Wheels??????Tires Help | FerrariChat

Wheels??????Tires Help

Discussion in '365 GT4 2+2/400/412' started by tr0768, Nov 3, 2009.

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  1. tr0768

    tr0768 Formula Junior

    Oct 28, 2008
    730
    maltby wa
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    Howard Musolf
    Our 400i has metric wheels and tires presently. I can either spend the outrages money and buy new tires from Coker oooor????

    What are the best wheels to buy for the 400i's. I would like to go to 16" 7 in the front and 8 in the rear. So tell me what brand of wheels and the sizes you haved used, and the challenges to install them. I just need to be pushed one way or the other. brand, size and offset.

    Tires are more taste and personal. I have no preconcieved notions at this point. What have you used and how have you liked your choice.

    There you have it tell me what wheels and tires???

    Howard Musolf
    tr0768
    1981 308gtsi
    1982 400i Cabriolet
    Maserati Spyder
     
  2. ulf rickard

    ulf rickard Formula Junior

    Sep 28, 2009
    424
    Sweden
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    Ulf Rickard

    dont do that, keep the originalsize /Ulf
     
  3. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Jan 23, 2006
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    #3 dstacy, Nov 4, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Howard, any TRX wheel/tire conversion will run you around $2,000 for the change.

    I'm a bit picky when it comes to being "factory correct" so I always try to stay along those lines. My car is a series 2 so it was delivered with TRX wheels on it. Coker only produces those in limited runs. When I checked the only ones I could find had date codes that said they were already 2 years old.
    Paying $600 each, plus shipping, for tires that have date codes that are at least 2 years old and use technology that is 20 years old just didn't seem to make sense to me. There are some Fchatters that have used a spacer to mount 16" QV wheels or 328 wheels and have been happy with the results.

    As you may know a Series 1 400i came with 15" wheels from the factory. I chose to go this route with 215/70ZR15 Pirelli P4000 tires that had the correct speed rating for a 400i. It keeps me "model correct", gives me new technology rubber, and while expensive for the wheels the next set of tires will be pretty cheap. 215/70ZR15's will keep you very close to the same rotation ratios. See below for a nice graphic that shows goemetry and ratios.

    Here is what 15's look like on a series 2 car
    .
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  4. SouthJersey400i

    SouthJersey400i Formula 3

    Mar 14, 2007
    1,591
    Romulus, NY (Finger Lakes)
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    Ken Battle
    Dave
    Michelin not Coker still make the TRX tires, hence price goes up with lower $ vs. Euro. I bought 2 and 2 more shortly after in 2006 and date stamps were current (< 6 months), and "Made in France". Depending on demand, Michelin make one or two batches per year. Coker had some old stock at one time but that has been cleared.

    Coker man, want to comment?
    Ken
     
  5. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    Jan 23, 2006
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    Good info to know. Thanks Ken. I'm glad I got away from TRX's but the purist in me wishs there were TRX's out there for reasonable money. Obviously I kept my TRX wheels so we'll see if an economical TRX solution appears in the future.
     
  6. bjwhite

    bjwhite F1 Rookie

    Mar 17, 2006
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    Seattle, WA
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    Brian White
    Dave, love your car but I've never found that those 15" wheels looked anywhere near as nice as the TRX wheels. What about the 16" 308QV or 328 wheels?
     
  7. blkprlz

    blkprlz Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2007
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    #7 blkprlz, Nov 5, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  8. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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    16's work well and look really nice but you have to make a spacer for the extended hub. Do a search for Aleventhal's post on doing it to his car.


    I'm not sure I understand what you mean, "filled the wheelwells like no other..." The 15" wheels and tires are actually 1.5mm BIGGER than the TRX's so they fill the wheelwell MORE than TRX's.
    Am I missing something?
     
  9. Ashman

    Ashman Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Sep 5, 2002
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    I think that it is an optical illusion caused by the greater area of the actual TRX wheels, there is a noticeable difference between the 15" and the 415 mm visually even though the diameter difference is less than 1 inch.

    This effect is amplified by the greater amount of black from the tires on the 15 inch wheels. The TRXs have more metal, less rubber and so look as though they "fill" the wheelwell more, even if they don't actually.
     
  10. Fritz Ficke

    Fritz Ficke Formula 3
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    Jan 3, 2006
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    Fritz Ficke
    It is important to remember in this Ferrari/tire talk that the normal rules do not work.
    TRX tires are not 'soft' rubber tires, TRX tires will last in the 30,000 plus miles. I put 50,000 miles on a set I had on a BMW.
    Most people will not put the miles on their cars to need a new set of tires in their ownership. This is not the only car I have and how much can you drive in a year any way?
    In my life I have never owned a car for more than 5 years. Even If I own this car ten years I doubt I will have added over 30,000 mile to the odo.
    So the only reason to replace tires is after you have owned the car for 8 to 10 years you buy new tires becouse the deep rubber ones that are on it are old.
    If you do put the miles on I can say from experince that 50,000 miles a valve job and chains is needed for big$$ and the tire you use in that miles looks like the least of the wear items to worry about.

    My two cents, Fritz
     
  11. koisokok

    koisokok F1 World Champ
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    Dec 8, 2006
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    where can i find the date stamp on the tire? is it only on the inside? and how do i read it? want to check the dates on mine..thxs, kerim
     
  12. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    He left Coker, IIRC....
     
  13. new ulm 400i

    new ulm 400i Karting

    Sep 1, 2007
    116
    Taipei, Taiwan
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    Lee Atkinson
    My suggestion;
    - Buy (4) 8x16" replica wheels from Superformance.
    - add 1/2" wheel spacers. These will be only about $25 a wheel.
    - go with 245/50/16 on all 4 tires.

    original wheel and tires were almost exactly this size, you will save money in the long term and in the short term you'll have decent tires...lee
     
  14. ferrariblex

    ferrariblex Karting

    Sep 28, 2005
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    Brandon Blexrude
    I find that the period-correct Gotti wheels look very attractive on the 400i and I imagine you could find a used set very reasonable if you looked around a bit.
     
  15. blkprlz

    blkprlz Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2007
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    Bingo!
     
  16. blkprlz

    blkprlz Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2007
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    Yikes! Didn't know 1.5mm deserved all caps, my ears are ringing over here (no, just kidding). I did notice the rolling dia. difference on the chart you included.
    It's kinda like 'what is' vs. 'what is perceived'. Take, for instance, the MB SL series of the same era. When viewing these cars from behind, the trailing section of the trunk lid had a concave appearance but, in essence, it was flat. This illusion was rendered by bulging the vertical face along w/the slight downward slope of the trunk lid. The designers were quite crafty, it's something you don't often see.
    At one time, I was considering the ZR rated TRX's for its even lower profile (same as the Boxer fronts) but didn't want to enlarge the visuals of the tire/wheel well gaps. On the 400i S2's & 412's, you can hardly get the 1st digit of your index finger between the tire & the wheel well lip. The Boxer, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky; you can practically stow a herd of cats in it's rear wheel wells. The 930 Turbos had really small gaps on all 4's.
    In some ways, I don't blame you for switching to 15's so that The Italian GT can finally shod some Italian shoes. But the 70 series are the kind of tires that go on Cadillacs & Crown Vics. For the life of me, I don't understand why Ferrari didn't equipped their cars w/Pirelli's.
    (Hint) My rear is lifted 1" higher than the front. At this point, I think it is about 1/2" too high.
    B.
     
  17. blkprlz

    blkprlz Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2007
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    K,

    Dave was so kind to describe to me where this code stamp is. It's on the outside, opposite of the # 415 of the tire size in an oval circle. If I'm not mistaken, it's a 3 digit code prior to year 2000 (1st 2 digits is the week & 3rd digit is the year of production) & 4 digit after the year 1999.

    B.
     
  18. blkprlz

    blkprlz Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2007
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    You are correct, I went to their office exactly 1 yr. ago & found out that Jerry had just left. Doesn't look like it's in the best section of town, black steel bars on all the doors & windows. & their tires are stored in a seperate warehouse. Daniel has taken his place but doesn't stike me a a F-car nut. He will continue Jerry's 10% discount for F-chatters so I wouldn't expect to see him (at least here). I was not going to buy old rubber off the shelf, I walked out w/4 of the date code 1408.
     
  19. dstacy

    dstacy F1 World Champ
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  20. Radiogeek1

    Radiogeek1 Rookie

    Jul 2, 2008
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    Bret Scott
    #20 Radiogeek1, Nov 11, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Hi, Howard-

    Last May I chose to go with a new set of TRX tires, and ordered them from Longstone Tyres in London. Sounds extravagant to order tires from overseas (the folks at the post office scratched their heads!), but the ones I received were manufactured this spring, several weeks after I ordered them. If they have gone out of stock, Longstone will notify you when they become available, and I believe alerts Michelin of pending requests.

    At the time that I ordered them, the price with shipping was comparable to the advertised price at Coker, however this may have drifted upward a bit due to the worsening exchange rate between the US dollar and the UK pound.

    These replaced a 11 year old set of TRX-GT's of the wrong aspect ratio (intended for BMW 6-Series, I believe), and they were well worth the price.

    Longstone's website is: http://www.longstonetyres.co.uk/

    Best regards,

    Bret
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  21. Brennan

    Brennan Karting

    Apr 28, 2006
    118
    San Luis Obispo, CA
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    Brennan Johnson
    TRX's only please! Call me a purist, but I thought the correct choice was to spend the money to keep the car the way it is intended to be.

    Brennan Johnson
    '84 400I #47583
    San Luis Obispo, CA

     
  22. mini_ferrari

    mini_ferrari Formula 3

    Feb 13, 2004
    1,004
    Chattanooga, TN
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    Jerry Preisel
    Hey guys it's Jerry. Daniel was only there for about a month before I left, but he seemed like a nice guy, actually surprised they are allowing him to give the discount, I really had to fight to get the discount for you guys every month and they still didn't really like the idea of it. I would still have them check the DOT codes before shipping and put a note on the order. The only reason I could guarantee you guys the freshest codes was I actually went over and picked the tires out my self. I'm still hanging around the boards and will be happy to answer any questions you all have.

    Jerry
     
  23. mini_ferrari

    mini_ferrari Formula 3

    Feb 13, 2004
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    Chattanooga, TN
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    Jerry Preisel
    Yes, that is correct. The only problem with the 3 digit code is say you have (399), this could be the 39th week of 1979, 1989, or 1999, there is not way of telling which is why they moved to the 4 digit code.
     
  24. blkprlz

    blkprlz Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2007
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    Good to hear from you Jerry!
    I have to say that Daniel didn't hesitate one bit on the F-Chat discount. Of course w/all the talk of old vs. fresh TRX's before my purchase, DOT codes of Coker's stock were paramount to me. Daniel could read that in me & as a result, was no-wheres as customer friendly as you. He had 'no' intention of having the guys over there relaying the codes back to us, let alone going over there himself to check. He only gave me the altamatum of having the warehouse guy pull the tires & if I wasn't satisfied w/what was brought to the showroom, I could just refuse the purchase. 'Fortunately', the ones that showed up were manufactured 6 mos. prior. Whew, I don't know what I would have done otherwise! I do have to say that Daniel ran the tires out to my van w/me & after telling him of my speed control problem I just experienced coming down out of the hills of Chattanooga, he jumped right in there to get it figured out. I didn't want him getting so involved as to pulling the dog box out so we elected to just yank the fuse.
    What's w/all the bars in front of the doors & windows? I'm figurin' crime. Found myself wanting to check my back from time to time.
    Bruce

    @ that point, the good ole 'dry rot' judgement has to kick in.
     

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