Jay H

I've noticed that The Tire Rack is showing newly released Pirelli P6000 tires with a N2 rating in old school 15" sizes of 195/65 15 and 215/60 15.

Does anyone have any experience with these P6000's (obviously prior versions) for a street only 911? I still run my original equipment 15" phone dial rims and was glad to see at least one choice in a high performance summer tire with Pirelli re-releasing the N rated P6000.

Jay H

Well, I suppose I should at least post a pic of the phone dials in use...

GT9111

forget the tires, I really like your car! But, the rear suspension is slightly too high.

theiceman

you dont see phone dials on 911s too often thats for sure. I know they did offer them for a year or two. Just gotta say a set of nice Fuchs on that car would set it off real nice .. you should consider picking up a cheap set of 16s (thats what i did ) and keep your originals and then refinishing them if you like them.

Jay H

Thank you for the compliment! I also agree that the ride height is screwed up. Long story short, I need to find a good shop to set up this car correctly as far as ride height and the associated after adjustment alignment. It's been a struggle finding some one who knows what they are doing and has the proper alignment equipment...

Jay H

Ice,

I do have a set of 16" Fuchs for the car. However, this car was delivered with 15" Phone Dials and I enjoy the period correct look. The Phones and No Sale Brown make for one ugly 911, but I like odd ducks...

Maybe the factory used these rims as the default choice to extract yet some more money out of customers to upgrade to Fuchs as a pricey option. Porsche is good at that scheme...

Back to tires... The 15's really ride better, but handling is reduced. It's been interesting to be able to swap out my rim sets and check out the differences.

The 'new' Pirelli '6k's are pricey too!

theiceman

Jay
i echo your sentiments exactly as I have brown also. i like the ride on my 16 Fuchs as opposed to the 17 cup 2s i put on for the summer. So we have the same problem in different degrees

I also agree with your originality statement .. like i said you dont see it to often .. but after 3 sets of wheels for 3 different looks i had to stop .. out of space ..

Jay H

It's interesting to note how the look of a car can change just by putting on a different set of rims. I've had people come up to me trying to guess the year of my brown 911 and they always think 1970's or even '60's.

OttawaDave

Jay - that's a great shade of brown; good looking ride for sure.

Curious to know if these are the same P6000's that were available a year or so ago....they seem to be the only option in stock sizes for the 15"s and if memory serves, they only got so-so reviews. Not sure if that is due ot the fact that for a performance tire, those sizes cannot escape the negative attributes of the tall side-wall.

I recently added a set of 17" cup replicas, and they transform the whole look of the car vs. my 15" fuchs. Still, the ride suffers with the 17"s and I find their weight is much more noticeable that I expected it to be. My old setup with the 15" fuchs was 205/55 and 225/50, which shortened the gearing nicely for better acceleration.

In any case, if you get the P6000's, it would be great if you could post your impressions for the board.

Cheers,
Dave

theiceman

DAve i have the same wheels .. they weigh a feakin tonne dont they .. 7.5s and 9s i think

Jay H

Dave,

Thanks for your compliments and comments.


I watch the Tire Rack on a frequent basis and these “new” P6000’s look (cosmetically) identical to the N1 rated P6000’s that have been on the Rack’s site for quite a few years prior. For the tire to get the new N2 rating, internal construction and materials must have changed on this old tire design.

It’s interesting that someone at Porsche and Pirelli decided there was enough demand for 15” sizes to re-introduce this tire, especially with a Porsche N rating. It’s good to have choices again in 15” performance rubber in stock sizes. Well, almost stock since my car’s tire sticker in the engine compartment specifies 185/70 15 for fronts which I’m not holding my breath to be reproduced ever again. That’s too bad since the 185/70 matches the overall height to the 215/60 rears and would truly be factory correct for the car’s vintage.

I’ve kept my ’84 as stock as possible and use Boge shocks, all new OEM rubber bushings (Elephant Racing OEM style rubber A-Arm bushings are highly recommended!) throughout the suspension, the 15’s and new OEM torsion bars from Porsche. It’s amazing how good these cars ride with all base level components and everything restored / refreshed. I don’t expect this car to handle like a 991, so it’s fun to experience the car with its 1984 limits. The vintage body lean and skinny width, tall side wall tire experience is a hoot and it’s kinda like driving a time capsule.

OttawaDave

Hey Ice - yup, I think they're 29 lbs for the rears without tires....yikes. I knew that it would change things, but I was really surprised at how sluggish the car feels with the bigger heavier wheels. That applies to breaking as well. Vs. the shorter-than-stock tires I had on my 15"s, they do make for better highway cruising wheels, but I'd have the same rolling circumference with stock tires on those light fuchs, so it's a quandry.

Jay, I've been dabbling in autocross for a few seasons (though only 3-4 events per season) and have a lapping day under my belt, so the prospect of slowly upgrading all of the suspension components with the latest/greatest has been on my mind. Everything on the car is stock original, and after 108K miles, it's starting to show. However, your logic has me thinking that restoring the specs as the car was delivered in '85 seems has merit as well.

theiceman

There is no question my cups stick better .. but they kind of need to as the car isnt nearly as nimble ..

Brian 96C2

Hi Jay,

I am interested to hear how these tires perform. The only performance tires out there that I know of that have the correct sizes for our cars is the Avon CR6ZZ. These are really great looking period tires, but very expensive.

The RS needs new tires and I will probably go with the Avons but I am curious about the P6000 tires.

As to your suspension setup I would be glad to send over contact info for the mechanic I use. He is the best mechanic I have ever worked with and he is a suspension guru. Having a fresh suspension will help tremendously. He is located in Spring Grove, IL, just over the WI state line.

Jay H

Ice,

This (Fuchs) shot is for you:



Dave,

My concept of returning to bone stock components is not for everyone, but once everything is new, it reminded me of just how good these cars were when they rolled off the showroom floor. I think many of us (including me) never really knew how these cars felt when they were new.

Brian,

I've sent a PM to discuss your shop. I'd love the details and thank you for offering an alternative. I've had it with the dealers ruining my rims bolting alignment equipment up and the independents that use seemingly teenagers with zero experience putting holes in my seats with wrenches and needing the customer (me) telling them what transmission fluid needs to go into a 915 verses a G-50.