Bluedemon

Hey, got a question for you fellow S2K enthusihasts out there...

When I bought my 2002 S2000 about 2.5 years ago, the OEM tires (rear only) were bald after 6000 miles. Evenly worn, but completely bald! I replaced them with a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, mainly because I was hoping for better tread life (which I got) and better handling in rain (which I also got). Now, the passenger side rear tire is worn evenly right down the middle of the tire. The driver's side rear tire is fine. This set now has 7,300 miles on it.

Most people I have talked to mentioned this would be an over inflation issue, which is not the case. I am anal about tire pressure. Others have said camber issue.

Any suggestions? I was thinking of either deflating the tire a bit, instead of the recommended 32 psi, take it down to maybe 29 and see if it wears better, without compromising handling.

Another suggestion someone made was to get a 50 lbs bag of rocks and put it on the passenger's side floor to even out weight distribution.

Please let me know what you think. Any suggestions as to what kind of tire to get next is also very welcome.

Lucas

Jim@tirerack

Camber would not make the tires wear down the middle. It would cause wear on the inside shoulder. I would have to agree with the air pressure and if not that I would try lowering it a little. Don't put weight in the car though.
If you really want longer wear have the alignment done and run the least amount of toe in and stay within Honda spec. If your tires are worn in 6000 miles I would also say keep your foot out of the gas a little. The rear tires are always going to wear fast on this car but 6K is too fast.

Bluedemon

Thanks for the reply, Jim.

I will try decreasing the pressure for now and see what happens.

As for keeping my foot off the gas a little....that's the thing, I don't drive it hard at all. That is why I was so surprised by bald tires after 6K miles. The new set has 7,300 miles on them and they are doing much better. I figure I can get between 10K-12K out of these before I have to replace them.

Do you have a suggestion for what tire to look at next, for good performance, good tread wear and good traction in rain?

Lucas

aggie

Out of curiosity, were your rear tires 245? Some people report those wear down the middle with stock wheels.

TubeDriver

Get an alignment. Bald tires after 7k miles with moderate street driving is a joke. I got 5k street miles , 15 autoX, 3 HPDE on my R compound RA-1s and I still have a decent amount of wear left (tread wear on them is 100).

Bluedemon

nope, they were OEM stock 225 Potenza S-02. I hesitate to get them again, just because of that experience.

Thoughts on the S-03 pole position? Thinking about these or the same Michelin Pilot Sport A/S I got last time.