Freddy

Folks,

I just got my new set of RS wheels for my 993 C4 Cabriolet. Now it is time to buy the tires for them. I know that the suggested tires for the NB are 265/35 ZR18 Y for the rear wheels.

Some folks suggested me to go for Michelin Pilot Sport II, but the available sizes are 235/40-18 N2 and 295/30-18 N2... will they fit the narrow body? Will they be ok to drive the car? Or should I stick to the recommended size for 18" wheels?

I was checking some tires and got the following options:

18" Michelin Pilot Sport II: 235/40-18 N2 and 295/30-18 N2

18" Pirelli P-Zero Corsa: 225/40 ZR18 Y and 265/35 ZR18 Y

18" Pirelli P-Zero Corsa: 225/40 ZR18 Y and 285/30 ZR18 Y

18" Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position: 225/40 ZR18 Y and 285/30 ZR18 Y

I need some help to find the perfect set for the car. I am not interested in high performance, but mainly on getting something that look nice and could give me an edge on a 1995 Cabriolet with 6.000 miles.

TIA,

Freddy

trojanman

If the wheels are 8" and 10", 225/40 and 285/30 will work well and I believe are recommended sizes for those wheel widths. I had P-Zero Rosso's (N4) on my turbo twists and recently bought Toyo Proxes TR1's for my new Carrera lightweight wheels... they both look great.

As for the Bridgestones, I've heard the S-02A is a better tire than the S-03, but someone with actual experience should chime in.

In the end, it's all about the $'s... if money's no object then just get what you want! Good luck.

Scott 1996 993c2

I agree with Jeff.

Scott

Rick

Freddy,

I'd go with the sizes that Jeff recommended. If you're not looking for high performance there are lots of options - one thing you may want to think about is sidewall stiffness. I recently went from a set of Bridgestone S03s to S02s on my C2S and I notice that the ride is actually a bit softer now. I asked Dave @ Wheel Enhancement if it was just my imagination and he told me that the S03 has a much stiffer sidewall. I'm very happy with the S02s.

Best,

Rick

Sooner

I just put a new set of Ps2's on last week. I went with 275/35 18 on the rears (previously had 265/35). I wanted 285/30 but couldn't find them in the PS2. 225/40 on the front. I am already amazed at how much better these tires are than the yoko's I had on the car. Go with the PS2's you won't regret it.

Freddy

I am seriously thinking about the 18" Michelin Pilot Sport II: 235/40-18 N2 and 295/30-18 N2 ...

Do you guys think the 295/30-18 will fit properly on the 10"rear wheels and arc?

Freddy

Joe S.

I wonder if these will fit as well. One thing to consider, is your car lowered at all?

Marc Shaw

TireRack suggest 225/40-18 Front and 265/35-18 Rear for 8" and 10" rims - but the majority here seem to feel 285/30's are a better fit for the rear.

Are TireRack just a bit conservative?

Also, can you go to a tire wider than 225 on an 8" rim? I have 225's currently on my 7" rims but I just bought some wider rims and I'm looking for some rubber.

Thanks.
Marc

Joe S.

Some on here have gone up to a 245 on the front rim.

Another thing to consider with the C4 is that the diameter of the front and rear tires need to be within a certain percentage of each other, around 3-5%, I forget the exact number.

Monique

PLEASE do yourself a favor. Pirelli are a POS.

They do not back their products. My latest pair of rears are out more than 2 cms in rolling circumference and they will not exchange them. I have less than 500 miles on them!!!

robroy72

285/30's were the OE fitment on the C4S, I think.

iceberg

I am looking at Kumho MXs for my car. 225/40-18 Front and 265/35-18 Rear. However, the rear tires are on back order at tirerack and wont be in for 4 +weeks. Will 275/35-18 tires work? Anyone currently running on this size tire?

Sooner

I have 275/35 18 on the rear in Mich PS2's. They fit fine, no issues. My car is lowered. I actually prefer then, they give you a bit more protection for the rim lip than the 265/35.

Conekilr

Unfortunately tire sizes vary between manufacturers for the same size tire....Things to pay attention to is Rim width and corresponding Section width of the tire....For every 0.5" difference in rim width, the section width will change aprox. 0.3"....A decrease in rim width will increase the Section width of the tire and vice versa....

FWIW, I'll be running Falken FK-451's in 245/35-18 and 285/30-18's on 8.5" and 10" rim widths respectively in a few weeks....

Freddy

Joe: My car suspension is 100% stock US version.

Sooner: I am tempted to use 275/35 18 PS2. I like the idea of extra protection to the rims; I noted you are using a 35 series... while the 285 or 295 are 30 series... Aren’t the tire sidewalls too high with the 35 series on a wider tire? Is your car a C4? It seems that changing the diameter might be a problem on a C4... Is that right? Is there any info on the final tire perimeter to be compared between each other? Any link available?

Marc: My car is equipped with the normal 255/40 17; I guess that 265/35 18 is quite conservative considering the rear RS wheel is 1" wider (from 9" to 10").

Robroy: I know that 285/30 18 is the correct size for the wide body cars... but in case they fit and do not create any trouble at all and are a perfect fit I would rather use them... but I do not want it to touch anywhere at the wheel arcs...

Joe: This is something very important!! Do you know for sure if the number is 3% or 5% maximum? Should I try to make this difference 0%?

A stock size is always easier, but isn't it great to have something better?

Bellow is a picture of the wheels waiting for a proper tire size to better fit my car. A picture from the car is also included to give an idea of how stock the car is - BTW it has 6.000 miles on the odometer!!

Isn't it nice to have questions like these?? Please folks let me have your inputs from previous experiences... I do not want to make it wrong...

Freddy