I need help on autox wheel and tire sizing!

[ger2k]

Hello I just purchased my '01 and I am wondering what size wheel/tires I should get for it. I want to get wheels for the purpose of autocrossing and driving mountain runs. Can anyone help? Thanks alot!
*look at my second comment, of new updates and questions*! thanks in advance

[bladerunner]

Don't know but Honda obviously designed the car with lightweight in mind so don't go bigger than 17s. 18s would be pushing it a little I think, even if they look cool.
When Honda updated the car in '04 they gave it 17x7.5 wheels in the front and 17x8.5 in the rear, so you know that you could at least upgrade to those.

[ger2k]

hows the heaviness of the wheel affect the car? what tire sizes would be on the 17s. what would you guys suggest on 16s(width and tire size).

[gomarlins3]

I have run the OEM 16's for years.
Tire size:
F- 225/50/16
R- 245/45/16

I have run a 265/45/16 on the rear last season, but just because they were a good buy. Going back to 245 this season.

[bladerunner]

Think of trying to run in heavy, muddy army boots or a pair of high tech running shoes. Same difference. The extra unsprung weight of the wheels will change how well the car can accelerate(lighter wheels, driveshaft, flywheel all contribute), turn(try throwing some weight around), brake(extra rotational mass makes more work for the brakes) and will also change the ride characteristics(change in tire size, too thin of a sidewall will directly effect ride and extra unsprung weight effects shock valving setup). Your suspension is fine tuned to the weight of the stock wheel and tire package.

Imagine those boots with mud all over them every step being a little more difficult then they would be if you were in your clean running shoes. Hope that makes some sense to you. The rotoational mass and unsprung weight of your wheels IS IMPORTANT so either stay stock or go lighter for sure.

Don't know about the possible tire sizes that can work for you but those 17's I was talking about come stock with 215/45/17 in the front & 245/40/17 in the back. In my personal opinion stay with the stock wheel/tire combo sizes whether you go 16 or 17 because when you add width to your tires without compensating for wheel width your adding some slop to your suspension and mainly left/right transitional responsiveness. What I mean is when you have the right size wheel & tire combo (Honda has done their homework ) you have a tire that is nice and taught on the rim providing crisp responsive on the limit handling. When you have that extra width on there (even when you compensate a little bit with a shorter sidewall) it's kind of like having baggy pants on your car. Where they're gonna move around more underneath you when you're hustlin' it. Which sucks.
Ever tried doing donuts in a truck with tall sidewalls?(not me of course) well what you'll get is the front tires want to fold over themselves and try and come off the rim (an extreme case of what I'm trying to talk about). The tires will move around and it won't feel good, is my point. The less sidewall flex the better. Which is why big wheels are better but only to the point at which that vehicle is meant to handle & our S2000 is a small car.
I've been asked what size my wheels were a few times just to tell them and have them say "Really!? I thought they were 19s or at least 18's" this because of the size of the car. I agree, the 17's look like 18's would on an Audi, BMW, or even like the 19's do on the G35's it's all in relation to the overall size of the car.

[Scott]

Well, since this is an autocross discussion, one thing needs to be addressed first and foremost.

What class do you plan on running? If you run in a Stock class, you can only have wheels that are of the same dimensions as the OEM wheels. So, if you wanted to run that, I would get an extra set of stockers, and put some R compounds on them.

[ger2k]

wheres a good site to purchase R-compounds from?

[gomarlins3]

Tire rack.

[Scott]

Tire Rack is good, but also check Hoosier Tire's website. They sell their discontinued (but still new) tires at some pretty good deals, and I believe with free shipping. Any tire they sell that begins with an "A" (ie. A3S05) is made for autocross and light track use.

https://www.hoosiertire.com/

[AGBLLET]

I recently went through the same experience in terms of replacing the wheels and tires on my 04 spa. After hours of reseaching on the net, talking to Tire Rach geru's, and two other tire distributors, as well as the owners of two performance and tuning business, I discovered on theing - Everyone thinks they are an expert expecially those on the net. This is not an attack on anyone responding in the thread because they are giving you great advice as to what has worked for them or placed on the car by the factory.

My car is lowered by 1" all around. Based on this fact and the that I use my car as a daily driver and enjoys track racing a few times a year, I elected to buy 18 inch rims all around. Some of the newer 18 " wheels made by Volks are lighter than the stock 17 " wheels. Another issue to consider is that the size of wheels and tires selected need to be coordinated to ensure that the original camber and design settings are maintained for purposes of performance handling, accuracy of speedometer, and no loss in speeds for each gear.

There are a lot of factors to consider: style, performance, durability, gripping abilitie, patch size, etc. Anyway, for what is is worth, I decided to exhange my stock 04 wheels for 18x8.0 F and 18x9.0 R. The tires I selected were the Bridgestone RE050A, 225/40-18 F and 255/35-18 R. In fact, these tire sizes for both the front and rear are identical to the tire sizes recommended by Comptech 18" wheels for the S2k. You can see this on Comptech's web site. Also, in another forum on tires, Jim at Tire Rack also recommended the same size of tires for 18" rims with identical widths for Fand R. Finally, after researching this issue, I called several owners of S2k's that had 16" rims which they normally race with, and others with 17" and 18" rims. A comparison of wieght of the 18" rims I purchased vs stock 17.5" rims indicated that the style of 18" weighed less than the 17" stock.

Since I do not like the looks of large sidewalls on tires combined with my desire to maintain a closer fitting appearance between the body of the car and the tire, these tire sizes with the rims selected will maintain the car's slightly lower profile will fit nicely with no rubbing even during hard cornering. Perhaps it should also be noted that I need a little wider tire in the rear since the engine in my spa generates over 400 rwh and having a wider tire and a corresponding wider tire patch helps a little more in preventing and recovering from tail spins, a common trait associated with these cars.

It is a hard process to determine your needs vs. desires vs. budget. For me, grip and performance is more important than longer life. Anyway, please remember that I am no expert in tires and this post is merely my effort to provide a different prospective to add to your research. I am by no means an expert, but thought I could provide a different viewpoint that might help.

Good luck in your search

[ger2k]

*update*, instead of buying 17s i bought some ap1 16s to run A-stock this season. marlins said that the best tires to run on those were 225/55/16? and 245/45/16. the only tires i saw for those sizes were the hankook rz212 and the RA-1s. we all know that ra-1s are really good tires, but what about these hankooks? they were suppose to be the tire to do great against the falken atenzi 615s, but does anyone have any experience with them? thanks in advance for letting me know

[HONDADDICT]

Most reputable and knowledgeable tire stores would advise against exceeding the 16 inch stock tire size that Honda uses from the factory. With a 50 series tire, the sidewall height (ratio) would dictate what the maximum tire size that could be run for best handling characteristics and overall safety. The wider the tire contact patch the lower the sidewall should be. That is why Honda recommends a 245/40/17 rear and 225/45/17 front tire. Just increasing the width and leaving the sidewall dimension the same will throw off the handling. If you consult with a competent tire specialist, they will advise against a wider tire with same aspect ratio (sidewall heght). As a general rule, whenever you increase tire width, you must decrease the sidewall height accordingly. That is why Honda lowered the sidewall height front and rear when they went to a wider tire in the 17 inch wheel/tire package for 2004. The wisest action would be to consult a tire store or speak with a tech from the tire and wheel store if you happen to order online, such as Tire Rack or another widely advertised retailer. Well, good luck.

[gomarlins3]

What I said was:
F- 225/50/16
R- 245/45/16

As for which tire to run, there are many R compounds if you are just using them for racing: Hoosiers and Kumhos are the most popular at the autoX's I have visited over the years. Kumho offers the 700 "Victoracers" as well as the 710's.
Kumho VictoRacer V700
Kumho ECSTA V710

Hoosier offers many good choices as well:
Designed for autoX:
Hoosier A6
Designed for road courses:
Hoosier R6
I believe this is there new tire:
Hoosier A3S04

[BabyItsaFact]

Originally Posted by bladerunner

I've been asked what size my wheels were a few times just to tell them and have them say "Really!? I thought they were 19s or at least 18's" this because of the size of the car. I agree, the 17's look like 18's would on an Audi, BMW, or even like the 19's do on the G35's it's all in relation to the overall size of the car.

The day I bought my S2000, my brother-in-law asked if the wheels were 20's! You're right on about the tire being proprtional to the size of the car, Blade.

[bladerunner]

Originally Posted by HONDADDICT

Most reputable and knowledgeable tire stores would advise against exceeding the 16 inch stock tire size that Honda uses from the factory. With a 50 series tire, the sidewall height (ratio) would dictate what the maximum tire size that could be run for best handling characteristics and overall safety. The wider the tire contact patch the lower the sidewall should be. That is why Honda recommends a 245/40/17 rear and 225/45/17 front tire. Just increasing the width and leaving the sidewall dimension the same will throw off the handling. If you consult with a competent tire specialist, they will advise against a wider tire with same aspect ratio (sidewall heght). As a general rule, whenever you increase tire width, you must decrease the sidewall height accordingly. That is why Honda lowered the sidewall height front and rear when they went to a wider tire in the 17 inch wheel/tire package for 2004. The wisest action would be to consult a tire store or speak with a tech from the tire and wheel store if you happen to order online, such as Tire Rack or another widely advertised retailer. Well, good luck.

The stock front 17 inch tire size is 215/45/17 not 225/45/17. fyi