OE spec Tyres.

Sgarrista
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Someone asked me why I always run N-rated tyres on my cars. (aka Porsche approved).

Heres 2 tyres, both the same size, the one on the top is porsche N rated tyre, the one on the bottom is the standard XL tyre.

MPS4-S-305-30-20-N0-type-tread-outside-of-tyre-on-left-Copy.jpg



MPS4-S-305-30-20-stock-outside-of-tyre-on-left-NOTICE-JAGGED-C.jpg



Compare the 2 ratings on michelins site...

Notice how Porsche tyres run an E rating on rolling resistance efficiency (aka grippy as hell) yet standard OE run a C. Obviously the trade off is a dropdown to B rating in the wet.

ratings-standard-A-wet-and-N0-B.jpg


Not all tyres are created equal :)
 
Caporegime
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I noticed this just yesterday when I was toying with switching tyres on the BS. Currently have PZeros on it but they're N rated. So much better than any PZero I've had in the past.
 
Soldato
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Those ratings should be taken with a pinch of salt. They don't seem to reflect reality and tyres will behave differently in different climates.

PZeros are apparently not bad in warm places, but they can be awful in the UK.
 
Sgarrista
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Those ratings should be taken with a pinch of salt. They don't seem to reflect reality and tyres will behave differently in different climates.

PZeros are apparently not bad in hot places, but they are awful in the UK.

I have tried different rated tyres over the years, yet I always come back to porsche, they are simply specced to be gripper, and I can feel the difference, if thats placebo or not, who knows, but its why I always spec N-tyres.
 
Soldato
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Strangely enough that's what I'm looking at popping on. Once I finish my legal wranglings with them.

Not quite sure what you mean, but if it's anything to do with if the PS4S's are good or not, well... I can now floor it and the tyre sticks in anything below 20C which the PZeros struggled with (maybe a slight exaggeration)
 
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This has always bemused me. My uncle used to work for one of the leading tyre manufacturers (in research, initally in motorsport but at the end of his career in roadtyres) he was a chemist but was also really clued up on mech etc as he needed to be.

He always said people didn't understand and it was actually worth getting the correct OE tyres, but pointless to buy the wrong ones, as they could be worse than the normal ones in the range outside the vehicle they were designed to be run on.
They were effectively a way to tune certain aspects of a car above what the manufacturer could/wanted to do mechanically (or with software etc on advanced systems, this was less so obviously years ago)
They were tuned to a specific car, not a brand of cars, and as such it could also be tricky to get the right ones without really knowing what you were buying, if the same tyre size was across a range.

This wasn't the company he worked for but he basically what he said to me
https://www.goodyear.eu/en_gb/consumer/car-manufacturers-oe/how-does-oe-process-work.html

"Automotive engineers and tire designers work together early in the design process to create a tire that is specifically engineered for a vehicle"
 
Soldato
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PS4s are the "make anything grip better" choice. My car comes with slippy tyres on purpose, but you may not always want that :D
 
Don
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"Automotive engineers and tire designers work together early in the design process to create a tire that is specifically engineered for a vehicle"

Which is fine in itself, but then doesn't take into account advances in tyre technology, where newer "generic" tyres eventually exceed the manufacturer specific ones designed say 10 years ago.
 
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Which is fine in itself, but then doesn't take into account advances in tyre technology, where newer "generic" tyres eventually exceed the manufacturer specific ones designed say 10 years ago.

Of course completely. Also he did mention to me, but i forgot, you reminded me. The generic ones tend to be refreshed more regularly as they sell more, so as with everything as something new or improved comes along they tend to go into the most popular first. Its also why odd sizes have far fewer choices, as its just commercially not worth too many variants being produced with limited sales.
 
Soldato
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A few sports cars have specific OE tyres made for them.

They can be hard to find though. If you search sites like blackcircles they will just list the generic ones.
 
Soldato
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It's certainly an interesting debate, but one to be taken with a large cellar of salt.

BMW, as an example, will purchase tyres based on availability from supplier. Using the F10 M5 as an example, when it was released, it was MPSS tyres all around. When there was a massive shortfall of MPSS tyres in 2013/2014 they switched the tyre to Pzero. Can we assume from this thread that BMW approached Pirelli and asked them to develop a tyre OE(N) marked specifically for a mid lifecycle performance saloon car? No, we can't, and should not, because to do so would be stupid.

When the MPSS shortage passed, later M5s were back on MPSS from the factory.

I had a 2014 M5 with PZero from the factory and they were complete gash. Swapped them at the earliest opportunity for MPSS and later MPS4 and the difference was night and day.
 
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It's certainly an interesting debate, but one to be taken with a large cellar of salt.

BMW, as an example, will purchase tyres based on availability from supplier. Using the F10 M5 as an example, when it was released, it was MPSS tyres all around. When there was a massive shortfall of MPSS tyres in 2013/2014 they switched the tyre to Pzero. Can we assume from this thread that BMW approached Pirelli and asked them to develop a tyre OE(N) marked specifically for a mid lifecycle performance saloon car? No, we can't, and should not, because to do so would be stupid.

When the MPSS shortage passed, later M5s were back on MPSS from the factory.

I had a 2014 M5 with PZero from the factory and they were complete gash. Swapped them at the earliest opportunity for MPSS and later MPS4 and the difference was night and day.

Certainly also applies to the TTs. Not followed the rest of the Audi range, but most TTs seem to come with Hankook or Pirelli from purchases reports, even then some variety of exact tyre and even then there have been reports of other brands occasionally.

Yet you would have thought, buying that expensive car and they allow "any old tyre to be fitted".
 
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