Tyre Recommendations? [Archive]

duncan

27-05-2005, 04:26 PM

Purchased 4 new tyres this week, I went one size up for both front and rear, i.e, 225/45 16 (F) and 255/40 17 (R) with Continental, Conti Sport Contact 2's.(£575 all in inc VAT, fitting etc)
My reasons; only matched axle sets in O.E sizes were A022 Yoko's (currently available), quoted £575 and £700 by Yoko re-sellers; and Michelin Pilot Sports quoted at £585. For the latter, Michelin UK noted that they were discontinuing these in favour of Michelin Pilot Sport 2's. The originals were directional, so different tyres NS and OS, the latter are asymetrical but not directional, further the M Sport 2's are not available in O.E sizes and with only one original was listed by Michelin in the UK decided not to.
Going up a size gives more choice, I wanted a tyre that would still be around when the rears needed replacing next time. I'm not a trackie so I wanted the tyres to cost less per mile than petrol so I opted for the Conti 2's with a Treadwear Rating of 280.
(Michelin PS 2's are 220, Yoko A043 (F only) are 160)
I had the Front & Rear cambers and toe in's set to the lowest, least aggresive limits of the factory tolerance, so once I've run the tyres in I'll just have to see how they feel and how they last.
Hope the above ramblings help, and good luck.

trackdemon

27-05-2005, 04:45 PM

FWIW I'm running Yoko A022's up front and Pilot Sports on the rear, all in OEM sizes. Yoko's have cost me under £200 from http://www.elite-design.co.uk/frameset3.html and the Michelins were (I think) £<£240 from Costco. Like Duncan, I've had the tracking setup to be a bit less aggressive and as a consequence I'm getting substantially more life out of my tyres: I have to admit that on the current tyres I'm really enjoying the way my car handles on the road (oversteer is a bit tricky to control on track), it has a slight bias to understeer followed by neutral then gentle oversteer if really pushing.

BrownBear

27-05-2005, 07:10 PM

Thanks for all the input - however, I'm going to try a set of TOYO T1R's in the larger sizes as suggested by Duncan as

a) they were recommended to me
b) Elite have them in stock
and
c) My tyres need changing right now! having them done tomorrow

I'll let you know what I think of them..

Incidentally the price also swung it for me :)

(The final consideration is that as I'm selling my car, even though the Kumho's may be the dogs, chances are, the person I sell it too will thing 'cheapo tyre' and walk away...sad, eh?)

NSA

04-06-2005, 08:18 PM

Any negative views about Dunlop 8050s? My NSX wears them all round and I need to buy two new rears. I've heard they're a harder compound than the Yokos, which is fine.

FYI: Recent 60,000 mile service ex cam belt (done at 36k) was £471 all in.

Also saw a yellow NSX at junction 26 southbound on the M1 May bank holiday weekend. Anyone here?

Flinty

17-08-2005, 09:07 PM

Hi Joe and others.

I would be interested to hear how the Toyo T1R's are going.

I replaced my rear Dunlop 8050's with T1R last week and like Duncan, decided to go up a size to 255/40/17. I'm still running Dunlop's on the front which are okay, but always lacked grip due to harder compound. The Toyo's immediately give more grip in the tail than i remember when dunlops were new, but i'm now suffering another gremlin...

When driving in a straight line, it feels like the tyres are flat. The car drifts left and right and direction changes seem to follow a microsecond after the steering wheel. Weird feeling.

I've checked the pressures and they're good, but it feels decidedly uneasy, being exascerbated at speed.

The tracking/geometry was done by Honda about 4 weeks ago - @ 3 hour job - before changing the tyres.

Any ideas chaps - or it it just a very poor decision to go up 10mm width - surely it doesnt make that much difference to the handling? It's definitely not drivable in it's current state - i'll end up in a bush :oops:

Thanks for any tips.

Flinty

BrownBear

18-08-2005, 07:16 AM

Hi - Very happy with the T1R's - as good as the SO3's, cheaper and quieter to boot - so a good move for me, at least..

As to your question - I've noticed that with larger tyres, the car tends to 'grab cambers' quite a lot (ie: wants to follow the camber of the road) which is disconcerting sometimes when joining a motorway from a slip road and one side of the car wants to get on the motorway quicker than the other :shock: It's not worrying, but more a 'odd' feeling..

What pressures are you using (I use 33F/36R)?
What type of road does this happen on? Slow speed/A-road/B-road? (for me, NSX's have this odd feeling around town (ie:30-40mph) where you think the pressures are out but when you hit an A road it goes away).
Do you have a Coupe or Targa?

Sorry, more questions than answers, but collectively we'll probably get there in the end..

Flinty

18-08-2005, 08:43 AM

Thanks for the ideas.

Glad to hear ur getting on well with your T1R's. That's good to know.

The problem is evident on all roads - but is most noticeable on flat A's where the surface is good. I run 40 psi on the back and 34 on the front - as recommended on the door pillar. Mine's a 96 Targa - like BrownBear's - - with 68k miles - it's not scuttle wobble.

I have an 04 330BMW with 255's and i know that grabs tyre trenches on the motorway really badly. It's definitely not that. It feels altogether more spongy. Cornering is fine, but it's worryingly bad if pulling in and out when overtaking (as some of us may do quite regularly) or even when re-engaging drive in straight line after changing gear under hard acceleration. Literally just like having a flat tyre.

Rang Honda this morning - they reckon it's the new tyres needing 500 miles to bed in. Not so sure - i've not had this problem on other cars with new rubber - but is the NSX just more sensitive - more feedback ?

Not sure i fancy doing 500 miles in this condition !

Thanks again fellas for any thoughts.

BrownBear

18-08-2005, 10:35 AM

Hmm - While I may get flamed for this, I never liked running my tyres on the recommended pressures (I think they only apply for Factory fitments tyres like A022's) - I just adjust mine until they 'feel' right (to me, anyway - everyone else would probably hate it!).

When I got the T1R's they were setup as you say 34/40, but the car felt twitchy (maybe the same thing) so I lowered the pressures to those stated and I'm happy with them now...

TheQuietOne

18-08-2005, 01:37 PM

Hi,

On the first tyre change on my Civic Type-R I wanted to return to Goodyear F1's that I had had on my previous two Hondas. I got them fitted by my local Hi Q garage, which despite that sound are actually fantastic - it is a franchised one and they have looked after all our cars for tyres and laser tracking etc for a few years now.

They fitted the F1's which were only done in a 215 the S03's on the car were 205's (on the back) these sizes quoted may not be spot on though it is 3 years ago!

They said to go for a little drive down the road to make sure they were ok. It was a little damp, but by no means wet. The car felt a little sluggish, not in terms of speed, but just an odd sense feeding back through the steering. Felt like I was dragging the back end along. I came up to a medium sized roundabout outside my parents house, and took it fairly slowly, and before I knew it the car was facing the other way in the middle of the road!

Not sure if this is totally relevant, but from that day on I have never experimented with tyre widths on any Honda we've owned, an ITR, the CTR and S2000 and now the NSX!

P.S. The garage removed and replaced the tyres for no cost which was nice of them too, as it was my call on going up the size in the first place.

Cheers Matt.

DamianW

18-08-2005, 03:09 PM

"Not sure if this is totally relevant, but from that day on I have never experimented with tyre widths on any Honda we've owned, an ITR, the CTR and S2000 and now the NSX! "

Unfortunately the NSX sizes are weird. And its becoming difficult to get sports rubber in anything other than 25 inch bling size (ok, I exaggerate, but you try getting the newest Michelin Pilots in 16/17 inch - can't be done).

I'd be happy to stick with Yoko A022s the whole time, but last time it took me a couple of months to get a set of rears - they had to order the things from Japan and I picked them up from the distributor in Milton Keynes. It was a good job I know people in the car industry that could help me sort it out.

I'm still intending on trying S03s out next time, unless there's a better option. Toyos are sort of interesting but I've seen plenty of bad press on them for other applications.

TheQuietOne

18-08-2005, 03:12 PM

OK,

Point taken, I haven't had to get any for mine yet so I have that joy in store! The Honda garage put Pilot Sports on the back which I wasn't too happy about, but they seem fine so far. It has the Yoko on the front too.

I will still do everything I can to get the correct size from my experiences though! :wink:

Matt.

DamianW

18-08-2005, 04:14 PM

"I will still do everything I can to get the correct size from my experiences though!"

Yeah, right with you. My feeling is cars are designed by engineers who know more than I do about how to make a car handle. The NSX was designed with some specific tyres, and I'd prefer to keep it the way those engineers intended.

But needs must and the tyres are getting a pain to get hold of, so next time I'll probably switch. Besides I believe something like S03s offer more grip, particularly in the wet (think Kevin has had them) - possibly at expense of some comfort/noise?

Ciaran

21-08-2005, 08:36 AM

Interesting and good thread...

The NSX was engineered, what 16 - 18 years ago!? and I suspect tyre technology has come on a bit since then. Also the Honda engineers were/are forced to compromise between safety and performance, we may all want the performance, but they want to stay out of US courts!!

For the record, I'm on my second set of Kumho's. Over sized front and back 225 & 255 on OEM rims ( based on advice from Mark in Dali - to maintain balance!!). Like BrownBear and from some experimenting at a few track days I now run pressures of 33 & 36 always, again as it produces the best balance for "me".

I suspect that tyres are a little like shoes and are a very personal thing, its a "confidence" and "feel" thing I think, and so in the end its everyone to their own!!

Flinty

22-08-2005, 12:13 PM

Glad to hear a few of us are running oversized tyres on standard rims without any problems.

Mine is going back tomorrow to have the fitment of the Toyo's double checked. If all else fails, it'll be going back to Honda to have the Alignment re-set again.

With a bit more time on my hands at the weekend, I experimented with the driving. On a straight road, with good surface, I pulled the steering wheel to the right, then released grip on the wheel. It went back to centre, then carried on past to pull left, then back to the right, and finally back to centre again. Feels like i have four wheel steering, or that the front wheels are disconnected from the back.

Last time I looked, it was a Honda, not a Fiat.... :?

Either i have a poltergeist who doesnt like straight roads, or the front wheels are pointing towards each other !!

I'm sure it's not the Toyo tread being mismatched to the standard fit Dunlop's or simply the bigger 255 size. Will keep you posted.

BrownBear

22-08-2005, 02:45 PM

I'm sure it's not the Toyo tread being mismatched to the standard fit Dunlop's or simply the bigger 255 size. Will keep you posted.

Ahhhhh... (or maybe not..:) )

Just re-read your original post (must have been blind first time round, sorry).

While I'm happy with my T1R's, I have them all round - ie: They're matched. I'm not at all sure that mixing and matching different tyres (from different manufacturers) is a good idea- especially on the limit. This may not be relevent to your specific problem, but I'd guess it isn't helping either.. Any tyre guru's want to step in?

david_f

23-08-2005, 04:25 PM

Dear all, thought I would contribute my experiences with tyres and mention a good and low cost fitting centre.

Firstly, the size of the tyre isn't as critical as you might first think. For example, the Type 2 NSX which was phased out in 2002 had 245/40x17s fitted to the rear. The Type 3 NSX (i.e. latest spec.) runs 255/40x17s at the rear. The difference in diameter is just 8mm (i.e. taller). By contrast, the Type 2 NSX runs 215/45x16 fronts and the Type 3 runs 215/40x17 fronts. Again, the difference is small, just 3.9mm (i.e. taller).

I have a Type 2 NSX (late 2000 model) and run Bridgestone SO3s. Although the OEM spec is 215/45x16 front and 245/40x17 rear, I fit 225/45x16 fronts and 255/40x17 rears. The rears are actually the same overall size at the Type 3 and as they are the driven wheels, the gearing is hardly altered over the Type 2 NSX (just 8mm diameter remember). The fronts are just 9mm taller in diameter. So, if you think you can tell the difference, then you are a better man than I!

The point is, by going up to 225 fronts and 255 rears (for a Type 2 NSX), you get access to the latest tyre technology; think how far cars have come in the last 10 years? Now, do you really want the old Yokos, Dunlops or Bridgestones that Honda recommend (assuming you can source them and are happy to pay the inflated – sorry for the pun – prices)?

I personally only use my NSX for track days and hope to go racing next year in the mid-engined series. For that blast, I'll be using 235/40x17 fronts and 265/35x18 rears. The wheel rims will also be a half inch wider front and back (i.e. 8x17 fronts and 9.5x18 rears). The message to all you guys worrying about the OEM recommendation is, don't! The latest tyre technologies (whether with Kumho or the more exotic brands), generally speaking, means better grip, wear and ride.

Oh, nearly forgot… the good tyre fitter! They’re called SE Tyres and have a number of outlets in the South of England (http://www.setyres.com/centres.asp). For example, Bridgestone SO3 PP (225/45x16) from Black Circles fitted was £134. From SE Tyres they were £130 fitted. Good job done too. Best of luck everyone! Regards, David.

Ciaran

23-08-2005, 06:36 PM

I think the tyre mixture must be part of the problem here.

The side walls must be different and that must lead to a very strange feel and balance front to rear, any chance you could get a "test" or loan of some Toyo's for the front!!...yeh I know it's a bit of an ask...but he who dares..... :roll:

TheQuietOne

29-09-2005, 12:23 PM

Hi Guys,

Just wanted some advice. On driving home from work last night at about 8 o'clock it was absolutely pishing down on the duel carriageway. I slowed to about 50 as it was quite clear, and I was a little nervous as it is the first time I've driven it in hard rain!

On two occasions, the first the worst the car aquaplaned across the centre of the road, and finally caught traction about 2 feet from the armco :shock: (sorry for mis-spellings) my heart was in my mouth! It had a major twictch on the second occasion as by this time I was doing about 30 and considering pulling over and waiting for the rain to stop :( !

I now contemplating getting 4 new tyres for the winter as this thing is my daily driver, and although I won't be taking it out in icy conditions a fair amount of wet driving will have to be done - unless I give up working!

On the car at the moment are Yoko's on the front and Michelin Sports on the back. Could anyone suggest good 'safe' winter tyres for me, as it shook me up a bit, and I just don't have the cash for a second car for the winter at the moment!

Any comments appreciated greatly, I haven't found any topics specifically about wet driving but if there are sorry for the re-post!

Matt.

david_f

29-09-2005, 12:56 PM

Matt, you don't mention if your car is a T1, T2 or T3; all have difference tyre sizes. I trackday and race my NSX and have used quite a few types of tyre. Assuming your car is a T2, with 16” front and 17” rear tyres, I suggest you go for 225/45x16 fronts and 255/40x17 rears. The difference in tyre height over the standard 215/45x16s and 245/40x17s isn’t worth worrying about. By doing this, you’ll be able to access more modern tyre technology. If you want standard road tyres, I suggest Bridgestone SO3 PPs or Toyo T1Rs. Both are very good (particularly in the wet) and well priced. You can get them through somewhere like www.blackcircles.com However, Kumho is a very good but underrated brand as well. One thing you should also keep an eye out for is the inside edges of you rear tyres. The NSX’s aggressive ‘toe-in’ means that your tyres will wear quickly and you won’t necessarily see the wear without jacking the car. With my experience of the NSX in the wet, I’d be assured that it’s your tyres, not the basic design of the car. Have fun!

Regards, David.

TheQuietOne

29-09-2005, 01:01 PM

Hi,

Sorry, as per my signature, it is a X plate, 2000 (pop up lights though) 3.2 manual - same as Damiens. Thanks for the info - I'll have a propper read of it now!

Cheers,

Matt.

david_f

29-09-2005, 01:04 PM

Doh! My mistake Matt. I didn't notice it previously...

DamianW

29-09-2005, 01:26 PM

I was desperate for some rears and have ended up with Goodyear Eagle F1s (GSD3 - in the size david f recommends). They seem ok in isolation, but mixed with OEM yokos on the front is a bit of a nightmare. Obviously quite a difference in sidewall stiffness or something, anyway result is the rear of the car feels like its doing the steering at times! Will try and get some Eagle fronts too and try them out properly, they seem reasonable enough and at least you can get hold of them.

TheQuietOne

29-09-2005, 01:37 PM

Hi,

Damian, so sorry for mis-spelling your name in my last post - my spelling, for an English graduate is shameful...so sorry nothing more annoying I know!

Thanks for the advice, I'm just so worried about upsetting the balance of the car - especially as I drive it every day!

I like F1s too but not if it feels like you described, but perhaps as you suggest matching them front and back would help, and as I'm going for 4 new ones that would be the case!

Cheers,

Matt.

david_f

29-09-2005, 02:04 PM

Simple rule for predictable handling in any car but especially an NSX... never mix tyres across the same axle or front to back. Any short-term savings could prove tragic... it's as simple as that.

Cheers, David.

DamianW

29-09-2005, 02:05 PM

Yeah yeah, fully intend to get the fronts, I was just caught out (again) with illegal rears and had to get something pronto so I could use it. Will add a note to the thread with what I think of them when I get round to it.

david_f

29-09-2005, 03:56 PM

See my earlier thread about keeping an eye on rear tyre wear on an NSX due to aggressive 'toe-in' characteristics. If NSXers don't keep a close eye on this, you can literally be down to the canvass on the inside of the tyre and yet have visible thread on the outside (i.e. the bit you can easily see). You have been warned...

Cheers, David.

simonprelude

29-09-2005, 05:47 PM

After a puncture in one of the rears just replaced them with Bridgestone RE010's, lots of £££ but same as front so can't complain too much.

Nick Graves

29-09-2005, 08:01 PM

mcibuk

06-10-2005, 09:59 AM

I'm just about to replace my worn Yokoham 205/45/16 tyres with Khumo 225/45/16 tyres to be a better match for rears 255/40/17.
The Yokohamas have been OK but they wore very quickly on the rear whereas the Khumo's seem to be OK after 4000 miles now.
The idea of the car moving about as result of increasing the tyre size is a bit of a concern but i shall see soon enough - i didn't notice any real difference when i went up a size on the rears though!

david_f

06-10-2005, 01:15 PM

I'm not convinced by the argument of tyre size (within reason) causing handling problems; I'd check that your geometry is set-up to spec first.

I've done over 20 track days with the 225 front and 255 rear set-up (OEM is 215 and 245) and can only sense an increase in grip; bear in mind the advantages of better tyre technology with newer spec rubber! Also, for track use, remember to experiment with tyre pressures. The OEM setting of 33-psi front and 40-psi rear is way too hard. My experience suggests that 30-psi front and 36-psi rear is a good compromise.

Cheers, David.

Flinty

06-10-2005, 01:20 PM

The problem is still driving me mad.

Interestingly, my problem seems to be similar to Damian W's.

The car's been back to Honda for the third time for Alignment adjustment and it's better, but not right. (One of the trailing arms on suspension was slightly bent, which probably didnt help, fitted by Lindvale Honda after they broke the original doing the clutch - so replaced under warranty).

I'm now resigned to laying out more £ buying matching Toyo T1R's on the front, even though the current front Dunlop's are fine in terms of tread remaining. This is being done middle of next week. Hopefully it's just that the rears i fitted just dont match the OEM Dunlops. Luckily the friendly tyre place will loan me a set of Toyo fronts for a day (thanks for the cheeky idea Ciaran!). If these dont resolve the problem, they will remove free and i'll go back to Dunlop's on the rear.

Expensive trial of oversized rear Toyo's !

The consensus of opinion appears to be that you shouldnt mis-match tyres front to back, due to tyre tecnology moving on so much and the sensitive characteristics of the NSX handling. Sensible. Further, the problem shouldnt be due to the increase from 245 to 255's - this opinion has been verified by Honda Technicians - at both Lindvale Colchester and Chiswick.

Fingers crossed - will keep you posted next week.

Pleeeeaaase Mr Tyre God - i just want to drive the car properly, for the first time since May !! :roll:

david_f

06-10-2005, 01:23 PM

Fingers crossed Flinty, fingers crossed...

DamianW

06-10-2005, 01:39 PM

I'm convinced mine is just a disparity between relative sidewall stiffness. The OEM Yokos, while not particularly liked by the NSXCB masses, do give an extraordinary ride/handling compromise for road use in my opinion. Ok, they are rubbish in the wet, but nothings perfect ;)

I suspect if you have also mixed OEM stuff and something else front->rear you're getting exactly the same effect I am. I'm hoping by changing the fronts it'll be back to normal (must get that done!). If not I'm going back to OEM stuff if I can get it.

david_f

06-10-2005, 01:49 PM

Damian, think of it this way...

If you wore two different shoes, you'd notice the difference, right? Tyres are your car's 'shoes'. Never forget they're the only part of the car that should be touching the ground. Steering, handling and braking all depend on your tyres. Ross Brawn of Ferrari recently said that the performance of a F1 car is 30% down to tyres... think about that.

We're all spent quite a bit on buying our NSXs... now is not the time to think about the cost of tyres. If you want to get the best out... you must put the best in...

Cheers, David.

DamianW

06-10-2005, 04:49 PM

Yeah like I keep saying, I'm getting the fronts changed to make sure it has same spec tyre all round. Its not a lack of understanding, its just I'm too busy to get it done at the minute.

david_f

06-10-2005, 05:15 PM

Just looking out for the brothers...

DamianW

10-10-2005, 02:39 PM

Just looking out for the brothers...

:)

Ordered the fronts now... although they can only be had in GSD2 spec (rears are GSD3). Fingers crossed.

david_f

10-10-2005, 03:02 PM

Good man, let us know how you get on... as an aside...

...the Toyo R888s in my sizes (i.e. 235/40x17 and 265/35x18) should be available in early 2006. These are trackday-biased tyres which are road legal and are (unusually) available in medium compound (so reasonable wear rates).

The reports on them have been extremely good (e.g. tenacious dry grip and still good in the wet, with minimum aquaplaning). They list a 225/45x16 and 255/40x17 (see http://www.toyo.co.uk/index.php?fuseaction=car.R888) and on the face of it, look the best compromise, being a combination of the benefits of the Kuhmo V70A and Bridgestone SO3 PP.

Once they become available, I intend to run a set and will keep everyone posted.

Cheers, David.

Flinty

17-10-2005, 05:31 PM

Finally, got round to replacing the Dunlop Front tyres today to match the rear Toyo T1R's.

Check my previous posts, but it appears after a hugely long saga of handling woes, it's done the trick. By following advice from this thread and running a matching set, the handling seems just about spot on. Within 200 metres of leaving the tyre place, it's obviously better.

Now running 225/45/16 Toyo T1R's on front and 255/40/17 T1R's on the back. In my now learned opinion, it's fine going up a tyre size on standard Alloys, just dont be tempted to mix old and new tyre technology.

Bl**dy long wait, but i'm pretty pleased. I shall be burning the new rubber tonite.......

TheQuietOne

17-10-2005, 05:34 PM

Hi, Flinty

Thanks for the update - I'm really pleased for you, must have been so frustrating. I'll be parting with some cash at some point next week in that case. I think I'll end up with the Goodyears all round though, althoug I may get a price for the Toyo's too for interests sake.

Anyway, enjoy....

Matt.

david_f

17-10-2005, 05:36 PM

Glad it all worked out in the end Flinty!

Regards, David.

DamianW

26-10-2005, 01:29 PM

I just had my fronts replaced with Eagle F1s to match the rears (well, GSD2 spec front and GSD3 spec rear is what I've ended up with). Sure enough my cars slightly nervy feel has gone.

I'll need to drive it more to give a proper verdict, but my immediate reaction is that the ride has suffered a little but otherwise they seem fine. I suspect a bit of fiddling with tyre pressures and I'll be very happy with them.

TheQuietOne

26-10-2005, 02:08 PM

Great news, thanks for the update!

Matt

Greybloke

31-10-2005, 07:28 PM

Just had cause to look at this hread, dur to my dodgy handling :shock:

Changed my rear tyres at the weekend from 235/40/17 Toyo's to Dunlop SP9000's, and I now have all the symptoms experienced by flinty, i.e. line tracking, oversteer in fast bends, and general insablity :?

I suspect I need to revert to toyo again, as my front toyo's still have good life in them. I just cant live with the car like this it's bordering on dangerous. I never thought a car could be so sensitive to tyre choice!

(flinty where did you go for tyres localy?)

david_f

01-11-2005, 10:26 AM

TheQuietOne

01-11-2005, 10:36 AM

Hi,

I'm having 4 brand new Eagle F1's put on mine tomorrow morning - 225 at the front and 255 at the back. I'm hoping this will be OK, and am going by past experiences in this link too!

At the moment I've got Yoko's on the front and Michelin's on the back...and it does feel very twitchy at speed, as I found out while stretching it's legs against a CTR last week :cry:

Hope you can resolve your problems Nick - and I hpoe I resolve mine too in the morning...I better for £500 :shock: !

Matt.

david_f

01-11-2005, 10:40 AM

Smart move Matt... the FI's a good tyre (good wear rate too!). You should be just fine.

Regards,

David.

TheQuietOne

01-11-2005, 10:50 AM

As from earlier in this thread I was perticularly looking for better wet handling and the F1's are supposed to be very good in these conditions!

Thanks for the reassurance though!

Kevin

01-11-2005, 03:04 PM

...I hpoe I resolve mine too in the morning...I better for £500 :shock: !

I don't have any handling issues, spending £300 on a set of Kumho's.

TheQuietOne

01-11-2005, 03:30 PM

Thanks.... :wink:

Greybloke

01-11-2005, 08:21 PM

Yep, as previously mentioned, the set-up of the NSX is particularly sensitive to tyre compounds. Because of this NSXers must keep same make/type of tyre across axles and front/rear.

Regards,

David.

PS. I assume your quoted rear tyre size was a typo? The correct OEM size should be either a 245/40x17 or 255/40x17.

No typo, mine is an early 3.0 with but with non standard wheels. I know the OEM rears should be 25/50/16, but the 17" wheels which came with the car were fitted with Toyo 235/40/17's and performed very well. Strangely having put another 200 miles on them today they do apper to have settled down? Or am I just getting used to them :?:

trackdemon

02-11-2005, 10:44 AM

FWIW I'm running Pilot Sports (R) & Yoko's (F) - switching the old Pilots sports to Yoko's on the front actually introduced a slight degree of stabilizing understeer and probably makes the car even quicker accross country.
I find the NSX very sensitive to tyre newness - when I first had Toyo's on the rear the rear of the car was like bambi on ice until a good 250miles of scrubbing in. Tyre pressures are fairly sensitive too.

david_f

02-11-2005, 12:36 PM

Copy that for tyre pressures. OEM states 33-psi front and 40-psi rear (for 16”/17” front/rear wheels). I've found that on track, that is a recipe for big lift-off oversteer. 30-psi front and 36psi rear works well for me on track with 31-psi front and 38psi for road use. I’m now running 235/40x17 fronts and 265/35x18 rears (Kumho V70s; medium compound) and find the above pressures still good.

Cheers, David.

TheQuietOne

02-11-2005, 12:58 PM

Hi,

Just had my F1's fitted all round with pressures of 32 front and 36 rear ( as per Damian's set-up). Thanks Damian for your patience with all my recent questions, it is much appreciated!

Does anyone think that 36 at the back is too low - taking David's pressures from above into account?

Car feels much better (a little lighter at the front on the turn in though) and road noise is very low. Will run them in a little before I give it some real action - especially as it has it's service on Friday - it should be ready for a weekend work out!

Matt.

modarr

02-11-2005, 09:04 PM

[quote="trackdemon"]FWIW I'm running Pilot Sports (R) & Yoko's (F) - switching the old Pilots sports to Yoko's on the front actually introduced a slight degree of stabilizing understeer and probably makes the car even quicker accross country.

Spot on. I have Khumo on the back and Toyo up front and with the current suspension have a mild degree of understeer. I hope to uprate the front grip at some point when I feel a little more confident with the 'R' suspension, especially as I'm not running a stiffer front ARB.
Toyo T1R are pants overall. The tread pattern creates excessive lifting of the block edges and the actual total amount of rubber in contact with the road is less. These tyres are made to look aggressive but SO3's are much better.