Quote:
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Originally Posted by dumbguy123
Thanks for all the replies. I had initially thought these were the N rated, Porsche approved Bridgestone, but they are not.
The approved ones are S-02, these are an S-03, different tire. I checked it out on Bridgestone's website.
Just to clarify, everyone's comments are on the S-03's?
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Hi,
Sorry for the mix-up. But just so you know, an N rated Tire is not a Tire built to any Porsche Specifications. It is a Tire the Manufacturer submitted for Testing to Porsche and the Tire passed the Test, that's all.
Just because a Tire isn't N rated does not mean it isn't as good, or even better than a Tire with the N rating. All it means is that it didn't pass the Test, or wasn't even submitted, which is the more likely of the two.
I would say that the S-03 is a
better tire than the N Rated S-02.
Equally, I suspect that it was never submitted for testing by Porsche which is why it hasn't received the
N Rating.
Comparing the two, each has the following Ratings:
S-02
Traction - A
Temperature - A
Treadwear - 140 (meaning it uses a very soft compound, and wears out very quickly)
S-03
Traction - AA (the highest available Rating)
Temperature - A (same as the S-02)
Treadwear - 220 (harder compounds, longer wearing - but it still achieved a higher Traction Rating than the S-02)
Now, if we look at a Tire which
is N Rated - The Pirelli P-Zero Rosso (which I have on my '99), we find it's ratings are:
Pirelli P-Zero Rosso
Traction - AA
Temperature - A
Treadwear - 220
These are
exactly the same Ratings as the S-03. Now, there are only so many ways to Test a Tire, and each, in some way, relates to the three ratings listed above. So I suspect that the S-03 will perform very well on the Boxster despite it's lack of the dreaded
N Rating. BTW, the NHTSA is the source of the Ratings data, which Manufacturers are required by Law to submit.
I have used Potenzas on several performance cars throughout the years. I realize that each was, for the most part, different tires simply marketed through the Trade Name
Potenza, which is Bridgestone's name for their Performance Tires.
However, there were several consistencies between all the various Potenzas I've used. They have decent grip, but not the best. They all performed well in the Wet. They all were pretty long-lasting. They retained most of their qualities throughout most of their Service Life. They gave a little Harsher Ride. And, they tended to be noisier than many of their Competitors. One more point, for each application I used them, I never replaced them with more Potenzas. I found they were OK and a fair value, but a little short of the Best Tire available. I have to say, I really like the Pirelli's on my Boxster, they're a little Noisy, but the Grip and the Ride are very good. Hope this helps...
Happy Motoring!...Jim'99