I would have no qualms whatsoever about running or recommending Bridgestone RE050A Pole Positions, which have a published tread width of 8" in 225/50-16.

For sure, NO ONE should be insisting on 245/45-16 for the rear tires. There are only small number of tires still available in 245/45-16, and they're not the best you can get within a given category. IMO, this stickie should go bye-bye, as all it does now is encourage people to buy inferior tires. STILL hear people commenting on how AP1 owners MUST go with 245/45-16 rears.

But I also say don't get too hung up on tread width dimensions for 225s either. Get the best tire for your wants/needs usage and don't worry about it.

Fwiw, I've run treadwidth staggers ranging from 0.5" to 1.5" on my stock AP1 at the track, handling balance is affected, but not by a tremendous amount. Overall handling demeanor is similar (i.e., if the back end starts to feel loose and you lift off the gas, the AP1 absolutely WILL bite, whatever the treadwidth stagger is!) On the street with street tires, I believe that outright treadwidth is going to affect balance even less.

Die stickie die...

 

I find myself reading this thread over & over again.. WTF right? First it was not good, then it is now. I'm going with 225/50/16s & saving myself the freaking headache. Or I'll just get 17s & get rid of the 16s all together because its way too much hassle.

 

I need new rear tires for my 2003 AP1 with stock rims, I'm going with tire size 225/50-16 and would like to keep my tread width as close to 8.5 as possible.

My car is a daily driver and although she will never see a track, I do drive aggressive on pot-holed ridden NYC streets (reason I'm afraid to plus size my rims).

I'm looking for the best bang for my buck. I never drive in snow but do drive in cold weather.

Here are some I've discovered so far:

Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport
Yokohama S.drive
Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD08

What would you recommend? Are there any other tires I should be looking into

 

I would recommend the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs all day, everyday. I can attest to the claims of their performance in dry and wet conditions. The price is great in that respect as well. If treadwear isn't your biggest concern(as if it should owning an S2k) then by all mean try them. I'm on my second set of rears after the first lasted a little over 14k mi.

 

Does anyone know the tread width of the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs?

 

Don't be too fixated on "tread width"! Particularly on the street, the importance of this dimension is often overestimated.

Die stickie die...