I am looking at a used S2K that has brand new S03 225's on the rear. This is the tire they said tire rack recommended. My understanding is that they should be 245's. What kind of problems could this cause with handling and tire wear?

 

ask jim@tirerack.com
he's in the tire and wheels section of the forums

 

The '04 comes with 245...the older ones come with 225...

 

Just moving this to The Tire Rack's Tire and Wheel Forum

I am sure Jim will be able to answer your question here

 

GeorgeP - you are correct. The correct rear tire size when replacing '03 and earlier rear tires with non-OEM rubber is 245/45/16. When matched with either SO2 or SO3 PP 205/55/16 front tires the 225/50/16 SO3 PP tires on your car will lead to more oversteer if you push the car hard. It should not make much difference in tire wear.

 

I thought Tirerack sold OEM-sized S02's and S03's for the S2000, which are a bit bigger than standard 225's. Anyway, I may well be wrong; going waaaaay back in the memory banks.

 

Never realized I had to run 245 non OEM tire in the rear until I checked tire forum. Nevertheless, I already bought my rear 225 S03's back in the days and it handled pretty much the same even when pushed.

 

The OEM SO2 tire is still being sold by the Tire Rack and is labelled 225/55/16. In reality it is much wider than that, and even wider than some 245 width tires! The SO3 Pole Position tire was never made to "OEM specs" and should be purchased in the 245/45/16 size to better match OEM dimensions.

 

I made the mistake of getting 225 rear S03s a long time ago...terrible!!!! The oversteer potential was so bad I had to run the tires a few pounds lower to TRY and compensate. Because I had to do this they wore out in less than 10,000 miles. After they were done I went back to OEM S02s all around and will never do anything different in the future. I suggest sticking with what the Honda engineers spec. They know what they're doing!

 

well.. my rear oem tires had weared out.. and the fronts are still in a very good condition.. when i wanted to change the rears for new so2s i found that our dealer doesnt bring them right now.. so can i use s03s in the rear (245/45) while keeping the so2s in the front or should i change the four tires!!