Need Tire Recommendation -

[mdrexler]

I need new tires for my 84 Carrera - 16" rims
Best value for street performance, with possible DE
Any suggestions?

[efhughes3]

I've been running Bridgestone Potenze S03's for a couple of years now, they are awesome all-around tires for street and track, even in rain. I've had them for several DE's. Not the cheapest, but still good value, IMO.

[azasadny]

Bridgestone Potenza RE950's or Dunlop Sport 9000's!

[mdrexler]

Thx for the feedback. The S-03's seem to be everyones #1 choice. I was hoping to get good performance out of a less expensive tire - the dunlop 8000's i have now are 7-8 years old, so stiffening up. I am hearing good things about new Kumho - SPT, but have not seen any reviews results. Does anybody have these?

[cygtoad]

I have been running on Toyo's for two years now. I really like them. They are H not Z rated. I bought them that way intentionally because I really doubt I am going to be tracking the car and hitting 150mph. The softer material gives better grip, is quite a bit quiter, and gives a more comfortable ride.

More importantly stay with a reasonable aspect ratio for the year you have. I have 70's up front and 65's in the back. That is what was on the car when new. You kinda have to trust the fact that the Porsche engineers knew what they were doing when they selected the tire for the car and the rim.

When I bought my car it had Z rated 55's in the back. It ran like a truck, and frankly looked horrible. The tire was lost in the wheel well. I am convinced the torturous ride the tires created cause the previous owner to get rid of the car far sooner than he would have otherwise done.

[mdrexler]

That sounds like good advice. I am curious though. Is it a 87 Carrera that came with 70's and 65's? I thought 55's and 50's were std for Carreras!

[efhughes3]

Originally posted by mdrexler
That sounds like good advice. I am curious though. Is it a 87 Carrera that came with 70's and 65's? I thought 55's and 50's were std for Carreras!

I don't think 70's and 65's were standard either....

[ttweed]

Originally posted by mdrexler
I am hearing good things about new Kumho - SPT, but have not seen any reviews results.

Don't know about the SPT, too new for me, but the Ecsta MX is a great dual purpose tire for reasonable $$$, and the SPT is in the same product segment, just a little higher on the treadwear rating (320 vs. 220.) You might also consider the second-gen Falken Azenis, the RT-615 Sport, which is just becoming available, although 16" sizes are limited so far.

TT

[BReyes]

I have always used Pirelli's on my 911's. They have excellent grip and sop long as car is aligned they wear wel. They do wear out a little (but not too much) faster. For me they have always helped keep the car on the road. Anybody here use Pirelli's on the track or do they wear out too much when Monday comes around?

Regards,

[61sktnbug]

kumho is not a bad choice at all , lots of people i know use them on auto x days and on the street ( dosent hurt that i sell them either!) i have toyo's on my jetta , nice tire choice also , dunlop's quality has gone down a tad since being bought out by goodyear

[imcarthur]

Toyo Proxes T1-S. I haven't put many miles on them yet, but they are grippy & great in wet. See Toyo 1010tires.com

They also come in 15s which I needed. Toyo is often ignored because tirerack doesn't sell them.

Ian

[jaydubya]

Got the Kumho MX tires for my SC about three weeks ago. Very sticky tire. I used to have Dunlop SP8000 for street and Kumho Victoracers for the track. The MX is a helluva lot closer to a victoracer than a SP8000

I don't think you will find a better value.

[no substitute]

6 x 7 are typically 55 in front and 50 in back. 7 x 9 are not uncommonly 55 in front (6 and 7 use the same size tire) and 45 in rear. There is a new Avon M tech 500 that is interesting and not too expensive. It's wet handling was remarkable. It's dry handling was very good too, but not as good as the SO-3. I don't do driver events, and have been using the Bridgestone 750 on the street. Good tire. Read the tests for all these (not just owner opinions) on the Tire Rack site.
I agree that Porsche usually knows best, but the sizes cygtoad mentioned are unfamiliar to me in our application. I think you'll appreciate the lower profile tires mentioned at the top.

[anthony]

For a budget tire, lots of people seem to like the Yokohama ES100 ($85/ea.). I think another good choice is the Fuzion ZRi (about $75/ea.). They are made by Bridgestone and seem to be almost identical to the RE750 which go for around $115/ea.

[JeremyD]

I think tires are pretty close in performance these days. I ordered Yokohama ES100's and they were back ordered. I then upgraded to Yokohama AVS Sports - and have been very happy with the cost/performance. They make lots of noise before they let go - they're very sticky - great wet performance.

I know lots of guys that have had great luck DE'ng the Kuhmo MX, the ES100's, The RE750's and the new Avons. Not sure you can go wrong, just different degrees of right.

[strother]

I put Bridgestone SO-2s on about 15 miles ago. Can't give you much an opinion yet, except that anyone who complains that they're noisy belongs in a Camry. There's no noise problem with these.

[Brother]

Let me drop a plug for AVON.

They are better than my Yoko AVS ES 100's. Plus they are about 80 bucks a piece.

I don't think you will find a negative review on tire rack for the Avons.

I put the M500's on my car and I love em.

[drsimonwong]

Michelin Pilot Preceda's have worked well for me without breaking the budget. I think the new model is the Exalto. Not sure wheither you guys get them in the States.

Simon

[cygtoad]

Mdrexler, I think the aspect ratio varies depending upon the rim size. I have 15's on my car. I know that 16 were also available.