[Jay S]

Hi, I recently bought a '98 Boxster (ROW M030 sport suspension) that came with Pirelli Dragon tires on 17" Porsche wheels. I haven't been able to find out much about these tires but they don't seem to be one of Pirelli's max performance tires. Does anyone have experience with these tires??

I am thinking of replacing the Dragons with the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 or Bridgestone RE050A Pole Position. The key objectives are to improve the crispness and precision of the steering (which are a bit vague now) as well as overall dry grip without much compromise on wet grip. Any comments with how these tires compare in similar cars (M030 suspension, 17" wheels) would be appreciated. Based on reviews on Tire Rack and comments here, I get the impression that the PS2 has the edge in terms of steering feel, turn-in crispness and dry grip, while the RE050A Pole Position has the edge in wet grip. It isn't clear how material these differences are (the Bridgestone is cheaper?).

I have experience with the "grandparents" of the PS2 and RE050A Pole Position. I used to have the Pilot SX MXX3 on a BMW and really enjoyed it (great steering feel, grip and progressive handling at/near the limit, both in the dry and wet). I had the S-02 in a 964 C4 - that car cornered on rails and the steering was incredibly precise (quite different from my Boxster which has good grip but the steering is lighter, less precise and less communicative) but the suspension was much stiffer than my BMW's.

Any comments on the PS2 vs RE050A Pole Position would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

- Jay