damonoresky

Looking for tires for my '91 S4. Tirerack has only a few matching front/rear sets. I've read several threads here and most seem to think that non-matching front/rears are ok but a friend of mine pointed out that different brands could cause squirrelly handling as they would react differently in the heat, rain, etc.

I don't plan on racing my car (at least not yet) so comp tires aren't on the list. Are the OEM recommended sizes just too old for them to produce more matching sets?Do I need to upgrade my rims to allow for more brands/choices?

Or should I just go with the non-matching front/rears and deal with it? Tirerack has some Fuzions that are somewhat on the cheap but there are a couple on my car already, anybody have any other suggestions?

Oh and I was able to get those damn key-lock lug nut covers off finally. I pounded a few different size screwdrivers into the tiny key hole and pulverized the innards until they fell apart and I was able to remove them.

Tails

Tires are harder to come by in the high performance range especially for 16 inch rims.

I matched mine up by purchasing Ventrus HRII (Hankook) and upping the size of the rear tires to 245/50/16. This meant that the overall diameter of the rear was a little bigger, which made the circumference a little larger and should bring my speedo more in line, as the speed when compare with the GPS was around 7% low. The increase in diameter can be accommodated within the ride height specification settings.

Tails 1990 928S4 Auto

Marine Blue

Continental makes a high performance tire in the 16" stock sizes, only decent option I saw the last time I checked. The other option is to go with a different sidewall dimension which will change the reading on your speedometer.

jeff spahn

I went with the 50 series sidewall on the rear in Michelin Pilot A/S Plus. Really like them. speedo is close enough.

blitz928

For what you can spend on tires and mounting.balancing , you can spend a little more and just go with a 17 or even 18" wheel and tire package off ebay(usually the cheapest source) and have some more options. That's the route I ended up going initially after I purchased my S4. 17" 2002 Carrera 4 take-offs with new Michelins was only around $800 shipped. I've since gone to 18" black turbo twists with new Sumitiomo HTRzIII was $1200 shipped. So you can get an idea of what costs between 17 and 18s, 17s are the most cost effective route, and still have plenty of tire options to chose from.

SeanR

I ended up buying the Fuzion ZR1's in factory sizes for an '87 here. It was the only matched set I could find that wasn't hugely expensive.

jayc67

I'm very tempted to go up to the 50's and try that. I have had a set of Continentals ordered for weeks now and no sign of them ever appearing. I can live with the speedo issue I guess.

Sounds like I'm not gonna have a choice..... I do want to keep using these wheels so I'm stuck with 16.

SeanR

The Fuzions I ordered are the 245/45/16 for the rear and the 225/50/16's front. I've not used them but Roger has been happy with them in the past.

Jay, Call Roger on the tires, we've got a dealers account on tires through Tire Rack.

Toms928

Noticed the thread and the mention of the same size on front as the rear. Should that be a concern or is it okay. The car i recently bought has 255/40ZR/17 on the front and the rear. I measured the inside of the rims from dropoff to dropoff and the front was around 7" wide and the rear 8" wide. So not sure if I have a problem here. Do I need to change the front to a narrower tire? The car handles great and yesterday I compared my speedo with my GPS and they were right on.

hacker-pschorr

Time to upgrade wheels, the selection of 16" tires is only going to get smaller.

Hold On

I like my 16`s. I just went with Bridgestone Hi Perf all seasons. I think they are called "Pole Position"
The rears are 50 series also. I havn`t had any issues with several sets using the 50`s on the back.
225/50/16 on front 245/50/16 on rear Tires are speed rated W. Cost was about $140. per tire.

Tails

Don't forget that some of us like, maintain and want to keep the RDK tyre pressure monitors on our 16" rims, hence one of the reasons to go up to the 245/50/16 tires on the rear to maintain the same tread pattern.
Tails 1990 928S4 Auto

hacker-pschorr

Find some 17" GTS wheels

dimmer

I can also recommend the Fuzion ZR1's ... they're a very good value.
Performance is good all around; wet and dry.
Probably not a great track tire ... but I don't need that.

Marine Blue

Disappointing to hear this..

Who did you order them through and have they offered any updates regarding the shipping date?