Avoid excessive heat cycling from short commutes. Drive on the most evenly paved lanes during your commute.
Maintenance: Inspections- knowing what your looking for; keep an eye on them at least once a week for signs of damage, uneven wear, etc.. as this is truely the best indicator for what you should or should not be doing.
Finally, IMO - now having done everything above, you mine as well have drove your daily driver because optimizing an NSX for the best tire wear as opposed to maximizing performance as per above is open to some degree of question.. In fact there is another vehicle in the Honda line-up that has all of these tire-saving mods stock...
Alignment:- Use appropriate alignment specs to maximize for tire wear, again- having had your NSX precision alignment done accurately and correctly.
Keep in mind that for absolute minimum tire wear and power loss, the wheels on a given axle of a car should point directly ahead when the car is running in a straight line. Excessive toe-in or toe-out causes the tires to scrub, since they are always turned relative to the direction of travel. Too much toe-in causes accelerated wear at the outboard edges of the tires, while too much toe-out causes wear at the inboard edges.
You'll also want your alignment to minimize negative camber. Less negative camber (until the tire is perpendicular to the road at zero camber) typically will reduce the cornering ability, but results in more even wear.
For most, the OEM specs should be a good overall middle of the road compromise, but you can even regress back from those specs if a little less wear is needed.
Tires: Use less grippy, lower wear tires that can be rotated. There is nothing wrong with retaining a set of wheels/tires just for highway use. Use the tires that are right for your specific application, which may not always be an expensive higher ultra max performance 180 or less summer tires if your honestly commuting 75 miles a day to work and back on the turn pike. Just be aware of your reduced envelope approaching the limit.
Tire Pressure: Tire pressures are very dynamic. When measuring cold pressures, don't significantly under/over-inflate your tires, slightly on the lower side as others have mentioned is ok if you would otherwise see uneven wear once they get hot. If done properly (and I'm not thinking of filler-ups promos at Costco), using a Nitrogen bleed can also help to an extent.
Tire Usage: Be easy on your tires accelerating, braking, and cornering. Avoid excessive heat cycling from short commutes. Drive on the most evenly paved lanes during your commute.
Maintenance: Inspections- knowing what your looking for; keep an eye on them at least once a week for signs of damage, uneven wear, etc.. as this is truely the best indicator for what you should or should not be doing.
Finally, IMO - now having done everything above, you mine as well have drove your daily driver because optimizing an NSX for the best tire wear as opposed to maximizing performance as per above is open to some degree of question.. In fact there is another vehicle in the Honda line-up that has all of these tire-saving mods stock...
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I just put Eagle F1's on my car, 215 front and 255 rear and I am very happy with them. I can't say much on tire life as I havn't had them very long, however they perform well on the street and I was very impressed with them on the track at Willow Springs. They seemed to offer good grip and when approaching the limit they lose traction in a progressive and predictable manner.
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