failed to buy tires.

gohan · 03-13-2002, 05:17 PM

I went out to buy new tires for my '73 911T this evening to a local (ETD) tire shop, closest to my house. Now it has 185/70/15 in the original body. After reading the forum, I thought to have 205/60/15 or 205/55/15. Please somebody confirm the size is right to my car!

First, I got a young kid(I think he is very early 20) attending me and overall went well. He liked the idea of 205/55/15. He wanted to try to fit 215 on the rear for fun. Now whatever the reason, he needed to have approval from the senior (very old) guy, so he tied to do that. Problem is the senior guy said that 205/55/15 does not fit on the car at all. He started to speak at loud, "the 205 is the hight of tire and it hit the top." "Look the car, there is no room to put wider tire at all." "Placing wider tire than the manufacture put is the worst thing to do!" ... When I said the 205 is the width, not the hight, he went to crazy and exclaimed that he is professional, I'm not. All customers there were looking at me with very strange faces, except one guy was laughing.

Surely I could not buy any and wonder what went wrong. What did I do wrong? I have never thought I failed to buy tires. Now I have to find another shop. Next time should I just say the size of tire to put in with my risk? How should I talk to tire sales person?

tight as a bull's ass · tight as a bull's ass's Garage

gohan,

I would never ask somebody else to decide what size tires need to go on my car....because they will always screw it up....

I did this last season when buying tires...mistake! the young kid behind the counter wanted to put tires in the rear that were skinnier than the original size because "you dont want a wider tire in the back when on snow, you need as less contact ...." This was over-ruled by some higher lever manager.

Anyway, I would suggest findind out exactly what size tires your car needs (perhaps they are in the manual) and then go shopping...

You dont even need to tell them what car you have...it's irrelevant

good luck

Jdub · 03-13-2002, 05:25 PM

Three things here: If you can, bring only the four tires/rims to the shop (or two pair at a time) so that there is no "interference" so to speak. That will prevent outbursts of this sort.

Next, I would be concerned about their ability to lift the car without damaging it. Take a hard look at where they raised the car.

Finally, find a PCNA member and bribe him to go with you to any tire shop if you must bring your car. That will help here.

John

gohan · 03-13-2002, 07:00 PM

Buying tires with hiding car identity. Little strange to me but it seems to work! I'll go to another shop of next town tomorrow. If the similar thing happens there, I must do this way. Thanks for the advice.

By the way, the young sales person came out next to the car with a measure and spent over 5 min. The senior person never came out of waiting/counter office. He just looked out thru window and judged the fitting.

dad911 · 03-13-2002, 07:20 PM

Gohan, I notice you are in NJ. If you in North Jersey, try Eurotire in Fairfield. In central, call Old Bridge tire. Both very porsche friendly, no need to hide your identity.

bell · bell's Garage

i've dealt with "tire rack" for quite some time and have NEVER had a bad experience. their personel is very knowledgable and will know what will work for how you want to drive your car.
when i replaced my tires they corrected a mistake i almost made having to do with "weight limits" of tires under heavy load. when i ordered them online, they called me and explained my "mistake" of a tire that would not work as well as some others (the other was less expensive too).
i took my 911 to a local reputable shop who were very familiar with porsches to have them mounted and balanced

just my .02

pwd72s · 03-13-2002, 10:19 PM

Gohan, I think you'll find that 195/65/15 is as close in dia. and width to stock as you'll find these days, without buying expen$ive replica tires. But here's a fun link, allows you to play with various tire sizes, see how they compare to original spec in both height and width...
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html Have fun!

70flatsix · 70flatsix's Garage

I just installed Michelin Pilot XGT V4 205/60/15's on all 4 corners of my 1970 911E and I'm very satisfied with the ride, handling and fit. Considered installing 215/60/15's on the rear but clearance was questionable.

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by dad911
Gohan, I notice you are in NJ. If you in North Jersey, try Eurotire in Fairfield. In central, call Old Bridge tire. Both very porsche friendly, no need to hide your identity.

I just got my new tires from Eurotire two days ago! They are PCA members and even added a 5% discount since I'm a member. (Not a big discount, but every little helps.) Bill, the manager has an early 911, so he probably knows what tire sizes will fit.

For my 944S2, I went from 205/55 16's front / 225/50 16's rear to 225/50 16's front and 245/45 16's rear. After asking others with 944's, they said this is a good upgrade.

Also: I had my suspension geometery adjusted to suit my needs a little better. Since I'll be doing more track and autocross rather than daily driving, he added a touch of negative camber (-1 on right, -1.2 on the driver's side), and adjusted the toe-in (don't remember the numbers off-hand).

These guys know what they are doing. I highly recommend them. Good luck!
-Zoltan.

And yes, if you're in central NJ, Old Bridge tire's another great place. They involved with the PCA as well.

jriera · 03-14-2002, 06:06 AM

gohan, in my 73.5T I have 205/60/15 all around on original cookie cutters rims, and I'm happy with fit and handling.. they look a little bit 'thick'. Hope this helps.

wckrause · wckrause's Garage

Quote:

mistake! the young kid behind the counter wanted to put tires in the rear that were skinnier than the original size because "you dont want a wider tire in the back when on snow, you need as less contact ...." This was over-ruled by some higher lever manager.

The young kid was correct. Read this

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/sizing.html

Dantilla · 03-14-2002, 06:40 AM

Once when I bought tires for a truck, the salesman told my it was not a good idea to go any wider- the factory engineers spent hours making sure that this was the best tire size.

My question- Then why is is an extra cost option to get wider tires from the factory?

His response- Ummm.... ahhh..... ummmm.... DOH!!!

gohan · 03-14-2002, 06:51 AM

Thanks for advices, everybody.

There was no sales or anything. I picked the shop because it locates just a couple min. from my house. Since I work in NYC, it is rare to be at home before 6pm. So it was just easy to get there. I could not even get the price of tires.

Now, I got to call the Euro Tire.