1981 Ferrari 308 wheels

4809 Views 6 Replies 0 Participants Last post by Barry Wolinsky (308gtb), Apr 18, 2004

Discussion Starter · Apr 6, 2004

I have a 1981 Ferrari 308, and

I have a 1981 Ferrari 308, and the original Michelin XWX tires aren't available anymore -- for a reasonable price that is. And looking on tirerack.com, I can find no decent performance tires in 205/70VR14. Surfing the net, this seems to be a common problem.

I'm willing to buy new wheels, and most people say "sure, just make sure you get the offset right". Sounds great, now how do I do that, to be really really sure that I get it right?

Alternatively, what are people doing these days in terms of getting decent tires for old 308s

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Discussion Starter · #2 · Apr 6, 2004

Offset: 11mm

The most popul

Offset: 11mm

The most popular thing I've seen folks do is bolt up a set of 308 QV 16" wheels. No mods needed at all. Originals are a bit pricy, but there are some excellent quality exact replicas available.

best
rt

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Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 6, 2004

In Goodyear, only two series t

In Goodyear, only two series tires exist in 14" size, the Aquatread 3 and one of the Eagle series, IIRC GT+4. While not V rated, I don't think I'd worry on our cars!

If you scrap the 14" rims let me know, I'm getting some together just for shows. I run 3 pc. 16" Etoiles and as far as offset, it seems 2" front rim pc. with 5" or 6" rear bells work fine.

7"W. total on front, 8"W. total on rear. HTH

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Discussion Starter · #4 · Apr 6, 2004

Oh, after you go to 16", s

Oh, after you go to 16", strap on a set of Goodyear F1 GSD3s. Wow, baby!!

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Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 7, 2004

Jimmy had these discussions be

Jimmy had these discussions before. If you are looking for V rated you are out of luck but you don't need V rated tires. I run a set of Firestone Firehawks H rated at 235-60-14 and have had no problems at 0-100MPH. Another choise that I've seen is BF Goodrich 245-60-14 and also in H series. Never had any problems.

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Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 7, 2004

I have just gone thru this exa

I have just gone thru this exact same dilemna, and ended up buying a set of 205/70 HR 14 Sumitomo HTR-200's from The Tire Rack for the piddly price of $39.00 per tire. The HR speed rating is good enough for me, and I have heard numerous positive comments about the Sumitomo's, as being a tire way better than their price might indicate. And, for now, I wanted to stick with the OEM tire / wheel size.

I am about 1 month from having the car back on the road, so no driving impressions yet, but for what it's worth the tire mounter that I used said that these tires were way easy to balance, which serves as a (very crude) indicator of overall quality.

Cheers - DM / 80 GTSi

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Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 18, 2004

Jimmy,

Another possibility

Jimmy,

Another possibility is Michelin's Energy MXV4 205/70R14 which is H-rated.

Two years ago when I bought my 1976 GTB I had to decide between Michelin XWXs or Pirelli P4000s. At that time it was possible to get P4000s from Europe where they were V-rated. I opted for the XWXs. I understand that P4000 are no longer made in the 70 series.

Barry

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