15" tire choices

chgoburbs · 03:15 PM

New member, 87 Targa 28,000 miles, 15" Fuchs, like new but crap four season Conti's. Does anyone have any tire choice selection ideas? Sizes and manufacturers?

I would like to not have to spend money on new wheels, the Fuchs are like new, flawless!

The car will also only be driven during the summer.

Many thanks!

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

I went with Yokohama YK 520's from America's Tire on my '78 SC.
Not the stickiest tires around but they are pretty quiet.

healeykit · healeykit's Garage

Check out Falken tires - they are a hidden gem for quality talking to installers and shops and the prices and sizes for 15" were good. I'm running new Ziex ZE-912 15 inchers on my 73 that runs 6" rims front and 7" on the rear.

Do some research I think you could be surprised.

dlagerstrom · 03-26-2009, 06:25 PM

I know the Michelins are not the cheapest, but I really like them. The Pilot Exalto PE2 is available in 15 inch @ 205/55 and 225/50 which is what I went with. Nice tires.

Of course, that is on the ugly phone dials some idiot PO changed out the 16 Fuchs for. Sigh.

But, I did pick up a pair of 17 RUF speedlines used.

Danimal16 · 03-26-2009, 06:29 PM

I don't think you can get the PE2s in those sizes anymore. I have Toyo RA1s and I am very happy with them. I switched from 16 inch wheels to deep 6 and 7s, 205 55 15 front and 225 50 15 rear. What a difference from my Bridgestone 730s.

snbush67 · snbush67's Garage

BF Goodrich G-force sports from Tire rack, 205 55 15 front and 225 50 15 rear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=g-Force+Sport

911st · 03-26-2009, 07:36 PM

Toyo makes a 235 & 225 in there R888.

imcarthur · imcarthur's Garage

Toyo also makes the T1-R in 15s. I have use them on my 87. Sticky. Great in wet & dry. Slight give in the sidewalls but overall I am happy. Not available from TireRack.

Ian

wowzer911 · 03-27-2009, 04:45 AM

snbush67, How bad do these throw off your speedo?

"BF Goodrich G-force sports from Tire rack, 205 55 15 front and 225 50 15 rear."

imcarthur · imcarthur's Garage

I run 205/50 & 225/50. The 911 speedo is about 10% optimistic. The tires are about 10% 'faster' than the old balloon stock tires. The end result is a speedo that is pretty accurate. I have checked it with a GPS & it is only off by a 1 or 2 mph.

Ian

msterling · msterling's Garage

I went with the 225/50R15 Yokohama AVS ES100 on the rear and 205/55R15 in front. Delivered price from TireRack was $354. Rolling diameter is a little less than the original Pirelli's but they seem to perform very well on the street. They also look pretty cool.

PcarPhil · 03-27-2009, 05:32 AM

I run T1R's in 205/55 and 225/50 sizes and my speedo is also off by about 10% - but in the other direction. My speedo reads about 10% fast (also verified by GPS).

I like T1R's alot. I suggest adding a couple extra psi's of air to make up for the soft sidewalls.

Slow911 · Slow911's Garage

If its of any help Discount Tire will match Tire Rack's or any one elses price you can fnd on the net and they will look it up on their computer to verify.
I run the RT-615 Falkens in a 205-50-15
Good Luck,
Brian

J. Weidman · 03-27-2009, 12:10 PM

A '87 911 originally came with 185/70 and 215/60. Tire rack has 3 manufactures, Goodyear, Kumho, and Pirelli who have the closest replacement size 195/65 and 215/60 in V rating. All other sizes (205/50, 205/55, 205/60, 215/55, and 225/50) are short for freeway driving but are better for performance.

Hope this helps
Josh

snbush67 · snbush67's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by wowzer911

snbush67, How bad do these throw off your speedo?

"BF Goodrich G-force sports from Tire rack, 205 55 15 front and 225 50 15 rear."

I dont know, I think it should register a higher speed as the circumference is smaller but I was stopped going about 90 MPH a few weeks ago and the ticket only reads 77MPH.

My last ticket was over 15 years ago,

I didn't ask for a recount...

I had a GPS which I cant find now (recent move, probably still in box) and the speedometer showed 53 MPH at 50MPH on the GPS.

Aloha, Shane

msterling · msterling's Garage

My speedo reads almost 10% fast with the 205/55 fronts and 225/50 rears. The speedo was maybe 2% fast with the previous tires 195/65, 215/60, I think.

Not many choices with 15" wheels. My car came with 15x7 and 15x8. I'd like to get the forged 17" Fuchs knockoffs but it is not in this year's budget.

snbush67 · snbush67's Garage

Just verified with GPS;

GPS= 90
Speedo= 100

Difference 10% as stated above

205/55/15 front 225/50/15 rear

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

I have been happy with my Hankook Ventus. Very inexpensive and good traction.

dvkk · 04-07-2009, 11:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msterling

.... Yokohama AVS ES100 on the rear and 205/55R15 in front.

Beware, that size is NLA. It took me a long time to find a pair of old stock. Yoko had to ship one tire across the country.

msterling · msterling's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvkk

Beware, that size is NLA. It took me a long time to find a pair of old stock. Yoko had to ship one tire across the country.

Wow! You are right. The AVS ES100 is NLA in 205/55-15. I bought mine about 18 months ago. A search for a set of 205/55-15 front and 225/55-15 rear at Tire Rack came up with ONE choice! It was the BFG G-Force Sport. It is supposedly a high-performance tire and the test results were good. Any of youse guys running the BFG's.

I'd have 42 different choices from Tire Rack if I had 16" wheels.

I might be buying aftermarket 17" wheels when I need new tires. Maybe the forged Fuchs replicas.