Tires

If only to get tires like this in R14. I have 16 inch rims for the summer tires but I wish I could shoe the old 14s with something for cold weather.

 

I don't disagree, if the car comes with a spare. My 355, no. My Boxster, no but came with an air pump. My Cayman S, no, also came with an air pump. My Z3, no, but had run flats which, as many do, were replaced with non run flats, so I got an air pump.

I've had one flat in all my 50 yrs of driving. Hit a nail with the Cayman. Put a 1/8' diameter hole in the tire. The air pump was enough to get me to an Auto Zone where I bought a plug kit, popped in a plug, pumped it up and made it home no problem. When the tire was replace the nail was inside the tire. Like the Boy Scouts used to say, be prepared. Cheap insurance.

 

I have a full size front spare in my '89 328 GTS - Outer face downwards/inner face upwards, held down with the correct size, original retaining bolt.

I have a soft bag that fits inside the wheel nicely

I doubt I could carry that much more with a space saver in the front - And I'd be much happier running on a full size spare fitted than a space saver.

 

The Pirelli's on my '89 328 date from 2007 and 2008 on the front, and 2014 and 2015 on the rear.

The spare is the original Goodyear NCT Eagle from when the car was new.

As a part of the recommissioning work I'm having carried out on the car, all of the tyres are being replaced with Michelin Pilot 4's.

Longstone Tyres have had Pirelli re-manufacture the P7 tyre , but they're @ 3 times the price of the Pilot 4's for the front tyres, and @ double the price for the rears. That just makes no sense to me whatsoever!

The Pirelli P7's may look period correct due to their tread pattern (but with a more modern construction and composite compared to the original 80's P7's), but the Michelin Pilot P4 is a great tyre, and looking period correct simply isn't worth the extra cost.

 

A full size 16x7 wheel with a newer/modern spare tire in 205/55-16 is a great option. I had a rear flat 30 years ago, and found out "the hard way" that the 225/50-16 rear tire and wheel drops-in the front spare tire provision, but the front bonnet obviously wouldn't close... at the time, it was an easy 5 mile drive to a fix.

 

Well the mini does give some extra space. It is a premium in a 328. Like I said I drove a mini home 400 miles up to 100 MPH. Hard braking and hard cornering was the only time I could tell it was not the regular road wheel.

 

If you want period correct for the 86 328 on factory rims the only one still available today is the Pirelli P7 classic version.

Here's all you need to know....

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/classic-car-tyres/ferrari/328.html

 

They are a completely different tyre both in construction and tread pattern to the modern P7 that are available everywhere.
They are part of the Pirelli Classic range of tyres.
The only thing they have in common with the modern version is they share the name P7.

 

This is a link to the new web page for the American distributor of the Pirelli Collezione Range

https://www.lucasclassictires.com/Ferrari-308-Tires_c310.htm

It has the 16" P7 on it and it will have the 205/70VR14 CN36 on it when they are back in stock.

 

I must have missed something here....why can't the car go on a jack stand and not worry about the spare at all? steve

 

I've just replaced the ancient Pirelli's on my '89 328 GTS with Michelin Pilot 4's (along with the 30 year old Goodyear spare tyre) - Superb tyres!

The roads were damp during my first drive on them, but despite being brand new tyres, they were giving confidence inspiring grip straight away (not always the case with new tyres)

I paid @ £650 (@$732) for all 5 tyres (3 front tyres and two rear tyres) - Money well spent as far as I'm concerned

 

Michelin always make a fantastic tyre, but there is a little bit more to it than just the quality of tyre. Tyres of a period were built to suit the chassis set up of the period, and there is a little bit down the route that a chassis of a period was set up to suit the tyres of the period too. they benefit each other, which is why we would suggest that the Cinturato P7 is the best tyre for your cars.
https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/pirelli-collezione/cinturato-p7.html

 

The standard factory supplied tyre for the Ferrari 328 was the Goodyear Eagle NCT, which was pretty much based purely on the fact that Goodyear were the official tyre supplier for the F1 team at the time, the NCT was never designed for the 328, and the 328 wasn't designed specifically for the NCT tyre, it was just a high performance tyre of the time that suited the performance needs of the car, from Ferrari's F1 supplier.

Had Michelin been the teams tyre supplier, then Michelin's would have been the standard factory tyre.

The Pirelli P7 was a customer option tyre, and as with the Goodyear NCT, it was never designed specifically for the 328, it was simply a high performance tyre available at the time, that was suitable for the car.

My understanding is that the re-manufactured Pirelli P7 tyres are made with a modern compound, and a modern construction, simply retaining a "period correct" tyre pattern. That being the case, they are a tyre as modern as the Michelin Pilot 4, but with a 30+ year old tread design - Not a great combination in my mind, as tread design has improved over the last 30 years, both for dry handling, and for wet weather handling.

From my experience so far of the Michelin Pilot 4 tyres, they have inspired confidence immediately, with great grip on both wet and dry twisty UK country roads, they have very easy to read handling characteristics, keeping the car nicely balanced through the corners, and the 328 chassis can easily cope with them, despite being a modern tyres.

Added to that, I was able to replace both the front and rear tyres, AND the spare tyre with the Michelin Pilot 4's, for less than a pair of rear Pirelli P7's would have cost me.

The car is absolutely fine and spot on with the Michelin's, and I cannot see any advantage that would come from spending an additional £870 (@$943) on the pirelli P7's, to replace the same number of tyres.

It's a case of horses for courses: If looking "original" is your thing, then pay the extra for the Pirelli P7's, if not, buy a decent brand tyre, such as the Michelin Pilot 4's.

Let's not make out that the Pirelli P7's are the only tyres that are suitable for the 328 though, because that simply isn't true!

 

I have had the classic P7's on my car since 2019 and I truely love them, however I do tend to agree with everything you wrote Phill.

I'm a bit of a stickler for originality and at the time I had the funds available to buy the expensive Pirelli's which got a lot of attention from other 328 owners in the club as I was one of the first owners to fit them.

I buy tires once every 5/7 years so paying a bit extra over that period of time is negligible to me. I'm sure there are equally great tyres out there but for my style of driving and for showing the car at various Concorso events the P7's are perfect. Nothing out there looks better.

I think you summed it up best when you said horses for courses.

 

Love this thread, just thought I'd lend some color to the topic, in addition to what @johnk... shared:

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

@ToddFC did you end up going with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4's? (great tires!) and did you do anything to straighten the wheel?