RedCelica

Yeah tires you have now are shit...glad you're replacing them.

Alignment...definitely add some front camber and minimize rear toe. Will corner like a fawkin dream with a correct alignment. Pair that with a good set of extreme performance tires and you'll carve apexes like butter. S04s weren't a very good decision, but they'll do.

My AP2 alignment was

-1.8/-2.0 camber
0 toe front
max caster
.20 toe total rear

B serious

S04's will work just fine. They're a *little* soft edged. They're probably pretty similar to the RE050's that came on the car from the factory...but with better rain traction. Pilot SS's would work better.

71R's are good for track use...and they're great in the rain. But...I wouldn't put them on a car I was NOT planning on tracking. I wonder if people who are liberally recommending 71R's actually OWN 71R's.

My car has 71R's. Even with very normal use, I'd be surprised if they lasted 10k miles. I use them for the track...so I'll never know how long they'd wear under normal conditions.

Legal Bill

If it feels too soft with the new tires set at 30 or 32 psi, try adding 2 psi per wheel. I know I can feel the difference that 2 PSI makes on these cars. Honda recommends 32 psi, but I find 2 more psi does not noticeably increase the wear of the center section.

If you really want a stiffer feel after the new tires, the next thing I would do is shocks to reduce the roll. But honestly, I think people that want the car to "feel" stiffer than stock are masochists. For street driving it will not corner any "better" with shock and spring changes. I know you said you are just looking for a different feel, but I just want to point out that on the track, going from the stock set-up to a well balanced, well tuned spring and shock combination might mean you can take a corner 2 or 3 mph faster than you could before. So when people tell you they can now take corners "much faster" with their aftermarket set-up, either their old set-up was broken, or it is more in their head than in the car.

Chuck S

Recall Honda made biennial changes to the car's suspension to improve handling for the 99.9% of drivers who do not run their cars on race tracks. The 2006+ cars represent the pinnacle of Honda suspension engineering for a road car. But what would Honda engineers know about the S2000 and suspensions?

With good tires my 2006 handles like on rails. Other than road noise and wear I see no reason to not fit extreme performance summer tires. I have about 2 summers and 12,000 miles on "last year's darling" truly wonderful but, alas, discontinued RE-11A Bridgestones. They're due for replacement this summer. Quandary on the RE-71R tires for me is the road noise, not that they'll only last two seasons seasons. "Your mileage may vary." I took Dunlap Direzza ZII Star Spec tires off the car two years ago. Very noisy tires.

With the demise of the RE-11A tires the most likely candidate for me other than the RE-71R will be the Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08 R where the road tests/ratings show to have better wet weather traction and less road noise than the RE-71R but this will be a game time decision.

Additionally I'm toying with 10mm wider tires fore and aft (225/255mm) or just on the rear (255mm) like the CR came with. You guys are assuring me these will fit without any alterations to the car. More game time decisions.

As for how "soft" the 2006 suspension is note the rubber pad under my radar detector/GPS in this photo. Without it the unit gets shaken off the windshield in a few miles and the display is jiggling so violently it can't be read.



-- Chuck

WVCR-V

I'm now thinking maybe I should have gone with Michelin Pilots. I read the Car and Driver review of the S04's from 2012 and they finished 2nd overall to the Pilots out of 9 tires. Part of my reasoning for going with these is the ride comfort and quietness they are said to have while still being great all around performers. I used to not care too much about ride quality but now that I experienced the most plush ride I've ever felt in a sports car of this caliber, I really appreciate it, especially on our sometimes pothole strewn roads.
Now if I had it to do over right now I must admit I'd go for the Pilots. Maybe I should have asked you guys first. Oh, well. I could send them back If you convince me to.

zdave87

I had a set of the Yokos on my 07. Hated them, very loud, wet traction sucked. I had them on a set of TR Motorsports F3 (same size and offsets as OEM) and my RE-11rs on a set of Enkei RPF1s. I switched back to the RE-11s and they are a much better tire. I'll have to replace them in a couple months with the new RE-71s.

Chuck S

Disappointing to hear your experience with the AD08 tires!

Thanks for the notes. I expect two summers out of the tires and don't want road tread noise.

-- Chuck

honda606

I assume you're alluding to me. I'm on my second set on my Miata and I daily drive them. If I still cared to own an S2000 I would put them on that car as well. They're like glue in dry conditions and the best handling 200TW I've ever put on a car in the rain. I'm smitten with them.

These aren't Hoosiers. They're perfectly fine for DD use as long as you're not a cheapskate and put the correct shoes on a sports car. The original S02's that came on the AP1 were lucky to make it to 10k in the rears. That's how it's supposed to be. You're not trying to get 30k miles out of tires on a sports car unless you're doing it wrong and/or overextending yourself to try and own a car you really can't afford.

B serious

^LOL.

OP...if returning the S04's and getting a set of Pilot SS's is an option, I would definitely do it. The pilots are better in every respect. There are almost no compromises with the MPSS. They don't grip like a 71R or other EP tires...but...that doesn't matter if you're not tracking the car. By the time you reach the end of grip on a good max performance tire, you'll be in huge trouble anyway.

MPSS's are quiet, work great in rain, last a long time, have close ultimate dry traction to something like a Direzza Z2, and they ride well.

AP1Driver

Upgrade your wheels and add 275 rear/245 front if you really want the car to handle . I do drive an AP1 though, which is more direct to begin with . Where are you in WV, btw? I'm here as well, and I can show you the best of the best driving roads in this state...