15 inch rim tire choices?

[dorschman]

Does anyone have any good sources of tires for 15x7 and 15x8 fuchs?

I currently have Bridgestone Potenza RE 950 p195/ 65hr15 front and p215/ 60hr15 rear.

I wanted to look for some Michelin replacements but seem to be having difficulty finding choices for most brands in general.

I do not know enough about the rim versus tire sizes to feel comfortable searching for anything other than stock sizes on my own.

I tried to do a little searching but "15" could not be used alone due to being only 2 letters. I found a lot of widely varying opinions on tires but mostly 16" and up.

No track use- just spirited day driving on mostly dry roads- occasional rain, cannot really see the car having to drive in snow.

thank you

erik

[Buckterrier]

Erik, I just had mounted BF Goodrich 15 60 225 in the back 8" 15's and 205 60's in the front on 7's. Only have 100 mile son them but so far I like. Check out Tire Rack.

[dorschman]

I checked Consumer Reports and they tended to like the Falken Ziex ZE-512.

There does not seem to be that much selection for 15 inch rims. I would like to stay with the stock size tires and rims but I think someday I may have to "upgrade" to 16 inch rims for more selection.

I have checked Tirerack, discounttire, discounttiredirect, edgeracing.

Just wondered if there was a Porsche specific site with reasonable prices and selection for the smaller rims.

[Bill Verburg]

My C3 came w/ 205/50 & 225/50 on 7 & 8 x15. Worked pretty well.

you can also use 205/55 & 225/50 or 195/55 & 215/60 for more ground clearance

[dorschman]

bill- will those adjustments cause a noticeable difference in ride and handling? I really only drive the car on the street- I just want something that is driveable daily with decent ride and predicteable handling.

thank you

[imcarthur]

Toyo T1-R. I use them & like them on my Porsche & my BMW.



Ian

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by dorschman

bill- will those adjustments cause a noticeable difference in ride and handling? I really only drive the car on the street- I just want something that is driveable daily with decent ride and predicteable handling.

thank you

My car was at the extreme low end of RoW ride height w/ 205 front the toe box of my shoes wouldn't fit under the front spoiler(But I do have big feet), never any issues driving though. Unlike my current 993 that has issues getting into and out of my driveway.

The 2nd and 3rd choices that I listed are certainly going to be more street worthy

[CharlesJones]

I've had similar difficulties finding tyres of appropriate sizes for both front and back too (I have 15 inch teledials) and am wondering if I should look at different profiles. A friend of mine suggests Toyo TR1s too, although I can't find the stock profiles I'm after.

Bill, if I was to go with different profiles like you suggest above, would this affect the cars gearing or speedo reading? Or would this be insignificant?

[arerrac]

Another option are the Toyo Proxes 4 - Ultra High Performance All season tire. Available in the 205/50-15 (front) & 225/50-15 (rear).

I'm on my second set as a daily driver in the Northern Ca Bay Area and love them.

I also did 4 autocrosses with them last year with the GGR PCA and they worked really well. Very predictable and they talk back to you when at the limit.

From their site:

Features and Benefits
Wet Traction and Dry Performance “Generation S” silica-reinforced, high-grip tread compound
Unidirectional tread design to reduce aquaplaning
High-angle tread grooves to evacuate water
Paired shoulder blocks to increase cornering grip

Steering Response T-Mode Design Technology
Hard bead filler compound
Two full-width steel belts
High grip tread compound

All-Season Traction Unidirectional all-season tread design
“Multi-Wave” Sipes in shoulder blocks
M&S rated

Smooth, Quiet Ride T-Mode Design Technology
“Multi-Wave” Sipe for minimized heel and toe wear
Variable-pitch block tread pattern
Jointless edge and cap ply construction
Jointless bead wire

Hope this helps.

-W

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by CharlesJones

Bill, if I was to go with different profiles like you suggest above, would this affect the cars gearing or speedo reading? Or would this be insignificant?

First there are lots of great tires out there, look for a psummer performance tire w/ silica tread compounf and you will likely be very happy. The difference between the best and worst is really very small.

So I would find a tire line, w/ the compound and size that suits your car and use.

any time you change the loaded height of the rear tire you affect gearing and speedometer, I never worry about the speedometer, but do care about the affect on gearing.

revs per mile is the most accurate gauge of what a tire will do on the car. Each manufacturer posts that data. If you want you can even intrerpolate because the dat is posted installed on a given width wheel. A wider wheel will make the tire a little shorter and thus raise the revs per mile a bit. But that's only for the really anal amongst us.

For a normal 911 w/ a stock gearbox and engine you want a tire that is <25.2" high or >826 rpm. A 215/60 fits that description nicely. It was also stock fitment on the 2.7RS on a 7" wide wheel.

For those that want better performance at a sacrifice in ride height & comfort you can go to the 225/50 which is ~24" or 866rpm

[CharlesJones]

Thanks Bill - that's very helpful and enlightening.

I worry about the speedo being out just because they're so anal about speeding over here and in the UK, and about gearing for the obvious reasons. However, I will have a look at tyres with other width/profile ratios which have similar revs per mile to the stock dimensions.

[imcarthur]

I checked my speed with a GPS & with another car. The Porsche speedo is reputedly optimistic so it runs fast. The smaller than stock profile tires (50s in rear) work the opposite ending up in an accurate speedo as far as I can tell. fwiw

Ian

[overman]

eirk... I'm running Falken ZIEX ZE512's on my 70 911T, Great tires!
7-8 x 15 Fuch's
F 205 / 55R
R 225 / 50R