No more bug offset Rivera’s.
Cinderella can finally go to the ball.

Need help with tires. Size wise, I’m probably going with a 195/65 x 15. From researching here, for me, that seems like a good bet. I only street / freeway drive, so the 205’s may be too much. I’m running 10 year old 165/15 Michelins now and am happy. Maybe it’s just what I’ve grown used to.

I stopped by the tire store today and they suggested Goodyear GT HR or Dunlop SPA2. ????? They said the Goodyear would have a wider tread & better grip but Dunlap would be a smoother ride. Or, was it the other way around? They tried talking me out of the Pirellis because of rapid wear. And lastly, I remember someone at a BBQ saying Falkens or Fuzions, (can’t remember) are too stiff for street and their side walls tend to shred.

Help! Open to any suggestions.

Thanks in advance.
Tom

I went with Pep Boys 205/55 HR 15's. nice ride.. comfortable most of the time but a little soft when you thread a canyon, would prefer to have 50 series tires, as I enjoy the canyons.

damn...those are pretty....I love that polish-color combo....

I'd go with a 195/60 or the 205/55, as long as it's a decent brand tire, you'll have plenty of grip and still have a nice ride....

195x60's will be a nice middle of the road size and the tires are up to you on how much $$$$ do you want to spend.

yoko 205/50 or 205/55 ES 100, they also make them in a 195.

very good tire

For a street car I much prefer the 195/65's. Gear ratios, speedo and ride comfort are virtually unchanged from original equipment 165's.

Tom,

195-65 is not a bad choice for you. It's just a tick shorter at 25" in diameter than your 165-80's which are around 25.25" in diameter. Keep in mind most of the people here are more sport oriented with their driving. If you like cuising on the highway with 165-80's you may be unhappy with the extra noise of spinning the motor faster. At around 70 mph you are probably turning around 3000 rpm. With a 205-50 you will need to turn about 3200-3300 rpm. Doesn't sound like much, but you'll notice it. I will try to e-mail you my wheels and speeds spreadsheet. If you are unfamiliar with Exel I can help you out.

Kelly

Whatever size you choose, here's my .02 worth. I really like my Dunlop A2's on the 914, and Falkens on our 911.

YMMV.

Sweet looking Fuchs
Need a 5th for a spare? pm me for a cheap deal.

Food for thought the tire is the only interface between you and the road. If you never drive it hard then middle of the road quality tires will be fine.
Yoko AVS ES 100 do not like to be pushed hard they get greasy quick. however they are REALLY nice in the wet.
Falken Azenis have great grip are so so in the rain and will last you maybe 10K miles. MAYBE.

Thats a mighty purty wheel. I just bought Kumho Ecsta s pretty cheap. They come highly recommended, and I will say the ultimate grip is higher than the Pirellis they replaced. It is a fairly soft sidewall I think, cause it feels smooth on the road. At the limit I think they get a little squishy- but it is a higher ultimate grip. That said, I once had Dunlops (M4 A2 maybe?) that were great tires. Really linear grip... Can't remember how they rode. I think a 195 is plenty of tire. I have 205s, which usually fit OK with MOST brands, but if you are used to the look of 165s, 205 will look too fat for you. So- if that Dunlop is Z-rated, I would go for it. Otherwise, the Kumhos seem pretty nice- especially for the minimal $. In fact 195/50-15 Kumhos seem to bee really cheap- like less than $60 apiece. I didn't really need these 205s...

I'll confuse you even more.

Kumho 205/55's work really well...

195/65's are a poor tire choice for a 914, because the superior cornering ability of a 914 will be significantly compromised by the excessive sidewall flex of a 195/65 tire. Why have a 914, and buy such a tire? That is illogical, in my opinion.

You'll have just as much riding comfort with 195/60's, yet going through corners will put a big grin on your face. And that's what it's all about.

look at bfg traction ta. good reviews at tire rack. seem like good price too.

The recommendations are all over the chart so far, so I may as well add another. If you want near stock diameter so your speedometer will be fairly accurate and you RPM's will be low on the road then consider a 195/65 or 205/60 (which is what I have). They may not have the super low-profile look, but they will work well. For tire type you may want to go to the Tire Rack website and do a search for the tire size to get a listing of all of the available tires, then you can start narrowing down your choices based on performance, wear, noise, cost, etc. I will need new tires soon and I think I'll go with Yoko ES100's next.

Tire Rack has most of the big names but not all of the smaller manufacturers.

BTW, I read in an article in Road & Track a few months ago that most tire makers say that when a tire is 4 to 5 years old the rubber has hardened and lost significant grip. When you replace your 10 year old rubber I bet you'll be amazed at the difference, especially if you go withthe extra width from 165 to 195 or 205.

Yep, totally agree as my 5 year old Dunlop SP8000's are done. I hate driving in the rain right now in them. I got about 12k miles on them and they are down to the markers too, but I have AX's on them too.

Got to buy some excellent street tires probably 205x55's this time as the close ratio tranny gears will go witha slightly bigger tire for some street comfort.

I'd have to recommend Falken Ziex ZE-512 as an excellent and inexpensive all around tire. Probably better than the Dunlop A2's in terms of performance, noise, and comfort. Excellent wear, although maybe a little less than the A2's.

They seem to run narrower than other tires, so I'd opt for the 205 width and you'll probably end up with about the same width as most other 195 tires would be. They come in a bazillion sizes and profiles. So with 205 width, you have your pick of 50, 55, 60 or 65 series.

Demick

You should not drive on 10 yr old tires.
Drive the car like you stole it and they won't last 2 years
Cheap new tires are better than old expensive ones. good call Geoff.
Wit till you buy some R compounds. I keep them in plastic bags in a cool place inbetween events.

Just remember when you go to buy tires it's all about the treadwear rating which is a uniform rating. Don't let anyone tell you it's brand specific, because it isn't.

R compound tires generall fall in the under 100 range.

Anything over 200 might as well be a solid rubber tire hard as a rock.

I think Yoko AVS Sports are like 180

Good AX tires that don't see laps are like 40

Good lap tires would be 80-100

And so on.

My Jeep has tires with a treadwear of 280 to put things in perspective.

QUOTE (Headrage @ Jan 17 2006, 10:45 PM)

I'll confuse you even more. Kumho 205/55's work really well...

...sorta, i've got 195/55 kumho ecxta's. they're vg-superior in every catagory and every possible driving condition (except snow of course).
i may stay with them forever.

To continue being in the minority here (I like 195/65 for a street car), 205 is really too wide for a 5.5" wheel. I know many of us run 205's anyway, but I think the "pinched in" sidewall compromises the tire's performance. Our cars were designed for 155 or 165 tires. The OE tires had a profile of about 80. Adding 30 mm to 195 and reducing profile to 65 is enough for a narrow wheel. You will have good performance, good ride, accurate speedo, and correct gearing, with no clearance issues. And you will have all the cornering capacity you need in a road car. If autocross is your thing, then get some wider wheels to take advantage of a 205/50 tire.

QUOTE (lotus_65 @ Jan 18 2006, 09:19 AM)

QUOTE (Headrage @ Jan 17 2006, 10:45 PM) I'll confuse you even more. Kumho 205/55's work really well... ...sorta, i've got 195/55 kumho ecxta's. they're vg-superior in every catagory and every possible driving condition (except snow of course). i may stay with them forever.

No you won't. After you wear them out some, they really start to suck, really hard. Kumho is not a bad tire, but they are not the same quality as Yokohama, Dunlop or Michelin, IMHO. Loved them until they had about 50% of the tread worn, then they wandered and pulled terribly.

195 is as wide as I would go on a 5.5 inch wheel. 195-60 ES 100 yokos are on mine. 195-55-15 is an odd size, but is OE on the integra R, so there are some very good choices out there in that size. Going from a 80(or 78, whatever 165 SR-15 sidewalls are) to a 50 is a bit much, you might not enjoy driving so much, it can get sort of rough on low pro tires

QUOTE (Porsche Rescue @ Jan 18 2006, 09:42 AM)

To continue being in the minority here (I like 195/65 for a street car), 205 is really too wide for a 5.5" wheel. I know many of us run 205's anyway, but I think the "pinched in" sidewall compromises the tire's performance. Our cars were designed for 155 or 165 tires. The OE tires had a profile of about 80. Adding 30 mm to 195 and reducing profile to 65 is enough for a narrow wheel. You will have good performance, good ride, accurate speedo, and correct gearing, with no clearance issues. And you will have all the cornering capacity you need in a road car. If autocross is your thing, then get some wider wheels to take advantage of a 205/50 tire.

yep, I agree with JimC. I said 195x60's cuz its a good street size for the 5.5" fuchs.

I run 6" Fuchs for the street and 7" Cookies for AXing and track but thats another story........

Thanks for all the replies, comments, and suggestions.
I’ve been taking notes along the way and plan on hitting the tire store this weekend.

After a lot of consideration, I’m sticking with a 195. I’ll look at their /60 & /65 to compare but still leaning toward the 65. I’m replacing cracked 165SR15’s and, even running those, really enjoy both the canyons and the freeway. New rubber alone should make a big difference. She’s close to stock and I don’t want to throw off the shifting, RPM and appearance as much as I would with 205’s. That’s just me. As it is, I probably don’t drive the car near as hard as I could. My big road concern was not so much grip as it is stopping. Next item on the list – brakes.


Tom

QUOTE (Porsche Rescue @ Jan 17 2006, 05:18 PM)

For a street car I much prefer the 195/65's. Gear ratios, speedo and ride comfort are virtually unchanged from original equipment 165's.

I agree, have old set of Pirellis VR rated, Good all around tire. But do not drive 914 much on the street anymore. But the 195's keep gearing etc pretty much intact.

I do not have any particular recomendation. Just keep cose to original size for street.

mike

I recently went from a 185-60 to a kumho 195-50. Love the tires, but should have gone with the 195-60. The thing corners like a slot car, but the speedo is way off. Car doesn't see a lot of highway miles so it's no big deal for me.

There was a great artical in Road & Track a while ago about how the 308 Ferrari (and others from the same time) handled WORSE with modern low aspect tires. The effect of the higher sidewall actually help the car return to center thru the salom.

Anyway... Road tyres, I would go with the 60s...

I recently installed 205-50s (Bridgestone SO-3s). The grip and performance is freaking incredible compared to my old Pirellis.

BUT........., I hate the high rpms and frequent shifting that come with a smaller diameter tire. It makes the transmission feel like a close ratio box but 6th gear is missing. I'm usually seeing over 3600 rpms cruising down the freeway. They are great for autocrossing though.

I had 195-60s before and according to a tire calculator they were 1.2" larger in diameter than 205-50s. I don't understand how some people like 195-50s. In the future I will go with 195-60s again.

The 914 has Contis on it in 195/65/15. CH91 IIRC.

They are an OEM Mercedes fitment. (The 190 also has them)

They aren't too expensive either...

Thanks everyone for your expertise ......have to put new tires on soon the po had his local tire experts install the Sumotomos ,they put 60lbs of air in both RH tires and 20 lbs in both LH tires he drove it like that for a few months .....have owned the car for about 8 months and am waiting for the tires to explode.....sure is the most fun car that I have ever owned and have owned just about everyting on 2 and 4 wheels.....brings out the Walter Mitty in me.

Thanks again Paul F.