Track Tyres

[A911DOM]

Hi,

Another question regarding my recently acquired track project.

How much should I expect to pay to put some track orientated rubber on my 16" teledials (944). Are track tyres more, or less expensive than standard road rubber? What makes should I be looking for or avoiding?

My mechanic has mentioned that using 15" wheels would of slight advantage as it would effectively 'shorten' the gears a little, plus 15" tyres are slightly cheaper as they are more widely available!?

So do I try and find new wheels AND tyres, or do I just put some sticky rubber in the 16" original porsche rims Ive got?

Advice, Opinions and recommendations greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Dom

[CNHSS1]

i would look at the gearing with relation to your intended usage, then decide on tyres. i suspect that the cars geared for 140-150mph as a std roadie, but thats of little use if you intend sprinting/hillclimbing where you will be looking at 120ish max most places. If on the other hand you fancy track days or circuit racing at the likes of Goodwood and Silverstone where the expecetd speeds are higher, that will affect your gearing (tyre size) choice. Realistically unless the cars got a fair bit more grunt than stock, youre not gonna see 140+mph on track in the UK regularly, so smaller rolling radius tyres would help your acceleration and only downside would be a lower terminal speed that youre never likely to see on track anyway!

in my opinion, id go for the tyres that give the best balance of gearing (rolling radius, usually quoted as revs per mile or a rolling circumference) and then one that has a compound suitable for your intended usage. Track tyres designed for 50 lap races (or track days) are largely useless on sprints, and also tyres intended for featherweight caterfields will overheat under the lard of your Porsche ;-)

so thats gearing, then compound, then availaibility. it may mean the ideal rolling radius and width is only availiable in one wheel diameter anyway, so usually makes your choice for you.

Lastly is cost. I say last, as invariably whichever you decide upon will be the rarest, costliest tyre in its class, with the tyre retailer saying ' if only you could go for 235/50-13s Sir we could do 'em for £25 each!'.
Least thats the way its always happened to me...

[GC8]

Id put the 16" ATS wheels on one side and look for a set of genuine 17" Cup1s: or, perhaps, a little less expensively, a set of 17" Boxster wheels. Other may disagree, but in my experience Italian made Cup copies are heavy, not particularly well made and they arent available in the correct offset.

Porsche state that you shouldnt run on 17" wheels unless you fit 968 camber mounts and Id suggest that you do this. When its all ready to go youll find that tyres will be cheaper and therell be a far greater choice than there would if youd used the 16" 'dials.