Bill W.

My new-to-me '88 911 came with BF Goodrich Comp T/A's that have between 60-70% tread remaining.
Unfortunately, by my decyphering of the date codes it looks like these tires were manufactured between Aug. '92 and Jan '93. 2 of the DOT codes are BEOHK11043 and BEOFK11372, am I reading these correctly?

If tires of this age came on a motorcycle I bought I would not hesitate to replace them (of course they're much cheaper) but can I continue to use these on the street? If I were going to the track they would be replaced but it may be awhile before I get on one and would like to get as much use out of these as possible. There are no dry rot cracks of any kind and the tires otherwise are in good condition. Any thoughts?

TIA,
Bill W.

icat

I do not know if you are reading the date codes correctly. However I do know that rubber deteriates with age. It also loses it's ability to "grip" in both dry and wet conditions. I would suggest not driving beyond the speed from which you could safely bring the car under control from a blow out. Since I pretty much figure that speed is less than 20 mph - 30 at tops, I think I'd start looking for new rubber. Just my $0.02. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

Bill Gregory

Porsche says not to use tires that are older than 6 years old, and that's for street usage.

The last 3 digits, typically looks like a separate stamp on the tire, tells the production week number and year, so, for example, 238 would be week 23 in 1998.

Bill W.

So then if the same date code was used 10 years ago them my interp. of the codes was correct, ..372 is 37th week of 92 (I know they are older than Sept. of '02) and ...043 is Jan of '93 ('03 not here yet..).

Looks like I'll be looking for fresher rubber soon.

Thanks,
Bill

A930Rocket

If your on a budget (and who isn't) try Khumos from Tire Rack. I got a great price on some 245/45/16's and some 225/50/16's. They are not road race tires (I use Pirelli slicks on my 18" BBS wheels for that), but they are decent street tires if that's what you need.

Jim

Bill W.

Using the TireRack site I've come up w/ the following: Ft: 205/55-16 Rr. 225/50-16 in the Sumitomo HTR-Z. The front wheels are 6Jx16 rear are 7Jx16.

Any issues w/ this selection? The Sumitomo's were rated very highly on the site and the price is right (leaves me some $$ for the Bilsteins).

Thanks,
Bill

Bill Gregory

Can't say I've heard of many people going with Sumitomo's on their Porsches, but doesn't mean they wouldn't work. However, if you look at the Tire Rack survey at <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/uhp.jsp" target="_blank">http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/uhp.jsp</a> there are like 25 tires ranked higher than the HTR-Z's. Be sure and read peoples comments too, as that can provide additional insight behind the numbers. In non-N rated tires, the Kumho 712's seem to be a popular price performer, which may be the tire Jim was referring to.

Bill W.

Thanks, Bill G. I hadn't seen that chart but I did find the test result at <a href="http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsModel.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+Z" target="_blank">http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsModel.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+Z</a>
which was why I thought of the Sumitomo over the 712's. I'll investigate further.

Thanks again,
Bill W.

Bill W.

Thanks for the prodding to research a little more, I tenatively settled on the Yokohama AVS ES100's and after talking w/ the folks at Tire Rack they confirmed that those would a very good choice for the 911, better than the Sumitomo's.

I have access to a manual Coats tire machine we bought for changing motorcycle tires which I suspect will be adequite for removing the old rubber (putting on new tires is very easy and usually doesn't require a machine) since I will take the time to thoroughly clean and polish the wheels w/ no rubber on them.

My motorcycle wheel balancer is of no use for these wheels (no sh*%), is it recommended anymore that tires be balanced on the vehicle or is that not done anymore? I know that most shops have a spin balance machine that the wheel is removed from the car and put on, is that system adequate for this?

Thanks again for the help,
Bill W.

Bill Gregory

[quote]<strong>is it recommended anymore that tires be balanced on the vehicle or is that not done anymore? I know that most shops have a spin balance machine that the wheel is removed from the car and put on, is that system adequate for this? </strong><hr></blockquote>

The off-car spin balancer seems to be used most all the time.

Bill W.

Ordered the Yokohama AVS ES100's from Tire Rack on Mon. AM, tires were delivered Tues. afternoon, std. shipping. Of course it helps that they were shipped from their warehouse in New Castle, DE (apx. 25 mi. away). If I had known that I could have gone and fetched them myself.

Damn good service if you ask me. Hope to install them Fri. afternoon.

Bill W.

Bill Gregory

Bill,

Let us know what you think of them after you've put a couple hundred miles on them.

Bill W.

I just finished installing new Bilstein Sport rear shocks, changing to Mobil 1 75w90 gear oil, installing Speed Bleeders and flushing the brake system and installing a new horn, but I haven't road tested the new tires due to the crappy weather we've been having. It should clear up for a nice road test tomorrow (though still cooler than normal). They do look nice though.

FWIW, the tires required VERY little weight to balance, 1oz, 3/4oz, 1/4oz and none. I hope that indicates the quality of these tires.

Bill W.

Bill W.

After well less than 100 mi. on the tires I took the car to our local club's autocross day. Even though the temps were in the mid 40's and I doubt the tires ever had a chance to get warm due to the time between runs the tires performed superbly. I've not driven the car in the rain yet but after about 400 mi. I'm very satisfied with these tires, a fantastic buy IMO.

Bill W.