951North

Application is for 1987 944 Turbo.
Stock Wheels.
Stock tire sizes: 205/55r16 (front) 225/50r16 (rear)

The sizes published on Falken's site don't have the exact fittment for stock sizing. There is a rear size selection but no front. I e-mailed Falken and they responded by saying the full 16" series will be available by April 2006.

In the mean time my question is they offer a 215/45r16-86W size now, along with the stock 225/50r16-92W(rear), is the 215 a suitable substitution? It would be about 5/8" shorter sidewall and a lower load index rating of 86 (1168 pounds).

Should I wait untill spring and see if the other stock size will be available? Or are there any benifits to adding a raked stance to my car? Would the lower load index have any repercussions? (~3000lb car 50/50 split about 750lbs per tire static load) i.e. hard cornering under braking may exceed the load index?

Also has anyone driven on these tires? I really want to give them a try.

Thanks,

Jason.

mroberts

Run 225/50/16's all round.

Worst that will happen is you will get rid of some of the understeer bias. A lot of people run 225/245 to get the most rubber to the road.

951North

Shouldn't I have the same width rims to do this?

Jason

mroberts

I've run 225's on 7" rims just fine.

Do a search for track tyres - you'll see it mentioned a lot.

I can't remember if the speedo & odometer run off the front or rear wheels, but going to a smaller tyre will throw those off too.

Eyal 951

This is a great calculator to find out exactly what smaller/larger diameter tires will do.
http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp
About the azenis, there is nothing that comes close. Price is great, and they are some of the best gripping STREET tires. My track rims will be wrapped with azenis. (No point to street em, they'll only last like 6K)
I have a lot of experience with them on the track from my Honda side of things.
Eyal
P.S. I run 225's in front and 245's rear. I'd like to run 245 all around on 8 inch PD's.

Techno Duck

Following up on what Mr. Roberts was talking about, your speedometer will be slightly off if you decide to change your rear tire sizes as the speedo runs off a sensor in the tranny.

951North

I think maybye I'll just get a couple 8" wide phone-dials and run 225/50' s all around.

Eyal 951

oops, didn't link to that calculator!
http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

superloaf

eyal, i was interested in running the azenis on the street. are they that soft that they won't last on the street? did you run them on the street? (they have a treadwear rating of 200, i think, for whatever that's really worth.) and for the track, are they as good as the other soft compound track tires out there? i thought their major use was for a softer sticky street tire. any insight appreciated.