928autobahndreamer

I just bought some new Panamera wheels for my 87 928 S4. I ended up with the 10 spoke 18" wheels. The fronts are 8" wide with an ET59 and the rears are 9" wide ET 53.

The question now is what rubber to put on them?

I was looking and so far have come up with a couple of options.

First was the Fuzion ZRi s. I have found that I can get 235/40/R18 or 245/40/R18s. But, in the rear, I am limited to a max size of 265/35/R18.

The other option was Michelins Pilot Super Sport. Now reviews make this sound like a great tire and I could get the same size fronts as the ZRis but in the rear I could go to 275s or even 285s. Problem is they would cost about 400-500 more than the Fuzions.

So, a couple of questions. Has anyone here gone to 245s on Panamera wheels? It looks like there should be room on the calculator, but I wasn't sure if anyone had any experience with this, especially in rubbing or tramlining?

Second, is it really worth the extra money for the Michelins? I have the Fuzions on my current 17" wheels and have been happy, but have never driven the car with more expensive rubber.

Third, is it worth it to go a little wider, or am I better off being a little more conservative and just stick with 235s up front and 265s in the back?

Right now I am torn. The car is fairly stock except for an X-pipe and RMB, and air pump delete. But, it is running strong as I have done the intake with all the hoses, sensors, and seals replaced. So, I am not putting down the kind of power that would really demand 285s, but it sure looks good filling out the wheel wells.

hacker-pschorr

Bridgestone......

rol607

I purchased Panamera take-offs and Hankook tires from Wheel Enhancement. 700 miles in and I like the tires and the wheels a lot.

928autobahndreamer

Aren't the Fuzions made by Bridgestone and very similar to the high performance models?

Cosmo Kramer

I have Bridgestone RE760 Sports and love them. Wear well, quiet and decent grip, plus the tread design is cool!

In your case I would get 245/40 fronts and 275/35 rears, both can be squeaked onto 8 and 9" wheels and are only separated in diameter by .1"

James Bailey

For a none daily driver buy the Michelins they should last for years....

928autobahndreamer

What size tires did you end up putting on your Panamera 5 spokes? The offset is the same as my 10 spokes. If you put 235s up front does there seem to be room for more tire?

rol607

235/40ZR18 and 265/35ZR18 Hankook Ventus

hacker-pschorr

+1

I know people from BMW's to Vette's who rave about the RE760. When my fathers 355 needs new tires after next season, the Pilot Sports are getting swapped out for RE760's (probably 770's by then)

S4ordie

Hankook Ventus V12 evo are great tires, highly rated for performance, wear and noise. I have them on two sets of wheels, will put them on a third. Car and Driver ranked them just behind the Michilen PS2's in performance.

As noted by rol607; 235/40ZR18 and 265/35ZR18 Hankook Ventus

Note that these are summer performance tires and not well rated for ice or snow.

Good price point too.

Chuck Z

+1

Have PS2s and love them! SS is supposed to be even better.

Randy V

Kumho.

245 front
275 rear

Leon Speed

What ever you do, get the tire width as close as possible front to back. I have 225+285 and the front tires are fighting for grip in fast corners.

928autobahndreamer

More front grip was one of my main reasons for buying new wheels. The aftermarket wheels that came on the car when I bought it had 215s on the front. This is definately not enough tire for this car. I'm thinking if I can get 245s on the front it will be even better.

As far as the back, right now 265s would probably be enough. But, I continue to have this itch to get a supercharger that one of these days I know is going to get scratched. I just don't know how long it will take me to arrainge the finances for it.

So, 245s front and 265s rear would probably give pretty good balance to this car.

JoeTaylor

I just went through all of this. I love Michelin tires, they have never let me down on the road.

I installed Michelin PS2's on 928 S4 and wore out the rear tires in 12-13,000 miles! Ok, ok so I may have been a little heavy footed, but not good in my book. The tread wear rating is 200 for the PS2's.

The Michelin SS are tread wear rated at 300, 50% longer than the PS2's. But even better are the Michelin Pilot Sport AS (all season) tires are tread wear rated at 500, 125% longer than the PS2's.

Next time I buy, I am going with the longer wearing tire, the Michelin Pilot Sport AS. Plus they are less expensive than either the SS or PS2 versions.

Joe