mdkrp

Happy Labor Day Weekend all-
I did a search on RL and found some suggestions but unfortunately, nothing that would work for me.
My car currently runs Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 that the prev owner put on and I do like them but they are around 6 yrs old and so I think I should replace them.
Size is front 205/55/R16 and rear 245/45/R16.
When I did a search on TireRack, the only tires that came up are:
Yokohama A052 which the TireRack advisor says is best match to my current tires
Yokohama A008P
Pirelli P Zero Rosso and Trofeo R and Cinturato P7

Does anyone have any experience or input to these or others that may fit my rims; I do not know exact size of the rims but they are date coded 1983 for what it's worth.
Thanks

Jim Beam

I changed tires in November 2019 due to age of the old tires. Car is 1987 911 with Fuchs 7x15 front and 8x15 rear. Car is not driven very much and not tracked at all. My independent Porsche mechanic recommended Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring tires, 195/65R15 front and 225/60R15 in the rear. So far I have been pleased but I have probably put less than 500 miles on the new tires.

Jim Beam

Reply follow-up. Note that the Cooper tires are not very favorably rated at Tire Rack.

Jherriott

I just did the same! I went with Pirelli P Zero Rosso in the same sizes you mentioned. So far the tires seem good. Not noisy, good tread for rain. Sticky... like rocks stick to them sticky. The only thing with these Pirellis is they don't "sit" around the rim like Michelin's. So you will really have to be careful next to curbs, as the rubber isn't fat enough to save you! Especially the rears.

Fronts: 7x16 with 205/55/16
Rears: 9x16 with 245/45/16

My initial set-up was a square set up consisting of all corners with 7x16s and 225/50/16s. The rears had a one inch spacer. I was hoping this set up would give a noticeably more aggressive look, however I was disappointed! And subsequently, so was my wallet!!!

Here is a video with my original set up on the drivers side, and the turbo set up on the passenger side for reference. (Photos are new Pirellis)


Jase.

mdkrp

Thanks for the suggestions all. I will take the tires off the rims and check the sizes just to be sure. The prev owner stated they were 7/8" x 16 wheels but I can't find any actual photos of the inside to verify.
JHerriott- I will look at the P Zero Rosso for sure. By the way, you beat me to the punch with your '88 911 as I was also looking at that car when it was for sale- it's a sweet looking car!
Kal

Jherriott

Ah! Sorry about that! It's been a really fun car!

This thread needs some pics of yours!

Jase.

mdkrp

Sorry for delayed pics but here are a couple.
Just coming back from a morning drive.

Nasher

In the States the original P7 comes through Lucas Classic Tires

https://www.lucasclassictires.com/24...4-2454516L.htm

Porsche themselves recommend the P7. It has the N homologation

raspritz

What's your objection to the Yoko AO52 as originally recommended to you? Those are outstanding high-performance street tires.

f4 plt

Just mounted new tires on my ‘83 SC and went with Bridgestone RE71R in 205/55 16 and 225/50 16 mounted on 7 and 8 inch Fuchs respectively

Helios59

I recently bought the Yoko A008Ps for my Turbo-Look. I run the same sizes as you.
This is a revival of a classic tire. The A008P hit the market in 1989 and was standard equipment on the 964.
They ride and handle great, and look fantastic.

parkerfe

While a little more expensive, you can get the proper size Michelin tires from Coker: https://www.cokertire.com/tires.html

Bill Verburg

for 7 & 8 x16 I'd go w/ 205/50 & 225/45 A052s

Normally 205/55 & 225/50 are fitted to 7 & 8, the 205/50 & 225/45 give a 27+lb-ft edge


the 205/50 & 225/45 compare favorably w/ similar 15" set ups, the 16s only give up a liitle more than 5lb-ft

mdkrp

Thanks Bill but please excuse my ignorance....
What do you mean by the 205/50 and 225/45 tires having a 27 lb-ft advantage?

Bill Verburg

Turning the tires takes energy
there are 2 sources of this drain on energy that could otherwise be used to accelerate the car

first is the inertial cost to accelerate or decelerate the rotating assembly due to the mass and more importantly the placement of that mass on the wheel/tire/brake rotor rotating assembly;
here lighter and smaller radius is the main thing to be concerned w/ , the tire is generally more massive than the wheel and certainly has that mass further from the axis of rotation and so is of greatest concern

second is the gearing cost, the drivetrain including the tire acts to multiply and change the direction of the engines torque. The radius of the tire is a significant factor in that process, every 1/2 inch that a tires radius can be reduced is worth ~12lb=ft of torque added to the net torque that the wheels exert to accelerate the car

since the tires radius factors into both of these effects it is by far one of the biggest factors that the owner can easily use to influence the cars performance

bottom line
shorter tires are better for performance
lighter tires are better for performance

of course there are myriad other things to consider as well, specific tire specs such as size and tread compound among them