New Wheels! Now Spacers/Tires
 

*****I edited the title 5/30/13 to ask about spacers with a different set of tires, 18" BBS Sport Classic II's Front-7 1/2Jx18 ET50, Rear-10Jx18 ET65***** (see post #35)


I picked up a set of BBS Sport Classic II Wheels in stock size.

Fronts: 7.5Jx18 ET50

Rears: 9Jx18 ET52

So now, my question is, what tires should I get. I see lots of folks loving the Hankook V12's, I was thinking of the Bridgestone Potenza RE970's or the Potenza RE760's. Does anyone have any comments between the two Bridgestones and the Hankooks. Or any other tire recommendations for a Texas car. I am looking for performance(road, not track), but also comfort and less road noise. Thanks!

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Always loved those wheels. Mind sharing what you paid?

Awesome wheels! One of my favorite designs.

As for tires, Michelin PS2 or SuperSports are some of the best all around tires available.

I have always loved them as well. I have been looking since I got the car last July. I paid $1450 shipped from LA Dismanteler on eBay. The best part about these is that I will not need any spacers. There are some blemishes on the outer rim but I am hoping to polish those out. They will be here by the end of the week hopefully.

I almost bought some 17" ones also on eBay right now. They are the one piece but in very nice condition and a decent price. Also the tires on them are fairly new.

Good price, seems to me. I have bought a similar design wheel in 8x18 and 10x18 and gotten accustomed to the wider fitment (very obvious visually) of the larger sizes, but still wouldn't mind trying a set of Sport Classics in 18.

please post with follow up once you receive. This seller has some notoriously bad feedback from Porsche owners and nearly as many positive experiences as well.

Right now it shows 100% positive. Where did you see the negative? I tend to only buy with 99% or better feedback.

They must give their Ebay orders white glove service. The complaints come from their internet and phone sales.

Great looking wheels (my 01S came with those). They are a pain in the a$$ to clean.

I've had good luck with Continental DW tires. Good performance, good wear, good price.

I've been running Hankook Ventus V12's for 3,000 miles. They're nice and grippy, roll smoothly and are very quiet. So far I really like them.

I have a set of Potenza RE760's on the rear of mine & like them. I'm going to put a set on the front soon. Oh, and I have 17" Sport classics and love them, except when they need cleaning :)

Love those wheels too, they came on my 01. They are a pain to clean! Mine has the Unpainted center caps not the nicer ones like yours.

Curious what you'll end up with your tires as I'm thinking the same way. Performance, but not for track.

I figured that they would be a pain to clean but I sure like the way they look:D

I am kind of leaning towards the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport's. I read through Car and Driver's nine tire test and the RE760's came in fourth with low noise and good comfort. The article is an interesting read for anyone shopping for tires.

Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 - Comparison Tests

I saw a few comments about the Hankook's where it was easier to curb your wheels in that the side wall didn't stick out much. Of course you can find negative comments about anything on the internet:eek:

The three tires you initially mentioned are not quite in the same category. The 760 is a harder longer wearing summer tire as compared with the V12, and the 970 is an all-season compound. I recently put a set of tires on my 18" Sport Design wheels also in the stock size (7.5/9). The 18"s are a bit of a hard ride, so the softer the tire the better in my opinion.

I ended up going with Michelin Pilot Super Sport. The other tires I compared with were the V12, Potenza S04 and ContiSportContact. The S04 and Conti were both more money and not as well regarded in my reading. The V12 was tempting but had many more complaints as the tires aged so I went PSS.

They should do these tire test for us in a Boxster......

So how is the ride on the Michelin's? I am looking mainly for quiet and comfort. In the C&D article the Bridgestone 760's got good marks for quiet and comfort.

The ride is fabulous, but I don't honestly have much to compare with. I bought the car with these wheels and a few year old set of BFGoodrich KDWs, which are probably the worst tire one could put on this car. They were noisy as can be (all KDWs hum loudly at ~40mph), hard because of age and wear, and skipped when pushed hard in corners. The PSSs are dead quiet, truly no noticeable road noise in this car, soft enough on bad roads, and grip fully in any corner I have pushed them through (I am not much of an aggressive driver though). I am sure I would have been satisfied with most any of the tires being mentioned, but I am quite pleased to have a top rated set on this relatively cheap toy (mines a 2000 base).

Another vote for Pilot Super Sports, though I can't really say why. After the OEM Michelins wore out on my 04S, years ago, I ran a set of Pirelli PZero Rossos, then Pilot SPort 2s, then 2 sets of Toyo T1Rs. The Pirellis were very fast wearing and didn't seem to offer any more grip in return. The PS2s were worth about a thousand more miles than the Pirellis in the rear, for the same price. The Toyos were sticky but seemed noiser to me (but were cheaper as well). The current set are not worn out but I decided I wanted new wheels, so I ordered them with Super Sports. I think these are quiter than the Toyos, and the grip is superb, but to be honest I never had a complaint about the grip of any of these tires.

Not a single set of rears lasted longer than 10,000 miles before they were below the wear bars.

Thanks for the comments guys. The Super Sports sound like a great tire. When all is said and done, they are about $300 more than the 760's. Worth it? Probably. I've always hated shopping for tires since you never know until they are on, and then it is tough to compare to what you could have put on.

Discount Tire has a pretty good price compared to Tire Rack once installation is factored in. Any advantages to Tire Rack vs Discount Tire? I also have to wait to see if the wheels are going to need any refurbishment. I am hoping they don't, but the rims may need some polishing. A local shop charges a flat $135 per wheel. Seems high unless the wheels have a lot of damage, which these do not. I have to keep looking at my options there.