Tyre Choice

Guest · Apr 23, 2004

I need to replace my tyres and I would be interested to know what tyres people would recommend for the 3.2.

I currently run Yokohama AVS which I am mostly happy with in terms of grip, but I am not very impressed with the life of the tyre. I use my car as a daily driver.

What tyres would you recommend?
Thanks,
Simon

Jamie Summers · Apr 23, 2004

Seems to be accepted wisdom that the Bridgestone SO-2's are possibly the best all round choice on a 3.2, though as they are no longer made can be tricky to get hold of. Other people find the Conti Sport Contacts to be very good or indeed Pirelli P Zeros (but pretty pricey and more track oriented ?).
Personally I'm on my second set of Toyo Proxes T1S, which I find to offer a very good balance of grip, wear rate and price. They do seem to wear quicker than Contis but I think the value pay off is worthwhile.
Other people have had good things to say about cheaper tyres such as Fulda Extremos etc. But the ultimate question is how much are you prepared to spend and what mileage would you be happy to get out of a set. If you are only intending road use then you probably don't even need to go for the top model tyre in any brand's range and that way you save yourself cash too. Keep in mind that when these cars were designed tyre technology was nowhere near advanced as today.

Jamie

Guest · Apr 23, 2004

I run Pirelli P Zeros, as road tyres, as I have got to like Pirelli tyres in general over the years (P7/P700/P7000, only changing up when they stopped making a model), and the current ones were not much, if any, dearer than other 'normal' tyres.

My tyres have always lasted well (more power/less skill than I can use ?), but I am a bit unsure about their ability in the wet (after last Sunday, on the way back from Donnington), but maybe the road was just too wet for tyres to cope.

Guest · Apr 23, 2004

If they are the Yoko AVS Sport with a Y shaped tread pattern (see attached image) then you will have to look at fairly top of the line tyres from any of the major brands to get something equivalent.

I understand that Elite in Essex is owned by a club member and gives a discount for members (there are prices on the website so its a good place to browse). Others, like Micheldever and I have had good experience with Bracknell Tyre & Battery. Still others like the mail order places (do a google search).

Bear in mind that a 3.2 does not need a bespoke tyre (like a Carrera GT) or an N rated tyre (not applicable to pre 1989 Porsches and of debatable merit anyway). You may like to look at Bridgestone SO3s, Michelin Pilot Sport 2, Goodyear Eagle GS D3, Pirelli PZero Nero, Conti Contisport 2, Dunlop SPSport 9000 - all are expensive. The best of the second tier brands would be Toyo T1S. It depends what you want to spend.

There are other threads relating to tyres on this forum - you just have to widen the search to go back over the last year. I am sure others will chime in with specific experince. Mine is recently with PZeroC and Dunlop D01J track tyres and Bridgestone S02, Dunlop SP8000, Yoko S1V and Falken road tyres.

Richard

Guest · Apr 25, 2004

Thanks all for your thoughts.
Whilst browsing the internet for tyre prices I found a website with what seems to be very good prices. Mytyres.co.uk

Guest · Apr 25, 2004

I have just had a look at this site, and there are a couple of points to be made:-

1. I selected 245/45 ZR16 (my rear tyres), then All (from summer/winter selection), and all the tyres it listed, including the ones that I use, are classed as summer tyres. What do 'summer tyres' mean ?

This may be me being too fussy about the website, but it should be more helpful/accurate than this.

2. Whilst the prices include postage + VAT, you will need another £10.00 approx. (per tyre) for fitting etc., and petrol for getting to wherever the fitting takes place (unless you do it yourself).

I realise that I probably pay a bit more than the cheapest, but the place I use is less than a mile away, and they will get the tyres the next day. And they treat my alloys well, with the balancing on the inside. And they never quibble if I have any problems.
And I will stop my selling routine right now !