Request Tire Model/Size Recommendation on Turbo Carrera
 

Hi All,

I've read a lot of quality write-ups on here about selecting tire models and sizes for Carreras. Thank you all for your contributions. I've got an '87 Carrera with 17" diameter rims: 9" wide up front and 10" wide in the rear. The tread has worn down enough that I need new tires to pass inspection. I presently have Toyo Proxes T1 R: 205/50ZR17 93Y RD in the front and 255/40ZR17 98Y RD rear. I was very happy with them when my car was stock, but with the turbo on, it feels less planted in the turns (not surprising) and it's lacking stopping power with the stock brakes. I'm running around 375 HP now, and my long term target is between 450-475 HP. This is primarily a street vehicle that I enjoy driving fast, will probably see one track day per year, and will hopefully not be caught in the rain too often.

I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for a stock Carrera (narrow-body) with my rim sizes for 225/45 and 255/40 tires. It sounds like SP9000, Michelin Pilot Sport & SO3 are some of the favorites. Do you think that these are good candidates for my setup? Or would I benefit from even wider tires?

Thank you!

It's hard to imagine a 205/50 on a 9" wheel, the design wheel for them is 5.5 - 7.5. I once used a 225/40 on a 9 and it was stretched to it's limit. Besides the numerical width the aspect ratio also determines design wheel width, higher #'s like 50 want narrower wheels, lower #'s like 35 want wider wheels

any hoo

assuming that this is a 930 bodied car
9 should comfortably accommodate a 245 - 255 and a 10 265 - 295

you don't mention what you use the car for but for normal hi perf street use I'd want Dunlop Direzza Star spec or Bridgestone RE11 but not all tire sizes are available in all tire lines so you'll have to look at what's available. There are lots of good choices besides these.

lastly the w/ the wider tires you will want lower aspect ratios or tire height gets to be too much

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your reply. My Carrera is a narrow body - not the 930 wide. I was a bit confused by the 205/50 on a 9" rim too. Perhaps I'm not measuring the width correctly? I haven't replaced tires yet on the car, so I just measured from the innermost edge of the tire to the outermost.

Does that sound right?

If you have a narrow body 911 Carrera then you are certainly measuring the wheels wrong

when talking wheels and tires the wheel width used is the bead width not overall width
take a look at this for the defs.
http://members.rennlist.com/1976c38/...AQ-diagram.gif

I'm guessing that you have 8 & 9 x17 wheels, if so and depending on o/s or ET the same tires are recommended but the sizes are limited to 225/45 & 255/40. You could go a step wider but unless you have a pressing need to do so I wouldn't. On my own Carrera I have used 235/45 & 275/40 x17 on 8 & 9.5 but only for track use. Now that the car is retired to street use 225/45 & 255/40 on the same wheels are fine and much easier to deal w/.

Ahhh. Nice diagram. I was definitely measuring overall rim width, so your guess about 8 & 9" sounds right. My car is intended for normal hi perf street, as you've said. I don't have a pressing need to go wider per se. My goal is simply to maximize the stopping power of my brakes. Which, by the way, do you have a recommendation for a complimentary upgrade? I'm not into big and overkill - just looking for most bite for the buck.

for street use stock is fine and for an upgrade it's hard to beat the all round virtues of 930s, again I set mine up w/ 993RS but that is way more brake than the car needs, looks nice though

Both of those solutions sound great but are a bit pricey. Are there any less pricey solutions out there that will still make a considerable difference? I've heard of folks using 964 or Boxster brakes on 3.2 Carreras, but I'm not sure if there are any kits available.

not really



not worth the effort

Good to know. I will save up!

Thank you for all of your advice.

Registered !!

Just following on this thread. I ordered a set of Continental ExtremeContact DW (Front - 225/45ZR -17; Rear - 255/40ZR -17). $595 from TireRack.com. I'm getting them installed next week by Specialty Cars in Allentown, PA - Specialty Cars Service Center- Performance Specialists.