S4ordie

So I was thinking to myself the other day.... "Self", I said, "Sure would be nice to get an original set of D90's that came with that nice 91 S2 you just bought".... that's when the trouble started.

I found the wheels at Wheelenhancement.com but have had a very difficult time finding good "Z" rated tires to fit the 7.5Jx16 & 9Jx16 D90's. I have looked in all the usual on-line places but only find older generation tires from Bridgestone/Fuzion, Conti and Sumitomo. Only Hankook (love any manufacturer with 'kook' in the name) seems to make a modern tire for both wheels - Front: 225/50ZR16 and Rear: 245/45ZR16 Ventus R-S2.

So my question to the Rennlist 944 Oracles is this, does everyone have this much trouble finding good modern Z rated tires for their cars? I keep hearing from Discount Tire, Tire Rack and even my local sources that eveyone has tooled up production for the larger wheel / lower profile tires people seem to like more. Any suggestions on where to look/buy modern good tires for the wheel configuration of my 91 S2 is greatly appreciated.

I am a newbie to Rennlist and Porsches though I have been a long time car enthusiast and owner of cars that take the road less traveled.... my 1966 Sunbeam Tiger for example. Thanks heaps - S2ordie

Lorax

You can run 245 all around on those wheels.

Lots of manufacturers have 245's.

Litespeeds

The Hankook Ventus RS2 are excellent performing tires but if you want to check for more tires in the size 225/50/16 and 245/45/16, then go to www.tirerack.com and see if you can find a tire with both sizes.

What are your plans for your S2? Are the tires just for street use or are you planning on doing some autocrossing or high speed track events? Are you planning on driving the car in the rain or snow? These are some of the questions you need to answer before you can make the right decision on which tire to get. Good luck.

S4ordie

Thanks for the quick reply. I have enquired about running 245's at all corners but I've been told more than once that is ok if you have the same wheel size front and rear. Seems like the 7.5 and 9's are an option that only came on 91 S2s with the M030 option. Otherwise all came with 7 and 8's.

I did go to TireRack.com and put in the different wheel/tire configurations. could not get a brand match for front and rear.

My desire for the car is mostly for the street though I will drive it aggressively every now and then.... mostly want a good performing street tire.

S4ordie

Forgot to mention the driving conditions as requested by Litespeeds....
"Are you planning on driving the car in the rain or snow?". Car will be delivered to Lihue, Hawaii in a few weeks. Not much snow but lots of rain. I intend to only drive it in the sunshine on dry roads. Have less than 100 miles of paved highway on Kauai, maximum speed limit is 50 mph. Lots of great twisty roads and few long straightaways so the tires will get lots of work on hills and curves.

Litespeeds

The only few tires that have the combination sizes you want are the:

1) Hankook Ventus RS2
2) Sumitomo HTRZ
3) Fuzion ZR1
4) Continental ContiSportContact

If you are not planning on doing any autocrossing or track events, then go with the Sumitomo HTRZ tires as they are the cheapest out of the group and they do handle very nicely.

You are correct that there isn't much offerings in those sizes but your choices aren't that bad either.

porschefig

Here's what Tire Rack has in that size and only Z rated or higher, run-flat tires excluded.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...9&RunFlat=None

S4ordie

Great info thanks!. I found the same tires but most, except the Hankook's, are 2nd sometimes 3rd and 4th generation old tires. Still viable but just not manufactured to today's technologies and specs. I will go with the kooks as I have been told before they make a good modern performance tire.

Thanks for the help on this.

Makis

225/50/R16 is pretty common tire so you have great choice. Just get the best you can get as they do not wear easily at the front. You can experiment then with the rear as they wear easily on the S2. I am not getting much more then 10k miles from a set.

porschefig

I've never owned an S2 but that sounds like an alignment problem. I've got atleast 10k on my latest set of tires for the 951 and they still look new; but I had a full 4 wheel alignment at the same time.

Van

I'd put Michelin Pilot Sportcups on them...

smlporsche

If you want to keep it as "original" you're looking at the wrong tire sizes...

The 91 S2's came with the following tire sizes:

Front: 205/55-16
Rear: 225/50-16

and if you go to the Tire Rack website you'll find 5 pages of tires that work, like:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...playResults=10

My personal favorites are the Bridgestone SO-2A's and the Michelin Pilot series. Both these tires come on the new Porsches and I have the SO-2A's on my street Porsche and love them.

S4ordie

"The 91 S2's came with the following tire sizes:

Front: 205/55-16
Rear: 225/50-16 "

That is true if your car came with the 7jx16 front and 8jx16 rear. Cars that were orded with the M030 had the option of the 7.5Jx16 front and 9Jx16 rear, hence the wider tire requirement.

J Berk

I have Yokohama S-drives on my car...or at least they are the exact same tread as an S-drive...but they are not called S-drive.

They are a bit noisy but I like them...and with 3 DE's on them they are wearing well too.

Lorax

I still don't understand why you don't run 245 all around. Better handling, better tire choices.