Early 911 road legal tarmac rally tyre option opinions ?

amallagh · Post by **amallagh** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 1:20 am

I'm interested in any bodies experience and opinions on the following road legal tarmac rally tyres for historic rallies on an early 911 with 15" & 14" wheels (5.5" or 6" widths)
- Avon CR6ZZ 185/70R14 or 185/70R15 (very expensive for my liking)
- Avon CR28 Sport 185/70R14 ?? (No experience of these at all)
- Maxsport RB4 185/70R14 or 175/70R15 (<1/2 the price of the others!)
- Kuhmo Ecsta V70A 185/70R15 (do they work in tht wet ?)
- Dunlop D83J 185/70R15 (wasn't road legal the last time I checked despite what the Dunlop website says but they were planning to change that. Not as expensive as CR6ZZ but still pricey)

Are there any other road legal tyres people know of or can recommend for very light motorsport use to fit onto 5.5 or 6" rims ? I'd be interested in normal road tyres
Also interested if any of these tyres (or any others you can recommend)might be a better compromise for some mixed surface special test road rallying on gravelly/broken tarmac and some occasional mud, in dry & wet conditions ? i.e. a real mixed bag.

I'm also looking for some road legal rally tyres for 7&8X15" wheels. So far I've just used a couple of sets of Falken ZE912 tyres in 225/60 and 205/60. Although they are only a road tyre I've found them very good in wet and dry with very stiff side walls and relatively predictable on the limit. Very well priced too.
I don't need to stick to 70 profiles on these wheels but don't really want to go below 60 profile either. Is there anything else I should consider that might be more motorsport orientated ?

Thanks
Andrew

Histrally · Post by **Histrally** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 12:22 pm

Andrew,
This subject is an ongoing saga as the bottom line is the MSA rules do not allow anybody running 15inch wheels for Historic Road Rally a decent selection of road rally tyres. (70 profile the minimum allowable) I have written on this topic before so my apologies if I am repeating previous information.
I am currently running Vredstein Sprint Classic 185/70 x 15 on my regularity Porsche Rally car. They don't have the same speed rating as some of the other tyres but I chose them above the Kuhmo as I felt they were more suitable. I have used them on several road events now. We were fastest historic on the East Anglian airfield tests last year which were under several inches of water. However we did puncture on the last test which we only discivered after starting the next road regularity. They seem to cut up on the loose. In fact in hindsight the Dunlop SP82 would have been a better tyre for that event. I don't believe that is E marked though. I have recently seen another Porsche competitor with a set of these fitted on the road and have had discussions with Dunlop about their suitability on tarmac which they believe is good!! This is the tyre used by the stage Porsche's.
I have found the Vredstein to be predictable in handling and when they do let go do it in a controllable way.
I have used Dunlop D83J's as a tarmac stage tyre on my Midget and cannot speak too highly of them in both very wet and dry conditions on smooth tarmac. I would not choose them as a general purpose road rally tyre though. They will puncture on anything that is a loose surface. I suspect that the Avon's would fall into the same category.
I have spoken with somebody else who has used the Maxsport and he considers these to be good even though only available in a 175 section. I have no fears as to using a quality remould made for motorsport. I used Colways for years on the midget with good results. Cheap too.
There seems to be no single tyre as an all round solution. We have to cope with all the conditions you have mentioned which is unlike a normal road car or one used on a track. They will wear and so we also need a sensible priced tyre. When you find the anwser please let me know. The MSA will not budge on 70 profile.
Jerry

Cam Arnott · Post by **Cam Arnott** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 9:08 am

Hi Andrew

I am running the Kumhos in a lower profile at the moment and use the car for road, tarmac rally and light track work.

I have found them to be pretty good in the wet and they also seem to provide good grip from cold which is good for tarmac rallying.

They seem to wear pretty well also.

Hope this helps!

Cam

Cortina · Post by **Cortina** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 8:06 pm

ZZ's or Dunlops is your choice to survive on Tramac if you are being serious. If HRCR then it must be Dunlops

(no choice) .
I am just about to use 4 of each in anger next week on Circuit of Ireland, and can tell more then (albeit on a 928) - suspect Dunlops will come out on top (at least we have choice here !!!) .. tried for wider ZZ's than 185 (done in 205 and 215 in 70 series ), but nobody could get me a price (if no price , what are chances of tyre ??)

amallagh · Post by **amallagh** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:45 am

I've tried to summarise comments below. Any other comments -
Avon CR6ZZ (good but very expensive)
Avon CR28 Sport (No comment on these yet ???)
Maxsport RB4 (how do these compare with the others apart from being cheaper ? Are they marked for road use ?)
Kuhmo Ecsta V70A 185/70R15 (good for smooth wet or dry tarmac)
Dunlop D83J 185/70R15 (good for smooth tarmac only - are they marked for road use ?)
Dunlop SP82 (Hard gravel tyre that can cope with tarmac. Are there any other equivalents to this from other manufacturers and how do they compare ?)

Any other suggestions ?