Tyre choice for modified Turbo?

[Ewan]

My car should be ready for the road next week, but needs a new set of boots. It's going on the rolling road first, and I intend to run it with about 330 bhp and 380 Nm torque. I'll only be doing 1 or maybe 2 thousand miles a year, and no track action, so expensive tyres seem a bit unnecessary. I have been recommended to try Barum (cheaper brand, but made by Continental). What do you other Turbo drivers use and recommend? My car has 17 inch Cup 1 wheels, in case that matters. And does anybody know a cheap supplier near to me (Dorset/Hants/Wilts border)?

 

[david924s]

I don't have a Turbo but run the same 17" Cup 1s 9" rear 255/40/17 7.5" 225/45/17 fronts and I use Toyo T1Rs all round I got these around 3 years ago and they are brilliant in the dry and pretty good in the wet, they have lasted better than anyone expected over 12K miles with plenty of life left in them yet, and from memory cost around £330 (3years ago) for all four so a good price.

 

[Cater_Racer]

Ewan you've gotta be crazy, spend money on RR session and super fast car then compromise on tyres?

The tyres are the only thing that :

Puts the power down,
keeps you going in the right direction,
takes round the corners,
stops the car when you put the brakes on.

330 BHP and 380 Nmtrs might be good for your ego, the right tyres are good for your health.

 

[Ewan]

That's a fair point, and when I recently put a new set of Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres on my 996 and had a 4 wheel realignment the handling and general driving experience was transformed. But that cost a grand. And I was rather hoping there may be a cheaper compromise for my 944 which will get precious little use. I'm not suggesting using cheapy remoulds or the like, just wondering whether I really need to go as far as Pirelli/Michelin money?

 

[poprock]

I'd recommend looking at the price band just below Michelin/Pirelli. Toyo TR1, Continental Sport Contact 2, etc. There's no way I would compromise all the way down to bargain tyres.

 

[GlennS]

ORIGINAL: Cater_Racer

Ewan you've gotta be crazy, spend money on RR session and super fast car then compromise on tyres?

The tyres are the only thing that :

Puts the power down,
keeps you going in the right direction,
takes round the corners,
stops the car when you put the brakes on.

330 BHP and 380 Nmtrs might be good for your ego, the right tyres are good for your health.

+1.

 

[JamesBall]

I don't know how they would fare with the extra bhp but Falken 542s have been faultless on my standard 944T. But you could probably find "better" tyres for no more than £50 extra a corner, which is probably £200 well-spent given the comments above.

 

[944Turbo]

My favourite tyre on the 944 is the Dunlop SP9000 at 32psi, tried michelins, pirellis, bridgestones, continentals, - will try Toyo's next

They are a little loose at the rear compared to the Bridgestone (SO2 N3) but very predictable / catchable with similar levels of power to your predicted and they wear slower than most of the others.

Christchurch tyres or if you want to save a few more pounds and dont mind a Queue Micheldever tyres. There was also a place in Andover that had quite good prices. Also try camskill or the other online suppliers, tyres are getting pricey at the moment due to increases in rubber/steel/shipping costs and some may have some older tyres in stock - having said that at a ffew thousand miles a year newer might be better.
Tony

 

[Peter Empson]

At 1-2k per year you will be getting rid of most tyres due to age rather than wear, so you could go with something soft, sticky and fun at that rate (Toyo 888s []). Being a bit more sensible though, I too would recommend the Toyo T1-R, good all weather performance and enough grip to exploit the potential of your car - and they're very reasonably priced too.

 

[Cater_Racer]

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

At 1-2k per year you will be getting rid of most tyres due to age rather than wear, so you could go with something soft, sticky and fun at that rate (Toyo 888s []). Being a bit more sensible though, I too would recommend the Toyo T1-R, good all weather performance and enough grip to exploit the potential of your car - and they're very reasonably priced too.

That's a good point Peter, I use Toyo 888's on my race 944 S2 and they are good in the wet for a semi-slick, very predictable and as you say good fun.

My road 993 wears P Zero's and I always change them well before the 1.6mm level, I think on road car you have to be soooh careful, in an accident the plod or the insurance company will immediately inspect the tyres and if they're not approved and well within specification you're going to suffer.

 

[Hilux]

ORIGINAL: Cater_Racer

ORIGINAL: Peter Empson

At 1-2k per year you will be getting rid of most tyres due to age rather than wear, so you could go with something soft, sticky and fun at that rate (Toyo 888s []). Being a bit more sensible though, I too would recommend the Toyo T1-R, good all weather performance and enough grip to exploit the potential of your car - and they're very reasonably priced too.

That's a good point Peter, I use Toyo 888's on my race 944 S2 and they are good in the wet for a semi-slick, very predictable and as you say good fun.

My road 993 wears P Zero's and I always change them well before the 1.6mm level, I think on road car you have to be soooh careful, in an accident the plod or the insurance company will immediately inspect the tyres and if they're not approved and well within specification you're going to suffer.

Hi

I see you have a Catering Van []

I had a Westy once upon a time []

 

[MarkK]

Toyos TR1s
If you care about handling,performance and saftey it's all about tyres,Get good ones!

 

[Frenchy]

T1R's on my 220 with no issues at all, try Camskill Online for the best price for these, just down the road from me BTW, i had Pirrelli P Zero on the Turbo S only snapped the back out once, i have replaced these with Conti Contact Sport 3, i have not had a chance to do many miles yet so the jury is out.
Falkens on my everyday bus seem fine (ZE 912) but i just plod about in it and never drive it "enthusiasticly"............................goy a couple of 944 Turbo's for that ! []

 

[Ewan]

It appears that the Toyo T1-R is the recommendation for a mid priced option, and will come in at £420 a set, approximately. This sounded good to me, until I saw the tread pattern on the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta. Now that's a tyre. A few beers more at approximately £490 a set, but I can live with that. Has anybody got a compelling reason for why I'd be mad to go this route?

 

[Frenchy]

The Yokohama advan is quite a sexy tread pattern also.........................sad i know !

 

[DavidL]

New set of T1R on mine. So far so good. I think the side walls are soft which means they can squirm a bit on the track but means nothing to me on the road. I had mine from Camskills?Black circles and fitted by the wheel refurbers - mind you they still aren't balanced properly.

So who's this Catervan man then - I may have one in the garage but mine has a proper body.

 

[scam75]

ORIGINAL: Ewan

It appears that the Toyo T1-R is the recommendation for a mid priced option, and will come in at £420 a set, approximately. This sounded good to me, until I saw the tread pattern on the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta. Now that's a tyre. A few beers more at approximately £490 a set, but I can live with that. Has anybody got a compelling reason for why I'd be mad to go this route?

Not heard anybody running those..........but if they look good then hey ho!

Another +1 for Toyo T1-R's. Good all round grip and work well on my slightly modded turbo.

Stuart

 

[Suffolk944]

ORIGINAL: Ewan

It appears that the Toyo T1-R is the recommendation for a mid priced option, and will come in at £420 a set, approximately. This sounded good to me, until I saw the tread pattern on the Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta. Now that's a tyre. A few beers more at approximately £490 a set, but I can live with that. Has anybody got a compelling reason for why I'd be mad to go this route?

I run with a set of the Vredestein Ultracs and they have served me well - plus yes they have a great tread pattern ! []

 

[Fat Albert]

I run Falken 452s on the rear of my mildly modded 220 and like them, I have done 21,000 miles on them and there is loads of tread left.

If you want a good long-lasting tyre go for the Pirelli P6000, I have them on the front, the date code says that they are 10 years old and I have done 22,000 miles on them..and they still have about 4mm of tread....goodness knows what the previous owner did on them...I must dig out the receipt and see if the mileage is on it.

Of course I do enjoy a modicom of understeer when pressing on and the ABS seems to be needed more than before...I will change them before winter!!


aha, found the invoice....fitted in 2004 at 169,000...it is now on 215,100 so they have done 46,100 miles!!!

 

[pauljmcnulty]

fitted in 2004 at 169,000...it is now on 215,100 so they have done 46,100 miles!!!

And they're down to only 4mm tread? What on earth have you been doing to them! [][]

P6000s should come with a lifetime guarantee, they just don't wear out. The downside is that they don't grip either. [&:]