What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" tire?

[Jules Dielen]

vredestein Sprint classic. the only tire that looks correct IMO

[Ron LaDow]

While this is still on the dance floor, are there any resources to find tire weights? I'm getting close on tire age and I'd love to find the lightest tire for 4.5" rims.

[Cliff Hanson]

Tire Rack lists all the specs of the tires they sell, including weight. For example they only list a Pirelli P6000 in the 185/70-15 size and show a weight of 19 lb. For the 195/65-15 size there are LOTS of tires and the weight for the Bridgestone Potenza AS960 is 22 lb. I'm sure there are numerous other sources for tire specs and weights.

[Miguel Antonetti]

I'm running 195x65 Pirelli P6 on 5.5' wheels on my 64C, and really like them - stance and performance.

[Bo Bolino]

What was correct size of wheels & tires for my 1955 pre a speedster built 11/28/1955?
Thanks for any info Bo

[Steve Harrison]

Wow Bo,...built that late, it could be very hard to determine 100% if it came with 16 inch rims or 15 inch rims, but most likely 15's. You would be able to find dated rims in both sizes I'd bet, but both are going to be hard to find nonetheless. I'd say go with whichever you can find?

[Chad Comeau]

Bo,
Your Pre A speedster came with 3.25"x16" Wheels, Tires are 5.00x16. Original 16" wheels come up for sale once in a while and are are very expensive. There are also reproduction 16" wheels which look very nice however not original. Below are a couple comparison adds.

Ebay 4-Reproduction 16" Wheels ($2k)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-356-Pre ... ea&vxp=mtr


The Samba 5-Original 16" Wheels ($11,500)
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... id=1662417

Chad

[Norm Miller]

Hey Gang,

I've been driving in the frozen north for 60 years and recently fitted a set of General RT43 tires in 195.65X15.
These are better than my previous snow tires and seem very tight on wet roads.
I know, most of you don't drive in this crap but they are quiet and seem very sticky in the dry.
!95 is a bit large for 4.5" rims but they will work and look natural like original 590X15 bias from the day.
I have them on 6" rims and still have about 5mm clearance on the rear fenders.
Their old ad's claimed that "Sooner or later you'll own generals". My first Generals.

Norm

[J. Winegarden]

Getting ready for spring my tires are 20 years old on my 356 1962 356 notchback T5
1600 super.i've been told by Mr. 356 Vic. Skirmants that the tires after so many years disintegrate inside and should be replaced any suggestions for a good all-purpose tire?
JD Winegarden AKA The Flint Flash.

[Sebastian Gaeta]

Hi JD,

Nice to see you joined the forum!

See this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27101

Reading this thread will help quite a bit. If you want to keep the stock size I have the Vredestein Sprint Classics 165/15 on my cars. They have the nice vintage tread pattern and rounded sidewall that look very "correct" on the car.

You are welcome to come down any time to have a look.

Regards,

[J. Winegarden]

Thanks Sebastin I will call you in A2
Before I take a look .We should plan somthing for us 356Michiganders
This Summer.Cheers and Thanks JD Winegarden aka the flint flash

[David Jones]

Walmart sell the Nexen tire for less than $60 each. I would guess that they would work as well as anything that was available when your car was new.

[Jon Schmid]

Walmart sell the Nexen tire for less than $60 each. I would guess that they would work as well as anything that was available when your car was new.

X2 on the Nexens. Very reasonably priced and work just fine on my coupe.

[Sebastian Gaeta]

X3 on the Nexen if you don't mind a modern tread pattern and as David said they are infinitely better than any tire from the 1960's

I may have told this story before, but I first started using them back when the Kumho was becoming scarce. I happened upon the Nexen while snooping around a drag race shop in downriver Detroit on Fort street. It seems the drag racers used the 165/15 Nexen as a front tire and they had racks of them available. I figured if they were good enough to handle a 13 second 1/4 mile they would be just fine on my 356.

[Edwin Ek]

Walmart sell the Nexen tire for less than $60 each. I would guess that they would work as well as anything that was available when your car was new.

I don't understand this logic. Why wouldn't you want the best tire possible (within reasonable price limits)? Don't you want better braking distances, better road holding, better wet weather performance? Maybe to save your life?

When you go see a physician, do you want medical knowledge and techniques from the '60s or 2015?