Wheels and Tires, Let's get this discussion centralized Options

[Pat Garvey]

It ocurs to me that we've forgotten the various combination of wheel offered by the factory for 914's.

I see to recollect (VERY dangerous) that there were:

Steel - four versions (maybe 5)

Alloy - five versions

I know there were different widths available in some, but I'm talking about design.

I'll start - these are 5 1/2J steel wheels from an early car with appearance group. Yes, they've been rstored & no, they do not have the proper flat black center spray around the lugs.

Pat

[1970 Neun vierzehn]

This whole business of perfectly sized, branded and tread patterned tires for a 914 for concours presentation bothers me to some extent.

When the 914 was manufactured, it was produced to a price point (as are virtually all cars except maybe the Bugatti 16.4). The 914 being an entry level car, high performance tires were not in the specification, nor was the tire technology of today available.

The purpose of our cars is to be driven and enjoyed in the manner for which they were designed. With that in mind, in contemporary use, wouldn't you want the best tires that you could afford with the necessary concessions for fitment?

Pat and I have discussed the safety aspects of braking distance variations on current model automobiles and he has expressed the relevance of even mildly shorter braking distances from one make/model to another, Pat's contention being that a 6 foot shorter braking distance from one car to another could mean the difference between having an accident or avoiding one.

With the above stated, therefore, on your way to Parade 2008, or perhaps a 914 World event, or perhaps just driving to work, if some mindless, self-aborbed doofus vaguely aware of driving her luxury SUV while chatting idlely on her cell phone wanders into the path of your treasured 914, wouldn't you want as big a contact patch and as sticky a tire as could be utilized on your 5.5 rims? Or perhaps you are out with your car and suddenly you get caught in a downpour, would you not want to have tires that are current in their design to provide the wet-weather traction and anti-aquaplanning characteristics that are going to provide for a safer and more maneuverable auto? And finally, the greater adhesion provided with a tire that has both a bigger contact patch and a more agressive tread pattern is going to give me a bit more lateral grip so that perhaps I won't have to "white-knuckle" the steering wheel when some Dodge Durango or Honda Civic starts climbing up my tailpipe in the twisties.

I admit to running on 195/60 15s. They look good, fit well, appear not out-of-character to the 914s' design and I have had the pleasure(?) of using the brakes/tires in extremis to avoid a collision. I don't think that 165s would have given me the margain I needed in that situation.

So I'll take the point loss for my lack of OEM spec tires, traded gladly for the improvement in driving performance that they provide.

Paul