8 and 9 Fuchs and tire fitment. Options are running out!

[89911]

I currently have been running Pole Position S03's of 225 and 245, both with 45-16 ratio's. I initially had 225 50 16 on the front using my 8 x 16 951 fuchs, but the they where too tall for the car and rubbed with my lowered suspension. So, using the current sizes, I have been able to find one pair, Toyo Proxies T1R. TireRack has nothing to fit. Has anybody used a different size with similar wheels that worked. I think I can bump the rears to 255 and still fit, but the fronts are maxed with the 225. Thanks ahead.

[911pcars]

Try another tire supplier. Tire Rack doesn't carry that size.

Sherwood

[nineball]

discounttiredirect dot com has 3 tires in 245/45-16.

BF Goodrich g-Force R1
Hankook Z214 Road Racing C51
Hankook Z214 Autocross C71

[Steve W]

You might consider the new Kumho Ecsta XS tire. I hear that it has edged out the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec tire and it comes in a 225/50R16 and you should be able to fit 265/45R16 on the back. Massage the front end and you can get rid of rubbing problems if you have any. I'm running 235s and 275s now without much issue.

[89911]

Thanks. Steve, are you using these on Fuchs like mine? I want to keep to street tires. I have Fikse 17's for track rubber. Thanks for the help so far.

[Steve W]

No, I'm running 18s, 8.0 and 9.5 and ran 225 and 265s for many years without any issues with just lip rolling. But I don't see a reason why the above wouldn't work. If you have slight fender rub in any area for some reason, you can gain a few mm by pulling the upper arc of your fender out a little and visually, you can't tell any difference. I think I actually have enough room now to fit 285s in back.

The Kumhos have a threadwear rating of 180, similar to the SO3s, but as to if it really is the same, ??

[Jeff Alton]

The tire choices in 16 are drying up. We have put many customers into 17's and 18's and a few into 18 rears and 17 fronts in special applications. Our own race 911 runs 18's now so we can get R6's in the correct stagger....

Cheers

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by Steve W

You might consider the new Kumho Ecsta XS tire. I hear that it has edged out the Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec tire and it comes in a 225/50R16 and you should be able to fit 265/45R16 on the back. Massage the front end and you can get rid of rubbing problems if you have any. I'm running 235s and 275s now without much issue.

A 265/45/16 is a 2.1 % overdrive compared to a 225/50 That is to say your speedo will read 60, but you may be doing 61.5.

[nineball]

i am sure this has been posted before but it will be a nice helping hand in your tire size decisions.

Tire size calculator

[Steve W]

the speedos are usually optimistic by 5 mph anyways

[Forza]

Originally Posted by Steve W

the speedos are usually optimistic by 5 mph anyways

Agreed; +1 to that!

[89911]

I already have Fikse 17" that I can use for street tires, but it won't be the same without my beloved 8 and 9 Fuchs. I guess I could sell them and pay for a new set. I think I am going to go with the Toyo T1R's. I have been having problems finding them in stock, but still looking.

[wildcat077]

I used Toyo T1R's last summer on my 89 Carrera with 951 8 inch fronts and 9 inch rears on16 inch Fuchs and after more than 7000 kms the tires were worked out great.
225/50/16 and 245/45/16,i think TOYO has a really good selection of tires in all sizes for our cars...
This year i'm running the Dunlop DZ1's on 17 inch Fikses due to brake upgrades,the only reason i got the Dunlops is because they were a lot cheaper than another set of Toyos.
Next set will be the Toyo R1R's ...

Cheers !
Phil

[911st]

Toyo still supports 16's pretty well.

Also, they are again making the RA1's which are arguably the best drive to the track tire.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by Jeff Alton

The tire choices in 16 are drying up. We have put many customers into 17's and 18's and a few into 18 rears and 17 fronts in special applications. Our own race 911 runs 18's now so we can get R6's in the correct stagger....

Cheers

Massive choices of tires in the 17 inch sizes. Plus the rims are offset to accomodate them. I didn't think I would like the 17s on a 911.

I love them.

[BarryJB]

My 85 Carrera has 7&9x16 is presently enjoying a set Kumho XS's, F-225/50-16, R-265/45-16 rear, tight on an admittedly 1 inch or so over stock height car. I will find out next month what just below Euro height does, as suspension is getting upgraded & car lowered a bit. Fronts OK as long as fender lips are really well rolled up (i.e., nearly flat). After 3000 miles, one rear (driver side) appears to have occasionally rubbed on the outside, but both are well clear of plate bolts inside (pinky finger clearance). Will see if my body shop guy can provide the smidge of relief needed there, or I'll accept dialing in a bit more neg. camber. I just replaced the stripped odo gear in speedo so used that disassembled oppo to recal my speedo with GPS both to dump the 5+ and to suit the slightly larger rolling radius, it's a couple of % according to the calculator mentioned in an earlier post above but seat-of-the-pants no detriment re gearing I can tell.

BTW Tire Rack v. Discount was a wash on $. IMHO these tires are better than the F-SO2/R-SO3 combo I was dreading replacing... I love them & they look great. Only issue I've read is slight vagueness re wet weather performance... in dry, just terrific for non-R tire. I think a good choice for street (and maybe some track) until the move up to Foxes or other larger diameter wheels becomes unavoidable to get a decent tire selection.

[KTL]

245/45 is indeed becoming a hard find. You can try another supplier like Tires-Easy.com They have a bunch of off-brand stuff.

But another thing to consider...... if people are going with the taller 265/45-16, why not simply use the 245/50-16 which is more common and basically the same size? I know the theoretical diameter of the 245/50-16 is even taller than the 265/45, but it's almost negligible

Nonetheless, i've been concerned about this for years. A good high performance tire for teh 16x9 wheels is becoming hard to come by. Not to mention that 17 in. tires are not that much more expensive. That's one reason why I wanted to ensure my next 911 came with 17's.

[89911]

I was able to track down tires from 1010tires.com They had the 225-45-16 in stock. I ordered the rear 245-45-16 from a cheaper place that was closer. Much of the problem is that there is a 30%tariff implemented on tires coming out of China leaving some companies like Toyo scrambling to find other areas to export from. More then one tire company had the same explanation. Anyway, I got my tires and will have them soon. I'm good for at least a few more years. I'll go easier on the negative camber and the toe settings. My old SO3's looked almost new on the outsides but are nearly corded on the inner treadwalls.

[Joe Bob]

I'm going to 50 series all around. I'm in a new area where the roads aren't the best and the extra cushion is needed. 45s while they look nice are hard on my back, suspension and wheels....

I'm caught up where I'm replacing both the fronts AND rears at the same time.....never happened in 15 years of ownership......I usually replace 2.5 rears to fronts.

Remember, the SC and Carrera came with 55 series from the factory.

[BarryJB]

Originally Posted by Steve W

...you can gain a few mm by pulling the upper arc of your fender out a little and visually, you can't tell any difference.

Steve, on the fenders, did you just give them a gentle two-handed heave-ho, or use some more exotic tweaking technique? I'd like to do that on the rears on mine for sure...