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Dear Dave - Your Letters

Geek-At-Large

On the plus side, a layer of squish between the road and the tire carcass can help reduce some of the steering kickback and random tugs and torque steer you caused by screwing up your offset.

Though changing the offset doesn't move the Dave Point (that's simply the point where the steering axis intersects the ground, and it's fixed by the suspension geometry), it does change the scrub radius, which is the distance from the Dave Point to the center of the contact patch. All else being equal, you just moved the contact patch outward by 7mm, increasing the scrub radius by the same amount.

Remember, the contact patch pivots about the Dave Point when the wheel turns. Because this larger scrub radius gives the tire a longer lever arm with which to yank the steering around, you should be able to feel more torque-steer, more sensitivity to ruts, more tendency to wander under braking, and more kickback on bumps. Your steering response can also be affected, but the exact effect is sometimes difficult to predict, especially with the odd steering geometry of the RSX.

If you still have the old wheels and tires, spend a few bucks to put the old Yokohamas on the new Enkeis, and the new Generals on the old Honda wheels. Driving with those two set-ups should show you exactly how much of your problem is wheel offset and how much is tire choice. After that, your next move should be clear.

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