Need advice on new tires selection.Please help?

[racerpaul]

Getting ready for the paint shop so about time to consider ordering new shoes! A set of Pirelli's or??? Need some advice!

Here are two pics showing the Ducktail fitted.


You can see why I need help with these dried out Pirelli's... want a nice looking set with good handling characteristics... please... any advice is appreciated.

Paul

[WFBowen]

Paul
Are those 14 or 15's ? Is keeping the stock rolling diameter a priority?
Bill

[racerpaul]

They are 15's Old Pirellis, kinda dried out.

No real priorities ... just want a quality set that looks and works well.

Thanks WFBowen for weighing in!

Paul

[Peter Graham]

The tires you choose depend on how/when you're going to use the car. For general touring, here are a couple of all-season options: Michelin Premier, Continental TrueContact. I am currently running Sumitomo HTR A/S PO2's and they aren't worth a flip on wet pavement...

[racerpaul]

Originally Posted by Peter Graham

The tires you choose depend on how/when you're going to use the car. For general touring, here are a couple of all-season options: Michelin Premier, Continental TrueContact. I am currently running Sumitomo HTR A/S PO2's and they aren't worth a flip on wet pavement...

Thanks Peter Graham.

[racerpaul]

Originally Posted by WFBowen

Paul
Are those 14 or 15's ? Is keeping the stock rolling diameter a priority?
Bill

They are 15's Old Pirellis, kinda dried out.

No real priorities ... just want a quality set that looks and works well.

Thanks WFBowen for weighing in!

Paul

[Cajundaddy]

Gotta pin down specific sizes first. Not a lot of great choices still in 15".

[WFBowen]

Possible sizes are 215/60x15 or 205/65x15 but as mentioned it's getting to be slim pickings for 15" preformance tires.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?zip-code=&width=215/&ratio=60&diameter=15&rearWidth=255/&rearRatio=40&rearDiameter=17
Bill

[Peter Graham]

I run 195/65 15 (lots of tire choices) on my MY68: no problems with fender rub/clearance. Much wider than that, you'll get rubbing on the inside front with full-lock turning, possibly rubbing at outer fender bead front/rear; plus the wider you go, the less stability you'll have in the wet (too much flotation for vehicle weight).

Peter

[racerpaul]

195 60 15's, you can see how dried out they are.

[Cajundaddy]

Yikes, those things are SHOT! In NY so you probably need A/S to handle cold weather.
choices look better in 205/55/15

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?zip-code=&width=205/&ratio=55&diameter=15&rearWidth=255/&rearRatio=40&rearDiameter=17

[racerpaul]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

Yikes, those things are SHOT! In NY so you probably need A/S to handle cold weather.
choices look better in 205/55/15

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?zip-code=&width=205/&ratio=55&diameter=15&rearWidth=255/&rearRatio=40&rearDiameter=17

Thanks Caj...

As I won't be driving in the winter months those Dunlops are maybe the ticket.

How do you think the "low profile" will look?

Thanks again... got some time yet before Butzy is out of the paint shop so , still looking.

Paul

[WFBowen]

Paul
It all depends on the look you might want, but tires with too low a profile can leave lots of daylight in the wheel wells plus slight gearing changes and speedo error. This chart shows the associated diameters of sizes using the stock diameter of 25.2" (185/70) as a basis. Sticking close to the original dia. seems to look best IMO. Also, as I notice you've raced FF/F2K, you're fully aware of the specific performance characteristics of sizes/brands/compounds etc. so this chart is really meant for aesthetic considerations.
Bill
Tire SizeEquivalentDiameter
205/60R15 24.7x8.1R15 24.7"-2.8%
*225/55R15 24.7x8.9R15 24.7"-2.8%
*155/80R15 24.8x6.1R15 24.8"-2.4%
195/65R15 25.0x7.7R15 25.0"-1.6%
*185/70R15 25.2x7.3R15 25.2"-0.8%
215/60R15 25.2x8.5R15 25.2"-0.8%
*265/50R15 25.4x10.4R15 25.4"Equal
205/65R15 25.5x8.1R15 25.5"+0.4%
225/60R15 25.6x8.9R15 25.6"+0.8%
195/70R15 25.7x7.7R15 25.7"+1.2%
275/50R15 25.8x10.8R15 25.8"+1.6%
215/65R15 26.0x8.5R15

[racerpaul]

Originally Posted by WFBowen

Paul
It all depends on the look you might want, but tires with too low a profile can leave lots of daylight in the wheel wells plus slight gearing changes and speedo error. This chart shows the associated diameters of sizes using the stock diameter of 25.2" (185/70) as a basis. Sticking close to the original dia. seems to look best IMO. Also, as I notice you've raced FF/F2K, you're fully aware of the specific performance characteristics of sizes/brands/compounds etc. so this chart is really meant for aesthetic considerations.
Bill
Tire SizeEquivalentDiameter
205/60R15 24.7x8.1R15 24.7"-2.8%
*225/55R15 24.7x8.9R15 24.7"-2.8%
*155/80R15 24.8x6.1R15 24.8"-2.4%
195/65R15 25.0x7.7R15 25.0"-1.6%
*185/70R15 25.2x7.3R15 25.2"-0.8%
215/60R15 25.2x8.5R15 25.2"-0.8%
*265/50R15 25.4x10.4R15 25.4"Equal
205/65R15 25.5x8.1R15 25.5"+0.4%
225/60R15 25.6x8.9R15 25.6"+0.8%
195/70R15 25.7x7.7R15 25.7"+1.2%
275/50R15 25.8x10.8R15 25.8"+1.6%
215/65R15 26.0x8.5R15

WF... that's some great data! I really don't want too much wheel well space. I am much more concerned with grip, road fee (alias feedback thru the steering wheel vs input and response) and stability. These dimensions should help to remedy the real estate in the wheel well question.

Thanks again,

Paul

[Jaems]

You also must consider torque to drive those larger tires. The 185/65/15 is another choice that works well on the early 912's

Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
185/65-15 4.7in 12.2in 24.5in 76.9in 824 0.0%
185/70-15 5.1in 12.6in 25.2in 79.2in 800 3.0%

[Cajundaddy]

Whatever size you settle on, get some performance rubber with good grip under that car rather than 560 tw grand touring truck tires/hockey pucks. If she doesn't see a lot of miles/yr 220-300tw is probably a good target for performance rubber on a light car.

[racerpaul]

Hey Guys, I know these aren't P6000's but they ARE Pirelli's!

https://www.tires-easy.com/brands/pirelli-tires/p4-four-seasons-plus?code=2510000

These are 6000's, I've been looking and think its a good price... wadda ya think?

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Pirelli&tireModel=P6000&partnum=16WR56000N2

Paul

[Slanski62]

The Vredestein Sprint Classics and the Pirelli Cinturato CN36 are both available in 185/70R15. One of these two will soon go on my '69 912.

Steve Yeatts
Chapel Hill, NC

[racerpaul]

Originally Posted by Slanski62

The Vredestein Sprint Classics and the Pirelli Cinturato CN36 are both available in 185/70R15. One of these two will soon go on my '69 912.

Steve Yeatts
Chapel Hill, NC

Nice, keep us posted!

Paul

[WFBowen]

Those P4's sure look tempting compared to the P6000's. Maybe 75% the level of the P6000 at 30% the cost. There's also something to be said about keeping these cars close to original equipment not only for the stock appearance, but also to experience the original driving characteristics as designed by the Porsche engineers back in the day. My 68 has been backdated to 4.5 chromes with 165's. It drives just like the new ones I drove in the late sixties. If it's all-out cornerning I want, then just about any modern sport coupe with some good tires on it will outshine the early Porsches, but that's a whole different thing.
Bill