Gberg911

Hey guys,

I have a 1988 911 Targa with the 15" fuchs. I currently have some really beat P6000s on there and want to replace them with some more performance oriented tires. I'm looking to spend maybe 120 per tire or so.

Any ideas?

Also, what size should I be looking at. I personally do not think a 215 is a good size for an 8 inch wide rim in the rear...

but then again this is the first time buying new tires for a Porsche.

any and all feedback is greatly appreciated

theiceman

15s are getting tougher and tougher to get rgood ubber for. I would check with Damon on here as he might be able to make some suggestions or go to tirerack.com and put in your size and car to get a starting point as to what is available.

Gberg911

tirerack was useless... it didnt have any performance there... but there was plenty of winter tires posted...

The sizes tirerack quotes are

195/65/15 - front
215/60/15 - rear

Would wider tires fit???

1986 Targa

Wheel widths F/R?

rusnak

I've bought Yokohama AVS Intermediate for the 914-6 with 15s. They're truly SCARY in the rain, but gumball sticky in dry weather.

norpalms

Faced the same tire dilemma recently - decided on staying w/more stock look with Vredestein's which have actually been pretty good - wouldn't take them to the track but for spirited daily driving they're fine and 1/2 price of the XWX's repros. Think I spent $154/per delivered.

Caferacer

I just replaced my old Pirellis with the Kumhos from tirerack for my daily driver. They feel great so far but I haven't really pushed them too hard. Certainly stickier than the ancient P6000's I bought the car with.

Gberg911

Yeah i think ill just end up with the kumhos.

Anyone put wider tires on the 15s?

They are 7 up front and 8 in the rear i believe. Its the dimensions of whatever the super nice Fuchs are.

911 Crazy

+1 on Damon from Tirerack. He even followed up to see how I liked mine.

Droops83

I just went through this process with a customer who has the exact same year of car and wheels as you do--an '88 with the factory 15" Fuchs. They are cool little wheels but there are really not many decent tire choices that are still available in that particular size. Damon from Tire Rack may be able to help you special order something, but through the normal channels there are not any good tires out there in outdated sizes like 215, at least in a matching front and rear set. There are a few decent tires still available for your front size but not the rear. There are good reproduction tires available for the older classic 911s and 356s with really skinny tires, but the '80s-vintage tire sizes are in a kind of no man's land at the moment.

My customer in the meantime got a set of Kuhmho grand touring tires, which were the only ones readily available in town, and they are a cheap stopgap measure for now. These particular tires might be OK for a Camry but they are 600 tread wear and have huge, soft sidewalls. I drove the car and it felt like the tires were made out of marshmallows. The car feels truly awful (it felt good before on its very old Pirelli P6000s). 911s are VERY sensitive to tire choice and it is simply not worth it to compromise that much performance, safety, and road feel with crappy tires for the sake of maintaining the original tire size.

What I am getting at is that it might be best to keep your 15" Fuchs in the garage as they are nice, but if you can swing it would be wise to purchase a second set of wheels that have a good array of tires available. Even the optional 16x7 front/16X8 rear wheels available in '88 have a number of good tires still available, from all-season to "extreme summer" to R-compound available (my '86 951 has that size).
Your only other option would be to go significantly shorter with the sidewalls in 195 front and 225 rear which is perfectly OK if you are also OK with the requisite reduction in final drive gearing (speedometer would need to be recalibrated as well), harsher ride, and odd looks.

Good luck, and please post any questions you might have, there are those of us on this forum who deal with this issue all the time.

Daniel Dudley

I ran 225/50 15 front and rear on my 81 SC very minor rubbing on one side in the front, but I never rolled the lip. You can get some good tires in that size.

sig_a

Greatest selection of 15's are in high performance and competition. I think because of SCCA SPEC MIATA CLASS.

Nitto NT01 225 45 15 on all four -- a dream to drive on. See Discount Tire Direct.

Yokohama A048 225 50 15 on all four -- expensive, but great. See Tire Rack

Hankook makes a 225 45 15 and is the cheapest of the performance/competition. See Tire Rack

Toyo makes R888 235 50 15, 225 50 15, and a few smaller. See Tire Rack.

There are more 15's in DOT slick style like Kumho v710, Hoosier A6/R6, Goodyear Eagle RS, BFG R1......these are generally thought of as track only.

The best for the buck: Nitto NT01. Great on dry road. OK on wet road. Not good in downpour. Don't expect any of these to last more than 10K miles. They are soft compound, very sticky competition style tires that are DOT approved for highway. 45 aspect = about 23" diameter. 50 aspect about 24" diameter. I had P6000 on my 15's. Any of these will make your car handle and brake much better than the Pirelli.

brad@tirerack.com

Give me a call if I can help berg. I'd be glad to help.

Gberg911

I will contact you.

Thank you a lot guys i really appreciate it.

Jay Gratton

I just bought these and love them!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....s+V12+evo+K110