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1988 vs modern tire tech

Posted: Oct 15, 2020 7:25 PM
by S62ninja
I'm looking for tires and would like a similar experience to when the car was new. Looking at the Kumho Ecsta PA51 all season specifically, as I'd like the car to slide around a bit as it likely did when new, however since this tire seems to have a lot of grip for an all season I'm not so sure anymore. Any original owners (or owners during the early 90's) here able to chime in on what tires felt factory original?

Re: 1988 vs modern tire tech

Posted: Oct 15, 2020 9:59 PM
by LeiseyJr
S62ninja wrote: ↑Oct 15, 2020 7:25 PM I'm looking for tires and would like a similar experience to when the car was new. Looking at the Kumho Ecsta PA51 all season specifically, as I'd like the car to slide around a bit as it likely did when new, however since this tire seems to have a lot of grip for an all season I'm not so sure anymore. Any original owners (or owners during the early 90's) here able to chime in on what tires felt factory original?
Lol get Michelin TRXs

You can slide the car plenty on a sumitomo all season, just don't get a high performance all season. Although again even on a milder summer tire like a Direzza DZ102 you can rotate the car plenty.

Re: 1988 vs modern tire tech

Posted: Oct 18, 2020 1:37 AM
by wkohler
You can buy the Pirelli P7 actually, which looks just like the P700. :D

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... lsrc=aw.ds

Re: 1988 vs modern tire tech

Posted: Oct 18, 2020 2:06 AM
by Mike W.
wkohler wrote: ↑Oct 18, 2020 1:37 AM You can buy the Pirelli P7 actually, which looks just like the P700. :D

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... lsrc=aw.ds
Yeah, but somehow I don't think today's P7 is much like the one that came on Porsche Turbos in the 70s when the tire first came out. Kind of like comparing an E21 320i to a F30 320i.

There is something to be said for a tire that is more progressive, even at the loss of some grip. A lower level, but easier to drive close to the limit. Kind of like it can be more fun to drive a slow car fast, at it's limits, than a fast car where you can rarely, safely, approach the limits.

Re: 1988 vs modern tire tech

Posted: Oct 18, 2020 2:31 AM
by wkohler
It’s offered as a classic tire for Porsches. Probably as close as you can get to the P700.

https://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/pirell ... to-p7.html

Re: 1988 vs modern tire tech

Posted: Oct 19, 2020 1:32 AM
by SeattleGuy
Wow... now THAT is a throwback. And you gotta love the ads they could never get away with now, ahem.
I loved the P7s on my little GTis but not sure how they would work out on our cars. They did hydroplane like a boss though, and I had them back when it was ok to drive these beasts in the winter and I would get stuck on like an inch of snow because the VW didn't weigh anything.

Do we get a vote for the CN36's perhaps? Porsche axed these in favor of the P7's but they are still in production.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.js ... urato+CN36

FWIW I am running GTX 740's 2.5 years and 23K miles in and they are a long way from done and they really feel great at 34/32. Not the highest performance tire around but they certainly are decent even when I'm feeling aggro. See Yoko 580, basically the same thing.
https://tinyurl.com/y3gqvmfn
https://youtu.be/VfpEdZZ_avc

Re: 1988 vs modern tire tech

Posted: Oct 19, 2020 1:22 PM
by S62ninja
Mike W. wrote: ↑Oct 18, 2020 2:06 AMThere is something to be said for a tire that is more progressive, even at the loss of some grip. A lower level, but easier to drive close to the limit. Kind of like it can be more fun to drive a slow car fast, at it's limits, than a fast car where you can rarely, safely, approach the limits.
This is what I'm looking for. I put Michelin PSS on my E39 M5 and it's now an effort to break traction compared to the old AS3's. Either way, I ordered those Kumho PA51s in 225/50/16 at $82/tire for a data point to my original question.