Looking for new tires and exhaust advice- 1988 911

[biagiosarich]

Just installed some Conti DW Extreme Contacts and am displeased with the result. Lots of sidewall flex and lack of steering feel and precision. Looking at a change and hoping for everyone's advice. I'm between Bridgestone RE-11's, Dunlaps Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec and Yokahama's ADVAN Neova AD08. It's mostly a daily drive for now with plans for autocross, but still want the maximum performance over comfort and noise. Note, I live in the Pac NW, so rain is in the mix.

Regarding exhaust systems, I currently have a cat bypass pipe, stock muffler with a SW chip. Thinking of adding a sport 1 in 1 out muffler OR going full tilt and getting a set of SSI' heat exchangers and a 2 in system. Curious if anyone has any feedback with this type of modification on a late model 3.2 and if it's worth it. No need to worry about emissions.

Ok, thanks in advance everyone.

Biagio

[RSTarga]

I highly recommend the RE11s, great in the wet too.
Yes SSI's are worth the money and 2 into 1 is a nice sound with much better than stock performance.

[darrin]

I think you'll find conflicting reports on SSIs when used with a 3.2l engine, as their tubing (developed for early 911s smaller displacement motors) is undersized for a 3.2l (or larger) engine. That said, the undersized tubing should provide a low-end performance bump at the expense of top-end power.

It's also my understanding that, while a sport muffler will generally be lighter than stock and provide more sound, it won't have a significant effect on power.

[edit] == also surprised by your bad experiences with Conti dw tires, as I've really enjoyed the set I'm running on my DD carrera targa. have you played around with pressure settings?

[mderienzo]

Tires and exhaust are both very subjective. Here's my experience so far...

I went from no-name high performance summer tires to Conti DW Extreme Contacts and I am very happy with the result on my SC Targa. The car is comfortable and quite on not-so perfect roads and handles much better than before. Great steering response and feedback when the car is pushed. They are not track tires but I think they are very good on the street. No rain experience.

I also have a cat bypass pipe and recently installed a B&B 1 in 1 out muffler. Its loud but a great sound when winding out the gears and still quiet enough in the car at speed on the highway. For around-town driving, I prefer hearing the wirr of the engine and the stock muffler with the bypass pipe. Luckily they are easy to swap out...

[biagiosarich]

Thanks guys. Yes Darrin, I have played with pressures with little luck. I'm running 29 psi up front and 36 psi in the rear. What are you running there?

Regarding tire performance, I noticed the negative effects as soon as I installed them. I've even added turbo tire rods, a bump steer kit, a strut brace and have had the car realigned since, and still the lack of responsiveness and overall difficulty steering, so it simply must be the tires at this point. The car also has fresh blisten HD's and new sway bushings.

[darrin]

thx for the follow-up -- I'm running 32 up front and 36 in the rear. Suspect a key difference may be that I use my car as a daily driver on some pretty rough roads where the very same isolation that's causing you problems is alleviating some of the harshness I'd otherwise be experiencing -- different strokes, etc.

[david.avrahami@]

I can not give you an objective opinion on tires because I always drove on Yokohama S drive tires and like them a lot...I do not race, just pleasure driving...
As to the exhaust opinion...I have a 100 cell Catalytic converter that provides free flow exhaust but far from helping our planet...
I intend to change it to a 300 cell Cat. mfg. here in toronto by VIBRANT ...the cat. is of a higher quality after market that provides free flow exhaust as well but will pass emissions...
As far as the muffler is concerned, I have a MONTY 1 IN 1 OUT stainless steel piece of art that is also free flow, and in my humble opinion, the best there is out there for my 87 Carrera. Amazing sound, no droning but you need to import it from Australia...I believe , however, that our host imports it as well.

[Nachtfalter]

I have the continental extreme contacts on my cabriolet and they are complete garbage. I have Michelin Pilot Sports on my coupe and they are like driving on rails, hands down the best tire for a 911. I wish I could send the Continentals back.

[MARISOL78sc]

I am a big fan of the RE-11's, Conti extreme's not so much.

[midnight911]

i liked Z1*s. performance respectful and the price is ridiculous. i now have R-S3 which also allows me reasonably keep up with slicks at the track.

[RarlyL8]

Can't comment on tires but I know a thing or two about exhausts.

Yes the SSI exchangers are a bit small for the Carrera but will help with mid-range torque. We have seen no significant difference between SSI/M&K muffler combo and M&K pre-muffler/muffler combo for the Carrera. We've done many of both systems, it comes down to budget and the ability to retain a cat if desired. The sound is not too different and looks don't matter much as you cannot see the system unless you look under the car.

[biagiosarich]

Thanks all. Sounds like I can't go wrong with RE-11's, Dunlops Z1's.

Exhaust debate is interesting...SSI's are a fairly big investment yet perhaps not a huge difference for 3.2's. Seems like I could just throw on an MK muffler, or something similar to my cat bypass and have close to the same power as an SSI intalled. From what I understand a pre-muffler just quiets things down vs. a straight cat bypass and sport muffler, correct?

[Kevin911sc]

I am Running Toyo RA1's and they are the best tire I have ever owned. For R compound they are actually holding up extremely well, and the few times they have seen rain did much better than expected.
https://www.toyotires.com/tire/pattern/proxes-ra1-DOT-competition-tires

I like loud exhaust...so I won't bother giving any recommendations(Love my M&K track mini mufflers), other than that I tried B&B 2 to 1 and hated it, raised my oil temps 30-40 degrees and big drop in power.

[RarlyL8]

Yes the pre-muffler is a muffler and the bypass pipe is just a tube.
If you have a PM or BP now you just need a muffler. The combination of those two items will reduce back pressure. Of corse the PM is not as loud as the Bypass pipe.

[biagiosarich]

Brian, thank you. M&K 1 in/1 out looks to be the best fit. Since I already have the BP, I can just install the muffler. If too loud, could add the pre-muffler. I'll send you a note directly.

One of the main reasons for the inquiry in general that I might have an opportunity to get a nice SSI on the cheap.

This forum is killer. Appreciate the insight from everyone.

[larrym]

daily driver in Seattle ?

- HP-summer tires are not a good choice - most of them are no good below 40*F and some even exhibit tread deterioration - check Tire Rack & other plentiful discussion of this on the web

consider A/S-3s from our Rennsport sponsor - almost as good as summer tires for AX per Tire Rack

(disclaimer: I just b'ot a set - also note there are not many options for we who are running 16" wheels - yo don't say in O.P. )
.

[biagiosarich]

Larrym, Yes, I'm in Seattle. I should remove the DD part, as it's recently turned into a weekend car. 16" Fuchs.

[Techno Duck]

I just put a M&K premuffler on with my M&K 1 in / out and love the sound. I previously ran the M&K muffler with a cat-bypass. It sounded great but was a bit too loud for my liking. I like loud cars (look at my track car) but this was maybe a touch too loud for starting the car early in the morning or coming back late at night and not being considerate to the neighbors in my complex. Its obviously subjective but i think the premuffler quieted things down the perfect amount and also took some of the edge off the exhaust note. Its the perfect setup for me now. Great on the highway also, no drone at all. Brian does some great metal work also!

I also put a set of Conti DW's on my '88. I agree the sidewalls are too soft. I was surprised because i have the same tires on the street wheels for my 951, but those are 18's with significantly shorter sidewalls so i probably never noticed really. I also have the Conti DWS on my 540i and they have been fantastic. So i was a bit disappointed in the DW's in the stock 911 205/225 16" sizes. For my usage i should have went with the RE11's; i am going to continue on with the DW's until i overhaul the suspension. After the fact i would like to move to a 16x7 and 16x8 setup.

[spyerx]

My 89 had steve wong chip + cat bypass + fabspeed center 1in/out on the car when I got it, sounds good, not too loud, nice deep tone, good burbles on overrun...

[sugarwood]

Is "SSI" the same thing as "Billy Boat" ?