New Turbo owner - tyre query

[Adrian888]

Hi and i hope this post becomes the first of many from me! i have just aquired a rather nice 1990 Turbo in metallic black with leather and ( say it quietly) working aircon and i am thoroughly enjoying the car! The car is booked into Carlton Porsche in Birstall next week for a few preventative maintanence jobs ( cam belt etc). However it will probably need tyres by the summer and would welcome owners recommendations, my priorities are low road noise and good wet road grip. Are there any 'budget' brands worthy of consideration or is it best to stick with the major barnds such as Continental, Toyo etc?

Oh and i am in the process of joining the owners club!

 

[Black_JPN]

Hi and welcome, looking for tyres myself for my metallic black turbo. I have conti sports at the moment and the grip level in this weather is nothing short of appalling. I've used Toyo proxes in the past on my S2 and Boxster, they were great. So my recommendation if you can get them would be Toyo's.

 

[Adrian888]

Thanks for the prompt reply! Mine is on Contis at the moment and so probably explains the 'interesting' manner in which i went around a roundabout yesterday.....[] I have had experience of Toyos' on a previuos car and very impressive they were too so will bear those in mind.

 

[edh]

Adrian

T1-R's from Camskill would be my recommendation. You don't find many tyres in 245/45/16 size (assuming you've got standard wheels). Also worth checking pressures - 32F 34/36R is a good place to start.

Now we need some pics [] - I bet it doesn't stay shiny & black for very long in this weather []

 

[MarkK]

I run Contisport "n" rated on my much loved 44 1990 turbo it sticks great in the wet, though not used the car much in the cold conditions recently because of salt on the roads etc,but no complaints from me,and they are a cheap quality tyre aswell which makes them even more attractive.I have heard people not liking contisports before as an everyday tyre and i find it a bit confusing...,maybe i am not driving the car hard enough!???,but as an everyday road tyre i rate them cost/performance.My mrs runs them on her aircooled porker(C4) everday and she hasn't said anything negative about them either and she doesn't hang around, and drives on country roads with water/mud etc...

 

[Adrian888]

Thanks for all the replies! The car is completely standard (apart from S/S exhaust and replacement radio/CD) which is what appealed to me, (I had actually been looking for a good S2). in the current financial climate it will Probably be a case of shopping around when the time comes and finding the best deal, on the basis i will need all 4 replacing at one go i would expect some good discounting..........

BTW, the radio reception is rubbish, even worse than my A2, is it a known problem?

Never have much luck at posting up piccies on forums, will have another go soon!

 

[Black_JPN]

There's a power lead that should go to the aerial behind the stereo. Also, the contact where the windsreen aerial plugs in under the bonnet can corrode. I've checked both of these on mine and it's still rubbish. I was going down the 968 beesting style aerial but folks on here talked me out of it. Can't bear drilling into that metal roof!

 

[Adrian888]

Thanks, will have a look. Might try a DAB tuner into the input socket to overcome the problem.

 

[xenon]

Falken Fk452.

 

[Adrian888]

Thanks, I imagine the Falken's are more competitively priced than Contis/Toyos?

 

[xenon]

Yes, and a very good tyre too.

 

[Fen]

Reception should be fine if the amplifier and connections are working properly. Having said that DAB is one of the few things I miss about the UK, but my car has a beesting DAB aerial on it as drilling metal never worried me []

 

[edh]

ORIGINAL: Adrian888

Thanks, I imagine the Falken's are more competitively priced than Contis/Toyos?

But not available in 245/45/16

 

[Hilux]

Reception should be fine if the amplifier and connections are working properly.

A lot of people assume the lead to the amplifier (attached to the windscreen ariel under the dash at high level drivers side) is an earth. It isnt. It is a power feed so should be live if it isnt then find an ignition power source.

Persevere cos once working it really is superb with brilliant reception.

 

[Adrian888]

Going for Toyo's at £115 each all inclusive. Only need rears, fronts ok when had another look, will probably last to next year. Main problem discovered since purchase is corroded discs........ £ouch! Had negotiated the purchase price of car down to cover cost of 4 tyres, 12,000 mile service and belts. Otherwise nothing untoward, precautionary new battery, one brake pipe + number plate bulb. Garage very impressed with condition of car and should run for a couple of years with only minor service and front tyres to buy.

 

[Big Dave]

I second the Falken FK 452,s. A good mid priced tyre that do most things very well...
If they dont do them in the 245,s then just upgrade to some 17" cups....Its make the car look that much better anyway...

 

[poprock]

Bigger wheels affects the handling though "¦ I'm a great believer in sticking with the manufacturer's spec for wheel size. It was chosen for a reason.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: poprock
Bigger wheels affects the handling though "¦ I'm a great believer in sticking with the manufacturer's spec for wheel size. It was chosen for a reason.

Hail to that.
I will even say that the 968 should never have been fitted with anything bigger than 16" but then that's just me []

 

[Fen]

It was picked for a reason, or more correctly a number of factors contributed to the end decision. Some of those factors being current tyre technology and others being costs. On a different tack the marketing angle needs to be covered; don't fit the best wheels now as we can add them to a later revision to freshen the model half way through production (why else do so many cars have orange indicators in the early years then clear ones that look much cleaner for the latter half of production, for example?). Last thing I'm going to highlight is that the choice is a compromise as the car has to be, to an extent, all things to all buyers. What I am sure Porsche did with the 924/44/68 range was assume to most people it would be their only car. Many of us have the 944 as a second or third car etc. and even those who have one as a DD are probably a bit more open to a stiff ride etc. than the buyer of an expensive new sportscar was.

Those will all have played a major part in the decision to go 16" rather than 17". Note also that the 968 got 17" from the factory for what is supposedly the best of breed 968 CS (that's not me saying it's best or breed; I think it was pure marketing and don't rate it over any other 968).

Looking at it another way saying you think you should stick to the size of wheels originally fitted is just like saying you should stick to the model of tyre, or the type of wastegate etc. That is probably some people's genuine view, but most see that there is room for improvement, or to shift the compromise more in a direction that suits them.

Bottom line is that there is no "best" wheel size for a 944 (or any car for that matter). I would propose however that the 16" wheel is a good choice for people who want to retain comfort and sweetness of handling or are into originality, whereas 17" is better for maximising performance, fitting bigger brakes etc. 18" is more for show I would say (and that's having driven well in excess of 100,000 miles on 18s on a number of 944s) as it has little to offer over 17" in performance for most cars and is much heavier and still worse at transferring road imperfections to the suspension.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: Fen
17" is better for maximising performance

Not if you include straightline performance (excluding potential torque-related traction issues). Higher profile tyres will always offer "swifter" reactions. Difficult to put it in words really [&:]