I need tires, bad..........I've read great things about the S0-3's, but the closest size they have when compared to stock is 195/50/R15. I've heard this may throw my speedo off by a bit. Will I encounter any other problems w/ these tires? any suggestions are appreciated.

 

use the search...there are also a lot of posts on the ITRCA.com site -- i also went through the same dilemma a while back. personally i went with 205/50-15 s03 pole positions on the stock wheel.

 

s-03

 

Anything but the stock size (195/55/15) will throw your speedo off more !
S03's are great tires, if you get the 205/50/15 you may need to uswe a little more tire pressure otherwise the sidewall/turn-in is a little sloppy/less responsive.

 

i run 195/50/15 ES100's and have run through a radar screen thing about 3 times to see how much it throws it off. it was only 3mph off. the guage reads higher than the actuall speed. just go about 5 over the limit and you are good.

 

195/55-15 re-010 for 15x6
while
205/50-15 s-03 for 15x7 or wider

 

S-03

 

So in the end, which is better for my stock rims for normal driving w/ a few drag runs once or twice a year, the stock RE010's or S0-3's in 195/50/R15? They don't make S0-3's in stock sizing (which is retarted) and I don't want to step up to the 205/50/R15

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RGoose18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So in the end, which is better for my stock rims for normal driving w/ a few drag runs once or twice a year, the stock RE010's or S0-3's in 195/50/R15? They don't make S0-3's in stock sizing (which is retarted) and I don't want to step up to the 205/50/R15</TD></TR></TABLE>

its better to invest into wider wheels, and get s-03's.. i've got 15k miles on re-010 on stock wheels, then again, 15k miles on another set of re-010 on stock wheels.. then i got about 40k miles on s-03's and they had few more thousand miles in them. now i run kumho mx - cheaper than s-03's and work very similar

don't get s-03's on stock wheels - you won't have same cornering as you would with wider wheels.. first 30k miles of s-03's i ran on 15x6.5 wheels, i upgraded to 15x7 and it was a huge improvement.

re-010 is too expensive and only good for first few thousand miles.

 

the S-03's are great, even in the 195/50/15 on 6-6.5" wheels

 

Either sized S-03's will be fine

 

I would go with 195/55/15 if you are using factory rims. The best tires in that size are the Potenza RE010s, but their only downside is the short treadlife of 15k miles. They make Potenza S03 PP's in 195/55/15 for Europe:

http://www.bridgestone-eu.com/articles.asp?ID=136

http://www.bridgestone-eu.com/...8.pdf

I know there are a couple of Europeans on this board. Maybe somebody from Europe can hook you up with these.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EricUSC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would go with 195/55/15 if you are using factory rims. The best tires in that size are the Potenza RE010s, but their only downside is the short treadlife of 15k miles. They make Potenza S03 PP's in 195/55/15 for Europe:

http://www.bridgestone-eu.com/articles.asp?ID=136

http://www.bridgestone-eu.com/...8.pdf

I know there are a couple of Europeans on this board. Maybe somebody from Europe can hook you up with these.</TD></TR></TABLE>

They don't make the S-03 in stock size. They use S-02 to replace that. Look at the bottom of the list. * means: *S-02 PP
The S-02PP 195/55R15 is about the same price as the RE-010 195/55R15 in Europe.
I'm now using 195/50R15 S-03PP, I'm very pleased with it. I'm going to try the S-02 next time.......

 

Just FYI - Neither tire can be used in the winter. They will cause you to wreck your car.
Personally I have 2 sets of rims, one for winter which will go on next month, and one set for summer tires.

I'm also in the same boat. I need a new set of summer tires. I cant decide if I should buy wider rims, and get 205's(either GForce, or S03's), or if I should save money, keep the stock rims, which I love their look, and run stock RE010's which have incredible grip. I dont want to sacrifice handling by going to a wider tire on stock rims. I would rather pay the $100 or so more for a set of RE010's.

 

like someone said they dont make s03 in the stock size but if u can get a hold on s02 that would be great

 

195/50 S03's on stock rims are pretty damn good for the money. Dry grip approaches the Re010's (but isn't quite there), but wet grip is waaay better. These things almost NEVER hydroplane, so if you're like me, and you daily drive your R, S03's are a great choice. They are pretty damn good for drag racing too - I ran a 14.8 @ 94 mph with my mostly stock R about a month ago. They last a bit longer than the Re010's and they are about 20 to 30$ cheaper per tire. Not a bad deal if you ask me. I will probably be purchasing another set shortly. I like the Re010's, but for a daily driven car, they are a bit too extreme.

 

what about Falken Azenis in 205/50 15 for the stock wheels? i've been hearing good things about them, and they're a good deal. crazy grip!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by typeruz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what about Falken Azenis in 205/50 15 for the stock wheels? i've been hearing good things about them, and they're a good deal. crazy grip!</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's what I ran.. loved them.. you have to be extremely careful in heavy rain with them though..

 

SO-3's in 195/50 have been my favorite tire so far, even over the stock RE010's. Incredible grip in the dry or wet and going with 195/50 over 205/50 you get a very responsive turn in.

They have done me well in drag, 2.0-2.1 60' times, and auto-x, in which I have won in STX using them.

Just for a little wet weather knowledge. At the last auto-x I attended there were 5 WRX's in my class (STX). It also happened to be pouring rain for hours. I'm not talking drizzle either. It was a pretty rough storm with runoff everywhere. I managed to take 4 of the WRX's in the rain coming in 2nd only to the winner (who was just a plain more experienced driver than me).

WRX owners at the beginning of that rainy auto-x-
After-
SO3's-

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DutchITR1689 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

They don't make the S-03 in stock size. They use S-02 to replace that. Look at the bottom of the list. * means: *S-02 PP
The S-02PP 195/55R15 is about the same price as the RE-010 195/55R15 in Europe.
I'm now using 195/50R15 S-03PP, I'm very pleased with it. I'm going to try the S-02 next time.......</TD></TR></TABLE>

How does the S02 compare with the S03 and the RE010? How do they compare in performance and tread life?