Pamela

The love of my life (my 88 944S)is sitting grounded in my garage having not been driven in 7 days due to what appears to be a slow leaking (almost flat) right rear tire. I have been busy at work/school and play and have yet to get around to taking care of it. Just wanted some feedback/opinions on what brand of tires I should go with. There are two near-new goodyear tires on the front, the two on the back both need replacing, but I am unsure as to what I should buy. Having driven on Pirelli tires with my previous car, can anyone give me some advice on best brands/sizes etc? Should I change all four at once and go with the same brand or just replace the two back ones?
Thanks for your help guys.......

Matt O.

If you can, go with all 4 at once, if funds permit. I can't really advise on tires, don't know much about them.

-Matt

PS
Try fix-a-flat?

Tabor

If you want performace and have the money get some Bridgestone S-03 Pole Postions.

If you can't offord them and still want performance, get some Toyo Proxes T1-S's.

If you want a quiet ride, and some performance, I hear the Yokohama AVS dB's are doog.

ian

Do not use fix a flat, you will not be happy with what it does to your rim. It is a pain in the *** to get off and I think it is for use in emergencies only.

Use a plug if you have too, but if the tires are worn get a whole new set.

I recomend Kuhmo, they are the best tires for the money in my humble opnion.

keith

Ian - have you tried the new(?) Falken performance tire? CHEAPCHEAP - and it looks promising for autocross/street...

IceShark

Kuhmo? Yeah, if you want them to last about a week.

Plus, she is on an island so we have shipping to deal with. I would say replacing just the rear two would be fine and see what is available.

Pam, go to tirerack.com and snoop around the performance tires and decide what you need. Quite a few of us are running Bridgestone RE-730s and are happy. But they are reported to get a bit noisey after 10k miles if you are pickey about that.

Also, what is the aggregate in asphalt on most of the roads you are running? If it is volcanic you should be fine but if coral you need something soft. Wet coral is like slick snot.

ian

kieth,

no I have not fried the new Falkens, the old ones were crap, so I have steared clear. I am waiting for someone else to get them.

And as for the Kuhmos (ecsta supra 712) not lasting, well I used mine on the track and on the street for 8,000 miles and they show very little ware. that seems pretty good to me. I'd buy S03's if I had the cash, but I don't, so I buy what I can. Actually I'm driving on a set of Yokoham A032R (yes they are race tires, but I need to get a 2nd set of wheels) and I'll tell ya, they grip great.

Dave

I'll second the RE-730s. I haven't noticed much noise yet, but mine only have about 4000 miles on them (including a season of autox, and some hard street use). I've had Pirelli and Falken tires before and liked them, but I'm not going back. There is nothing wrong with replacing tires in pairs(for street use anyway), read the reviews on Tireracks site, pick a tire, if you like 'em get another pair for the front when the time comes.

John.

I have had good luck with the Dunlop SP Sport 8000. It is a dated design, but offers good handling, decent wear, and a good life. The best part is these tires are very cheap (uh I mean inexpensive). Unless you drive your car at the limit, you won't notice that much of a difference in performance between brands of tires. With that said however, I would recommend a Z rated tire only. I have the 8000s on my twin turbo 928 as well as my Audi S4. My 944 has the old D40-M2 Dunlop......they were just okay.

ribs

Wow...twin turbo 928...do you care to clarify? The only way I could think to do this would be 2 951 heads on an early 16 valve 928 motor, and a lot of custom piping and engine management.

User 462021

1st, and most importantly, NEVER, and I mean NEVER use fix-a-flat. Trust me.

2nd, Falken suck, Kumho suck, unless you get the most aggressive tires for racing.

Toyo Proxes T1-S's are the BEST bang for the buck. Bridgestone Pole Position are great tires but pricey, Dunlops SP Sport 800's are good tires also.

I would go with the Toyo's!

Good luck

DanD

Pamela,
If you're not racing it, (autocross or even heavy street driving) then just go with the 2 rear tires. Match the fronts if you can, if not find something that is close to the fronts, (traction wise)

You didn't mention which Goodyears you have. Call the Tirerack and tell them what you need to match and how much you have to spend. (Kumos really are a good bang for the buck).

Oh, If you're loaded with $$ go with 4...

DanD
Ex Goodyear guy, not loaded with $$. (3 different brands on my street rims)

Mark944na86

BTW, have you found the 12V tire inflator in a black plastic case with the emergency spare tire? If it's still with the car and working, this would be useful keeping a slow leaking tire up to pressure enough to get around so you you damage the rims driving on a flat or badly underflated...

If the car has lost the inflator somewhere along the line, you can always buy a work-alike for < $20 at a Pepboys or Kragen (or equivalent). Of course, it won't say "Porsche" on it, but you'd be surprised how much cheaper things can be that way (or maybe not )

-Mark 86 944 NA

newoldguy

I think DanD may have your answer. Try to match the rears to the fronts as far as tread goes. No sense in buying 4 if you have 2 near new tires. Get 2 rears and save $$ for the next thing. Remember that most guys are really "into" this stuff and sweat it a lot. For general driving, good tread life, noise, ride, and wet handling you may be as well off with a good all season radial that matches your fronts. Now that you have all this information, you can take your pick amongst the different choices!!!!

Pamela

Thanks guys..... I mostly drive my car to and from work and school, and most of the roads are bitumen, but some concrete looking stuff?? in patches on the freeways over here. Tires seem to wear relatively fast here in comparison to what I am used to. I see what is left of blowouts on the freeway everyday.....I am used to driving only on ashphalt/bitumen (originally born and bred in Australia). Just checked out the tires, my mistake, the front ones are Dunlop D60 A2's (the PO said he just replaced them before I bought it 3 weeks ago) and the rear ones are Goodyear Eagle II GT's. I want to replace all four I think ....would rather have all the same brand & tread.
Wish you guys lived over here, I would throw the biggest BBQ ever and invite you all for all the advice & help you have given me