Far from retiring it, I'm getting to drive my '74 2.0 a lot more lately. Engine is freshly built 2056; Evil-rebuilt trans.

The car came to me with Kumho 165/80 R15 tires -- OEM size, if I'm not mistaken. They're fine and have at least half their tread left, but I noticed a date code of 3003 -- I believe that translates to a date of manufacture of the 30th week of 2003. Primarily out of fear for what a catastrophic blowout could do to the car, I'm thinking it's time to replace them.

I'm leaning heavily toward keeping the OEM size. I love the go-kart feeling and I can pretty easily control the rear end with the torque of the 2056 and those skinny tires. It's strictly a fun road car... no racing ambition. And it's not a CW car, but I like showing the OEM tire size for Cars & Coffee.

I've come across 4 tires available in 165/80 R15. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has experience with these or has a compelling reason for me to consider something else (e.g. fatter tires).

• "Classic" All-Season from Tire Rack (made in China, $68/ea)
• Vredenstein Sprint Classic ($104.50/ea)
• Vredenstein T-trac Summer Tire ($129.80/ea)
• Michelin XAS (expnsive)

So... anyone with experience/opinions?

195-65x15 is the modern equivalent. Wider, lower, more availability.

What's the absolute minimum at which fitment/rubbing might become an issue?

195/65R15 has the same od so your speedometer reads properly. Probably don't want any wider on the skinny stock rims, but they fit under the car nicely. I've heard of 205's fitting, but don't know if that's on stock rims. I put Dunlops on the '76, and they look like they belong there.

cm

I have 205/60/15 from Toyo on my 2.0L Fuch's. Mines a daily driver. I think the fronts rub a little on the inside when the wheels are in full left or right turn position. Rear wheels are fine.

Other than that no issues. To me they look a little fuller in the wheel well. I believe my speedo is 2-3 MPH off (ex: says 50MPH but I am doing 48MPH in reality).

If you intend to drive it at all in weather, I would get these:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?ti...S&tab=Sizes

Goodyear assurrance 195/60/R15

Flip....
If going classic look, ride, and fit the Vredenstein Sprint Classic look really nice....and they are H rated modern tires...
Seen them on some early 911s and they just look right....owners had the same requirements as you.
John

I like a little more patch on the ground with the 2056 in the 'BB', so I run 195/65-15s as well (on 5.5" wheels). Putting Pirelli 185/65-15's on my wife's 1.7L ... a little wider than the 165R15s that are on there now (5.5" wheels too).

I noticed that some of the old cars in the Porsche museum have Hankook equivalents of the NLA Michelin XZX 165SR15 tires

I was in exactly the same position last year. The car had almost brand new 165SR15's all around...but they were about 10 years old and sat flat for a few years until I bought the car. I was getting ready to drive down to the tail of the dragon and couldn't chance blowing a tire after a four year restoration.

My car is a stock D-jet 2.0. Daily driver 9 months out of the year. Street driving, but may try an autocross this year. While the car will remain predominantly stock, I decided to go with 195 65 R15's. I like the look, feel and ride of the car with the new tires. They fit very nicely in the stock fender wells. I believe there is a service bulletin floating around this site where Porsche recommends this size as a replacement.

Unless you are really attached to the stock look of the skinny tires, 195's are an excellent upgrade in my opinion.

Still considering the OEM size, and found another option. These are $80/ea from Summit Racing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRXu2bvRXLw


I'll occasionally drive in the wet, but I have no intent to drive in real winter weather. I'd have no problem going to 195's if there were no alternatives, but there seem to be some pretty good options in the OEM size now that there are vintage tire manufacturers. Still curious to hear from anyone running any of these modern 165's.

I agree with you. For low HP cars (i.e. < 120 HP), 165 tires are surprisingly fun on these cars. They still handle really well, feel very light, and look great.

165 sized tires today and much better than 165 sized tires in the 1970s.

Alternatively, there are also lots of 185/60/15 tires out there too. I'm considering giving that a shot on my stock 914-6.

-Steve

I don't think I'd go with the Firestone F-560. That's a P rated tire, 93 MPH. If you want to match the original tire size & rating for your 2-liter, go with the Vredestein Sprint Classics. There are also a few others that are T rated, but they might not be sold in the U.S.

Toyo 330
Continental Contact CT22

You also might want to consider a slightly taller and skinnier tire than the 195/65R15. The Vredestein Sprint Classics come in a 185/70R15, which should be just about the same circumference as the 165R15. Just a thought ...

Flip, I just received the March 2014 issue of Classic Motorsport magazine and there is an article "Retro Rubber" in which they compare 165 x 15 Michelin XZX ($208 per tire), Firestone F560 ($80) and Vredestein Classic ($119) tires. In order of best value they picked: 1. Vredestein, 2. Firestone, 3. Michelin.

I thought of this thread while I read the article yesterday.

Michelin is making 165SR15 XZX tires again?

Hugely helpful. Thanks!!

I decided to go with Bridgestone Eagle GT 195/60/15, on my Pedrini Alloys. After doing some reading I found that people were the most pleased with the 195 size tires. I also read that if you want a bit better handling go for 60's and if you want more comfort and better ride go for 65's.
It all depends on what you want out of them. 165's in my opinion are just to small to offer effective road-holding.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
- Chris