ITS ads installed; Switched back to oem 19s from 18s

[Hkc]

So I wanted a better ride and did what most do and went down to 265/35/18 ps4s with te37sl 18x9.5 +45

immediately noticed the handling wasn’t as precise and the car felt a bit more bouncy. Tire noise was reduced and comfort was marginally increased. I put on the its ads unit, and the steering feel improved a bit (maybe placebo) but something just didn’t feel right with the car.

I put the oem 19s back on the car and can say that the ads with oem wheels is a nice sweet spot! Car is nice and compliant in comfort and feels great in +r mode. And the steering is back to being razor sharp!

Anyone else made the switch back to 19s after trying 18s? I’m surprised more people don’t comment on the pretty dramatic change in steering feel from downsizing. I’ve seen some comments but I wouldn’t think most would enjoy that loss of feel?

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[urbo73]

I've posted about this before. I'm running 265/35R19 tires on the OEM 19" wheels. Same additional sidewall as folks running 265/35R18 tires on aftermarket 18" wheels. I got them not for the marginal increase in comfort (there's barely any), but because I need more sidewall to protect my rims from potholes and crappy roads. Any change in steering and handling is also very minimal. Adjust pressures accordingly and you can't tell a difference, unless you are pushing it VERY hard. Otherwise is placebo. More likely you were feeling the effects of the +45 offset compared to +60 on the OEMs. Those 15mm will make the steering feel different for sure with the change in suspension geometry.

I also installed the ITS ADS module and posted my thoughts on it. Works great.

 

[Hkc]

I've posted about this before. I'm running 265/35R19 tires on the OEM 19" wheels. Same additional sidewall as folks running 265/35R18 tires on aftermarket 18" wheels. I got them not for the marginal increase in comfort (there's barely any), but because I need more sidewall to protect my rims from potholes and crappy roads. Any change in steering and handling is also very minimal. Adjust pressures accordingly and you can't tell a difference, unless you are pushing it VERY hard. Otherwise is placebo. More likely you were feeling the effects of the +45 offset compared to +60 on the OEMs. Those 15mm will make the steering feel different for sure with the change in suspension geometry.

I also installed the ITS ADS module and posted my thoughts on it. Works great.

for sure it’s the change in offset. Just didn’t expect such a difference in steering feel.

 

[Tickle]

I like the ITS ADS. I don't love it. I don't think there is not a correct or incorrect answer here.

In a perfect world...

Comfort ITS
Comfort R
Sport/Sport+
+R

Or some combo of it all.

 

[ABPDE5]

Coming from a DE5, I'd really want:
ITS Comfort
ITS Sport+
CTR +R

I don't use Sport ever; so it feels like a waste. I use Comfort when there are other people in the car, and I use Sport+ when it's just me. I wish I had the option of +R for rare situations where the road calls for it.

 

[Azkyrie]

So I wanted a better ride and did what most do and went down to 265/35/18 ps4s with te37sl 18x9.5 +45

immediately noticed the handling wasn’t as precise and the car felt a bit more bouncy. Tire noise was reduced and comfort was marginally increased. I put on the its ads unit, and the steering feel improved a bit (maybe placebo) but something just didn’t feel right with the car.

I put the oem 19s back on the car and can say that the ads with oem wheels is a nice sweet spot! Car is nice and compliant in comfort and feels great in +r mode. And the steering is back to being razor sharp!

Anyone else made the switch back to 19s after trying 18s? I’m surprised more people don’t comment on the pretty dramatic change in steering feel from downsizing. I’ve seen some comments but I wouldn’t think most would enjoy that loss of feel?

DE5 driver here. Looked extensively into this, Honda/Acura spent a great deal R&D on the handling, steering and greatly minimizing the torque steering of the CTR/ITS. Much has to do with the oem 19”x9.5”+60mm offset and 265/30/ZR19 setup. It’s uniquely designed this way which is why it’s nearly impossible to find any other 18-19” wheels with +60mm offset.

what you’re gaining in smaller wheels, thicker sidewalls, comfort, weight reduction and flush to the fender you’ll be losing out on the scrub radius and torque steer. Some drivers may not notice or have just learned to deal with it, but it’s a trade off people should be aware of. Handling is the top feature of the FL5 and DE5, try not to stray too far from +60mm

 

[Kamber]

DE5 driver here. Looked extensively into this, Honda/Acura spent a great deal R&D on the handling, steering and greatly minimizing the torque steering of the CTR/ITS. Much has to do with the oem 19”x9.5”+60mm offset and 265/30/ZR19 setup. It’s uniquely designed this way which is why it’s nearly impossible to find any other 18-19” wheels with +60mm offset.

Interesting! Do you have any sources? Would love to give them a read, as I was planning on going with 18's.

 

[Azkyrie]

Interesting! Do you have any sources? Would love to give them a read, as I was planning on going with 18's.

there’s been lots of talk on this but how Honda eliminated torque steer is both in the knuckle design suspension and the wheel+tires

You may want to learn about centerline and scrub radius:



The diagram details where the scrub radius should be which is in the center of the contact patch to minimize torque steer. Using a lower offset wheel over the 19”x9.5” +60mm the center of the contact patch moves outwards. The most I would ever deviate is +45mm but it will still be noticeably there on corners bumps and even a little on straight line.

as stated above, some people may not notice or have learned to just “deal with it”. Also important if you plan to mod your car to increase torque power

 

[pinhead66]

I have a 10th gen Si and my first set of aftermarket wheels were 18x8 +35 where as the oem wheels are 18x8 +50. Definitely noticed a difference in steering feel for the worse like OP said it wasn’t as sharp. I really liked the looks so I lived with it for quite awhile until I researched the effects of scrub radius. Sold the wheels and went to an 18x8.5 +42 with no change in tires and am much happier now. The Honda engineers went with 9.5 +60 for a very good reason even though it’s a very uncommon offset for the aftermarket.

 

[RickyJeezus]

So I wanted a better ride and did what most do and went down to 265/35/18 ps4s with te37sl 18x9.5 +45

immediately noticed the handling wasn’t as precise and the car felt a bit more bouncy. Tire noise was reduced and comfort was marginally increased. I put on the its ads unit, and the steering feel improved a bit (maybe placebo) but something just didn’t feel right with the car.

I put the oem 19s back on the car and can say that the ads with oem wheels is a nice sweet spot! Car is nice and compliant in comfort and feels great in +r mode. And the steering is back to being razor sharp!

Anyone else made the switch back to 19s after trying 18s? I’m surprised more people don’t comment on the pretty dramatic change in steering feel from downsizing. I’ve seen some comments but I wouldn’t think most would enjoy that loss of feel?

I've switched back and forth on my FK8 from the stock 20s to my set of 18s with a +42 offset.

I can tell you confidently that it is a combination of sidewall, and offset, that affects the steering precision and handling.

It was one of the biggest things that I felt when I went back to my stock set up, turn in was ultra sharp and the handling just felt MUCH better with the stock set up compared to the 18s.

Granted when I first threw on my 18s I made the mistake of getting Falken FK510 tires, which have a flexible sidewall that made it comfortable and quiet, but not a performance tire, especially for this type of car. When I put my 18s back on I switched to a set of RT615K+ which has a much stiffer sidewall, and a stickier compound, so that was an improvement, but still not as good as the stock set up.

Most people on the forums advise to keep your offset at +45 or higher if you want to maintain the sharp characteristics of the Type R, but I have not run a wheel with that offset on my car (even though I have a set of 19" +45 Advan GTs collecting dust). I just really like the way my current set up looks on my car, and am willing to sacrifice some performance for looks in this case.

 

[Hudds1089]

Now reading this, I wish I would have gone with a winter setup closer to oem configuration. I have noticed, especially at higher speeds, that the steering and handling has changed so much. It's unpredictable and very floaty. I thought it was maybe because of the 18x8 and the tire compound, and in sure it is, but the 45mm offset too. I went with 18x8 and 245x40x18 vredestein.

 

[Car00071]

I've posted about this before. I'm running 265/35R19 tires on the OEM 19" wheels. Same additional sidewall as folks running 265/35R18 tires on aftermarket 18" wheels. I got them not for the marginal increase in comfort (there's barely any), but because I need more sidewall to protect my rims from potholes and crappy roads. Any change in steering and handling is also very minimal. Adjust pressures accordingly and you can't tell a difference, unless you are pushing it VERY hard. Otherwise is placebo. More likely you were feeling the effects of the +45 offset compared to +60 on the OEMs. Those 15mm will make the steering feel different for sure with the change in suspension geometry.

I also installed the ITS ADS module and posted my thoughts on it. Works great.

What tire pressure did you go to?

 

[urbo73]

What tire pressure did you go to?

33F/31R

 

[GJPEN]

I am looking at what to do with a winter setup. Is there any 19s for the oem rim in a winter? Does anyone thing there will be in the coming year? Is the best solution to find a 18 rim with close to 60 mm width?

 

[Ultimateone]

Now reading this, I wish I would have gone with a winter setup closer to oem configuration. I have noticed, especially at higher speeds, that the steering and handling has changed so much. It's unpredictable and very floaty. I thought it was maybe because of the 18x8 and the tire compound, and in sure it is, but the 45mm offset too. I went with 18x8 and 245x40x18 vredestein.

It's because of the winter tires

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