Tires for my GT4

About a year ago, I converted my 246 GTS to 16" wheels and went with the same sizes F&R as you have. I decided to go with the then-new Bridgestone RE760 Sport, and have been extremely pleased with them.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE760+Sport

 

I have "S drives" on my car and am very happy with them. I bought them mostly because of the excellent reviews about them on tirerack at the time plus the relatively low cost.

Scott

 

Hey Jim,

I'm running the 16" Superformance Repo wheels with BridgeStone Potenza RE001 225/50R16 rear and 205/55R16 front.

More than happy with the setup.

One minor problem, that is more suspension related, my LHS front suspension is a little lower than the RHS and as such if I have a passenger I have to be very careful leaving the road with any steering lock on. I clip the front guard. The rear guards have been de-lipped but not the front yet.

I must admit though that the original 14" dino wheels with suitable tyres were a much more comfortable ride except when you tried to corner hard.

If I had to do a long trip, say to Sydney and back then I'd put the 14's back on.

Cheers

George

 

It seems everyone has gone away from 14" - and the XWX's???/ - are the new tyres that much better?. Are the old 14" dino mag alloy rims not lighter? and being smaller doesn't one have slightly better acceleration?

Too many questions - back to work I say.

 

XWXs are $400.00 each here in the US. I refuse to pay that much for a tire. There are far more choices in 16" sizes.

Yes, they are.

I checked the weight difference before I did the swap. I can't remember exactly, but I think it was about 8 lbs per corner. In any case, it's not noticeable dynamically.

The 55 and 50 series 16" tires in the sizes shown above are only fractionally larger in diameter that the 70 series 14" OE tires. There is no noticeable difference in acceleration.
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I have used the comparative data and customer survey info extensively to purchase tires for my wife's honda, my sport work truck, and the ferrari. I think my next set of tires will be the Dunlop Z1s.

Here is the Extreme summer tie link: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=EP

This link has some help definitions: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/key.jsp

The Dunlop Z1 info link: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Direzza+Sport+Z1+Star+Spec

This link is for a toad test comparison of 4 top tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=107

And finally, the spec sheets for the tires with prices: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?make=Dunlop&model=Direzza+Sport+Z1+Star+Spec&tirePageLocQty=



So, you can look at the tires for the catagory of driving you want to do - every tire has trade offs- decide which tire qualities will fit the type of driving and budget are unique to your car and order up a set. Occasionally tires in your particular sizes are not available in every line and by shopping around, you might be able to get the #3 rated tire for 60% of the top rated tire price.

The top tire may not be right for your particular needs, for example, I live in a fairly wet area, so i chose the Goodyear F-1s over higher rated tires because their wet cornering and braking were superior to the overall best tire in Max Summer catagory.

A great resource,
hth,
chris

 

What wheels are on that Dino 2X6 above? Are those 16" rims? Are they custom made or did that style wheel in 16" come on some other car?

 

Superformance have them.......
http://www.superformance.co.uk/a-246/wheels.htm
and they also have them for the 308 as well
http://www.superformance.co.uk/a-308/wheels.htm

 

That's correct. I bought my 16" 246 wheels from Superformance. They use the stainless steel center caps off the 14" originals.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi,
For my 3.2QV mondial I have bought FIRESTONE (or NEXEN) N3000 tyres which are available at this 16" dimensions ( front 205, rear 245) and very cheap here in France ( front 70euros, rear 95euros), and seem to have a design very close to the Good Year Eagle. NEXEN is farmely a subcompany of Michelin in Asia.
I have not yet tested it, coz I am now finishing the original MICHELIN TRX on the car. Probably in october.
http://www.pneus-online.fr/pneu-auto/ROADSTONE/N,3000/

 

I'd give my left nut (don't really need either of them anymore, lol) for that Dino!

That color is '70s spectacular and looks great on that car.

 

+1!!!

Those 16" Superformance Dino repro's look GOOD. In retrospect, I would have liked to have gone with these rather than what I have now...

I've also found out that this may well have been the orininal color on my GT4!! I've always thought it was red, but sanding revealed no less than 5 layers of paint underneath that red....

 

Thanks. It's the original paint. The color was called Verde Germoglio. There were some 308 GT4s and early GTBs in the same color.

 

Here's a few photos.

First shows a "few" layers of paint. 1 original and 6 (!!) resprays.

Second shows a "bit" of filler, as applied before the current color. Interesting thing is that the body is straight as an arrow, so why the quarter inch filler is a complete mistery.

Bottom line: the car is nearly rust-free and sorting the bits of rust is going to be easy.

Not sure about the color yet. I'm on the fence between the current color (but metallic this time) or Prugna. See attachments. Across the street from work is a Mazda 6 in a very dark prugna-like color that I like a lot. It's nearly black, yet the sunlight will light it up to a brownish/purplish shine. See mobile phone pic.
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