I know where my $$$ are going.............
 

I just put new tires on my F150 (60K on the old set) and thought I was done buying tires for a while. Not so! I took a look at the DOT lable on the Michelin tires on our Jaguar XJS convertible and discovered that they are 6-7 years old. Lots of tread left and the car is kept in a heated/cooled garage so there are no signs of sidewall cracking, etc. Also took a look at the SC coupe and discovered that 3 of the 4 tires date to 2004 with the 4th being dated in 2006! Again, lots of tread and no sidewall deterioration. The tires on the Jag I can probably live with for a bit but the P-car is going to need a new set of shoes. The problem being, I can't find a matched set of tires (205/55-16 front and 245/45-16 rear)! Can find several different 245/45-16s but no matching fronts! The current tires on the car are Falkens but it looks like the 245s are no longer available. The closest I can come will be Toyo Proxes in two slightly different tread patterns. The only other solution I can think of would be to buy two new Fuch replica 17x8 wheels to go on the rear. I REALLY did not want to spend more $$$ on tires right now! What say ye?

My mattress is over 8 years old :). If I was performance driving...that's one thing....DD tires at low speeds....maypops :D. I'm gonna jinx myself here....I've had one tire go flat in over 4 decades while driving....bass boat trailer.

It depends....

I don't think anything needs to be done for the Jag, but the SC will need new tires before driving very far. On a hot day, they could tread separate easily, which could cause an accident, or even an irritating flat on the side of a busy/hot highway (not safe).

I really like the General GMaxx directional Summer performance tires on my Mustang GT. Quiet, inexpensive, and really good tread wear after 25,000 miles so far.

Not sure there are many performance tires available any more in a 16" rim size.

I did some performance driving on my mattress... but alas I've been married so long I can't really remember what that was like anymore. :(

Yo Fred....

On my '83SC I put these on that came from TR, as mentioned in your other thread.

205 and 225's.

Stock Fuchs 6 and 7's.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587936859.JPG

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1587936859.JPG

^^^^ 15s or 16s?

New shoes on the 911 - nice.

I'm also a big fan of stock 6' and 7's with 205 and 225s. I had Carrera Cup fakes in 17" with largish tires and it really slowed the lil' ole SC down. Now it feels distinctly lively with the stock setup.

this whole replace tires when they get a certain age thing reminds me of the 3000 mile oil change.
Which, BTW, was developed by the JIFFY-LUBE marketing department as a way to increase revenue and sell more oil changes.

Who came up with the 8 year old mattress....REPLACE it?

Sealy...or Silly :D

16's (it's on the labels) ;)


Thanks, Bill. On my previous SC I had upgraded to 7's and 8's and then got some 9's for the rear and left the 7's on the front. But I never ever considered going from 16 to 17. I really like sticking with the original 16's, as you said.

It's fun to play around with this stuff but eventually the excitement wears off and then you just want to go back to factory, which is me right now.

This '83 of mine is at my mechanic's right now - engine out being restored. Body has some cancer, but am trying to restore it. Work in progresss that I will share when the time is right.

The wheels on my SC are 16x7 front and 16x8 rear. I really like the way the 245/45s work on the rear. If I have to, I can always buy a pair of 17" wheels to go on the rear of the car to have access to a bigger selection of tires. The engine in my SC is a 3.3SS with twin plug ignition, cams, etc so horsepower is not an issue!

Figured you had 8's on the back.

You might try a phone call to TR and tell them what you're trying to do. You never know. They may know something that isn't listed on their website.

The rubber in tires will continue to cross-link via disulphide bonding whether it is exposed to oxygen, sunlight or what have you.*

“Deleterious changes occur in tire properties after storage at ambient temperatures for five years or after use on cars for similar periods.” T. Kataoka, P. B. Zettterlund and B. Yamada, Rubber Chem. Technol. 76, 507 (2003).
- cited in The Pneumatic Tire, DOT HS 810 561, Feb. 2006, Chapter 2

EVO magazine found that the winner of one of its tire tests performed worse than the last-place tire when a one-year-old example of the winning tire was mounted up and tested against the rest.*

Tires Expire in Six Years - Tire Safety Group

I'd go 205/16 and 225/16 with a set of Hankook R-S4. Excellent summer tire with high dry grip and decent in the wet. Clearly you don't put a lot of miles on the car so a 200 tw tire makes a lot of sense. If you want a more comfy tire that is better in the wet, and are willing to give up some dry grip, Bridgestone S-O4. Plenty of quality rubber available in 205/16 and 225/16. Chasing that 245/16 is the hunt for a rainbow unicorn unless you shop R-comp tires. If you MUST have that size you probably need to move to 17" wheels.

https://tiresize.com/tires/Hankook/Ventus-R-S4.htm
https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tire/potenza-s-04-pole-position/

Weird. I purchased a set of Toyo Proxes R888R for my 930 in November. 16x7x9 Fuchs. 205/55/16 & 245/45/16. Tire Rack still shows them in stock. Also shows maybe 5 other tires in that sizing. I like the stick of the Proxes, but they're loud.

Remember, the only thing connecting your car to the road are your tires ... not the place to save money. Not just blow out or tread separation, good tires will give you the best chances in an emergency maneuver as well.

Yes, I had to buy new tires for the 993 ... that made me just go with R888 for everyday driving + the occasional track event. No more designated sets of wheels. They won't get old on me in 6 years! :D

G

My matress is 38 years old..recently i deep sixed a matress that i was sleeping before 1960. The box spings dates to the early 50s.

I used my CA King waterbed & mattress (purchased in college for a coupla Ben's) for over three decades...I got my money's worth :D.

Disassembled (to put down flooring)...sold for a Franklin on CL...

Not for street........
 

The Proxes R888R and R888 are racetrack and autocross only tires. They are not DOT approved for street use. That said, once long ago I had a Fiat 124 coupe with Abarth suspension and 13x8 wheels with Goodyear racing tires that I drove on the street for several months! Talk about handling! The Goodyears finally wore out and I went back to street tires.

Tires, almost as much as computers have evolved a LOT over the last 25 years. Computers are orders of magnitude faster and cheaper. Tires have improved in traction and in all aspects of performance, but the prices have gone way up. Part of that is the bigger and bigger tires new vehicles come with. I can remember buying a set of 4 tires mounted, balanced, out the door price for my El Camino just over $240 bucks. Now a new set of 4 is over a grand!

Yea they are better at everything except price.

These had lots of tread (8000 miles) but were old. This is NOT the vibration you want to feel on the highway. I had the good fortune to be a mile from home and it did not fully separate until I parked.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1588350559.jpg

This had me wonder and check: The R888 are DOT approved but have severe street limitations. That said, none of these apply for Sunday driving in CA.

From: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvKru0q-T6QIVIx-tBh3vWAYDEAQYASABEgL5dPD_BwE&tireMake=Toyo&tireMod el=Proxes+R888&partnum=25WR6R888

G

I just had to replace the tires on my Suburban, same thing, looked fine, lots of tread left, but one started separating with a mean vibration. I bought the tire in Jan of 2015, and figured if one went bad it wouldn't be long till another and another so I told the just replace all.
1st is what was replaced,
http://uploads.bmxmuseum.com/user-im...5eac7efb7d.jpg
http://uploads.bmxmuseum.com/user-im...5eac7efcaa.jpg
http://uploads.bmxmuseum.com/user-im...5eac7efcb5.jpg
http://uploads.bmxmuseum.com/user-im...5eac7efcd4.jpg
http://uploads.bmxmuseum.com/user-im...5eac7efcaf.jpg

For me, tires over 5 years old are trashed. Even if they don’t fall apart they typically ride and handle like crap.

I'm not sure why this is so difficult. There are literally 5 other tire models available at Tire Rack in the sizing in which you're interested: Pirelli P Zero Rosso, Yokohama A008-P, Yokohama Advan AO52, Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R, & Pirelli Cinturato P7. Some are as racy as the Proxes R888R you don't like (though they're not listed as such), but not all of them are. Admittedly if you're looking for rain/snow/4 season tires, you may be somewhat out of luck.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?tireIndex=0&autoMake=Porsche &autoYear=1987&autoModel=911+Turbo+Coupe&autoModCl ar=&frontWidth=205%2F&frontRatio=55&frontDiameter= 16&frontSortCode=44950&rearWidth=245%2F&rearRatio= 45&rearDiameter=16&rearSortCode=46400

I drove in the rain about 3 or 4 weeks ago. Decent real rain conditions (not just a drizzle), at highway speeds, and kept it about 60 mph. No hydroplaning episodes.

Gave up my quest.............
 

I decided to give up on the 245 rears and ordered a set of the General G-Max RS ultra high performance summer tires. I live way down in the deep south so having to deal with ice or snow is not an issue. The old Falken set that is on the car are high performance summer tires and I had no trouble driving them year around. So, as soon as the Tire Rack get them here, the fronts will get a new set of 205/55-16s and the rear a set of 225/50-16s. The wear rating is 360AA which should do nicely. So be it!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1588565649.jpg
From my "mental note to self" file:
You can't patch a 10-ply truck tire. I've not tried a "plug patch". I found instead if you hit a nail, that tire is pretty much done. This is what happens when you try to patch it:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1588565667.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1588565700.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1588565715.jpg

Todays tires.............
 

I have found that if you go more than about 5' on a flat tire these days it will damage/destroy the sidewall! I think about the only tires you could patch these days would be on a bicycle or a yard cart!