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

356 Porsche-related discussions and questions.
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Paul Ahnell
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Re: Where can I buy a new set of tires for my '59 Conv "D"?

#241 Post by Paul Ahnell »

+3 on the Vredesteins! The PO had 165/90-15s mounted on chromed rims with a Vic's camber regulator. Looked cool but heavy, heavy steering, even with higher tire pressures. Not at all what I remembered of my '63 from many years ago. I took them off, put on Vredestein 165HR15s with stock tire pressure and kept the regulator installed. Now it's absolute heaven to scoot around. Just as I remembered.
Paul Ahnell
'60 Normal Coupe

David Pettengell
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#242 Post by David Pettengell »

Everyone likes sprint classics but I looked on the coker site and they have 2 versions. the narrow tread and the wide tread. What do you all choose?

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C J Murray
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#243 Post by C J Murray »

'57 Speedster
'59 Sunroof
'60 Devin D Porsche Race Car
'63 Cabriolet "Norm"
'67 911 S Original Owner
'03 Ferrari 575M
'09 Smart Passion

Edwin Ek
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#244 Post by Edwin Ek »

David,

Either I have never noticed the choices before, or it is something new. And i have been paying attention to Sprint Classics for several years now, with an eye towards purchase when my car goes back on the road. The version with wide treads is unfamiliar to me. It is substantially more expensive, but I like the looks of the sidewall better.
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Jan Kolm
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#245 Post by Jan Kolm »

If you don't care what your 165/80R15 tread looks like or where they're made, the Nankang CX668 at $83.96 through Sears is what the Kumho Power Star 758 was five years ago. Tire Rack sells the Chinese-made "Classic" tire for $62.47 and Discount/America's Tire sells the "Veento G-2" online at $59 each. If you have a Big O Tire outlet nearby (or NTB/ Merchant's Tire/ Kingdom Tire), the "Classic" can be had for $49.95. The Nexens do not appear to be currently available.

If you're willing to settle for the VW 155/80R15 size, the Mexican-made BF Goodrich Radial T/A is still available for just under $100 apiece from several sources. Walmart has recently discontinued carrying this tire and Pep Boys is out of stock everywhere which are both not good signs.

Prices as of 26 January 2016
Jan Kolm
356 Registry #1066
1960 1600N Coupe

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Brian R Adams
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#246 Post by Brian R Adams »

Jan Kolm wrote:If you don't care what your 165/80R15 tread looks like or where they're made, the Nankang CX668 at $83.96 through Sears is what the Kumho Power Star 758 was five years ago.
Ouch! The Kumho PS 758 sold for $25 the copy when I bought five of them from Tire Rack many years ago. Never been mounted, still strap bundled as delivered. Hmmm ...
Welcome to the era of policy-based evidence-making.

Difficile est saturam non scribere (Juvenal)

Edwin Ek
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#247 Post by Edwin Ek »

Brian R Adams wrote:
Jan Kolm wrote:If you don't care what your 165/80R15 tread looks like or where they're made, the Nankang CX668 at $83.96 through Sears is what the Kumho Power Star 758 was five years ago.
Ouch! The Kumho PS 758 sold for $25 the copy when I bought five of them from Tire Rack many years ago. Never been mounted, still strap bundled as delivered. Hmmm ...
Probably still good to use if they have been stored in a cool, dark place.
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Brian R Adams
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#248 Post by Brian R Adams »

Edwin Ek wrote:
Brian R Adams wrote:
Jan Kolm wrote:If you don't care what your 165/80R15 tread looks like or where they're made, the Nankang CX668 at $83.96 through Sears is what the Kumho Power Star 758 was five years ago.
Ouch! The Kumho PS 758 sold for $25 the copy when I bought five of them from Tire Rack many years ago. Never been mounted, still strap bundled as delivered. Hmmm ...
Probably still good to use if they have been stored in a cool, dark place.
Stored in my house, same conditions I suffer, 58 to 75 degrees, no direct sunlight but some indirect and of course incandescent. That "cool dark" phrase suggests they must be in a root cellar or something, never really understood or bought into it. I think the main culprits are ozone, UV light, and high temperatures (e.g. as in a hot garage or something.)
Welcome to the era of policy-based evidence-making.

Difficile est saturam non scribere (Juvenal)

Edwin Ek
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#249 Post by Edwin Ek »

Brian, we are in agreement, but expressing things a little differently. What's the opposite of high temperatures? Cool. How to avoid UV radiation (sunlight)? Dark storage. What leads to ozone formation? Sunlight and high temperatures.
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Randy Mittelstet
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#250 Post by Randy Mittelstet »

I just bought four Nanking CX668 165x15 tires for $52.70 each at Discount Tire. They matched the price that Easy-Tire showed online. Decent looking tread design also. They received many good reviews. Hope to get them mounted soon and will report later on handling etc.

I was becoming concerned about the future availability of 165x15 tires priced under $120 each.
Randy Mittelstet
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David Jones
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Re: What type & size of tires to use / what fits? / "best" t

#251 Post by David Jones »

I just bought a set of Nankang CX668 165's for my 59A with camber regulator. Amazon Prime $55.20 each and free shipping. Road holding still appeared good on the 9 year old Kumhos with 50% tread remaining but age was the decisive factor. No matter where tires are stored they are still subject to degradation due age. Most tire experts give 10 years as the outside age limit for use no matter how they are stored. I will be mounting and balancing these myself over the next few days and will review performance in a few hundred miles. I do have some challenging roads to test them on.
One of my performance tests over the years has been to drop the clutch at revs and attempt a burn out and I have noticed that at a certain point in time the tires do have a degree of slip and when that happens I know that the tires are past replacement time. The other determining point is hard braking from 30+ mph. If the front tires lock up with little provocation then they are due replacement. It is not only embarrassing but kind of dangerous to slide through an intersection with tires locked up at 30 mph.
Picture attached shows the result. This when I originally bought my car with 20 year old Michelins on it.
Attachments
1 - Cabriolet - damaged front right.jpg
If I had known I would live this long I would have pushed the envelope a little harder.
Cymru am byth
David Jones #9715

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Scott McAdams
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New Tire Recommendations from Porsche Classic

#252 Post by Scott McAdams »

Screen Shot 2016-04-21 at 8.55.39 AM.png
I saw an article today mentioning that Porsche Classic has approved some new tires for the 356. I wasn't able to upload the article but here is the table with the new recommendations (Pirelli) on it.
356B S90 Roadster, '60 (gone)
Targa, '84
C4S, '08
Macan GTS, '23

Brad Ripley
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Re: New Tire Recommendations from Porsche Classic

#253 Post by Brad Ripley »

Looks like Pirelli has an inside deal with Porsche. See the Chinese bought Pirelli a couple of weeks ago.

Edwin Ek
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Re: New Tire Recommendations from Porsche Classic

#254 Post by Edwin Ek »

The deal was announced a year ago. But Italian Pirelli retains control of making high-performance car tires for some years at least.
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Brad Ripley
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Re: New Tire Recommendations from Porsche Classic

#255 Post by Brad Ripley »

Sorry, I didn't note the year being 2015, and not 2016, that a state-run Chinese company bought Pirelli.

In any event, besides Pirelli, there will continue to be several brands of tires for 356s.

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