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205/60/r15 Tire Suggestions

My Kumho Solus TA31 worked fine and are even used as original equipment on some new Korean penalty boxes. Survived an autocross and provided utterly competent all-weather performance. Low road noise and no vibration.
 
Last year I did what 242 John suggested and shopped 205/55-15. I got them from a local tire place at four tires mounted, balanced, with new valve stems for $420. Nitto NT450. They have been lasting fine, weren't very good in cold weather like I expected. But overall a good tire. I would get them again. After using both the 205-60 and 205-55 I prefer the 55 series tire.

John said do 16s not 15s!

We shall read from the scripture
John: 205-55r16
Hail Hydra!
Amen.
 
If you're going for a small shop that doesn't have the tire you want in stock, worth checking Tire Rack's prices. They will ship to your shop of choice free and usually have some good deals.

My last purchase from them was 4x General Altimax. I've been happy with the everyday traction and tread life but I drive fairly little and use a different size (195/70r14), so you should probably stick with what others here with more experience are suggesting.
 
Ditto Tire Rack. I've bought the last three sets from them and had them shipped to the house then had a small local shop that's been in business for years mount, balance and install.

I had the General Altimax on my 85 245 and would recommend them. Size was 205 70 14

I cheaped out this last go round and got Riken Raptor's for the 91 245 in 205 65 15. They've been OK so far but only had them a couple of months. Grip is surprisingly good in heavy rain.

Good luck.
 
Oh lol well I'm asking you guys in order to be as cheap as possible so I don't really think new rims are an option I am going to explore. :lol:

:nod:

Never let the tire monkeys touch your car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm with Harald on this one if you don't want a 'performance' tire go Michelin all the way.

A bit more money up front but it's hard to beat $ per mile ratio.

:uh:

Not to mention having to do this all over again when your ?he@p@$$ tires were out in ~30K miles.
 
You're right, I should definitely go Michelin, the car even has an old Michelin tire on it (tires are pretty mix-n-match at this point) and the Michelin held up really well compared to even the newer ones... But, I have other cars and the $500 price tag for 4 without installation just doesn't seem viable as I'm not putting too many miles on the 740 anyway.

I guess I'll just wait a bit to see if any deals pop up within the next couple months, seeing how much Michelin is favored over the other brands.
 

:nod:

Spell check fail.

:oops:

You're right, I should definitely go Michelin, the car even has an old Michelin tire on it (tires are pretty mix-n-match at this point) and the Michelin held up really well compared to even the newer ones... But, I have other cars and the $500 price tag for 4 without installation just doesn't seem viable as I'm not putting too many miles on the 740 anyway.

I guess I'll just wait a bit to see if any deals pop up within the next couple months, seeing how much Michelin is favored over the other brands.

I buy the cheapest Defenders I can find online and get into a friend's shop after hours and DIY them carefully on their tire machine.

Dad always said that "Good tires are the cheapest insurance you can buy".
 
too bad they have Evans Tires in Florida, they have a lot of buy 2 get 2 sales.

Some China brand Achilles 122 Set of 4: $168.00
and
Michelin PREMIER A/S Set of 4: $528.00
 
Depends on the person doing the job.
I usually just drop off the wheel and let them change the tire- I don't want them to have the whole car after they busted the wheel stud and didn't pay attention to the position of the wheel locating pin. Still I can trust them with remounting of the generic tire and balance.

I've always done it that way too! Btw my 940 wagon is sitting on Michelin Defenders.This is my second set. I really like the grip and it feel safe when its raining.
 
I would run 205/60-15s on your wheels. It will give you a little more cushion for rough roads, decrease engine RPM slightly and fill out the wheel wells for appearance. 195/60-15s look too small on a 7 series. Tire Rack has some great deals on tires in both sizes right now. I was just on there shopping replacement tires for my GT and took a look at what they have in the sizes your can run on your wheels. A 205/60-15 is designed to run on a 5.5-7" wheel. The median size they actually recommend is a 6" wheel. You need to decide what your main concern with a set of tires is. Tires can't do everything. They either do everything with mediocre results, or, one thing with spectacular results.
 
A few years ago (about a decade ago), 205/60R15 tire options were much better. Unlike now, where it has become a touring tire size, meant for '90s Toyota Camry sedans, etc. 195/65R15 has somewhat better choices and is the same diameter as 205/60R15. IIRC, stock size for a 1985-89 740 Turbo is 195/60R15, so you might also look into the 205/55R15 size, which seems to have quite a few decent performance-oriented tires available. Speedometer will read slightly higher, due to the diameter being smaller and closer to the stock size diameter.

The other option is to go to 16" rims and run some 205/55R16 tires. Did that on both of my 240 Turbos. Won't look back.

1985-89 195/60R-15 was before tire standards were put in place in 1990. Today's 195/60-R15 is too small for the car. Better to choose 205/60R15 or 195/65R15. Also pay attention to the load and speed rating (91H).
 
^^ That's what I run on my 940 Turbo. 195/65-15s I should have mentioned that size in my post above. They are the perfect compromise between the two sizes being discussed. They maintain enough sidewall stiffness to handle well.
 
Thanks guys. Haven't thought of 195/65-15s, and it seems like there's a lot more options in that size than in 205/60 and 195/60.

Edit: Other than Michelins, what would you guys recommend considering that these tires will likely never see snow or any rough driving? Anyone have any opinions about Kelly/Goodyear/BFGoodrich/Kumho etc; cheap tires that just do their job and nothing more
 
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Kumho is a quality tire and attractively priced.

As Roy says you might have to dig around in Tire Rack to sort it out though.

Yup, I'll look around, and seems like Kumho's the way to go since I've seen it come up in this thread before and they're nice and cheap. I'll wait till they're on sale and then I'll be saving big.
 
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