Right tire size for 16x7

[bonzer5]

Ok I’ve searched a bunch and definitely settled on 225/50 for the 16x8.

What is a correct DE track/street motorsports size tire for the 16x7?…….205/50 or 225/50?

This question is sort of relative to what tires are out there and the purpose. It’s a street car with some performance minded, stiffer suspension, ride height set and corner balanced etc.

Feel free to elaborate on tire model… I’ll probably go with Toyo R888 or Advan A052.

Here’s a photo of the car…all go no show. More fun with a photo. ‘75 911S w/ 3.2 and SC flares.

Thanks!

[Locker537]

Fuchsfelge states:

Front:

7J x 16, ET23.3 | 5.60 kg | € 549,-*
tyre size: 205/55ZR16

Rear:

8J x 16, ET10.6 | 5.85 kg | € 549,-*
tyre size: 225/50ZR16

9J x 16, ET15 | 6.00 kg | € 549,-*
tyre size: 245/45ZR16

https://www.fuchsfelgeusa.com/pdffiles/G-Modell/G-Modell.pdf

I run what the sizes recommended, currently a set of Direzza ZIII and RE-71R (discontinued).

With that said, I know people who run 225/50 on 7" and 245/45 on 8". Other's will chime in with more personal experience, I'm sure.

[Jonny042]

205/55-16 on 7" wheel is about perfect and a would be a good match for the 225/50-16 on the 8" rear.

You might burn through a set of A052's pretty fast on track, they are primarily designed to be an AutoX tire, I think.

R888's would be a good choice. Conti Extremecontact Sport are also a tire that works better than the 340TW rating would suggest.

[darrin]

presume you're looking for info on front tires -- if so, I'd recommend going with shorter 205/50-16 fronts on Fuchs 16x7 rims (an available size on the Ao52s) -- Putting 16x7 Fuchs up front can cause tire rub with the front fenders (moreso with 225/50-16 front tires, but still an issue for some with 205/55-16. Running shorter tires on the rims will minimize the potential for rub. You may also want/need to roll your front inner fender lips.

[icarp]

I am a fan of the Continental Contact Extreme Contact Sport 205/55/16 up front and the 225/50/16
in the rear . I have them on my 997 TT and 911 sc, great fun, good stick , fantastic feed back to the driver and lasts well, even with track days .
Ian

[bonzer5]

Thank you guys! I really appreciate the help! I'll explore the conti and ditch the Advans.

The car sits now from the previous owner:

Front 16x7 225/50
Rear 16x8 225/50

So yes, really trying to figure out what to do in front. The current 225/50 on the 7" don't rub fenders or rather they've been slightly rolled by the tire already. So no issues running 205/55 or 225/50 for this car.

The R888 doesn't have a 205/55 or 205/50, the R888R doesn't have the 225/50. I guess I'll have to figure that out....

Is the 205/55 for the 16x7 fronts mentioned the right motor sports oriented tire I should be shooting for?

Anyone mix the R888 with R888R as a solution?

[icarp]

Bonzer, When you do your track days are you competing against anyone ? or just yourself.
My guess is you are just working on bettering your own skills . The best way I have found for that is to stay away from the sticky tires . Tires with a reasonable release manner, help to sharpen the
skills of the drift . I like to call it a conversation with the car , that is easy to manage compared to an argument or being yelled at . The R compound tires have a very small window of forgiveness .
Working in a broad window helps to learn what it feels like to work the car for the outcome you desire . I suggest to play with the tire that promotes learning not the best lap time .
I think the Continental Extreme Contact Sport does this very well.
Ian

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by bonzer5

Thank you guys! I really appreciate the help! I'll explore the conti and ditch the Advans.

The car sits now from the previous owner:

Front 16x7 225/50
Rear 16x8 225/50

So yes, really trying to figure out what to do in front. The current 225/50 on the 7" don't rub fenders or rather they've been slightly rolled by the tire already. So no issues running 205/55 or 225/50 for this car.

The R888 doesn't have a 205/55 or 205/50, the R888R doesn't have the 225/50. I guess I'll have to figure that out....

Is the 205/55 for the 16x7 fronts mentioned the right motor sports oriented tire I should be shooting for?

Anyone mix the R888 with R888R as a solution?

I'd run 205/50 & 225/45 A052 or R888R either is a bit shorter than the 205/55 & 225/50 that was the stock 16" sixe

The shorter tires(almost as short as 15s in the 205/225 sizes) will give you a little more grip and also free up a some extra torque for acceleration and allow the car to be set up at a lower ride height

[bonzer5]

Thank you so mucch fellas!

Ian, yes, exactly! Only 3 track days under my belt (in other Pcars) and finally getting closer to my dreams of tracking a raw air cooled 911. I forgot about this approach and was associating grip with safety. Learning to drive is the goal and with that will come safety.

Bill, thank you for posting! I've read dozens of your posts and tried my best for a good answer before posting.

Sincerely many thanks...now to get rolling!

[ab1752]

I just swapped out bridgestone re760s for stock 16" sized Michelin Pilot Sport 4 (not the AS version) on Friday. Night and day difference the Michelins are awesome, almost buttery supple if that's even a thing. I have the P4S on an M550i and while they feel amazing, not like the 911 primarily due to the size difference betweenthe cars. The RE760s had lots of tread left but were from 2016 so maybe that hardened them up? Anyway big thumbs up for the Michelins.

[7783911]

second on the Pilots!

[bonzer5]

Hi All,

With the awesome and kind help above I thought I'd pass along my experience.

So first I went with Bridgestone RE71RS tires which were availabile in 205/55 and 225/50 only. My thinking was I am still learning and less sticky was a plus to get a feel of track driving dynamics and have the opoportunity to move up. *Thanks iCarp for that advice!* Aesthetically this tire and size/height looked great, better than the shorter (smaller OD) on the R888R I mention below. With the Bridgestones I did 6 full track days including some dry skid pad work during one of them. Also lots of street driving, maybe 3000 miles. I felt they were plenty sticky, sticky enough through a 20 min run, and also gave me confidence during 1 session in a heavy rain. Definitely more than sticky enough for the street. I was super pleased with the life.

Next I moved onto the R888R with 205/50 and 225/45 sizes. The shorter tire didn't look as good to me, however that is not at all the goal. After 4 track days I found the R888R to be stickier (no surprise) and they came up to temp faster. That helped stay consistent on the track without waiting for them to come up to temp. My first weekend (2 days) wore about 1/32 off the tread so that works well in my budget. The gearing with the shorter tire worked great as far as I could tell. It seemed to with 1 shift point happen sooner as an improvement with one track layout. I was a few seconds faster with the Toyo's but experience might be a part of that improvement. Best lap with the Toyos were ussually lap 2 or 3. They seemed to not grip as much later in the session, maybe that is a typicaly outcome, or maybe my fitigue.

In conclusion I found the Bridgestone RE71RS to be an awesome street/track tire. It'd be my choice for less track focus for sure. Good price too! But I'll be sticking with the R888Rs for my track days.

I hope this helps anyone looking for help with tires!

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by bonzer5

Hi All,

With the awesome and kind help above I thought I'd pass along my experience.

So first I went with Bridgestone RE71RS tires which were availabile in 205/55 and 225/50 only. My thinking was I am still learning and less sticky was a plus to get a feel of track driving dynamics and have the opoportunity to move up. *Thanks iCarp for that advice!* Aesthetically this tire and size/height looked great, better than the shorter (smaller OD) on the R888R I mention below. With the Bridgestones I did 6 full track days including some dry skid pad work during one of them. Also lots of street driving, maybe 3000 miles. I felt they were plenty sticky, sticky enough through a 20 min run, and also gave me confidence during 1 session in a heavy rain. Definitely more than sticky enough for the street. I was super pleased with the life.

Next I moved onto the R888R with 205/50 and 225/45 sizes. The shorter tire didn't look as good to me, however that is not at all the goal. After 4 track days I found the R888R to be stickier (no surprise) and they came up to temp faster. That helped stay consistent on the track without waiting for them to come up to temp. My first weekend (2 days) wore about 1/32 off the tread so that works well in my budget. The gearing with the shorter tire worked great as far as I could tell. It seemed to with 1 shift point happen sooner as an improvement with one track layout. I was a few seconds faster with the Toyo's but experience might be a part of that improvement. Best lap with the Toyos were ussually lap 2 or 3. They seemed to not grip as much later in the session, maybe that is a typicaly outcome, or maybe my fitigue.

In conclusion I found the Bridgestone RE71RS to be an awesome street/track tire. It'd be my choice for less track focus for sure. Good price too! But I'll be sticking with the R888Rs for my track days.

I hope this helps anyone looking for help with tires!

I run RE71s and NT01 on my track either is fine, most of us humans would hard pressed to feel a difference between them. The shorter tires definitely move shift points around, so you will need new marks to hit. The payoff is a better launch out of the apex

also the lower profile tires on proper wheels give greater lateral grip which allows you to carry more speed through the corner

You are correct that R tires need a bit more warm up than hi perf street tires, the worst were the old Michelin Sport Cups

I'd bet that if you tried RE71s 205/50 and 225/45 on 7 & 8 you would see as good results as w/ the same size R888s