It's almost that time again... Another tyre thread!

Vince

Vince

Vince

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It's almost that time again and in the next few weeks to a month I will need to buy tyres for the 911.

On the Boxster I always stuck with the same tyre and that was the Conti Sport Contact 2, in good weather the tyres were awesome always gripped really well, they were good on road noise but only lasted about 10k miles and when they were cold and in the wet the tyres were not the best.

For this car though I am really not sure what to go for, there seems to be plenty of options and I don't have any need to go N rated. Budget is about £250 a corner and I want to replace all four. Sizes are 285/30/R18 at the rear and 235/40/R18 at the front.

At the moment the car is sitting on Pirelli P Zero Rosso's and to be fair they seem a decent tyre with no real drama so far appart from a little slip out on the rear end at normal speeds around a roundabout, road noise is not bad although I think they are more noisy than the contis.

As far as requirements go I am not fussed about how quickly they wear providing im not replacing them every few thousand miles. I want tyres that perform well in the wet and dry and don't have too much road noise.

In price order choices seem to be:

Continental Sport Contact 2
Yokohama Advan Neova AD08
Bridgestone Potenza S02A
Bridgestone Potenza S02
Michelin Pilot Sport 2
Pirelli P Zero Rosso

Any recommendations?
 
I just fitted AD08 to the Clio and I've never driven on tyres quite like them! The grip they offer, even at 0 degrees in the wet is phenomenal compared to the other tyres I've been accustomed to (mainly CS2/3 and PE2s).

The reinforced sidewalls really do offer fantastic road feel and turn-in, but then hard sidewalls suit the Clio - I'm not sure what the 911 favours?

One thing I would say is that they are likely to wear quite quickly and they are quite noisy compared to the PE2s I had before.
 
Your tyres should be 225/40/18 at the front. I recently went for the PS2 in N3 spec for the front and will be doing the same for the rear when they require replacing, unless the PSS is released in my size. The tyres aren't worn in completely, but they do stop really well and the turn in has improved over the previous - which still had good tread levels left. With the PS2's you pay a bit more but you get ridiculous wear levels and I doubt you will be replacing them anytime soon, I have the old Pilot Sports on the rear, and in the 15k miles or so the car has done in my familys ownership they have worn about 2mm.

You can actually get some CSC5s for the front if you feel so inclined in this size. Obviously not N spec but a great tyre by all reviews, as I understand the P Zero Rosso isn't the best P Zero tyre, and is worth avoiding.
 
CSC5s would be my first choice, buy they aren't avail in my sizes. I went for CSC3s, they are superior to CSC2s.

Very good in the wet too.
 
Any reason why you have the Bridgestone S02 on the list? That tyre is over 13 years old and whilst it was the class act of the late 90s has been long superseded. It also doesn't last that long, my old Saab 900 would go through the fronts in around 8000 miles.
 
Alibaba99 said:
Any reason why you have the Bridgestone S02 on the list? That tyre is over 13 years old and whilst it was the class act of the late 90s has been long superseded. It also doesn't last that long, my old Saab 900 would go through the fronts in around 8000 miles.
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The S02 is one of the N rated tyres, which unfortunately for Vince are pretty much the only ones available for the rear of the Porsche. The tyre design might be quite old but if it is N3/4, the compound and construction may only actually be a few years old in design.
 
Alibaba99 said:
Any reason why you have the Bridgestone S02 on the list? That tyre is over 13 years old and whilst it was the class act of the late 90s has been long superseded. It also doesn't last that long, my old Saab 900 would go through the fronts in around 8000 miles.
Click to expand...

The list is just what is recommended by black circles when I put my numberplate in, im no tyre expert, I have no idea really. These just seem to be the tyres that are available in N rated.
 
SoliD said:
Your tyres should be 225/40/18 at the front. I recently went for the PS2 in N3 spec for the front and will be doing the same for the rear when they require replacing, unless the PSS is released in my size. The tyres aren't worn in completely, but they do stop really well and the turn in has improved over the previous - which still had good tread levels left. With the PS2's you pay a bit more but you get ridiculous wear levels and I doubt you will be replacing them anytime soon, I have the old Pilot Sports on the rear, and in the 15k miles or so the car has done in my familys ownership they have worn about 2mm.

You can actually get some CSC5s for the front if you feel so inclined in this size. Obviously not N spec but a great tyre by all reviews, as I understand the P Zero Rosso isn't the best P Zero tyre, and is worth avoiding.
Click to expand...

They are indeed 225 at the front! Good spot! I find it strange that the SC2's are £245 a corner at the rear and the P Zero are £320 - I really don't think that the Rossos are £75 better. Granted I haven't used the C2 on the 911 and we all know what happened to my box on a new set of these.

I vaguly remember gibbo talking about some Michelin tyres but I checked at the time and they didn't come in 285 at the rear. I guess that I am pretty much stuck with the above choices on the rear.
 
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Camskill have an N4 rated Pilot Sport 2, £300 rear... I think Gibbo was taking about the Pilot Super Sports which arn't N rated but don't come in the right size :( It also looks like the AD08 are in the list but arn't N rated, what happens if I don't get N rated and how do I know that the tyres will cope with the kind of speeds the car can do?
 
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VinceB1 said:
Camskill have an N4 rated Pilot Sport 2, £300 rear... I think Gibbo was taking about the Pilot Super Sports which arn't N rated but don't come in the right size :( It also looks like the AD08 are in the list but arn't N rated, what happens if I don't get N rated and how do I know that the tyres will cope with the kind of speeds the car can do?
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Camskill only have N3 rated in that size that I can see. Gibbo was talking about the PSS but they don't have it in that size, and it doesnt look like they will anytime soon over here.


N rated tyres low down http://www.design911.co.uk/blog/index.php/2008/11/11/what-are-n-rated-tyres/
 
VinceB1 said:
Camskill have an N4 rated Pilot Sport 2, £300 rear... I think Gibbo was taking about the Pilot Super Sports which arn't N rated but don't come in the right size :( It also looks like the AD08 are in the list but arn't N rated, what happens if I don't get N rated and how do I know that the tyres will cope with the kind of speeds the car can do?
Click to expand...

By the speed rating?
 
MikeHiow said:
By the speed rating?
Click to expand...

Helpful as ever Mike. :rolleyes: Funny as it might be I haven't spent the time to study for what the different speed ratings are but with the very usefull link that you provided I was able to see that for speeds in excess of 160mph but not more than 190mph an Y or Z rated tyre would be required.

Even so the choices are such that I will probably stick with N rated rubber.
 
VinceB1 said:
The list is just what is recommended by black circles when I put my numberplate in, im no tyre expert, I have no idea really. These just seem to be the tyres that are available in N rated.
Click to expand...

I suspect that the S02 comes up as that was an OE supplied tyre by Porsche in the '90s.
 
Well I guess its a case of retro car, retro tyres! Im thinking I will try the Pilot Sport 2's and see where I end up. Hopefully not in a ditch!
 
VinceB1 said:
It's almost that time again and in the next few weeks to a month I will need to buy tyres for the 911.

On the Boxster I always stuck with the same tyre and that was the Conti Sport Contact 2, in good weather the tyres were awesome always gripped really well, they were good on road noise but only lasted about 10k miles and when they were cold and in the wet the tyres were not the best.

For this car though I am really not sure what to go for, there seems to be plenty of options and I don't have any need to go N rated. Budget is about £250 a corner and I want to replace all four. Sizes are 285/30/R18 at the rear and 235/40/R18 at the front.

At the moment the car is sitting on Pirelli P Zero Rosso's and to be fair they seem a decent tyre with no real drama so far appart from a little slip out on the rear end at normal speeds around a roundabout, road noise is not bad although I think they are more noisy than the contis.

As far as requirements go I am not fussed about how quickly they wear providing im not replacing them every few thousand miles. I want tyres that perform well in the wet and dry and don't have too much road noise.

In price order choices seem to be:

Continental Sport Contact 2
Yokohama Advan Neova AD08
Bridgestone Potenza S02A
Bridgestone Potenza S02
Michelin Pilot Sport 2
Pirelli P Zero Rosso

Any recommendations?
Click to expand...


Don't know what AD08's are like on a 911, but out of that bunch they have the strongest/stiffest sidewalls and best dry grip on offer! This will result in the most feedback, harshest ride and best dry grip.

A favourite amongst 911 owners is the Michelin PS2, great all rounder on 911's with good feedback.

I'd not go anywhere near any of the other tyres in that list on a 911, plus most of them seem old models.

If your more interested in comfort and wet performance, the CS3 is a top tyre also on the 911 if available in your size but it does not offer the precision and handling feedback of the Michelin/Yokohama offerings.

Another great all round is the new Pirelli PZERO, I repeat PZERO, not ROSSO or NERO, just PZERO.

Shame you can't get Supersports?
 
If your after most grip/feedback then Yoko AD08 is the only choice on that list.

For the best 'all rounder' you cant beat the Pilot Sport 3s. They lasted 8,000 miles on my RS which included 3 track days :)
 
Gonzo0 said:
If your after most grip/feedback then Yoko AD08 is the only choice on that list.

For the best 'all rounder' you cant beat the Pilot Sport 3s. They lasted 8,000 miles on my RS which included 3 track days :)
Click to expand...

Ps2s I hope you mean the ps3 is an awful tyre.
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