89 Carrera Front Tire Size Question

[bu11itt]

I have an 89 Carrera and am looking for some advice on front tire size. According to the information under the rear deck lid the OE tire sizes were:

Front: 205/55/16
Rear: 225/50/16

The rear had a set of 245/45/16’s on it when I bought the car and I have purchased a fresh set of 245/45/16’s for the rear (Toyo Proxes T1R).

I would like to keep the front and rear tires the same; however unfortunately the Proxes T1-R don’t appear to come in 205/55/16. They do come in 225/50/16. I know the overall diameter difference of the two tires sizes is negligible, but I was wondering if anyone thinks there would be a problem with the extra width.

Aesthetically the tire will stick out more from under the fender, however I am not as concerned with this, or don’t really know how I will feel as I will just have to see it installed to judge the look. My concern is clearance. At full lock it feels like there is just enough clearance between the shock and edge of the tire to accommodate the increased width using my “ultra precise” measurement method (stick a finger back there between the edge of the tire and shock until it is snug then pulling my hand from behind the tire and measure the portion of my finger that was between the two points).

I am not 100% sure what rim widths I have or even if they are original to the car (my gut feeling is they are).

Has anyone else increased the front tire size on their Carrera’s or have any opinions or knowledge on making the size swap?

Below are a few pics of the car to help with the diagnosis (sorry about the quality, I don’t have any really good pics of the car on my work computer).

[jhelgesen]

I has rubbing issues with 225's on the front of my carrera, went back to 205's. Looks like you have 16x6's on the front.

[Porchcar guy]

My opinion...225 on 6' rims will be too wide for the rim. I put 7 & 8 on my car with 225 up front and had rubbing on the left side. Went down to 205 and still had rubbing on left side. Turns out that when the car was aligned, balanced, corner wts and ride ht..the left side was 1/2 lower...back to the very reputable shop I have used forever and they fixed the issue. Moved the 225 to the rear so I now have a new set of 245 for later use :=)...Oh, I used Kumho tires.

[chuckr]

205/55-16 Falken FK 452 Tires
This would be a good option. I run these in 17's on my 88 and love them !

[gtc]

The T1-R used to come in 205/55-16 (i ran them ~2 years ago)... maybe try calling around some more?

[Arne2]

How old are the rear T1-Rs? Because Toyo doesn't list the 245/45-16 in that model anymore either. Might be time for a full matching set.

[Mitch Leland]

I've got 8's and 9's X 16" on a wide body...
Was running:
Front:205:55 Rear:225:55 Yokos
Now
Front:205:55 Rear:245:50 Goodrich "G" Force

I wanted to put 225's on the front, the tire man talked me out of it because he said I would have tire rubbing issues. I think both sizes fill the tire well spaces just right. The Goodrich tires ride much better and are a lot quieter than the Yokos. I haven't tracked these tires, and probably won't, I doubt they have the same grip as the Yokos.

[bu11itt]

Thanks for all the input. It appears the concensus of the group is that the 225’s will be too wide and rub so I am more than likely going to go with a set of 205’s.

Originally Posted by Arne2

How old are the rear T1-Rs? Because Toyo doesn't list the 245/45-16 in that model anymore either. Might be time for a full matching set.

Arne2, I got these tires in October and they have yet to be installed. According to the date code they were made in “4210” so while they are not the “freshest” set they aren’t ancient (and quite a bit better than the age of the current rear tires).

So now comes the search for a set of 205/55-16’s; from which there are a lot to choose. So the choice is do I try to guess what will be available in a 245/45-16 in several years when I need a new set and try to match the front tires to that now; or go with something that I like currently knowing full well that it would take a crystal ball to know what kind of 245/45-16’s will be avialable in a couple years. Looks like I answered my own question…

So any suggestions on 205/55-16's for the front?

[Arne2]

Ahh. So they are about a year old. Toyo's US website no longer lists either size in the T1-R. But there are some possibilities.

First thing I'd try would be to contact a large regional Toyo dealer who may still have some in a warehouse or on the shelf in one of their locations. Here in the NW, I'd try Les Schwab. Wouldn't surprise me at all to find that they may have a few 205/55-16 sitting around. If so, I'm sure that they'd be happy to ship a pair to you. I still have contacts at Schwab's, might be able to do a little of the legwork on this for you.

If that doesn't work, Toyo's Canadian website still lists your sizes (both F & R) as available. You could see if you could make a deal with a Canadian dealer, or maybe a Canuck Pelican could assist.

[Arne2]

Update - I called my local Schwab store, they could only see one 205/55 left in the entire system (400+ stores). So Canada might be the only option.

[Porchcar guy]

They show the tire on their website @ $183 per

205/55/16 Toyo Proxes T1r Tire at WheelsNext.com

[McLaren-TAG]

The Direzzas come in 215/50/16 size and seem to be a happy medium but I don't ever see anyone mention that size... any issue with it?

[bu11itt]

Originally Posted by Arne2

Update - I called my local Schwab store, they could only see one 205/55 left in the entire system (400+ stores). So Canada might be the only option.

Arne2; thanks for the help, I really appreciate that. It just further proves to me what an awesome community exists here and how a Porsche can bring strangers together with nothing more in common than the love of an amazing automobile.

Originally Posted by Porchcar guy

They show the tire on their website @ $183 per

205/55/16 Toyo Proxes T1r Tire at WheelsNext.com

Porchcar guy; Thanks for the link, I called them up to check the stock status of the tires and low and behold they had 2, so I will have a matching set on the P-car. I will also echo my comment to Arne2, I am just totally amazed how two people I have never met went out of their way to help out a fellow Porschephile in need (albeit not a very critical need, but one none the less).

Originally Posted by McLaren-TAG

The Direzzas come in 215/50/16 size and seem to be a happy medium but I don't ever see anyone mention that size... any issue with it?

McLaren-TAG; that is an excellent idea and one I will definitely keep in mind for the next time I need new tires. I got so focused on the two sizes I didn't even think about something in between; forest for the trees I guess...