Tyres choice?

[nineleven911]

Recently i have bought a set of fuch's to fit on my car, now i need new tyres for them. I was wondering if anyone out there could guide me in the right direction of make and model of tyres, as i don't know where to start. Thank you

[450knotOffice]

Hankook R-S2 Z212 tires are great tires - very high grip levels and inexpensive. PatrickB has them on his Carrera. Another tire is the Falken Azenis RT-615. Possible even better grip than the Hankook and almost as inexpensive. I have these on my 996 and love them.

Both of these tires are rank as probably the best gripping non-R compound tires available.

[StayGold808]

It all depends on what you want.

Do you want good tires for the money i.e hankooks, or do you want good tires?

[WPOZZZ]

I have Cooper Zeon 2XS on my 3.2 cab and they are sticky with a very stiff sidewall.

[Zef]

Recently...
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?threadid=348498&highlight=dunlop

[WPOZZZ]

I have the RE750s on my BMW and they do wear really well. One thing about them is their sizing is a little on the narrow side.

[Nape75'911T]

...Toyo T1R's on the 930......love them. I replaced a set of Fuzion's with them.....no comparison.

[450knotOffice]

Personally, I do not have Hankooks on my car. However, I happen to know a guy here who does (PatrickB) and know he absolutely loves those tires. Having followed him around the track, I can tell you his tires stick like glue out there and hold up well to the stress of the track. I'm not sure how someone can make the statement that the Hankook R-S2 Z212's are not good tires. They are (at least in dry conditions, from what I've read).

[hkiang1]

StayGold asks a good question: Do you want good inexpensive tires or do you want good tires? Most Porsche guys swear by Bridgestone S03 Pole Position or RE050A Pole Position, for the street. If you are looking for max stick and are willing to go to a race tire, Toyo RA1s are worth considering.

[450knotOffice]

I don't think you guys understand what I'm saying. The tires I mention, in terms of pure dry road grip, are as good or better than ANY non-R compound tire made for the street. Any tire. However, they are also inexpensive when compared to the others - which is an added benefit.

As an example, I have Bridgestone S03 Pole Position tires on my '84 Carrera and I love them but the Falken RT-615 Azenis are in a different, much higher league in terms of grip. They were designed to be used as borderline competition tires for track and Autocross and therefore maximize dry road grip at the expense of all-out wet weather grip, plus they wear out a little faster. But at half the cost of S03', so what. You can buy two for the price of one S03.

[450knotOffice]

Take a look at these tires and their very aggressive tread pattern, especially at the outer shoulders. Forget about the low cost for a minute - these are world class tires performance-wise. Isn't that what we are looking for in tires for our 911's? Google some reviews of these tires if you don't believe me. I'm just trying to help a brother not to spend way too much money on his tires (I know, I spent almost $300 per tire for my S03's a year ago and they don't compare to my RT-615's).


The Falken Azenis RT-615:


The Hankook Ventus R-S2 (Z212) tire:

[PatrickB]

Originally posted by hkiang1
StayGold asks a good question: Do you want good inexpensive tires or do you want good tires? Most Porsche guys swear by Bridgestone S03 Pole Position or RE050A Pole Position, for the street. If you are looking for max stick and are willing to go to a race tire, Toyo RA1s are worth considering.

Or maybe you should say... Do you want tires that stick, and perform incredibly well, and you don't care WHAT the brand name is... or would you feel better paying ridiculous amounts of money for a BRAND name that everyone tells you is the tire that should be on your car??

I guess before flaming out any particular brand of tire, Nineleven needs to share what will be the typical use the car will see... Just to throw out a comment like Toyo RA-1's for max stick is irresponsible. That tire would be simply stupid to run on the street. You obviously haven't driven those on the street, otherwise you wouldn't suggest them. Those tires are worthless until you get them PLENTY hot on the track. If you got them that hot by running on the street, you should be seeing flashing red lights behind you. Don't drive them in the rain, unless you are auditioning for the Dukes of Hazard sequel...

I've driven ~ 100k on my current Carrera, and have had the joy of experimenting with several different brands of tires, including Pirelli, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Falken, and currently Hankook.

Below are my opinions of the above mentioned tires for a 911:

Pirelli= WORTHLESS. Don't even consider...
Dunlop= I ran a tire that is now no longer in production SP8000. Similar I believe to the current Sport Max. great dry grip, wet was mediocre. Decent lasting tread wear.
Bridgestone= Excellent all around performance dry/wet. The only thing I can find wrong is the ridiculous pricing, and poor tread wear. Like 6k miles and they were DONE!
Falken= 451(now 452) Excellent dry performance, better than the Dunlop. Wet performance was equal to or better than the Bridgestone. Excellent tread wear -- 25k on the front, 15k on the rears. Less than $90 a tire!
Hankook= WOW!! RS2's- As good as or better grip dry/wet as the Bridgestone's at half the price. I've got about 4k miles on this set, with 2 days at the track. They appear to have about half the tread worn. With any luck, I should get about 10k out of them...

If you are just using this as a weekend car, with maybe 3-5k miles a year, putting on a hard tire that you might get 25-35k miles out of would be a waste. The rubber will crack and become dangerous well before the end of the useful tread wear. I would choose the Hankook's!

If it's a daily driver that never see's the track, I would suggest the Falken 451/452. Excellent wet/dry performance, long lasting tread, and at a very reasonable price. Another tire I've heard very good things about is the Kuhmo MX. I've heard more bad than good about the Toyo TR1. No personal experience with the Toyo & Kuhmo, just comments from other Porsche Pilot's.

I went with the Hankook's, as I needed a tire that could withstand the heat cycles I was subjecting my 911 to during DE's out at Willow Spring's Raceway, and also perform daily driver duty. This tire continues to excell at both! The Falken's, while an EXCELLENT street tire, couldn't hold up to the abuse of the track. If I were strictly using my car for street, and occasional canyon run's, I would definitely still be running the Falken's...

I've read on several different board's about Hankook's marketing strategy. They are trying to gain more popularity on many of their tire lines. Cheap pricing to get people to give them a try, then the product sells itself by word of mouth. I have a feeling that a year from now, after gaining more popularity, these tires will likely be as expensive as Bridgestone performance tires... If they were $200 a tire, would you buy them right now?

Please bear in mind, this in my non-professional opinion...
It seems that people get just as worked up over tires as they do motor oil!
Just my $.02!!

[hkiang1]

Its true. One does not have to insist on big brand names to find good performance. I never said that any of the other brands/model tires weren't good. But I think there may be less guess work involved with going with the Bridgestone Pole Position, as it is also true that generally, Porsche guys DO swear by them - at least they do here in the Bay Area PCA circle that I run in. I think masses more Porsche owners (as well as other sports car owners) have tried and liked the Bridgestone Pole Position than the other makes/models suggested above. They not only perform well in the wet and the dry but I imagine that they are relatively quiet when compared to some of the other tires suggested, based on their aggressive and assymetric tread designs. The question posed was, 'what is a good tire to fit Fuchs?' I think a good answer is the Bridgestone Pole Position. Moreover, after 21 million miles reported on TireRack.com, Tire Rack thinks that it is too.

[PatrickB]

Hkiang~

Check out Edge Racing next time you need to replace tires... No affiliation, just another satisfied customer... After looking at tire prices here, you might give the Falken & Hankook's serious consideration.

[hkiang1]

Will do. Quick question though. Are the cars pictured on the Edge Racing website typical of the type that run the tires which you recommend? I don't know how to feel about that. Lowered Hondas and Nissans, though I believe them to be great brands/cars, were just never my style. Nevertheless, price and enthusiast endorsement can be compelling...

Henry

[PatrickB]

No, not really Henry!

Easiest function is to just plug in your tire size, and they will show everything they have in that size! Just for kicks, you might try sizes for all of your cars... You have some pretty nice rides there!!

[nineleven911]

Thank you for the huge amount of answers everyone. PatrickB - The car is used for street, and only comes out on the weekends, i avoid driving it in the wet. So from what everyone has been saying, the hankooks seem to be the right choice.

[PatrickB]

as likely with ALL tires, the first several hundred miles might feel a little slippery or greasy until broken in.
Enjoy!!

[450knotOffice]

You might also consider the one's I've got - the Falken RT615's. I've got a picture of the tire a few posts above. Awesome tire.

[Noah930]

I recently went tire shopping. I would have been happy with the Hankooks, RE750s or RT615s. However, I couldn't find any of them in my size. The big mail order shops were out of stock, and local retailers either didn't have 'em/couldn't get 'em or wanted ridiculous prices. So be prepared for that little issue of availability, as well.