Comfort wheels?

[Algernon]

I am looking for more comfort, with ultimate driving/handling characteristics not so important.
My new '82 911SC has
on now 7J X 225/50/16 rear, 6J X 205/55/16 front (new Dunlop Direzzas)
Plan A, 6J X 205/55/16 rear, 6J X 195/60/16 front (get 2 new 6J X 16 wheels/tires, cheaper, some improvement? )
Plan B, 7J X 215/60/15 rear, 6J X 185/70/15 front (get 4 new 15" wheels/tires, dearer but more improvement?)
Plan C, buy a Buick, add Porsche badges (already suggested by 'friends')
Any other suggestions or relative merits/comfort of Plan A versus Plan B welcomed.
Thanks, Algernon

[darrin]

Wouldn't going with a softer tire (your Dunlop Direzzas seem to be all the way on the performance side of the performance/comfort spectrum) be a good first step?

I've really enjoyed the balance that my continental extreme contact dw tires provide, although they too are a high performance tire. If comfort is your goal, you might want to look at a "gasp" all season tire -- the Yokohama AVID ENVigor gets good comfort reviews on tirerack.com and is available in the 205/55-16 and 225/50-16 sizes that will work with your stock wheels.

I find my '86 targa (running standard torsion bars and bilstein shocks) to be surprisingly compliant/comfortable FOR A SPORTS CAR -- you might want to confirm whether your 911 has enhanced performance suspension components -- I believe, for example, that the Koni shocks available as a factory upgrade provide a significantly stiffer ride than the stock boge or blistein shocks.

[javadog]

Plan A, not good at all. Don't even consider this one.
Plan B, better than what you have. Might have to go 195 on the front.
Plan C, best.

JR

[Arne2]

Speaking from 20+ years in the tire business, plans A & B would both be a little improvement, but the amount will vary depending on the tires chosen. I'd say that choosing the right tires will make as much or more difference than wheel and tire changes. I'd fine-tune and add to your choices thus:

Plan D - 7J X 225/50-16 rear, 6J X 205/55-16 front, using an H-rated touring tire.
Plan E - 7J X 205/55-16 rear, 6J X 195/60-16 front, no need to change the rear rims to 6J, the ride improvement would be minimal.
Plan F - 7J X 215/60-15 rear, 6J X 195/65-15 front, no matching front and rear choices with 185/70 these days. This choice will likely ride the softest, as to get matching F&R tires you'll probably be buying min-van tires (yuck).

But - bear in mind that the softest tires here will really only have significant effect on sharp road inputs like lane reflectors, expansion joints and the like. The car is still going to be a Porsche, and the suspension will still be rather firm compared to normal cars.

[Norm Faustino]

This one's a no brainer. Just install one of these and put any tire /wheel combo you like on it!
No seriously, "I got nothin"

[Geronimo '74]

Buy the buick.
Sell the Porsche to someone that wants a sportscar.

[canamfan]

There are factory 7/15" front Fuchs with 195/65VR 15" tires (optional 205/55 VR 15)and 8/15" rear Fuchs with 215/60 VR 15" (optional 225/50 VR 15). I would imagine just stepping into 15" rim size may "soften" the ride alittle, albeit with VR rated tires so as not to comprimise the speed/load & handling index too much (of course tires are a plenty with their own "charachteristics" depending on brand, style, season, load, speed rating, treadware, temp. & traction index etc.) always bearing in mind the tire pressures you're going with (within Porsche recommended ranges). My original tire wheel decal in engine bay for my 82' had [185/70/ 15 fr] and [215/70/15 rr] but I just think these are simply too tall of a ratio, almost winter size similarity (pretty skinny widths esp. for front).

[GeorgeK]

Pirelli makes the P6000 with a N2 Porsche rating in the 195/65 and 215/60 R15 sizes since late last year.

[Arne2]

Originally Posted by GeorgeK

Pirelli makes the P6000 with a N2 Porsche rating in the 195/65 and 215/60 R15 sizes since late last year.

Indeed they do. But as an N-spec tire, I doubt that they will ride significantly softer than similar 16" choices. I on't think there's much comfort to be gained in these cars unless you leave the performance tire realm. I'm not saying that's a good idea, and even then, the suspension is still going to be firm.

[gamin]

Stick with what you have or follow the advice in post #6.

[Jerome74911S]

Originally Posted by darrin

If comfort is your goal, you might want to look at a "gasp" all season tire -- the Yokohama AVID ENVigor gets good comfort reviews on tirerack.com and is available in the 205/55-16 and 225/50-16 sizes that will work with your stock wheels.

I find my '86 targa (running standard torsion bars and bilstein shocks) to be surprisingly compliant/comfortable FOR A SPORTS CAR -- you might want to confirm whether your 911 has enhanced performance suspension components -- I believe, for example, that the Koni shocks available as a factory upgrade provide a significantly stiffer ride than the stock boge or blistein shocks.

I'm (gasp) running those Yokohamas on my car (it came with them and they aren't dead yet). I'm also running standard torsion bars and Bilstein Sports.

Yes, it's compliant FOR A SPORTS CAR. I don't track it.

[porschenut]

The cheapest and easiest thing to do first is lower your air pressure! The higher the pressure, the more stiff the ride.

Then, go with 15" wheels and a set of tires with flexible sidewalls.

[andyt11]

Some good advice in this thread

[JAR0023]

This new (to you) 82 SC, any idea of what the torsion bar and strut/shock set up is? If you are rolling around on uprated bars and Koni sports changing tires really isn't going to get you very far. Is the car lowered to the point it's sitting on the bump stops? My car is low and firm but a switch from Koni reds with full length bump stops to Bilstein HD made a huge difference in ride compliance. -J

[Algernon]

Thanks for all the suggestions, especially Norm's "LazyBoy" and 'buy a Buick!'
Arne2 - yes its the effects of road joints, etc. that I'm particularly trying to minimize!
Darrin - agreed, the Direzzas' are part of the problem, especially as they came with 40psi! Lowering it to 32/29 softened the ride (!) but made handling kind of weird.
Popular opinion suggests keep the wheels, replace the tires! Especially as 15" tires don't seem to be very popular/available in these sizes.
I've got new green Bilsteins, and perhaps raising the car to U.S. height might help(?)
So maybe I'll go the 'minivan' route, and get some H rated (Serenity Plus?) on existing wheels, but that looks like I'll have to settle for 205/55/16 all round. Mmmm...
Algernon

[darrin]

Algernon -- I see you are/were in Denver -- do you drive your sc in the winter? If so, you might also want to consider the nokian wr-g2 tires i've been enjoying as my winter tires over the past few years. They've been quiet and are a fair bit smoother riding than my summer continental extreme contacts. They also have very high treadwear ratings so they should last a while. I've been running 205/55-16 on all corners this winter and have been happy with the results (wore out the 225/50-16 rears after 3 winters, original fronts still have near complete tread depth) Nokian classifies them as all weather tires (for finland)

[Algernon]

Darrin,
I've just got the '82 911SC, so have hardly driven it yet. Like my previous Targa, it won't be a Garage queen, but definitely a Pampered Princess, so it won't be going anywhere when the weather is bad! Hence the comfort (not performance) requirements. I am north of Denver, in Louisville/Westminster area, where are you?

[JAR0023]

If your car is really set up that low I got a $1 says your damn near on the bump stops. Raise it back up to a more reasonable height and you'll get your ride compliance back. -J

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by porschenut

The cheapest and easiest thing to do first is lower your air pressure! The higher the pressure, the more stiff the ride.

Then, go with 15" wheels and a set of tires with flexible sidewalls.

Plus the lower the pressure the more heat buildup from excessive flexing.
"Blow outs" are caused by low pressure raising the tire's internal temps until it catastrophically fails.

That said, yes you can lower it some safely but going too far below the recommended pressures is foolhardy.
Also...
Getting a Porsche for "Comfy Ride" is just silly. Option C is definitely on the table here.

[javadog]

Don't screw with equal tire sizes on both ends - your car is too nice.

If you are serious about a better ride...

Change the tires. Use a less harsh tire.
Swap the Bilsteins for Boges.
Make sure the rubber bushings in the suspension are fresh.
Raise the car and get it aligned properly.
Set the tire pressures correctly.

JR