New scoots for the pony

I finally got some tires this weekend to replace my new/old rock-hard Pirelli P500s and 14" Cromodora wheels. A few weeks back, I totally scored on a set of almost new KN alloy QV repros on eBay. The wheels had tires mounted at some point, but were never mounted on a car. The seller had a "buy now" on the wheels only at a super price.

The tires are Toyo Proxes 4, 215/55-16 for the front and 245/50-16 for the rear. The Proxes 4 is a V rated all-season performance tire and they were a good price. I know there are many more high performance tires out there, but it's not as if I'm going to the track anytime soon.

The wider tires and larger wheels look so much more aggressive than the original 14s and "balloon" tires. I was strongly considering staying with the 14s and getting the Sumitomo HTR 200s, but I'm so glad I went this route. Total cost of wheels and tires was less than getting the wheels new from Superformance.

Yeeha!
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Eric, great looking wheels and tires - have the same on my 308 (Goodyears) - and surprisingly, the car still rides pretty soft which is nice.

Looks like you've got a GTV project there in the garage. Great cars, have owned and worked on a few, just wish I'd hung onto some of them when they were easy to buy for $2-3,000 back in the 80s and early 90s.....

 

Haha...no, nothing quite that "exotic." The other (pre-308) project in my shop is a 1980 VW Rabbit pickup. It's a long way from completion and I've sort of lost interest in it. I much prefer my current project

 

Definitely a better look with the 16s. Looks like you came out alright on that deal!!!


PDG

 

really changes the look of the car, doesn't it? i am doing the same thing with my 78.

i think correct tire sizes for the 308 16" wheel are 205 front and 225 rear.

 

When I put the first wheel on the car, I took a step back and went, "wow." I'll never go back to the 14s. I'll use one as the spare and hang the others on the wall as art.

I wanted to get sizes that were as close as possible circumferentially to the original 205/70-14. 215/55-16 comes out to exactly the same circumference as the 205/70-14. For the rear, 245/50-16 is about one inch larger in circumference, whereas 235/50-16 is within 0.2 inches. I went with the 245/50-16 because the Proxes 4 was not available in 235/50-16. So, my speedometer will be off by 1.4%, which is totally fine.

 

Hi Eric, ah, wow, you had me fooled, that front end in your garage looks exactly like a stripped down Alfa GTV front end - have sanded and painted every curve and nook and cranny on one so I was sure that's what I spotted in your garage.

Yup, I can see how you like to work on the 308 instead of the pickup.

Grooming my garage buddy (my 3 year old son) to help me with those tricky 308 jobs where small hands are helpful.....
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'krikey Eric it looks so good. You've come a long way since July '09. Hey let me know if the bike in the background ever comes up for sale.
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You mean my 2nd owner 1973 BMW R75/5? Strangely enough, these things are not worth as much as they should be these days (sort of like a 308). I can't see myself getting rid of it, but I'll let you know if I change my mind!
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