Which tyres for my SC...?

[RSGulp]

I know tyres have been discussed here before but my search reveals posts from as far back as 2003 which means things may have moved on...

My Continental Sport Contacts on the rear of my SC are getting close to the wear limit.

They are 215/60 ZR 15 and it also says CZ91 on the sidewall.
I've phoned around for prices and apparently they're not made anymore.

Continental make a tyre called a CZ91 but all the tyre places I've called say that Porsches MUST be fitted with 'N' rated Porsche approved tyres - otherwise an insurance policy might become invalid. Please note the N rating relates directly to Porsche Approval - it's nothing to do with the speed rating.

Surely the 'N' rating only applies to modern 996, 997, Boxsters? Or does it apply to ALL Porsches? And come to think of it when did tyre fitters become so interested in safety and sticking to manufacturers recommendations.

What tyres are other SC's wearing? And does my car really need a Z speed rating (150mph+) tyre?

 

[engleflick]

Hi Rich,

From what I found out the 'N' rating is indeed for newer porsches.

My car currently runs Kumho Ecsta 712's - a fantasticly priced tyre, and much better than the dunlops that were on it when I bought the wheels. I know others on the forum run the same, and for the price you will be hard to beat them.

I would definately recommend Kumhos, as they are well priced and hold the road very well and look nice too (smart tread pattern).

I shall be using them on my other cars when the tyres need changing, and both of my sisters have used them on their cars from seeing mine - and the price!! (a 106 GTi & MGF 1.8 VVC resepctively)

I also believe that they are now standard equipment on the Honda Civic Type R (according to a website I have been on recently - please correct me if I am wrong)

And no I don't work for Kumho []

 

[Rotorhead]

Assuming you are running 6s&7s x 15, then the correct available sizes are:

Front - 195/65 VR 15
Rear - 215/60 VR 15

There are two main choices - Pirelli P6000 (N rated) or Good Year NCT5. My preference would be the GYs (c.£300 for four, inc fitting, vat etc)

Fulda also do a matching set with 185/70 fronts.

See the tyre article in the Carrera RS Register Section of this month's Porsche Post

 

[Guest]

Hi Rich,
I am running Conti Sport Contacts all round on my SC, they have 91V on the sidewall and are Porsche N rated. They appear fine to me, good grip, good wear etc and no real road noise issues, not that you could hear it anyway!! I would buy them again as long as the price wasn't too silly.

Ian

 

[Guest]

Rich, I have the same Kumhos as Dan on mine, they are complete bargains at £200 a set. They grip nicely, very progressive slide in the wet and nothing like as hairy as the ageing Falkens that were on the car when I bought it. No offence to the Kumhos, but now I am used to how she goes on them, I want to try something else next time for comparison, see what difference it makes and decide what my squids are better spent on over the life of the car. I will go Michie next time, Pilot Sports if they are available, next choice would be P7's and then Yoko AVS.

 

[Guest]

I run with Bridgestone SO3's. As we all do I drive the car hard and they have lasted about 15-20k, great grip in the wet and absolutley amazing in the dry.
Before this I had the SO2's, these seemed to suit the car slightly better but I am not sure if you can get them any more.
Before this the Car had Pirelli P600's which at the time I thought where very good but not a patch on the Bridgestones but had great wear rate until 3 days at a track completely shredded them!
The last lot of SO3's cost £218 fitted for the 205 55 16's on the rear so not as cheap as some of the others on the thread. I think I may be trying the Michelins next as well. Have a look at this link they has some great reviews both by car and tyre.

Rats

 

[Franck]

Just like Rats, I am running Bridgestone SO2 and they are absolutely fantastic. I have tried many different tyres (pirelli, michelin, dunlop) but cannot find anything better than the Bridgestone for my Porsches. The handling on dry is very good (but most tyres are nowardays) and the tyre wear is actually very good, even on track days. Where the difference is for me is on wet conditions where the grip is just amazing.

I have tried the S03 as well on both the SC and the 993 and strangely enough felt that the SO2 were better for the SC but couldnt find a difference on the 993. I also believe that the S02 are hard to find now and if you choose to go for Bridgestones, you might have to settle for SO3 but don't worry, you will not be disappointed.

FXM

 

[RSGulp]

What a kerfuffle!

Finding 215/60 V (or even Z) x 15 tyres has proved very difficult (and frustrating). Each of the 10 or 12 tyre places I've called or visited have had problems finding this size in a decent make at a decent price. Nobody holds them in stock, and even when and if they can get them in they are pricing at about £120+ each.

And all the tyre monkies are willing to offer totally contradictory advice:
...215/60 can AND can't be substituted for 225/55
..."Kumho are good tyres" Vs "They are very soft, so grip well but wear quickly" Vs "I wouldn't put them on my mate Darren's Nova".
...all Porsches HAVE to have N0, N1 or N2 tyres fitted "It's the law" !

The general concensus is '215/60 V or Z x 15' is a very uncommon size and what stock is out there is likely to be used up very soon as most manufacturers no longer produce a tyre to this spec - so what will we all do for tyres in the future? Have to change the wheels to 16" or bigger I suppose.

 

[Rotorhead]

On an SC there is no requirement, and limited benefit, in fitting N spec tyres.

Many of the recommendations above are for 16" sizes. You could fit 205/50 fronts and 225/55 rears but you would reduce the rolling radius and lower the gearing. They would also not fill the wheel arches as convincingly unless you lower the car.

My advice would be to find a quality tyre fitter (Pro-tyre, Micheldever etc) and go for the Good Year NCT5s all round - 195/65 front and 215/60 rear. And have a full geometry set up by someone who knows what they are doing. It could transform your car.

 

[Guest]

Rich

Just remembered my friend Mark runs a tyre depot in Cheltenham, he recently swapped the tyres around on my car, also his brother runs a 911. Will dig out his number and send it to you, he should be able to sort something out.

Kumhos grip and wear well on 911's, anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know what they are on about.

Cheers, JG

 

[RSGulp]

John,

I've just returned home from having new tyres fitted near Cheltenham! I found a place which had ordered in a pair for another 911 owner a couple of months ago who didn't show, so they sold them to me at a good price. They're Dunlop SP9000's and they match the fronts already on mine - so maybe there'll be a marked difference in the handling (one way or the other!)

I'd be interested in finding out who your contact is in Cheltenham though - would be useful in the future.

Thanks all for your input.

P.S. John - can I draw your attention to the Gearshift Bush thread. I know you did yours fairly recently and could do with your thoughts...

Cheers,
Rich

 

[Guest]

I had SP Sport 9000's on my last Audi A4 and they were great, grippy to the last but prone to punctures (but then aren't all company car tyres when rammed into a pothole at mega mph), only bettered by the Michie Primacys which were noisier but a tiny tiny bit stickier in the wet. I only changed to Michelin as got tired of having to battle against the fleet company's 'prime brand' rule every time I needed new tyres.

Gearshift bushes, that's an easy job for you mate. Have you ordered all the bits? Got your 101 Projects open on the appropriate page? Then let's begin []

 

[GumAction]

Hello all,

I have a decision to make on tyres and could do with some advice...

I have P6000 all round - 225 x 55 x16 and 205 x 50 x 16.

Firstly I have read above the merits of Kumho's and might take this as an opportunity to change all four tyres to kumho's for a similar price as the two P6000. Are the Kumho's any good and are they worth swapping P6000's for?

Also, what's the optimium size for the 16" fuchs? When I had the wheels polished the tyre guy thought that 205s where too wide for the 6" rims? should I really have 195's on the them?

Also what about the difference in profile? 55 on the front and 50 on the back - is that normal?

Thanks

Lewis.

 

[Guest]

Hi Lewis,

If your P6000's are old (check the date stamped into the tyre) then swapping for any new tyres will give a marked improvement in the way the car drives.

Check your profiles though, as you should have 205/55 and 225/50 front and rear respectively - the wider rear tyre should have the lower aspect ratio to give more or less the same rolling radius. If you have the sizes you say you have front and rear then get them off there!

205's are fine on 6" rims, they give a nice feel and plenty of feedback. I have just gone to 7's on the front of my car still with the 205's and have to say though I prefer the look of the 7's, I prefer the feel of the 6's. Much more delicate and in keeping with the way the car should communicate on the road I think, especially with the smaller-rimmed original steering wheel.

Cheers, JG

 

[GumAction]

Thanks for that - It's ok I wrote the profiles back to front on my post.

I am still undecided whether to stay with the P6000's though.

 

[MikeH]

Hi All...very interesting reading. Does anyone know definitively what year/model the N0/N1/etc ratings are supposed to be fitted from? What's the difference in the individual ratings?

I'm about to change the rears (currently P6000 Powergy 225/50x16) on my '77 Carrera 3.0 and would like to get the right tyre. However I'm thinking of changing the make of tyre and following suit with the same make on the front when they get changed in a year (ish).

The rear P6000s lasted 9000 miles of brisk-but-not-lunatic-fast road driving, including a lot of motorways, but a fair bit of B-Road (or Highland A-Road) driving. The rears are worn down the middle faster than the edges (should I be running 16" at 34psi on the rear? or should I drop the pressure for lower profile tyres) , so clearly I'm not pushing it nearly hard enough if that's the correct pressure.

What brands would you recommend for a bit more wet grip than P6000, and the same or slightly longer life? How would you feel about running different makes front and rear?

What pressures would you suggest for an earlier car running 16" rims (1050kg approx). Std on 15" is 29/34 psi according to the handbook.

 

[hetherc]

Hi

Just repeating what I mentioned in another thread, I too have aging Falkens (according to the history of my car they are 13 years old but only 20,000 miles of use) and after the Swindon Porsche guys found some "faults" I am swapping.

Looking for value, I have ordered Michelin Pilot MXXX3 N2 from the recently opened Costco warehouse in Bristol. I am paying £83.17 each for the fronts (205/55ZR16) and £102.56 for the rears (225/50ZR16). Total £371 ish. I even got a further 20% off as an opening offer (but thats finished now!)

That said, I am still waiting for them to arrive! Apparently Michelin have short stocks of N2 tyres and they take 3 weeks from ordering. When I visited them to chase, I noticed 2 other complete sets of tyrs for various 911s awaiting collection/fitting.

I'll let you know how I get on but at these prices for Michelins, I'm already smiling!

Clive

 

[Guest]

Just going through the tyre changing process. I was running Goodyear Eagle NCT5 at the front and Pirelli P6000 at the rear. Not overly happy with the performance of either (could be the age as they came with the car).

First change is the front to Falken FK-451 205/55ZR16 91Y front (I'll get them put on when I have the front end suspension sorted).

Hopefully before the Porsche Festival I'll get the rears changed to Falken FK-451s. With these I'm expected improvements - here's hoping.

As to where to buy try www.mytyres.co.uk

Regards

 

[Guest]

Rich,
Although this is not about tyres, you mentioned gear linkage bushes. Have you seen the thread on PP entitled 'Your "while you're in there" list - shifter bushing replacement'? There is a link within the article which takes you to the Seine Systems website and an interesting article on blueprinting the 915 shifter. It may help smooth out an awkward shift.

Ian