I retired my S-03s and just put on a set of S-02As. No other changes were made .The car is transformed. My car is fairly low and has an aggressive alignment. With worn out s-03s, the car tramlined terribly and was a handfull to drive. Now, the car tracks straight as an arrow, rides better, and has more straight line traction. Of course, the new tires are much quiter as well. Since they are brand new, I cannot comment on the ultimate cornering grip or track behavior. The only downside, if you can call it that, is that they feel a little unstable in the turns due to the tread block squirm. Going from what were essentially slicks to full tread depth tires, a little tread squirm is no surprise. I am confident that I will get used to the feel of the tire soon and will explore the cornering grip more fully. It is amazing what new tires do for a car.

 

Don, thanks for the review. Please be careful wit new tires. They need a few hundred miles to burn-off mold releases etc. And yes, I have found new tires to feel 'squirmy' for some time. Usually a DE or two helps them settle down

 

Chris, you are, as always, exactly right. I know several people who have tested the limits of brand new tires only to end up with twisted sheetmetal. That is why I noted that I won't be able to comment on ultimate grip at this time. I always break them in for a while and then begin to explore the limits in a relatively safe setting.

 

Thanks for the review Don. Did you get an alignment as well?

 

No, Arrwin. I had it aligned last spring/summer, but it did little to change the tramlining. My specs, from memory are:Fr--25.0 ride height at fender;1.8 neg camber;.06 toe
Rr-- 24.75 ride height;2.2 neg camber;.06 toe. I have pss-9s set full stiff all around, with M030 sways. The car understeers a bit on slow turns, but is almost neutral on high-speed turns.
Next month I'll test these tires on the track.

 

Cool, thanks for the report Don. You are one step ahead of me...I'm on old S03s and they tramline horribly. Looking to get SO2a's end of Feb or March. Thanks for the info!!

 

im using S02 on my Turbo. I dont know how they compare to the S02A, but they have good grip. The problem is that they tend to "follow" the imperfections/tilt of the road which can be unsettling if the road is not perfect.

Are the S02A different?

 

Rob, I am no tire expert, but the consensus among those that supposedly know is that the S-02As are preferable to the s-03s on a 993. Most prefer the S-02As to the S-02s as well. I have never tried the s-02s, so I have no personal knowledge. Regarding the road imperfection issue, my experience has been that all of my tires do this to some degree as they move towards slicks.

 

Agree! I love my S02-A's, avoided the So3's thanks to RL. It's quiet, grippy (it's been worn in and tracked a few times), and the tread seems to last a lot longer than my Contisports.

 

Jim, what air pressure are you using on the S-02As?

 

36 cold

 

Jim, thanks.

 

I believe that worn tires will tramline a lot more than new ones, especially if the rears are in better shape relative to than the fronts, due to the weight bias.

Anything has to be quieter than the S02s.

 

Wow, what a timely thread. As we speak the wheels are off of my car and my wheels and new S-02A's are on their way to be mounted.

Since my rear tires were beginning to show the cords I cannot wait to experience the "transformation".

mike

 

My brother (Honda NSX) was a buyer for a large distributor. He swears the S02A is the best Hipo tire on the market. He got all his rubber for free too... except the ones you dont put on a car.

I have Pirelli POS...