Stan944

Yes, 15x7 cookie cutter.
I'm glad to hear this! I know the theory, so it should work as you're saying, but I never knew how much better it would be in real life.

But I still can't decide. Some of your opinions are contradictory. It probably means that whatever I chose out of the models mentioned, it would be similar.

Keep in mind that I'm willing to sacrafice wet handling: I'll mount back the winter tires in the fall, and for the occasional rainy days I can just drive a little slower.

Stan944

Can't do it. autox rules for my street class prohibit me from going outside of the factory range. -0.5 deg camber at the front is the "most extreme" I can do. But I actually noticed a diference in the understering/oversteering balance upon changing from 0 deg to -05. deg.

Gramps47

So stock it is...if you ever upgrade to a prepared class with r-compound tires, your turn in will be absolutely incredible with the 2deg negative camber. My 944 on track tires turn like my wifes Boxster and sticks, sticks, sticks....

Sam I am

Smaller sidewalls will decrease the "slip angle" in corners which slightly increases the speed at which your tires begin to "slide". Also, smaller sidewalls slightly increase acceleration becuase it requires less torque to turn a wheel and tire of the same width but lower profile. Obviously, you will lose some streetablitiy or comfort with these tires becuase the suspension will now have to compensate for disturbances normally absorbed by the tire.

As far as width, the wider the contact area (for dry conditions) the better traction you will get. Basically it takes a larger lateral force to break the tires loose in cornering and more torque in straight line accelerations. Most physics problems see an increase in weight and porportionally decreased surface area to increase the frictional force. With rubber, the inverse is true. It's a trade off though, because the wider the tire the more torque is need to turn it, decreasing acceleration.

One last bit is top speed based on tires, a larger diameter tire will enable a larger top speed. This occurs simply because the tire turns less times at a set speed then a smaller tire, therefore at a set rpm the larger tire will spin the same amount as a smaller tire but will displace more, increasing speed. Essentially your tires are another gear ratio between the differential and the road. Again, this is dependent on the engines power and torque.

951North

Huh? I was following up to there... The co-efficent of friction isn't going to change that's a physical property of the two materials in contact and it's dimensionless hence the prefex co-efficient....

Perhaps you are refering to the force of friction increasing for a smaller contact patch givin the normal force is increasing per unit area? Typically this is why snow tires are narrower letting them bite through the snow rather than floating, also aquaplaning resistance is similar. This is inpart why I'm finding it hard to find a great dry weather tire that isn't compromising for wet weather "performance" there is just too many tires out there with a high percentage of void area (aka aqua channels)...

Can anybody help me with that?

My first choice isn't available untill July (There're still in Korea)... edit: woohoo there here! Hankook RS2 Z212's
Criteria: Stock fittment 225/50/16 & 205/55/16
Minimum "V" rated Perferable w,y,z..
Treadware less than 280
not compromised for wet weather.
Price ~130 or so...

Jason

SwiftyZenBadd

i had a set of bridgestone potenzas on my 86 944, i just bought some bfg's radial t/a and they seem ok, the car rides alot better and seems to corner pretty good, i was looking at the yokohama av somethings. my bfg's have a 70,000 treadlige gaurentee. im more used to buying oversized truck tires.

Scott at Team Harco

Stan - forget about the tires you list above. Start looking at the following at TireRack.com

BFG g-Force Sport
Fuzion ZRi (may not be available in the size you want)
Yokohama AVS ES100

If you can spend more money and want better dry traction the BFG KD is a good choice.

I recommend 225/50R15. 215/60R15 is a joke on these cars.

Stan944

I was out of town for a few days. And still haven't bought anything. Yokohama AVS ES100 was mentioned earlier, so it sounds like it might be a good option.
yeah, 225/50R15 is what several people have advised me. Cornering ability means to me much more than the speedometer being off. Or I'll get one of those gears to correct it. In any case, I hope this size won't reduce the precious (to me) feedback of the manual steering?

The DareDevil

A friend of mine has Marshal Matrac TX tires on his 300ZXT (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ONE-N...spagenameZWD1V) and loves them. They make for a great street tire and aren't super harsh. Good in the rain too. Made by Kumho.

lleroyb

I vote for the Yokohama AVS ES 100s. If price is any consideration they are hard to beat overall.
I am on my second set.

Lou

iloveporsches

You shouldn't notice a difference in the steering feel. That's all suspension and steering geometry. I'm running 225/55-15 S-03's on my car with a manual rack and its great.

Gramps47

I have done more research on tires than is actually healthy. Information overload! That being said, if you want inexpensive, dry handling, decent treadwear, etc....get the Yoko ES 100's. And buy them in 225x50x15's if you are running at least 7" rims. If you have more money, then Falken Azenis or Bridgestone SO3'S (which are actually pretty reasonable through Firestone if you can get them). Good luck and remember "slow in...fast out"!

TheMAXX

The repair shop that I go to (they are not a Porsche dealer, they repair and also races Porsches) said that the Yokohama AVS ES 100s get very noisy when they get some wear on them. What has your experience been with them? I would guess that you liked them if you bought a 2nd set.

I am looking for street not track tires I have an old set that came with the car and are probably past due for a change. They are Pirelli P500 that are on the car now.

Stan944

Thanks guys. It sounds like Yoko AVS ES100 are great. I checked some pages on TireRack, and BFG g-Force Sport appear equally good, although there is no direct comparison.
Scott, you are the only one here that recommended the BFG. Which of the two are a better choice for summer street + autox? Noise is not an issue to me,

nineeagles

I am using a set of Khumo ecstas and I like them, but I don't drive very aggresively very often. They work for me (they came with a set of brand new cup 2 17" wheels). When I wear them out I may go with something better. All this falken talk about falken tires has me falken confused