Any tire suggestions for my 3.2 Carrera?

[fourjtsj]

I've got a 1985 3.2 Targa with 50,000 miles. I live I Southern California, drive less than 1,000 miles/year and I don't drive in the rain. Any suggestions? I'm looking at Michelin Pilot Exalto--205/55/16 and 225/50/16. Thanks.

Joe

[wayne robson]

Hi Joe did you get those tires fitted yet ,if you did are you happy with them.
send a photo of your low miles Porsche ,sounds similar to mine ,regards Wayne 44000mls ,dont be fooled by plates i live in Australia,but did live in CA for 10 years.

[ejp]

In the extreme-performance summer tire category for your size, I've run both Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec and Yokohama AD08's and liked them both.

The Dunlop's are great out of the box, an extremely grippy tire in the wet and dry but seem to be dual-compound. As you get about 3/4 through the available tread, they become significantly less grippy. Also, these tend to overheat on the track and get greasy when run hard in hot temperatures.

The Yokohama's are fantastic, albeit not as good in the rain as the Dunlops (in my experience). They tend to deal better with heat than the Dunlops if you track your car. The Yokohama's have a lower tread wear rating, but stayed sticky throughout their lifespan. The other downside to these tires is that they tend to be a bit loud.

I have heard very good things about the Bridgestone RE-11's, but have never used them. These are a very popular tire for our cars. Finally, Bridgestone has just released the RE-71A (reusing an old name). I haven't heard any actual reviews of these yet, but they are supposed to be a more aggressive dry tire than the RE-11.

[NY65912]

Bridgestone RE-11's on my '85 M491. Very sticky, quiet good in wet. Love them.

[virob]

I just put on Bridgestone re11a's, and have about 600 miles on them. Really like them a lot. Since you put hardly any mile on per year, a long wearing tire isn't important for you as the tire will get old and hard before you wear out the tread on even an extreme performance summer tire, and since rain isn't an issue, may as well go for a really good summer tire. At that point, I would weigh performance vs cost vs road noise (doesn't sound like you track your car). The more extreme the tire, generally the more noise. From the reviews, the re11/re11a, are not the best performing of the extreme summer tires, but have better road manners/less noise than most of them, which was a plus for me. They are also good in the wet which was also important for me.

[stlrj]

Bridgestone RE760 Sport are the most impressive tires I have ever had on my Carrera. Smooth, quiet, with tons of grip in dry and wet. Hard to beat the price at the Tire Rack. I liked them so much I even bought a set for my 82 Targa too.


Cheers,

Joe
87 Carrera coupe and 82 Targa

[DeRRis]

Why not fit something Porsche recommends? Ive got Bridgestone Potenza SO-2's and they do a very good job

http://www.911uk.com/docs/Tyres2012-Porsche-Classic-911-Early-964-993.pdf

[Kevin911sc]

I love my RA1's... but it depends how hard you like to push it.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Toyo&tireModel=Proxes+RA1

[gregwils]

I have the Pilot Exalto's. Great balanced tire- wet, dry, ride, noise, etc.

[azhodge]

My Porsche Guru says that Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 would be what he would put on my 88 Next.

[ganun]

Originally Posted by fourjtsj

I've got a 1985 3.2 Targa with 50,000 miles. I live I Southern California, drive less than 1,000 miles/year and I don't drive in the rain. Any suggestions? I'm looking at Michelin Pilot Exalto--205/55/16 and 225/50/16. Thanks.

Joe

Those have been on my 87 for 3 yrs now, ....smooth, can`t go wrong.

[ejp]

Originally Posted by Kevin911sc

I love my RA1's... but it depends how hard you like to push it.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Toyo&tireModel=Proxes+RA1

How long do your RA1's last on the street?

Also, as far as I can tell, RA1's aren't available in his size (205's in 16"). I wonder if a Carrera could expect a usable lifespan out of a set of R888's (which are available in the right size).

[CatsEyes]

Michelin Pilot Sports work beautifully on my 1980 SC.

Good grip and good wet-weather traction. Which is useful where I live, up in the Mountains.

[Cattler]

Originally Posted by azhodge

My Porsche Guru says that Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 would be what he would put on my 88 Next.

I'm a big Michelin fan and am running these in the rear. I have older Pilot Sport A/S in the front. The first set was good for ~40000 miles.

[DRACO A5OG]

In SoCal too. I've been on Conti's DW Extreme for the last 3 changes on my 17" Fuch Replicas. Great on both Dry and Wet ( when it rains, which is almost never but when it does it sticks )





They are very reasonably priced on TireRack

[JohnJL]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

In SoCal too. I've been on Conti's DW Extreme for the last 3 changes on my 17" Fuch Replicas. Great on both Dry and Wet ( when it rains, which is almost never but when it does it sticks )





They are very reasonably priced on TireRack

Agree. I have them on the 71 and the 85, low road noise, sticky, long lasting and reasonably priced. And german.

[wes_r]

RE: Toyo RA-1's ... got about 16k out of mine with street use w/occasional spirited cornering. Switched to RE-11's which are a more comfortable tire, but still sticky.

[PabloX]

3rd vote for the Conti DW Extreme. I'll add that they also ride pretty well.

[Karter18]

Originally Posted by stlrj

Bridgestone RE760 Sport are the most impressive tires I have ever had on my Carrera. Smooth, quiet, with tons of grip in dry and wet. Hard to beat the price at the Tire Rack. I liked them so much I even bought a set for my 82 Targa too.


Cheers,

Joe
87 Carrera coupe and 82 Targa

I will second these tires. The RE760's have worked great for me. I bought them last year for my '87 and they are great on the street and were fun at a track day at Laguna in November. They seem predictable and are very quiet on the street. On the track they warmed up pretty good and go most of the 20 min session and feel a little greasy near the end of the sessions.

[Tippy]

Michelin Pilot Sports are simply untouchable.