acn684

Situation - stock ap2v1 wheels with stock bridgestone re50's on them; fronts have good thread life, rears are down to 2/32 and need to be replaced.

What tire I want: I would like to have tires that can handle both the rain and dry efficiently. Its a weekend only car but it will see some road trips which weather can be an issue. Driven only between late spring and till early fall. I don't track the car and I don't drive it hard, so having tires that "push it to the limit" is not necessary. I'd rather sacrifice a bit of dry performance for more a bigger increase in wet performance if that makes sense.

Suggestions as to what to do?

Thinking: A) replace rears with stock tires and wait till fronts go or b) replace all 4 with close to "all season" type tires Bridgestonre 760s or continental dw?

marthafokker

b)

Jim@tirerack

The best is to have matched tires front and rear. The other tires you mention are going to last longer and cost less but they are not any closer to an all season tire. All season actually just means cold and snow. They are actually not as good in the wet as a summer tire. I would not want to have the mis matched tires on the car in an emergency situation.
If I can help let me know.

acn684

Ooops, let me clarify this.

Right now I have re50's in the front and back (the back ones are done). I can replace just the back ones withe re50's which are the OEM tires for 2004 S2000. This would last me 2 summer probably. This would be a matched set.

or I can look to get the other tires mentioned - 760 or the continental dw. a full set is just a hair more expensive than two re50 rears.

Anybody have an idea of how the 050's compare to 760/cont DW in the dry and wet?

ZDan

www.tirerack.com has tons of info on those tires and other. Go there and check what's available in 245/40-17 or 255/40-17 to replace your rears, and pick something that's compatible performancewise with the OEM RE050s. You don't have to replace all four tires. I wouldn't go with the OEM RE050s because they are VERY expensive compared to other tires that perform as well or better.
Conti ExtremeContact DW and Dunlop SportMaxx TT and Hankook V12 evo K110 look like about the best bang/buck and would be compatible with the OEM fronts.
RE760s would be longer-wearing/lower-grip, wouldn't put those in back w/ OEM RE050s up front.

acn684

Whats the proper size for the Coni extreme dw's for ap2 wheels? I read something on contact patches and it confused me.

ZDan

Either 245/40-17 (AP2 non-CR rear size) or 255/40-17 (CR rear size) will be totally fine for you. The 255 will have a tiny bit more ultimate lateral dry grip, while the 245 might be a smidge less likely to hydroplane. Realistically there's not going to be much difference between the two. Selecting an appropriate specific tire model is WAY more important than 245/40 vs. 255/40.