Time for tires again

[MPitt]

But this time I can actually afford a whole set. I was looking on TireRack, but I'm not sure which tires are good and which are not. I was thinking about getting the BFGoodrich Premier Tourings, but I figure I'd ask here for anyone's input before ordering anything. I'm open to all suggestions.

These will be put on Cookie Cutters, I'm guessing they need to be 215/60 15? Not sure which sizes fit and if bigger or smaller would be better.

[ChrisRL]

215/60R15 is the correct size.

Kumho Ecsta LX Platinums are good, as are the Pirelli P6000s at twice the price.

Depends on what you're after. The touring tires grip less but last longer. The sporting tires grip more but wear out sooner. Wet and snow handling also comes into it.

But if you're putting it on your 84, then probably the Kumhos, again depending how hard/spirited you want to drive the tires.

[mytrplseven]

I'm a big proponent of the TireRack research tools. They evaluate wear, noise, road conditions and customer reviews. When I put 17" Cayman wheels on my '87 N/A I went to them so I would get tires suitable for Florida where we get huge downpours and I still wanted tires that wouldn't rub the outer fender lip (had a small rub under turning accel with tires that were on the wheels) and found tires that were 1/8" narrower. They also deliver to tire stores near you so you don't have to lug them around. You'll know up front how much the store will charge to change them. No brainer!

[MPitt]

Originally Posted by ChrisRL

215/60R15 is the correct size.

Kumho Ecsta LX Platinums are good, as are the Pirelli P6000s at twice the price.

Depends on what you're after. The touring tires grip less but last longer. The sporting tires grip more but wear out sooner. Wet and snow handling also comes into it.

But if you're putting it on your 84, then probably the Kumhos, again depending how hard/spirited you want to drive the tires.

I think I'll check out the Kumhos. I've been using the 84 as my daily driver for work so I don't get on it as much as I like, and I fear I'm gonna need to do a lot of work on it soon so I've been taking it easy. Once spring is here I'll get the 86 ready to go and have some fun in that though

[flash968]

the best street tire i have ever had is the michelin pilot super sport. we put them on the SL550 and they are nothing short of amazing. i would replace the yokohama advan AD08s that i have on the blue 968, if they came in the sizes i want. they don't though, so i stick with the second best. both of these are max performance sumer tires though. i don't drive my toys in the rain, let alone snow, so they would be of no use to someone who does.

i agree about using the tirerack tools. tons of information there.

[ChrisRL]

Yeah, rubber choices in 15-inchers are getting very few and far between.

I have an old set of Michelin Pilot SSs on my own '84 944, but can't find them new in 15" any more, except for a garage store out in Vegas, (which mightn't be a bad drive, come to think of it...).

Bear in mind that if you up to 17" rims or more, Porsche has a tech bulletin out that requires your caster eccentrics and some other bits to be upgraded in order to take the additional load stresses.

However just moving up to 16" will increase your tire choices substantially.

HTH
Chris

[haroldina]

If you search Tire Rack by size instead of application for the 944, you'll find a lot more tires available. When you search by vehicle for the 944, they use the original speed rating and that cuts out a lot of tires. I doubt you're planning on running the thing faster than 130mph on a regular basis on all-season tires, so you should be fine.

[MPitt]

Originally Posted by ChrisRL

Yeah, rubber choices in 15-inchers are getting very few and far between.

I have an old set of Michelin Pilot SSs on my own '84 944, but can't find them new in 15" any more, except for a garage store out in Vegas, (which mightn't be a bad drive, come to think of it...).

Bear in mind that if you up to 17" rims or more, Porsche has a tech bulletin out that requires your caster eccentrics and some other bits to be upgraded in order to take the additional load stresses.

However just moving up to 16" will increase your tire choices substantially.

HTH
Chris

I was thinking of moving up but the only other wheels I really like are the cookie cutters or Fuchs, which aren't easy to find. I was looking at bigger wheels a bit ago and considering if it would be worthwhile to upgrade to a late model suspension bits to make bigger offset wheels fit, but that's a hard choice to make.

Originally Posted by haroldin

If you search Tire Rack by size instead of application for the 944, you'll find a lot more tires available. When you search by vehicle for the 944, they use the original speed rating and that cuts out a lot of tires. I doubt you're planning on running the thing faster than 130mph on a regular basis on all-season tires, so you should be fine.

I noticed that at first, I put in my vehicle and had two choices I think. After searching for size instead there were a good number of choices. As for the 130MPH thing, we can try, right?

[jeffrsmith]

Originally Posted by ChrisRL

Bear in mind that if you up to 17" rims or more, Porsche has a tech bulletin out that requires your caster eccentrics and some other bits to be upgraded in order to take the additional load stresses.

Does anyone have a copy of this tech bulletin they would like to share?

[jwade944]

APPROVED WHEELS & TIRES: NEW SPECIFICATIONS
Article Text

ARTICLE BEGINNING

TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN

17 INCH APPROVED WHEELS & TIRES

Model(s): 1987-On Porsche 944 (with M30 option) 1987-On Porsche 944S (with M30 option) 1987-On Porsche 944 T (with M30 option) 1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S
1989 Porsche 944 Turbo
1989-On Porsche 944 S2
Group: 4
Bulletin No.: 9303
Date: September 28, 1993

SERVICE INFORMATION

Concern

Installing 17" Porsche wheels on vehicles previously equipped with 16" wheels.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

Installation Information
1. Front and rear fender well lips must be reworked and/or checked for adequate tire clearance. See Fig. 1.

2. Suspension travel must also be checked. Parts such as brake lines, hoses and brackets must have adequate clearance.

3. New caster eccentrics, rear mounts and nuts must be installed in the front control arms. This change is necessary due to a change in caster specification on vehicles equipped with Porsche 17" wheels. The specification for vehicles equipped with 17" wheels is 3'-15'-45. See Fig. 2.

4. Vehicles must have a rear stabilizer bar.

5. When adjusting vehicles to new caster specification, all alignment values should be checked at that time.

6. When summer tires are used on vehicles with 17" Porsche wheels, snow chains cannot be used. If winter tires are used, only snow chains with Porsche Part Number 911 361 924 00 may be used.

7. Tire pressures for front and rear 17" Porsche wheels is to be set at 2.5 bar (36 PSI) at approximately 20'C (68'F).

8. When using this rim and tire combination, a 17mm spacer plate must be installed on the rear wheel hub. The customer must be informed that if the emergency wheel is needed, the spacer must be removed.

9. Not for Cabriolet vehicles.

APPROVED WHEEL & TIRE TABLE

Tire size Rim size Offset Position Note

225/45 ZR 17 7,t Jxl7 AH 65mm Front Summer tires
255/40 ZR 17 9 Jxl7 AH 55mm Rear (See installation
information
A through G.)

225/45 ZR 17 8 Jxl7 AH 52mm Front Summer tires
255/40 ZR 17 94.@ JX17 AH 68nm Rear (See installation
information
A through I.)

205/50 R 17 7;-i Jxl7 AH 65mm Front Winter tires
225/45 R 17 8 Jxl7 AH 52mm Rear (See installation
information A through G.)

NOTE: When using this rim and tire combination, a 17mm spacer plate must be installed on the rear wheel hub. The customer must be informed that if the emergency wheel is needed, the spacer must be removed.


PARTS INFORMATION TABLE

Description Part Number Quantity

Spacer Ring 951 331 611 02 2
Wheel Bolt 904 341 671 00 10

Wheel Nut 999 1 82 003 36 10
APPROVED WHEEL PART NUMBER TABLE
Size Offset Part Number

7;-i Jxl7 AH 65mm 96536212405
8 Jxl7 AH 52mm 96536212601
9 Jxl7 AH 55mm 96536212800
91.@ Jxl7 AH 68mm 96536212805


APPROVED TIRES AND SIZES (SUMMER VERSIONS) TABLE

Size Makes

225/45 ZR 17 Front Bridgestone Expedia S-01 Nl
255/40 ZR 17 Rear Continental Sport Contact CZ 91 NO
Pirelli P700-Z NO
Yokohama A 008P NO
Michelin MXX 3 NO or MXX NO Pilot SX


APPROVED TIRES AND SIZES (WINTER VERSIONS) TABLE

Size Makes

205/50 R 17 89 H M&S Front Bridgestone WT05
225/45 R 17 90 H M&S Rear Continental TS 750
Pirelli winter 210 Performance


SUSPENSION PART NUMBER TABLE


Suspension Parts

1. Rear Mount


Part Number Quantity Required
951 341 023 00 2 each


2. Eccentric 951 341 431 02 2 each
3. Nut (torque to 100 Nm) 900 910 115 02 4 each

[Chunkerz]

I like my Bridgestone Potenza (sp?) Pole Position ultra high performance all season tires a lot. They have good grip in the rain (never tried them in snow), but they're directional so you can't rotate them. They're kind of loud too, but it's not that bad. Rolling up the windows or stepping on the gas will drown them out.

As an added bonus you get a $70 gift card and a Bridestone football if you buy a set of four!

[Rasta Monsta]

Loving my Hankook RS3. Near R-compound dry traction, and decent enough wet traction to survive NW winters. Cheap, too!

[MPitt]

I checked with the local tire shop across the street, they have the Kumho tires and quoted me at $516 for installation and balance as well as free rotations. The owner mentioned tires from BF Goodrich, Hankook and Uniroyal that he likes and are less than the Kumhos, so I was wondering if anyone had any pros or cons to those brands before I make a final decision.

Thanks again for the input guys.

[Rasta Monsta]

[fiat22turbo]

Kumho makes many different types of tires, what model did he quote you? I've used Kumho and BF Goodrich performance tires to good effect in the past.

BF Goodrich even sponsored a couple of 924 GTR's for the 1982 LeMans and ran against the GTP's and did fairly well Comp T/A street tires. Not too mention their dominant R-compound tires early in the R-comp wars. So their performance tires have some panache.

Also, having driven Rasta's toofah with the RS-3's I have to second that recommendation.

[MPitt]

Ah, sorry Rasta. I did look for those RS-3 tires but didn't see any in 215/60. The Kumho was the Ecsta LX Platinum. The cost was for installation so I think it would have been a little more expensive than cost + shipping from Tirerack, but not sure it would be too much more. I'd love to get more performance oriented tires, but this is my daily driver and I drive around a little bit for work as well, plus northeastern weather.