17-Inch Tire Recommendations

[Steam Driver]

For 911SC. All Season, wear rate not an issue.

[Arne2]

For all season tires, the one to beat for several years was the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. I've had them on 2 different cars (one Porsche, one Audi), the wet grip and traction was amazing.

Michelin has replaced it with the new Pilot Sport All Season 4. They claim it is an improvement, but I have no experience with it yet.

[SiberianDVM]

^ What he said. I have the A/S 3+ on my M3 and love them.

[Steam Driver]

What about size. The well-known on-line tire store recommended 205/50-17 front, 255/40-17 rear. Does this sound reasonable?

The /50 series in front bothers me a little, only because you don't see that a lot anymore. Has anyone ever done this and what is the stance like?

[Jonny042]

That's the right size - right around 25" diameter..... what are you running now? Curious about your wheels, too - not a lot of 17" options that seem "right" for our cars.

Mine on 205/50 and 255/40 17" Euromeisters

[Jonny042]

PS - Wheel size determines width in rear. If you have 8" wheels you'd go with 225 or 235 rear width.

[Richard C2S]

I have the A/S 3+ on my A4 with sport package and 18" Audi wheels. I agree with Arne2. I think the tires are great and will replace with the A/S 4 when the time comes.

I run 17" Fikse wheels (8s & 9s) on my 911SC but with the Pilot Super Sports - not all season tires.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Steam Driver

What about size. The well-known on-line tire store recommended 205/50-17 front, 255/40-17 rear. Does this sound reasonable?

The /50 series in front bothers me a little, only because you don't see that a lot anymore. Has anyone ever done this and what is the stance like?

Depends on the wheel widths and what you want from the car wrt tires

205/50//255/40 was an oe 17" fitment for 964 on 7 & 9
205/55//245/45 was an oe 16" fitment for 964 on 7 & 9

both induce more understeer than I like

w/ 7 or 8 front and 8 to 9.5 rear i'd like to see 215/45 and 245/40 x17

or for 8 & 9 or 9.5 225/45 //255/40 x17

the latter is a bit more of an energy hog and is for 3.6 or better in the engine department

all this assumes the wheels have appropriate ET

[Steam Driver]

Wheels are “old” Simmons. 7-inch front, 9-inch rear.

Car is running nothing at the moment. It is a project that I’m coming to a close on now. It has (had) 15-inch aftermarket Fuchs replicas of unknown lineage in 7 and 8-inch widths, and long out-of-date Yokohama 008’s; unsafe to even test drive on. I sourced the Simmons from a friend of mine who is now running Fuchs look-a likes in 17-inch.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Steam Driver

Wheels are “old” Simmons. 7-inch front, 9-inch rear.

Car is running nothing at the moment. It is a project that I’m coming to a close on now. It has (had) 15-inch aftermarket Fuchs replicas of unknown lineage in 7 and 8-inch widths, and long out-of-date Yokohama 008’s; unsafe to even test drive on. I sourced the Simmons from a friend of mine who is now running Fuchs look-a likes in 17-inch.

Simmons made some nice wheels, I go w/ 215/45 and 245/40

[Jonny042]

With 7's and 9's, you have a 50.8mm stagger front to rear. So 205/50 and 255/40 would be closer to correct with a 40mm stagger.

The factory recognized this and specc'd those tire sizes on the 964 turbo, for instance, with 7's and 9's.

A similar wheel to tire width relationship was establised in 1989 fo rthe 911 turbo coupe, albeit in 16" diameter.

[shadowjack1]

I just installed this past week, 205/50 17" front and 255/40 17" rear. I went with Extreme contacts.
Tire Rack has a close out on them. I have been running this same size/tire for the last ten years.
By this time next week I will put a 1000+ miles on them.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

With 7's and 9's, you have a 50.8mm stagger front to rear. So 205/50 and 255/40 would be closer to correct with a 40mm stagger.

The factory recognized this and specc'd those tire sizes on the 964 turbo, for instance, with 7's and 9's.

A similar wheel to tire width relationship was establised in 1989 fo rthe 911 turbo coupe, albeit in 16" diameter.

The stagger has more to do w/ weight distribution and power than anything else

There is no one 'correct' stagger, there is a range of handling characteristics that can be achieved through selective and informed use of stagger

factory is very conservative and cost conscious when choosing wheels and tires, they firmly err on the safety side and always want to enhance understeer, one exception is their race cars

[kimlangley7]

1980 911 SC > with new Fuch 17x7 front // 17 x 8 rear
running Hankook Ventus Evo 205 50ZR17 front // Rear : 255/40ZR17 rear
Front spacer = 17mm
Rear spacer = 30mm

I don't think it's widely known - but Fuch is manufacturing 17" wheels for the older 911 - they are in the $800+ /wheel price range..

I've had my 80 SC since 1987... and she finally has a sweet set of shoes... >> anyone want to buy some cookie cutters??

Life is good !!

kgl