Tire recommendations for 79 SC with 16's?

bifrost · bifrost's Garage

So I just got my 79, and the PO had a wacky tire setup - Pirelli Cinturato P7's in the Rear, and some BFG's on the front. No Fuchs, I've got 16 inch BBS RSes.

205/55-16 in the front, 225/50-16 in the rear.

I'm thinking Bridgestone Potenza S-02, BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW 2 or Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. I love the PS2's I've got on my Audi, but I'm open to suggestions.

I live in San Francisco so I deal with lots of foggy wetness, and occasional dry fun days

Halm · 05-27-2010, 02:48 AM

Tom, this has been discussed almost weekly. Here are a couple of recent threads:
Tire Rec's for 3.2 Carrera
Potenza RE960AS Pole Position - ?
will 225/50-16's fit on the front of an SC?

Even so, there is no consensus for a single tire. But the good news is that there are plenty of good choices out there.

bifrost · bifrost's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halm

Tom, this has been discussed almost weekly.
Even so, there is no consensus for a single tire.

I did do a bit of reading, but I did kinda get the feeling that everyone has their own preferences on this kinda stuff... I noticed a lot of info about "Porsche Spec" tires, but googling and searching the forum didn't really give me too many clues as to what it actually meant.

Guess I'll buy tires and try to wear em out

Groesbeck Hurricane · 05-27-2010, 12:28 PM

Tom,

I am having good luck on the BF Goodrich tires on the 993. Many, many more miles than the Portenzas. I am not running for speed or track use, just a daily driver.

I am running Goodyears on the SC but it hardly ever sees the rain so I am not sure about how the tires run in wet conditions.

mikehinton · mikehinton's Garage

I'm using the Dunlop Direzza Z-1 Star Specs. Wet weather grip seems reasonable, and dry weather grip (both road and autocross) is great. The noise level is also good.

kiwiokie · 05-27-2010, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikehinton

I'm using the Dunlop Direzza Z-1 Star Specs. Wet weather grip seems reasonable, and dry weather grip (both road and autocross) is great. The noise level is also good.

Second that. Great tire. Running 205x55x16 and 225x50x16 on my SC.

Forza · Forza's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwiokie

Second that. Great tire. Running 205x55x16 and 225x50x16 on my SC.

Third that. Dunlop Direzza Star Spec = great tire. Besides, FWIW, look at the history of Porsche factory posters. Dunlop is irrevocably tied to the history of Porsche race wins.

Halm · 05-27-2010, 05:43 PM

mikehinton and kiwiokie, either of you use the Dunlap as a DE tire?

Forza · Forza's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halm

mikehinton and kiwiokie, either of you use the Dunlap as a DE tire?

Ahem ... I've used Direzza Star Specs at the track (either as-is or shaved) and have found them to be very predictable. I think Grassroots Motorsports has some writeups about various tires for different applications, and it seems the Direzza typically gets very good reviews.

Halm · 05-28-2010, 02:54 AM

Good deal, thanks John.

kiwiokie · 05-28-2010, 04:23 AM

I have done one DE on them and was very impressed.

tyro · 05-28-2010, 06:44 AM

I too use the Dunlop Direzza Star Spec on my 944 turbo, what a great tire. Can't say enough how good it is in the dry and wet, street or track.

bifrost · bifrost's Garage

So I ended up with the DZ101's since they looked like they had better wet weather traction than the Star Spec, but so far they stick quite well in the dry.