Arnaud001

It is time for me to change my tires... and need your advise about the best street tires brand and size available. I have a 1992 Targa C2 with original suspension. Actual wheels and tires are:

Front: 7.5 x 17 65 offset (with spacer) - Bridgestone Potenza 225/45R17
Rear: 9 x 17 55 offset - Bridgestone Potenza 255/40R17

These where on the car when i purchased it.

Questions :

- can the aspect ratio be different? And if yes, why?
- can i fit 205 instead of 225 and what is best?
- what does the R means on the sizing?
- looking for your feedback on brand and sizes.


Thanks,
Arnaud

crg53

This has been discussed so....... many times, use the search and you will find a thousand different opinions, all of them good. Go to the Tirerack website and look for tires that fits your driving conditions, then check out their test video's of comparable tires, then pick the tire you feel suites your specific use.

biggynuts01

I still believe the michelin Pilot super sport are the best. They are very good in all weather and lightweight.

I have also tried Bridgestone Potenzas, Toyo R888, and Hankook RS3s for the street and track.

Of all the tires I still the like the Michelin PSS for dual purpose. The second best of the bunch were the Hankook RS3.

doubleurx

205/50/17 for the front are actually the recommended size by Porsche. I ran 225/45/17 for the last couple years in an awful tire.. Kumho. The car handled like crap. I just went with the S04 pole positions and the difference was night and day. Very happy so far.

Arnaud001

Thank you all for the feedbacks.
My front wheels being 7.5 x 17 and 65 offset, wouldn't a 205/40 be a too narrow tire? With this wheel i am using a 5mm spacer to avoid rubbing the car which means that i am reducing the offset to 60mm. Isn't it still 215 a more recommended size and what about the aspect ratio then?

Looking forward to hear your advices.

Arnaud.

crg53

Stick with the sizes you have on the car now, that's by far the best for the rim sizes. 225/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear.

Goughary

Yep. Exactly.

HalV

With this size wheel and 65 offset you should be running about a 15mm spacer, which will require longer wheel studs.

greens

Best tires?

Bridgestone RE71R. Amazing stick like glue traction in dry and one of the best EP I've ever used in the wet. You'll eat through them quite quickly without a proper alignment but best is the best.

If you're not willing to stomach burning through rears every 10-12k miles then the suggestion of the Michelin PSS is a solid one. They won't quite have the same level of grip as the RE71R but will last a bit longer and provide more than adequate performance.

crg53

The Michelin PSS does not come in the right size for the rear wheels, but the PS2 does.

Vandit

Hoosiers like a proper Yorkshire Urban Outlaw type bloke.

creaturecat

be sure to warm 'em up!

cobalt

The dry grip on the 2 are nearly identical would be hard pressed to say which is better but the noise level, ride quality and wear of the RE71r's is awful.

greens

Ride quality is just fine IMO but noise is definitely a factor for the first few thousand miles. They do tone down a bit as they wear. Wear is average as well. If you can get 10k out of EP tires that's all you can really ask.

With regards to dry grip the PSS falls behind. A multi-compound really just can't compete with a uniform-compound both in feel and grip.

cobalt

I guess that is debateable but my PSS's are not far from the grip of the RA-1's I use for AX and I find them to be better than the PS2's which I had tracked a full year on years ago.. I have only driven other people's cars with the RE71r's and I was not impressed and found the ride quality to be harsh but that could have been the suspension. If they quiet down that would be great because I found them to be noisier than the R888's which is one of the louder tires I have used.