Anybody using wider skins on rear?

[Jerry 83 944]

Since the rear wheels are slightly wider (and need replaced this summer) po had 4 same size on car. Anybody going wider in the back -15" Fuchs? I put oem size Falcon Zeix on the front already.
TIA

[Z-man]

How wide are the wheels?

Here's my setup: (Note I have 16' wheels, not 15's)
225-50/16 on 7Jx16 front
245-45/16 on 8Jx16 rear.

-Z.

[CJFusco]

i don't know if it would benefit getting wider wheels for the NA944... not a whole lot of torque being laid down in the rear.

That being said, I would love to get a 205/50/15 front/ 225/50/15 rear setup on my car if I could find a good tire that runs in both those sizes

[s928s]

If you want to go much wider than stock you are probably going to need a wider rim, I have had 10" and 9' wide rear on the 944 (87 ) ..currently have a 17x8 front and 17x9 rear. I am not sure what the stock rear side is on the 15" wheels, I believe it is 215-60-15, you could put a 225-50-15 wich is slightly wider..much more you would have to change the rim width.

[s928s]

There are 3 main brands that have these 2 tire sizes in both a 205-50-15 and a 225-50-15

1. B.F. GOODRICH SPEED
..euro ta ( new gen )........$95.00...............H rated
..g force t/a drag...............$125.95............Z rated
..euro ta............................$125.95............H rated
.. comp t/a drag rad..........$135.95
.. g force t/a zr..................$158.95.............Y rated

2. DUNLOP
..G.t qualifier......................$65.95............. ...T rated
..dunlop sport 8000...........$118.95..............Z rated
.. sport 9000......................$161.95..............z rated

3. HANKOOK
..ventus hr11 h405.............$72.95...............H rated
..ventrus k102.....................$76.95..............V rated

4. REPUBLIC ( goodyear product/kelly springfield)
.. ultra hp 4 directional tr......$65.95.............T rated

priceds are suggested retail through ford tire network, usally comperable to tire rack when you add shipping..

[CJFusco]

Yokahama AVS ES100 seems like a good deal
205/50/15 $74
225/50/15 $89

Does anyone know if I would save money by purchasing them from Tire Rack and then having my mechanic install them? Or should I just do Town Fair Tire and get it over with?

[s928s]

I would check the ratings on the tires for treadlife, temp and traction.
most of the yoca's i have seen have a very soft compund and do not last as long as you would expect on day to day driving.

[UconnTim97]

I have 205 50 16s on 7x16 Fuchs in front and 225 45 16s on 8x16 in the rear. The tires are Dunlop. They came with the the car when I bought it.

I've had no problems with them except that traction is lacking in snow. Other than that, I think they are great tires.

[Gordon Rankin]

I think that Costco may have a facility in Ct. If so, they have reasonable prices, which include mounting and balancing and a vast selection

[Z-man]

I'd stay away from Dunlops, Hancooks, Kumhos, Repbulics (?), and Falkens.

I had Dunlops and they weren't very good, and the other tire companies I list are what they consider third-tier companies.

You know the old saying, "You get what you pay for." Definately true in the tire business.

Just my $0.42,
-Zoltan.

[TorqueTube]

I had a very good experience with Kuhmos on my wife's Volvo 850R. Excellent treadware for a Z rated tire and they were relatively quiet. Those Yoko AVS ES100s that were mentioned are supposed to be very good, affordable performance tires too.

Check out the ratings and comments on TireRack.com.

[Taz's Master]

Z-man, I agree to a point. There are very few car parts that are universally used that have seen the advances that tires have. New compounds and tread designs offer dramatic improvements over what was top of the line in the past. If you are buying the best tires you can, you are getting a superior product.

From what I understand buying an off brand is not necessarily a bad thing though. There are very few actual tire manufacturers, and often times an off brand is simply marketing what was 2 or 3 years ago a top of the line compound and tread design. I'm not defending Kuhmos or Dunlops, just the idea that you can buy an off brand tire and get a decent quality product. (Just don't expect them to be as good on the autocross course as a current top of the line model.)

[Jerry 83 944]

Geez, lots of input. I'll look to see if Falcons make the slightly larger size for the rear. I WILL BE honest by saying that appearance is what I want. I don't autoX and my driving habits will be thru the summer around town a little and definately into CA and Tahoe.
I'll also admit that I am not too familiar with Falcons but in my experience (worked at shop for 8 years) off brands will be an off-shoot from a major tire maker with a reputable history (minus the Exploder!) The Falcons came with a good warranty 1 yr free replacement and pro-rate beyond 1 year. This car is quick but I don't want to drop the clutch and attempt to spin the tires all the time. And this is not the daily driver.

[gearhead290]

Yoko ES 100 is good, so is the Dunlop FM901. I'm running some Bridgestone Potenza RE950 (I believe I paid ~$78 a tire) and I LOVE them. They're great!. But running wider tires in the back or stickier tires in the back will actually make the car handle worse. It will contribute to creating more understeer.

Z-man, what's ur problem with Falken? The Azenis ST215 is an AWESOME tire!

[scottmandue]

I have 15 inch cookie cutters with 215 front 225 back yoko's. it is VERY rare but if I really get on it I can chirp the tires. They handle great although I now wish I had gone with 225's all around.
YMMV

[Sabyre]

I think there may be some understeer issues

[Mike B]

Originally posted by Z-man
I'd stay away from Dunlops, Hancooks, Kumhos, Repbulics (?), and Falkens.

I had Dunlops and they weren't very good, and the other tire companies I list are what they consider third-tier companies.

You know the old saying, "You get what you pay for." Definately true in the tire business.

Just my $0.42,
-Zoltan.

What would you buy again?

[TorqueTube]

Stock size on my S2 Cabrio is 225/50-16 (rear) and 205/55/-16 (front). I don't auto-x or anything like that. My Dunlops Sport 8000s seem like decent rubber. I'm going to 255/40-17 (rear) and 205/50-17 (front), so I'm going to be running a little wider in the rear than currently. It should reduce the current tendency to kick out the rear when I'm getting on it in a corner, but may contribute to more understeer. I'll give you a report after I get them installed and drive it a little. Of course, I'm going to Michelins, so differences may be compounded by going to a different tire.

[..P]

BEFORE ANYONE BUYS NEW TIRES

CHECK OUT THIS LINK

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/index.jsp

It's a tirerack link, but it is often overlooked.



This is the HOLY GRAIL of tire test information.

I recommend Ultra High Performance or the Max Performance test data, but there are some very fine tires in the other categories too, including the Bridgestone RE 950 that I put on my wife's Turbo Volvo.

This page is a heck of a lot better than "shopping brand names" or "shopping price", it has data we can use.

happy reading

BTW I have a set of Firehawk SZ50 EPs on my 944, one size larger than recommended (perhaps a too tall profile for the 944 but looking good and fitting the car), and the Bridgestone RE 730 on the 928, both of which are fine tires. I think I'll try the Firehawks on the 928 next time.

Regards, P

[Z-man]

Originally posted by Mike B
What would you buy again?

Pirellis and BF-Goodrich. I have had really good experiences with these brands.

Although I haven't had Michelins on my cars for a long time, I would still recommend them as well, given my past experience and what I have heard others say about that brand.

gearhead290:
Z-man, what's ur problem with Falken? The Azenis ST215 is an AWESOME tire!

How long have you had those tires? How's the wear and the grip?

Truthfully, I haven't had first hand (or second hand) experience with that brand, but I have spoken to some tire distributors regarding third tier manufacturers of tires. They tend to shy away from these brands due to not as good overall quality, performance, and wear.

Again, this is just In My Humble Opinion.
-Zoltan.