Tyre Life

[WhyOne?]

Another question from me I'm afraid.

In the 4 months I have owned Y1 I have covered some 3,600 miles on a brand new set of OEM Bridgestone tyres.

Most of these miles have been relatively sedate 'commuting' miles, and I was a little horrified to see this morning that my rear tyres are getting towards the legal minimum (maybe another 1000 miles?). The wear is pretty even accross the tyre so I assume the geometry is fairly well OK. So, whilst I was aware the NSX had an appetite for rear tyres - is this normal????

The car is running a Zanardi anti-roll bar on the rear - what impact on tyre wear is this likely to have????

[kevinpsw]

That doesn't seem right to me.

I have Bridgestones front and back (040s front and 050s back) and the back pair have now done in the order of 4800 miles. They still have 5 mm tread (measured during service last week) with no signs of uneven wear and they should be OK for at least another couple of thousand miles. I did have the wheel alignment checked about 3000 ago but, as far as I could tell from the measurements sheet, there was little adjustment done.

I do occasionally put my foot to the floor but most of my miles have been cruising. No track days - yet.

[WhyOne?]

Thanks Kevin - given the type of driving I am doing, your figures are much more in line with what I was expecting - ~6000 - 7000 miles for a pair of rears.

What should I do next (appart form buy a new pair of rears!) - get the alignment checked? Swap the Zanardi anti roll bar back to the OEM one???

[kevinpsw]

My car is a very late 3.0 but I do not believe the running gear should be very different and your wheels will be identical (assuming they are the same I saw on the car when Ritchie owned it). So the only difference, if your wheel alignment is correct, would appear to be the roll bar you mention. Unfortunately, I have no idea whether such a modification should make a significant difference to tyre wear.

I do remember reading about NSXs getting through rears in a a couple of thousand miles but these were cars used on tests and no doubt being thrashed round tracks.

[sportyking]

Ian, the roll bar is not going to make that big a difference if any.
You have a PM by the way!
Y1s appetite for tyres amazed me but i believe this is an issue with the old design (soft rubber) of OEM tyres.
I bought it on new rear OEM Dunlops which gave me less thwn 4000 miles to replacement.
I then fitted OEM Yokohamas which lasted around 2000 miles.
This was all during quite responsible driving, although the Yokos went to the ring. There were no silly wheelspinning or tyre smoking antics.
I then fitted the OEM Bridgestones which you have worn out now.
All this on one set of OEM Bridgestone fronts, which are a harder compound than the rears, despite not having to transmit the power!
The only thing I can think is that some owners report conservatively driven NSX will wear the edges of its rear tyres with standard geometry, so maybe there is a better setting to suit your daily grind. I had the alignment checked by Grantham Honda before they delivered Y1 as the fronts had worn out on the insides. They never reported their findings but afterwards with the even (if rather fast at the rear) tyre wear I assumed it was the NSX/me combination leading to the rears vanishing and not geometry.
As a guideline (I know you came from S2000), on my previous S2000 I got almost 15000 miles out of my rear RE050 tyres including one Ring trip and one trackday, so I'm no loony, that said I have recently been seen trying (with no success) to prematurely wear out my Avon track day tyres.

My next course of action would have been to fit a matched set of non-OEM rubber all round and reset the alignment to suit normal tyres as the NSX alignment works in tandem with the the OEM tyre construction if I remember correctly.

[WhyOne?]

Hi Richard - thanks for the historical info - this all ties in with what I am seeing with the car (and our driving styles must be similar as I typically got ~14000 miles out of rears on the S2000).

I struggle to see that my driving style is ~15,000 miles in tyre life different to the Quietone (who reports 18000 and counting miles from a set of Goodyears!)

[Lankstarr]

I have covered 5000 miles on my goodyears and think they are easily good for another 5000.. TheQuietOne does a lot of Motorway miles so I would expect hime to get more useage than me.

[WhyOne?]

Thanks Luke.

My thoughts currently are a full alignment check and a pair of Goodyears on the rear.

If I go to an independent alignment specialist (anyone one of one in the Croydon / Crawley area???) will I need to go armed with a set of geo settings???? If so, where can I find these for my 2001 car please?

Apologies for all the questions and thanks for everyones patience and helpful replys.

[AR]

Thanks Luke.

My thoughts currently are a full alignment check and a pair of Goodyears on the rear.

If I go to an independent alignment specialist (anyone one of one in the Croydon / Crawley area???) will I need to go armed with a set of geo settings???? If so, where can I find these for my 2001 car please?

Apologies for all the questions and thanks for everyones patience and helpful replys.

Wouldn't most places have this in their computers?

Just curious.

Cheers,

AR

[sportyking]

There is a garage behind the Esso filling station at the Jaguar dealers on the old A23 about half a mile from your work Ian (you know what I mean).
It is called something line pinins or some weird name.
They are a KW suspension specialist and it is where RSR refer all their awkward customers with wide wheels and lowered suspension etc.
They look quite decent and work on some quality cars doing alignment. I never used them in the end but they are close to your work and worth a look

[Lankstarr]

Wouldn't most places have this in their computers?

Just curious.

Cheers,

AR


I was under the impression that they would... I think they even have Type S settings on their computers! (I'm sure I got that info from you though Ary!?)

L*

[WhyOne?]

They are a KW suspension specialist and it is where RSR refer all their awkward customers with wide wheels and lowered suspension etc.
They look quite decent and work on some quality cars doing alignment. I never used them in the end but they are close to your work and worth a look

I know the place - I'll pop down now and have a look.

Thnaks Richard!

[sportyking]

From my previous research I wouldn't necessarily put Honda standard alignment settings on an NSX with non-OEM tyres fitted. There may be better figures to use as OEM tyre construction (not talking about tread patterns) is unique to each tyre (left/right etc) where-as most other tyres are not.

[Baz]

When I purchased my 03 baby it was fitted with Dunlops and had 4500 miles on the clock. After nearly 9000 miles ofmainly motorway miles I still have at least 5mm of tread left and I assumed the tyres were original fitment although Bryan at Norton Way doesn't think that Dunlops were ever fitted by Honda. Mnd you , I can't believe the 62 year old car who had the car from new would have knocked out a set of tyres in 4000 or so miles!!

Baz

[AR]

I think they even have Type S settings on their computers! (I'm sure I got that info from you though Ary!?)

L*

Nope, that was markc in Italy.

[markc]

I've been to 3 wheel/tyre w'shops with laser alignment now, 2 in the UK and most recently the one 1 in Italy and all of these had the NSX Type S listed in their computers.

I think they look them up by manufacturer then model year first so I don't know if Type R settings would come up if you entered 1994/95 or 2003/4?

Cheers

Mark

[AR]

Mark what tyres are you currently running?

Cheers,

AR

[NSXGB]

I'm just about to order my new tyres and due to the difficulty of finding 215x45x16 fronts I pretty much decided (with some help on here) to go for Good Year GSD3 215x40x16. I seem to be having trouble now finding somewhere that has them in stock.

My question now is that I can get 225x45x16 in the GSD3 too but read somewhere that they may rub the arch. Can anyone confirm this? My car is standard ride height.
I don't want to muck about with spacers either....

[NSXGB]

Managed to track them down now.


Would like to know for future reference if the 225's are ok for standard height arches....

[simonprelude]

I am currently running 225 45 16 GSD3 upfront with no arch rubbing problems.

245 40 17 GSD3 on the rear.

[gsuds]

My question now is that I can get 225x45x16 in the GSD3 too but read somewhere that they may rub the arch. Can anyone confirm this? My car is standard ride height.

No- they don't rub, nor is steering appreciably heavier (assuming 33psi per handbook). Have Toyo 225/45 x16 on mine.

[NSXGB]

I went for the Goodyears for my motor in the end, only done a few hundred miles on the GS-D3's at the mo but went for a jaunt in the sunshine today and was rather happy with the performance of the tyres. I was a bit worried that they might not be as good as the OEM Bridgestones, but so far, no complaints. They seem quieter as well. Looking forward to seeing how long these last....

They also worked out cheaper too.