Tire choices for 225/50/15 (street carving - no canyons out east)

[karlusmagnus]

For 8" rears with RS flares, I run 225/50/15's.
Had SO3's. Now gone.
Then had bridgestone replacement (RE50 or something) but they were less good
Then got some other not so great tire.
Now need replacement.
I know search etc, but as tires disappear so often, and choices diminish, it constantly needs updating (tire choices).
On tire rack, I have 4 choices of street tires (not counting track tires;
1. BFGoodrich g-Force Sport ($95)
2. Yokohama AVS ES100 ($109)
3. Sumitomo HTR 200 ($89)
4. Kumho Ecsta AST ($58)

I have seen some say BF Goodrich, and others Yoko's. Any input or consensus?

[sweetE]

I have both the Yoko's and BFG and they are both good. Mine are 205X60 and 195X60.

[Jimmy18E]

Running Toyo R888 235-50-15 on 8x15s in rear with RS flares and 225-50-15 on 7x15s up front. Not a daily driver, weekend back road/hot rod but they have been great on the street.
Good Luck,

Jimmy

[chiroracer]

Here's something to consider. on the track it matters how fast you go around corners ,on the street it really doesnt.In fact it just means more people are in your way.I drove on the street for many years on my 225 50 15 R1s and victoracer track tires. Lately ive had MUCH more fun driving on my repop pirelli cn36's 185r 15 on deep sixes, canyons included. Stock sizes for 7" wide rears on the rs's I think were 215 60s.I think the phrase coined by the 356 guys is that its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. Cheers Steve

[richemj]

I too am running the BFGs .... 225/50 and 205/50 15s on 7 and 8's. Great so far!

[EA911]

+ 1 on BFG

[haycait911]

not one of your choices listed, but +1 on the R888. awesome on the street.

[a911s]

Not a big fan of the Toyo R888 or Yokohama AVS ES100, personally.

I'd go BFGoodrich g-Force Sport or Kumho Ecsta AST for all conditions street use. Toyo RA1 or Yoko AO48 if you don't need much tread for a track/dry street car.

[John Z Goriup]

Anyone who finds themselves lamenting the greatly reduced availability of most really good, high-performance, authentic-looking 15" tires suitable for early 911s (especially for "spirited" driving ), should be aware of the Michelin TB 15.

For years this was one of the tires of choice for street and track use and it was damned good rubber which had all the characteristics one looks for and requires in order to enjoy their vintage cars ( of all makes ) on the road or the track. Unfortunately they were discontinued last year..........BUT, take heart. Michelin has a program in effect whereby they are continuing to take orders for the TB 15s in all the original sizes and then, once a year, produce a batch plus a few more for general sale, to satisfy demand. Naturally they're not cheap, nor should we expect them to be priced competitively with what's available today but it is a very effective way to enjoy appropriate tires on our early 911s.


To further complicate things, theses are available in Europe only, but I'm confident that 's easily overcome through connections & the expenditure of a a few extra $$$.

[JohnT]

John,

In the day (1980-85) I raced a couple of Ferraris on these tires. The race rules required that one drive to and from the event on the same tires as were raced. TB-15's were ok in the dry, but 15's were the hardest rubber compound available in the racing program and not very good in the wet. I actually preferred SB-11's (which were slicks) in the wet to TB-15's. Also the life of the TB-15 is not very long, say 4,000 miles maximum. For example were I running at Le Castellet, the trip and races would cost a set of TB-15's. I usually opted for XWX's and pumped a lot of air into them for the track. Not fast, but stable...... and the French cuisine always made the trip worthwhile.

Another though is that neither TB series or SB series tires have much if any UV and Ozone protection so in sunny climes the sidewalls will deteriorate pretty quickly. Storage instructions always included words about sealed plastic bags, indoors, and out of direct sunlight.

Yes TB-15's look neat and handle well for street tires but they may be an expensive solution.

johnt