Help: 996 Tire Opinions Please

Obviously, the only way to get more tread life is to go to a harder compound
and those are somewhat limited in these tire categories.

My favorite has been Bridgestone, who also offer "N" rated versions for
Porsches.  Absolutely the best ride quality...no doubt.  You can get
SO-2A/N3...to get more tread wear.  They are an excellent tire in all
categories.  You'll love the ride quality as opposed to the Conti's...at
least the ones I've driven.  Your tread wear experience is about "average"
for the rears.

I have bought from Tire Rack...and they've done what they said...even took a
return...no sweat.  You can do this if you have a good local source for
mounting, that won't object to your having purchased the tires elsewhere.

Hope this helps.

I've not had occasion to call Tire Rack for service or returns; they are
fast to ship orders and everyone recommends them.

I bought some Michelin Pilot Sport A/S from them for my wife's Boxster.
Nice tires, but they are noticeably less grippy than the Bridgestones
(RE050?)
that were on it before.  Noise and ride about the same (perhaps a little
less noisy) and it looks like they'll last more than 20K.

I had Conti Sport Contact on my 330xi - they seemed to wear well
and were good in rain, but are much softer and quieter than the
higher-performance Pilot MXM that are now on it.

Floyd

I have a 2002 C2 that came with Pirelli P Zero Rossos (225/40-18 and
285/30-18).
The rears went 18K miles of mostly easy driving and I replaced them as the
fronts were
still good. When the fronts go I'll switch to Michelin. I'm more interested
in a higher
performance tire and have always been partial to Michelin anyway. The
Pirellis rode
nicely, although they're the only tires I've had on this car so I haven't
been able to
compare the ride. I probably could have gotten another 2K out of the
Pirellis if I took
them all the way down to the wear indicators.

Unless you really want to make the switch now or really hate the Contis, I'd
just put on
new rears and then change all four when the fronts wear out. It's pretty
standard for a
911 to go through two sets of rears for each set of fronts.

As for N numbers, if your car was in warranty you'd best stick with tires
approved by
Porsche for it. The service writer at my dealer said that should a warranty
issue arise
that could be laid at the feet of non-approved (no n number) tires, Porsche
might
use that as an out. If it's not under warranty, the n number (or lack
thereof) may not matter,
but the same service writer (who I do trust) said that it's better to stick
with n numbered tires
since they'll perform satisfactorily on a Porsche. He said non approved
tires sometimes just
don't handle as well - not in a dangerous fashion, but more on the annoying
side.

Over at www.rennlist.com they have forums devoted to specific Porsche models
and also
specialized areas such as wheels and tires. You can get a lot of opinions on
tires over there,
and also the places to consider buying them. I actually got mine at the
dealer - a little more
expensive than Discount Tire, but less than another vendor that a second
Porsche dealer in
our area uses. I'm in the San Diego area.........

My Dunlops have a decent ride and serious grip, but if we keep throwing
brands at you this thread will never end.  I went with the Dunlops when a
tire dealer told me if I didn't like them I could bring them back and trade
them for anything in the store.  He felt pretty sure I wouldn't be back.
They were also very competitive on the track last time I had it out there.
BTW, the Dunlops were also pretty cheap compared to others.

Much thanks to all.

I've decided to purchase the Bridgestone S-02's from The Tire Rack
after reviewing the comments and further readings.  Only time will
tell if I'm satisfied with the decision but for now it seems the best
for me.

I must say that it really seems wasteful to replace the fronts when
they look fine.  I know the arguments for doing so but ...

At any rate it will be all four's and then it's time to let the
Porsche breath a little on the highway.  When that happens -- I have
no doubt all thoughts about tires will disappear.

Thanks again.

Well it may have taken a while before installing the Bridgestone but
I've just finished test them and can only say thank you.  The S-02's
are great.  What a difference.

Secondly, after experiencing firsthand the farce yesterday at the F1
USA, I will never buy a Michelin tire again even if they were giving
them away.  What a disgrace to motor racing!

wrote:

No one would have to buy them if they were giving them away. Personally,
when the original Pirellis wear out on my 996, I'm switching to Michelin.
Porsche doesn't  put Bridgestones on Carreras - that's good enough for me.

Would you have prefered the Michelin teams went out on tires that were
directly attributed to causing the Friday crash? Killing a driver or two
under race conditions with tires known to be suspect - THAT would be a
disgrace.

You seem to have bought hook, line and sinker the Michelin line.
Perhaps, if the Michelin teams had done their research they would have
come to the race with the proper tires.  You conveniently ignore the
fact that those Michelin teams ran in last year's race and know all
too well that Indy has a nine degree bank coming out of corner 12.
Then of course the Michelin teams also wanted to lower the tire
pressure for the added grip.

They could have worked around their poor choices without jumping to
the conclusion that driver would have been killed.  Nobody in their
right mind would wanted that.  But they had choices and elected to
over-play the safety card to coverup their lack of performance
combined with poor planning and a total disregard for the fans many of
whom came to see those teams.

You're free to buy whatever you wish.  I'll repeat -- The Bridgestone
S02's are GREAT and I'll continue to "put" them on my Porsche's.  But
you've raised an interesting point -- I wonder how many of those
Porsche GT driver's that raced before the farce had Bridgestone's?
I'll dare them differ!  And imagine -- they dared to disagree with
your opinion.  What a shame!.

wrote:

Curious wrote:

I think the Michelin cars should've been able to change their tires and
start from pit row.  While Michelin deserves some blame, the FIA was
~way~ too inflexible on this one.  The fans lose; ergo, the sport loses.
  This is not in anybodys best interest.

I'm speaking from my frail memory, but it was mentioned during the race
that it is difficult for these two tire companies to get sufficient
testing on the track at Indy.  It was hypothesized that Bridgestone
potentially had an opportunity to share data with some ties in one of
the American circuits that could have given them an edge in tire
research for this track.  Something that Michelin did not have.
Conspiracies abound, eh?

DS
95 993 Coupe - Toyo shod

I agree with most of your comment.  There is plenty of blame to go
around with the exception of the fans; other than those morons who
threw crap on the track.

Having said that the FIA has sent notices to all the teams as follows:

In identical letters to the seven team bosses published by the FIA on
Tuesday, Formula One’s governing body, who has summoned the teams to
appear before the World Motor Sport Council next Wednesday, listed a
number of charges.

The charges given are that, according to the FIA, each team:

.  failed to ensure that they had a supply of suitable tyres for the
race
. wrongfully refused to allow their cars to start the race
. wrongfully refused to allow their cars to race, subject to a speed
restriction in one corner which was safe for such tyres as they had
available
.  combined with other teams to make a demonstration damaging to the
image of Formula One by pulling into the pits immediately before the
start of the race
.  failed to notify the stewards of their intention not to race, in
breach of Article 131 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.

Article 131 states: "The starting grid will be published four hours
before the race. Any competitor whose car(s) is (are) unable to start
for any reason whatsoever (or who has good reason to believe that
their car(s) will not be ready to start) must inform the stewards
accordingly at the earliest opportunity and, in any event, no later
than 45 minutes before the start of the race.”

The FIA told the teams they will be sent a full dossier of the charges
within the next 24 hours and invited them to send any comments they
should have in writing prior to their meeting with the Council in
Paris on June 29.

In the end; 1) F1 has clearly suffered a PR disaster in the USA, and
2) all the fans deserve a full refund perhaps collectively funded by
Michelin, FIA, Bernie and the teams.

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 21:12:47 -0700, The Dead Senator

I haven't bought hooks, line or sinkers from Michelin, but I've had their
tires on cars over the years and they have invariably performed well and
been well worth the cost. The point is not whether Michelin screwed up their
race compound for Indy - they clearly did and they'll reap the bad PR
whirlwind that goes with it. The point is does this meltdown of a purpose
built race tire translate to the tires I'll be putting on my car. I think
not.

They had a crash on Friday that was directly attributed to tire failure, and
their analysis of the failure led them to believe it was due to a
characteristic of the tire rather than an isolated incident. You say nobody
would want to see a driver killed, but you're sure steamed the Michelin
teams didn't race on tires they were told were faulty......

 But they had choices and elected to

How do you overplay the safety card? How much safety is enough? They had a
crash involving tire failure already - should they wait until they had
another? Or two more? If they'd balled up a car in the race and took a few
other cars out in the process you'd be screaming they never should have been
on the track with faulty rubber.

Do you really believe Michelin came to Indy with a faulty tire intending to
pull all their teams out of the race at the 11th hour and piss off the fans?
Get serious. They screwed up their design of a specialty tire trying to gain
a performance advantage and as I said, they'll have to deal with the PR
fallout for that. But how much fallout would they be dealing with if they
sent their teams out and someone got hurt or worse because of tires Michelin
couldn't vouch for?

That's right, and after having Bridgestones on a 280ZX Turbo, I'm sticking
to Michelin.

 I'll repeat -- The Bridgestone

I'll repeat - Porsche doesn't put Bridgestones on Carreras as OEM, and
that's good enough for me.

  But

That Porsche does not put Bridgestones on Carreras as original equipment is
not opinion - it's a fact. While you're researching how many of the GT cars
had Bridgestones, tally up all the cars on Michelins as well - they dared to
disagree with your opinion.

: Well, it's time to replace the tires on my 2000 996.  Only 14k but the
: rear set needs to be replaced.  The fronts look good but since they
: are Continental N1's 18's I suspect I need to get all four.

: So...

: Living in suburban Chicago gives limited occasion to exceed even 140
: mph, but do like to let it breath once-in-a-while.

: My interest is tread wear, ride and performance -- in that order of
: preference.

: Any thoughts about brand, product, n-number and lastly The Tire Rack
: or Just Tires or others?

Hi, tried to post this yesterday but not sure it made it thru or not...

Check Midwest Eurosport in Bensenville, IL (Near Rt 83 and York Rd). I believe
they are the ones who advertise in the Chicago Scene (local PCA chapter
newsletter) that they will match tirerack on price...

http://www.midwesteurosport.com

It's a neat place to visit, and they have a 4 wheel alignment bay too.

I have H rated tires on mine... they recommended them for city driving with
good wet traction... I've been very happy with them and I'll never be over
130mph on the Ike...

--
John Nelson
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Thanks for the recommendation.  As suggested I contacted them today.
I was especially interested in their comment on their webpage stating-
"Contact us today to compare what our servicing includes and what your
dealer's doesn't."

Sadly after talking with two individuals they had no idea what I was
referring to.  I'm sure they offer great service for someone
interested in racing.  That's not what I do personally even though I
enjoy the sport.

For now, I'll stick with the dealer.

Thanks once again.  All it cost was a phone call.


On Mon, 23 May 2005 04:13:02 +0000 (UTC), Chicago Paddling-Fishing