Wheel and tire option for a 79' SC

[Tommy Z]

Good Morning All! I'm in final negotiations for my first and long sought after 911. It's a 79' SC with 121K on the clock. I'm told it likely needs new tires and I'm sure the PPI will reveal the same. The seller thinks it has 15 x 6 and 15 x7's on it now. My thought is if I need to buy tires anyway, it would make sense to pick up a couple of Euromiester 15 x 8's for the rear and move the 7's to the front. I've been doing some thread searching here and seen people comment about rolling fenders and maybe needing spacers etc. ( I'm not even sure what the spacers are)

Is this a recommended upgrade? Should I expect to need to do any other modifications to accommodate the 7's in the front and the 8's in the rear? What would be the best recommended tire size for some aggressive street driving and highway?

Thanks in advance as I'll likely be pestering you guys in the coming months as I dig in and learn how to maintain it if everything pans out.

Cheers!

[Tommy Z]

Forgot to mention the PO had it lowered a bit to at least euro ride height. It has a nice stance now.

[Flojo]

tire options for 15s are quite limited nowadays.
options for 16 is great

tire options have been bespoken here many times, even recently.

moving 7s up front ist quite common. adding 8s at rear as well. some even use 9s (as I do)

Euro ride height should be OK, thou check your camber at front.
depending how bulky your tire choice will be, you might need to roll the lip a bit

[Tommy Z]

Thanks Flojo,

An alignment is probably going to be on the list of early tasks so I'll be sure we get that sorted. Do you or any other peeps have a 15" tire size suggestion if I move the 7's up front and get new 8's for the rear with the lowered ride height?

[Jonny042]

As long as you are ok rolling on an all season tire, there are some options available. Stock sizes are 196/65-15 front and 215/60-15 rear for a 911SC. A few alternatives exist, including 205/60-15 or 185/70-15 for the front and 225/60-15 for the rear.

Tire rack has a good search function where you can plug in different sizes for front and rear, it'll give you an idea whats available.

If you don't mind spending the money to get a Porsche Approved (N rated) tire, Pirelli has a few options available, the P6000 and the CN36:

Pirelli P6000 vs CN36

[darrin]

Tommy z -- strongly suggest that you consider buying 16x7 front and 16x8 rear wheels for your new SC -- there are FAR more tire options in the 205/55-16 front 225/50-16 rear tire sizes that fit on these wheels than the sizes that work with 15" wheels on your car.

[Mixed76]

If it's your first, consider driving it a while before changing it up. Stock setup is pretty good.

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[Glenfield]

Congratulations TommyZ. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 are a great tire. You can do some great things with 15s though if original Fuchs ... It’s a great look with the larger rubber side walls. Check out images of Michelin TB15s on 911s.

Check out the brake pads and rotor discs if no receipts for service. One reason it may be riding low also is that dampers are shot and need replacing. Just went through that.

If you get the car, post about it. 79SC is a great platform for various reasons.

[wareaglescott]

My 79SC had 16 x 7 and 8 on them with no need to roll the fenders. I went with an aftermarket 17". Still no issues

[Jonny042]

PS stock fitment on SC was 15 x 7 front, 15 x 8 rear. Sizes are stamped on rear of wheels so you can sort that out once it's yours.

[Tommy Z]

Thanks All!

Mixed 76' - That is good advice for sure but I know tires will need to be purchased almost straight away and I figured if I were going to do it now would be the time. Either way I will likely wait to see what is on the car when if/it arrives

[LIRS6]

"The seller thinks it has 15 x 6 and 15 x7's on it now"

Are you sure they are 15's? Ask for pics of the current tires. My '79SC was delivered with 6 + 7 x16's, although they may have been an option. Just saying - be sure before you buy tires.

Fyi I now have 7's in front, 9's in rear.

Jason

[darrin]

Tommy z -- generally agree with Mixed 76' advice, but while you're waiting for your car to arrive, do some research/diligence on the available options and $$ -- if I recall correctly, your 15" choices are pretty much limited to ultra-high-performance tires in the shorter-than-stock 205/50-15 and 225/50-15 sizes (e.g. yokohama ao52 and comparable) which can become squirley in the rain, all season "minivan" tires like the Pirelli 6000s, etc., and the Pirelli CN36.



While folks seem to like the CN36 a LOT, check out their prices -- (https://www.lucasclassictires.com/Pirelli-Cinturato_c255.htm) 185/70VR15 fronts are $295.00 each and 215/60VR15 rears are $424.00 each! ($1,438 total for all 4)

Contrast that with the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires (I LOVE the pilot sport AS3+ I'm run138*2
ning on 16x7/16x8 wheels at $137.99 each for front and $156.99 each for rear ($590 total for all 4)

The nearly $850 delta between these two options would go a long way toward funding a set of 16" replicas (even if you chose to keep your 15" wheels for originality down the road)

[Tommy Z]

Darrin, You are absolutely correct. I only found ultra high performance options and they all suck in the rain. I hadn't considered the math and your delta makes sense. Either way I am waiting to see what it does have but I'm getting excited about everything it's exciting to ponder the options. Thanks again!

[darrin]

Tommy z -- sounds like a plan -- if the tires have any real tread left and are under, say, 8 years old, drive it & get to know it before you start changing it up -- enjoy!