TIRES- Help me. :(

"Mathias Rios" (Mars478)
07/30/2014 at 23:45 • Filed to: None

I am super confused about tires. My 944 desperately needs a set of performance tires to mitigate the POS ones on there.

Here's the deal, Currently my car has "WANDA" WP16's 205/55/R16's all around. This is completely the wrong size of tire, and the tires are horrific at higher speeds. I literally feel each of them just un-gripping at high speeds. It is not a good feeling.

The wheels on my 944 are apparently from a 928 S4, which means that they are a staggered 16 inch set, with 7" wide wheels in the front, and 8" wide wheels in the back. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! has my wheel set listed and recommends:

Tires = Front - 225/50 16 / Rear - 245/45 16

I don't really know how I feel about that considering it lists rear tires that are less "tall" than the fronts. Does that make any sense?

Now, assuming that this tire size makes sense, finding actual tires for these wheels has proved difficult, so to make things simpler I changed the "searcher" on tire rack to the setup listed above to: Tires = Front - 225/50 16 / Rear - 250/45 16. I found a few tires for the one listed above the modified one (in quotes) but they are all autocross/track tires, and while that may be awesome, this car will see more street usage than track. So I am basically looking for the highest performance street tires I can get. Summer tires only preferable. Anyone got any suggestions for an 18 year old on a "just bought another car" budget? Thanks guys.

DISCUSSION (40)

HammerheadFistpunch > Mathias Rios
07/30/2014 at 23:49

have you tried a tire size calc site ? this will help you get a handle of the size differences. Find one thats close and then hit up TR to see if you can find one, it takes some trail and error to hit a common size that makes sense. Frankly I don't think its the size thats the problem (huh huh huh) but the brand. Wanda? she makin tires now? don't trust no tire called wanda.

AM3R > Mathias Rios
07/30/2014 at 23:51

Don't worry about the rears being shorter than the fronts. That's normal in staggered sets.

Mathias Rios > AM3R
07/30/2014 at 23:56

Good to know. Any idea why? That just makes my search for tires harder.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Mathias Rios
07/30/2014 at 23:57

they probably aren't "Street tires" bit Too RA-1 Proxies are fantastic tires. When they were on the JPS they saw more time on the street than the track. Not much tread on them though. Surprisingly good wet traction.

JGrabowMSt > Mathias Rios
07/30/2014 at 23:59

Toyo Proxes T1R. You can get two tires of each size, and have a matched set across all four. Bonus points that the tires are actually pretty good summer/autocross tires.

A full set will run you around $500 or so. Given the wheel size, not sure you'll find anything better than that. Safety first.

The rear tires aren't necessarily "less tall," the sidewall size is a percentage of the width, so the 225/50 and 245/45 probably come to the exact same, or very similar sidewall height when mounted.

Mathias Rios > HammerheadFistpunch
07/31/2014 at 00:01

I just don't like the fact that the rear tires are super stretched. Looks like some ricer shit. And yeah, the only places I found that these tires exist are here: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail…

Not sure if the brand is WINDA or WANDA it's hard to tell. Needless to say, they are garbage. These don't even belong on a hyundai.

I've checked that tire size thing but I am asking for real world experience. Will I lose performance if I change the measurements a bit? Is it crucial that I stick to the recommended numbers? I feel like quite a noob asking these questions but truthfully I've never dealt with tires too much.

AM3R > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:01

to keep the rotational inertia as close as possible. There's a certain % off the front and rear wheels can be or else the speedo will be off and I'm pretty sure it effects performance pretty greatly too.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:02

Hankook Ventus RS3

Mathias Rios > Trunk Impaired 318
07/31/2014 at 00:03

Do you have experience with them?

Mathias Rios > JGrabowMSt
07/31/2014 at 00:04

I almost bought the T1R's it's that Tire rack doesn't have them for my rear tires :(

Trunk Impaired 318 > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:05

I have them on my autocross car, stupid stupid amounts of grip

HideyoshiJP > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:06

225mm x 0.50 = 112.5mm sidewall
250mm x 0.45 = 112.5mm sidewall

Don't worry, they're the same height.

JGrabowMSt > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:06

I was just looking at the size chart, the tires come in the two correct sizes.

Mathias Rios > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts
07/31/2014 at 00:07

How long did they last? I don't really want to be buying tires every "driving" season. Don't plan on driving this car in the winter at all I have my truck for that.

HammerheadFistpunch > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:07

tire size will play much less a role than tire quality. don't fret it too much, get something that fits and is available and go with a quality, highly review brand and tire. Im partial to Michelin, Conti or some goodyears.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:08

can you still get Continental ContiSportContact's to fit? I had a buddy with them on his 928 and they stuck extremely well. My mum has them on her EOS too and they're pretty sticky.

Short of that it looks like the Bridgestone re-11's might be the only other choice.

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/roll-on/2…

Mathias Rios > JGrabowMSt
07/31/2014 at 00:08

oh shit, I guess I did something wrong. I will consider those. Still not sure if I should be crazy and run some "competition" tires but I am concerned about rain and making the car unsafe for the street. It isn't really a track car after all.

Mathias Rios > HideyoshiJP
07/31/2014 at 00:08

Sorry, I forgot to math.

Thanks :)

Mathias Rios > Trunk Impaired 318
07/31/2014 at 00:08

Thank you!

lonestranger > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:09

Know that the aspect ratio is just that. A ratio. The aspect ratios of two tires ("50" and "45" in your case) are only relative to each other if the tread width is the same. 225/50R 16 and 245/45R 16 are actually virtually identical in overall diameter (or height). The rears do have a slightly smaller diameter, but only by 0.177 inches or 4.5mm.

Mathias Rios > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
07/31/2014 at 00:09

If your friend had a staggered set of 928 16" 7-slot wheels then yeah they're the same wheels.

Trunk Impaired 318 > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:10

Sure thing, I actually have them in 225/50/16s all round, i think they were 130ish per tire

Mathias Rios > HammerheadFistpunch
07/31/2014 at 00:11

Any personal anecdotes/ recommendations on tire models?

Thanks!

HammerheadFistpunch > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:14

I don't buy summer only rubber often because of where I am (Utah). But I will say that the conti extreme DW are considered great buys (had DWS) and I like the pilot sports (not the cups) for value.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:18

http://www.928registry.org/928%20Registry…

Looking at the photo's here really hasn't jogged my memory, his car was early 80's so probably not the same sizes.

HideyoshiJP > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:18

No problem! I forgot what the aspect ratio was of, though, sadly. I had to look to remember that it's sidewall height over section width.

Mathias Rios > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
07/31/2014 at 00:20

I'm guessing he had phone dials. These wheels were from late 80's 928S4's

Mathias Rios > HammerheadFistpunch
07/31/2014 at 00:20

I don't plan on driving my 944 in the winter. I have my ML320 for that one haha. Thanks for the tips!

lonestranger > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:23

Umm, yes they do:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSear…

EDIT: Oops, I see you've already found them. Oh well, now you know.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 00:33

nah they were 7 slots, but I can't remember if they were staggered or not. I sent him an FB message just in case, but I don't speak to him often so I dunno if he'll respond quickly.

WRXforScience > Trunk Impaired 318
07/31/2014 at 00:47

The Hankooks don't do great in the cold or rain, for daily driving I would prefer Dunlop Direzzas (I've run both as autocross tires with occasional street use). But if you are just sticking to the street then any of the summer performance tires on tire rack will work just fine (max or ultra high performance summer tires, no run flats).

The ventus v12 are also a popular, cheaper option but I've never run them personally. Summer performance tires get sketchy when the temperature drops below 40°F and as they wear down their lack of tread makes hydroplaning a significant hazard.

Trunk Impaired 318 > WRXforScience
07/31/2014 at 00:57

I just went with the best performing "street" tire I knew of, and I would not advise the Hankooks for rain (been there and very sideways) or cold. But he asked for the highest performance street tire which in my experience at least is

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 01:07

this car was summer only, and I seem to remember they lasted four or five years. But the car was mostly driven on long trips to car shows or weekend drives.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Mathias Rios
07/31/2014 at 02:45

from what I've heard they wear pretty quick.

http://m.tirerack.com/tires/descript…

There's the tire rack page. When they were on the JPS they weren't shaved or nothing. They stick like glue, easily the best performing tire that's been on that car.

Howard Blair > Mathias Rios
08/01/2014 at 04:36

"I am super confused about tires. My 944 desperately needs a set of performance tires to mitigate the POS ones on there."

First. World. Problems.

Mathias Rios > Howard Blair
08/01/2014 at 10:08

everything on this website is a first world problem. Not sure what kind of comment that's supposed to be considering this is a car blog and not buzzfeed

Howard Blair > Mathias Rios
08/01/2014 at 15:35

It's a humorous jest, meant in fun (not sarcasm). Jeez, chill out a little.

kalabaddon > Mathias Rios
08/01/2014 at 17:01

HA my MR2 has 16 inch rims, same problem every time I need new tires. turns out 225 and 245 16 inch tires are like only used on old Porsches and after market rims... Good luck finding any, I needed to replace mine last year and ended up having to get some lightly used tires :(

Mathias Rios > Howard Blair
08/02/2014 at 08:22

sorry didn't have my cereal this morning

akriz > Mathias Rios
08/06/2014 at 17:59

I've got Michelin Pilot Exalto Tires on my 951, got them at Costco for a decent price although they are on the pricey side. These tires have much more grip than the previous Pirelli p600