Greg86andahalf

Hello,

I am replacing steering rack and lower ball joints this weekend. An alignment will be done. My currrent tires are past the 1/2 way point and one has a slow leak. They are also somewhat out of balance. Time to replace tires. I have the standard 86 "manhole cover" non-polished wheels.

So, I was wondering what tires are used by you folks for general street use?

Which may be decently affordable? (I want to re-tire the 928 without having to dip into my reirement account).

Also, which to avoid.

Any thoughts or recomendations?

Thanks,
Greg

Ketchmi

Boy, now you've opened a can of worms. As far as tires go, if someone likes something, a couple of other people on here won't.

As far as my experience goes, I like the Bridgestone RE730. They are "cost effective" and still look very good after about 10k miles. Their traction rating and wear numbers are great. They can be a little squirrely on wet pavement (With our cars, which ones aren't?). Check Tirerack or Discount (Buy tires from Discount, but don't have them do any work for you-bad experience for me!)

Overall, combined price, quality, and even looks, the 730 works for me.

Dave

<img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

Jim Dawson

Greg,

I would second the comments on the RE730 tires.

Have had a set on my 89 S4 for a few years now, good grip, very good in the rain. They wear fairly well for a high performance, Z rated tire.

I ran in the Silver State Classic in Nevada last September and the tires performed perfectly. Watch the air pressure though, if it goes too low the tires shread like a bad t-shirt. I know this first hand. Guess that's true for any short-side walled tire.

Hope this helps your decision.

Jim
89 S4 Auto
Guards Red

Jim Dawson

Greg,

I would second the comments on the RE730 tires.

Have had a set on my 89 S4 for a few years now, good grip, very good in the rain. They wear fairly well for a high performance, Z rated tire.

I ran in the Silver State Classic in Nevada last September and the tires performed perfectly. Watch the air pressure though, if it goes too low the tires shread like a bad t-shirt. I know this first hand. Guess that's true for any short-side walled tire.

Hope this helps your decision.

Jim
89 S4 Auto
Guards Red

Greg86andahalf

Thanks Ketchmi and Jim, I'm gonna watch this thread until the beginning of the week and let the rennlisters duke it out over tires if the wish to.

I really appreciate the opinions on stuff like tires, oil and coolant. It helps in making a decision.

Thanks again,
Greg

Mike Schmidt

I've got the Bridgestone RE730 tires, and like them a lot more than the Dunlop SP800 tires that I had before.

Fletcher

Have currently dunlop sp8000 would never buy these tires. I have owned many porsches and many tires and brands and I dare any of you to find a better tire than the Kumho Ecsta 712 for the money these tires are unbeatable. They grip well, are reasonably quiet and good in the rain. I do have 17" wheels on order and I plan on either the new kumho, or p-zero rosso's.

Opinion's are so fun <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" />

Greg86andahalf

Fletch,

The 712's are allot less expensive than many other tires that fit the 928. I see possibilties.

Thanks for the opinion.

GFoster

Bridgestone SO3's are in my opinion the best...I have ran them on road couses as well as the Gold Rush during speed week at the Silverstate....They are sticky.

Gary Foster

SL8GT

Greg86.5,

I've put ~5,000 miles on a set of Kumho Ecsta 712's (255/45-17 and 275/40-17). Fronts still look new. Rears have some wear, but should easily last at least another 10K+ miles.

These tires aren't babied. I'd say these are pretty good as far as street tires go: overall wet/dry traction is very good, pretty communicative thru the corners, ride is fine, noise level is good. Certainly great price performance.

That said, I'd suggest looking at the Kumho Ecsta MX (this is coming out soon; supercedes Ecsta 712).

<a href="http://www.kumhotireusa.com/pages/pass_uhp_mx.htm" target="_blank">Kumho Ecsta MX</a>

As far as other brands - depends on your wallet morbidity index:

BFG KD and KDW's are pretty good.

Bridgestone S03 are phenomenal.

Pirelli P7000-Summer are among the lightest tires you can get; PZero are great.

Michelin Pilot Sport and Pilot Sport AS would make my list as well.

Let us know what you end up with and how you like 'em.

<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

Jerry 87 928S4

Curious, what is that you guys dont like about the Dunlop Sp800?. I have them on the front and they seem fine after 10k miles.

I was going to add the all Season Pirelli to the front and back next time around. However, I continue to see the most popular tire being the RE730.

Donald

Greg et al-
Mine had Dunlop sp8000 on when I bought it (think these are Porsche approved?) but they were not sticky, and left a lot to be desired in rain. I was looking for a budget tire or would have gone w/ Pole S03, settled on Kumho Ecsta 712 and am happy with them. A fellow down here with 5 (!) 928s who tracks 2-3 of them told me he goes through 3 sets of rears for each of fronts on the street, reverse that on the track so be prepared
to replace in 2s. FWIW- I had a set of Pirelli P-zero Asymmetricos on my Volvo 850 Turbo and they lasted 6,000 miles- but sticky!
Cheers,
Donald

Rob from NH 87 S4

Hi Greg - I just did a new rack from Griffith's (approximately $950 with $330 back once I returned the core), lower ball joints ($255 each), new tires and an alignment last month on my 87 S4. I have 17" Porsche Cup Wheels on my car, and I chose the Bridgestone Dipole S03's and I am thrilled about how well my car handles now. They grip like crazy and I feel like I am on rails when driving, especially at higher speeds on turns.

I can't offer you any thought on how these tires
handle in the rain because I don't take drive the car when the weather is bad.

I believe the tires were $943, mounted and balanced, plus $200 for the alignment. My Porsche service guy does nothing but Porsches, and he knows his stuff. He set the camber to compensate/offset for the tendency of the 928 to eat up the inside of the front tires.

The rack replacement and ball joint labor was was about $1100.

The price tag hurt, but it was well worth it.

I have heard that there are some people who got free lower ball joint replacement (including service) from Porsche due to a recall of these parts. I don't remember where I read it, and unfortunately, I had already had the service done when I found the message. You may want to investigate this as it could save you $600.

I hope this helps Greg. Good luck and let us know what you chose and how it works out for you.

Broke but happy.. Rob from NH

Greg86andahalf

Rob,

Thanks for the tips. I have the ball joints and rack (along with misc recomended parts to go with the rack) sitting in my garage waiting for me to install them this weekend. Hopefully by Monday, all that will be left will be the alignment. I want to order tires Monday.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks,
Greg

Mike Schmidt

[quote]Originally posted by Jerry 87 928S4:
<strong>Curious, what is that you guys dont like about the Dunlop Sp800.</strong><hr></blockquote>

After the SP8000 tires, the RE730s were quieter, handled better, and even in going from 16" SP8000s to 17" RE730s, the ride was better. It's hard to compare the traction of the two in the rain, because the rear SP8000s were pretty warn when I got rid of them.