Tire suppliers/prices, Interesting discovery Options

[campbellcj]

On a whim I checked with Wheel Enhancement on race tire prices. Turns out they have the Hoosiers i need (205/45-16) for $169/ea. $184/ea mounted and balanced. I am local so no shipping charges.

The same tire from Tire Rack is $180 plus shipping, so over $200/ea to get on the car.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/boldblue.gif)

I'm thinking about getting some cantilever slicks to play around with on a 3rd set of wheels. I know Bob Woodman Tires is one popular source and they have one Goodyear I "might" be able to cram under my narrow body car. Anybody have tips on what slicks might fit a 7" wheel w/o flares and where to get them?

I need a pair of hoosiers in a 205/45/16 also for my car. I think that's the widest, for our tire/rim size we can fit in the rear. It always looks to me that a 215 would fit, but probably will rub the inner "wall" rather than the fender. I have some tire marks on my car from rubbing with 205/45/16's.

Hmm, sucks I don't live down there, because that's a good deal for the tires. I would probably have to order them from somewhere. Wonder if wheel enhancements ships?

[drew365]

Damn; I just got a new set of Hoosiers from Tire Rack a couple of days ago. I got them heat cycled so I can keep track of how many run groups I get compared to the last set which were killed prematurely by me but about done anyway.
Where is this Wheel Enhancement place? I'd like to keep the info for next time.

oh yeah, while on the topic... What is the proper 16" tire size for our cars?

[campbellcj]

The "normal" tire size for the 16" 5-lug wheels is 205/55-16. That was on the 16x6's, but a 205 works even better on a 7" wheel.

Andy - Wheel Enhancement is in Culver City, near Jefferson and La Cienega. Robert Wood retired a while back and John Brown is running the place now. They have a solid reputation for excellent quality -- and fairly steep prices -- on new wheels & wheel resto work (I used them to redo my former 911's wheels, 2 sets). I think John is trying to dispel some of the image of pissy customer service they picked up in past years. They have excellent mounting equipment and techs as well.

[Brad Roberts]

Chris... do you still need a 2.0 hanger ??

I found one in my garage last night.. still has the Porsche sticker on it.

B

[campbellcj]

Chris... do you still need a 2.0 hanger ??

I found one in my garage last night.. still has the Porsche sticker on it.

B

Yep, I do. JW (Otto) has an entire room full of 914 and 911 exhausts and we couldn't find a single 2L boomerang in there. Of course it could have been right under my nose and I never would see it...buried under 3000lbs of old mufflers and heater boxes.

I was meaning to post a Q about how a 911/914-6 sausage is actually supposed to "hang". I don't have a car nearby to look at. Didn't the 2.0/4 sausage have some little bracket thingies on it?

[Gint]

They have a solid reputation for excellent quality -- and fairly steep prices -- on new wheels & wheel resto work (I used them to redo my former 911's wheels, 2 sets).

How much did it cost per set? Or per wheel?

I was meaning to post a Q about how a 911/914-6 sausage is actually supposed to "hang". I don't have a car nearby to look at. Didn't the 2.0/4 sausage have some little bracket thingies on it?

Mine hangs just like a four to my knowledge. Mine has (had, prior to removing everything), just the bracket that looks identical to a 914/4 2.0 bracket, and the sausage muffler. Nothing else.

[john rogers]

Chris, I found the Goodyear cantiliver slicks 9x23x15 will fit under the front stock fenders okay but the rear fenders need a lot of stretching, even more than the baseball bat trick. My car had then slit and pulled out with extra metal and they still rubbed slightly. Also, check with the tire shop at Willow Springs raceway,as when I got a new set of slicks this past March they were the cheapest including mounting and balancing. What I had done was the Caroll Shelby distributor is in LA so I ususally go to get them from San Diego and save shipping. Good luck

[campbellcj]

John - thanks. There's also a 23x8x15 slick that is designed for a 7" rim (which I have).

http://www.bobwoodmantires.com/gyeagprod.htm

The potential problem is the section width is 10" (huge). My rear fenders are significantly rolled and pulled already, but no cutting/flares.

I remember seeing Topper Chasse's 914-6 with (I think) these tires installed. His rears did not appear to be sliced or pulled much more than mine, but I'm not sure.

[john rogers]

Chris, if I remember the x-section of the tire correctly, the side walls stick out about 1/2 inch over the tread width. The tread width is 9.5 inches or so on the 9x23 and 8.5 on the 8x23 and they both fit on 7 inch rims fine. I'd recommend trying to find one to bolt it on front and rear to see how they fit. I think Topper's rear fenders are pulled like mine were and it is hard to see just how much that is. When I put the 9 inch flares on I gained only about an inch and a half of clearance since mine weer pulled a lot. If you run the slicks I think you'll never go back!!

[Gint]

Hello! Chris Campbell! How 'bout aanswer my question about Wheel Enhancements?

[Joe Bob]

Ginter....WE is expensive......like 150-200 per wheel. WAY more than Al Reed.

[seanery]

Wheel Enhancement

Ginter,

Here's the web page.
Check 'em out then call. They'll answer your questions and were very easy
to deal with when I bought my spacers for the 951.

[campbellcj]

Hello!  Chris Campbell!  How 'bout aanswer my question about Wheel Enhancements?

Sorry Gint...

The stuff I had done was back in 2000 but yes, they are pretty spendy. I would probably not use them (vs Al Reed) for a simple polish or repaint. But if you want a "factory style" i.e. CW reanodizing job, IMHO you would want to talk to either Wheel Enhancement (John Brown) or Weidman's Wheels (Harvey Weidman). I had a set of early deep-six Fuchs redone and they were gorgeous.

Grapevine (Pelican BBS?) also said that Al Reed raised his prices recently. I guess that's the downside of popularity.

[seanery]

Dave @ TRE does the proper restoration as well.

[Gint]

Thanks guys.

I actually called WE once. Didn't seem like they wanted very much to chat. The guy asked if he could call me back and I gave him my number. I never heard from him again. Another solution presented itself shortly thereafter, so I never called back.

I've been thinking (uh-oh) about a variation of the WE that kellezy shows on his site. I want the petals and lips polished and the remaining lower surfaces left with the rougher anodized type finish (although they don't need to be re-anodized). Fairly simple really. You guys that know Al Reed's work know if he would do something like that?

[campbellcj]

I saw a prototype of the "dual rough/shiny anodized" finish when WE first came up with it a few years ago. It would look SWEET on certain color/car combinations IMO. In particular, a silver 72 911S coupe, not to be particular or anything (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I know that Weidman can do it (he had a sample at Dunkels); not sure about Al Reed but give him a call! He's probably either done it already, or willing to take a crack at anything...

[campbellcj]

FWIW I found an Avon bias-ply slick that will fit a 7" wheel under a stock-ish fendered 914. Not cheap though...

http://www.sascosports.com/products/avon/bias_ply.htm

There's a 23x7x15 among other possibilities. That is close to a 205/50-15 Hoosier in width and diameter.