Silver Bean

Hi All,

In order to "fill up the fenders" the previous owner of my '88 Turbo S put 245/50/16 tires on the rear instead of the standard 245/45/16s. They look good, but I'm wondering what effect they may have had on the car's handling/performance? Since it's time for new tires will I notice any difference (other than appearance) if I put on the size specified by the factory? I use the car exclusively on the street - and nice canyon roads.

Since I'm trying to keep my car stock in appearance I'm leaning towards going back to size specified by Porsche but am curious what differences may be noticeable with the different size tires.

Thanks for the thoughts!

Mike1982

Going from a 245/50 to a 245/45 you wont notice that much difference. The first number is how much tread there is from one side to the other including the side wall and were the tread is. The second number is a % number for the side wall. The LOWER the number means less side wall. So if you have a tire at 200/50, 100 is in the side wall of the tire, but if you have 200/40, 80 is in the side wall. The side wall does a few different things to a car. First off, the car will seem to handle a little harder because of the less side wall. This actually helps a little to feel the road better. A down side is the fact that when you go around a corner you feel the road better but there is a smaller fudge factor, meaning you don't hear you tires squeal as much as before. Hope this helps some for you.

JimBob951

Fill up the fender's?? With 50's, that would have only made the tire taller (more sidewall) and if anything made the tires look skinnier, not wider.. I would go with the 45's for better performance, and looks.. (mine are 255/40 in the back so they look like steamrollers! )

I-Wana-951

The wider the tire the more traction you will get, and the better handeling. You will get a more stuck to the groud feeling.

By any chance that you will be driving the car in the elements, wide tires are not friendly with snow. Being wide will cause them to "float on top of the snow"

just a quick list of pros and cons

keith

vpk944

Probably won't notice it on the street, but a lower aspect ratio will give better (al-be-it small) acceleration, especially on corner exit speeds. This holds true better for track cars. Now its time for someone to post a reply to straighten me out.

pedro951

Going to the stock ratio should give slightly better acceleration because it gives you a shorter effective gear ratio. You will also have to shift a few mph sooner in each gear. It should also make your spedometer more accurate.

Silver Bean

Thanks for the input everybody!

I went with stock sized Bridgestone RE750s all around. 225/50/16s in the front and 245/45/16 in the back. So far I'm happy - both with the looks and performance. I'm taking a drive up the California coast to Big Sur next week so the new tires will get a work out. Should be fun!

Ciao.