F40 Tire question.

I thought the front tire sizes were 245's? All the ones I have seen have been 245's, and the rears 335's.

 

Kuzi,

Fronts are out there in pzeros but very, very hard to find....rears pop up on ebay occasionally, and I just got a couple out of a dealer in Miami recently. I will ask my tire fellow who he sourced them from and let you know.

Goodyear GSA's are very hard to find as well...

Go with the PS/2's and be ready to act when the pzero's pop up for sale (its nice to have an oem set lying around !)...

 

Kuzi,

The PS2s are far better than the Pirelli P Zeros. I took my P Zeros off and put them on my rack first opportunity I got and the difference in ride, handling, directional stability and accuracy is DRAMATIC.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Yes.

Michelins, Goodyears, Pirellis or Bridgestone. USA F40 thread, page 30, top of the page...

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

The USA F40 thread is a one-of-a-kind and hopefully will always be around whilst these cars remain desirable. There is a lot of info there. I encourage you to read it all when you have time. Youll come accross some interesting posts

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

So surprised they used four brands. Most of the time one, maybe two are used.

I guess they just wanted to give the customer a good selection to choose from?

 

Customers didn't choose the tires, they just came on the car. From the looks of most US cars, seems only the GSA's and Pirelli's made it over here in the US.

 

Michelins and Bridgestones were supplied on USA F40s as well, as noted.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Not according to the USA owners manual, check page 69...Maybe the occasional michelin or bridgestone slipped in as per usual Ferrari methods, but the engineers preference and majority of USA cars were supplied with Pirellis. GSA's were likely #2. Interestingly, the GSA's were also oem on a '94 Esprit I once owned, tough to source Stateside at the time due to their euro manufacture in Luxembourg.

USA F40 Manual is available in pdf form here

http://axisofoversteer.com/blog/documents/OwnersManual-F40_USA_1992.pdf

 

Michelins & Bridgestones made it over on USA cars nonetheless.

As stated elsewhere, and as is well-known, Italian car manuals should NEVER be taken as gospel That would be like relying on a website with out-of-date information! They are an excellent guide, but the USA F40 manual is NOT 100% correct.

Clearly majority were Pirelli P Zero and Goodyear GSA, but Ive personally noted Michelin MXX and Bridgestone RE71 as well.

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

Dear Comrade Joe Sackey,

As is always the case you are once again wholly omniscient on this matter. And indeed, the English Efforty has Michelin tyres fitted. But this may not be the case for the American F-40 as it so much heavier than the English Efforty Lightweight and therefore it may have required more robust tyres - truck tyres perhaps?

With kind regards,

512 Tea Are

 

wholly shifting with the wind would be more accurate....

 

No I am not entirely omniscient - but I know better than to blindly beleive everything I read, perhaps because this is my full-time business and Im not a part-timer trying to impress!

Joe
www.joesackey.com

 

whatever you need to put food on your table Iceman...I'm just a "hobbyist" remember ? Not trying to impress anyone, just a guy who likes F40's and other makes.

In fact, I derive the greatest satisfaction from matching buyer to car, commission free. Have done it a few times recently, and it is really quite enjoyable....In fact, its almost becoming a habit.

 

Humm, that's odd. I guess the Goodyears are 235's and the rest are 245's? All the ones I have seen have had 245's on the front and 335's out back....

 

So, I am about to change tires....Should I try and locate 235's for the front?
I have noticed some rubbing on the inside of the fender lip.....My car is presently shod with 245 Michelins, up front. I believe they are XGX's or some such model..Car is at the shop or I'd confirm.
Joe Sackey recommends PS/2's
Any additional opinions?

TIA, Joe

 

Not much choice here Joe...PS2's are a good tire, and pretty much the lone choice in matched sizes for F40.

F40 rears in oem pirelli can be found, fronts are very hard to find...found a lone set recently in Miami, but it was just luck.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/CompareTireResults.jsp?loadRank=2&search=true&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&vehicleSearch=true&startIndex=0&autoYear=1992&minLoad=S&frontRatio=45&autoModClar=&frontDiameter=17&rearWidth=335%2F&rearDiameter=17&frontWidth=235%2F&autoMake=Ferrari&rearSortCode=51400&minSpeedRating=V&frontSortCode=49850&autoModel=F40&rearRatio=35&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_rating=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=%28Y%29&RunFlat=All

 

The PS2's are very good tires. Have you noticed any difference in how they handle vs the Pirellis?

Best

 

Jim,

I've had those on other cars, but not on the F40.....I agree, a very good tire and option. I've been lucky to source a set of original pirellis for the F40, and have a couple of spare rears as well.