new tires...

[Lil bastard]

There is really no absolute right and wrong in picking any of the popular brands of tires available for the Boxster.

People select tires for many different reasons. They are performance drivers, they are on a budget, they like the look of a certain tire, they want to follow the most popular concensus, etc. All valid, yet different, reasons.

Two most important things you should do, and do objectively, is to make a budget and decide (again objectively) how you will use the car (how you've been using the car is likely to continue, so use that as a gauge). Select the tire for the qualities you'll mostly need, not for those you might use 3% of the tire's life.

After making a budget and deciding on use, weigh in the other factors such as looks, popular brand, etc.

Hi-Perf Z rated Tires are more spendy. Do you need all the advantages these tires offer? Not everyone does. There are lots of Boxsters out there running perfectly well on M&S (all-season) and/or speed rated H or V. These can offer better, longer wear and are lower priced.

My car is not a daily driver, I use it for spirited pleasure driving in warm dry weather only. I use Z-rated tires. But, if it were a daily driver, I'd opt for an M&S Tire.

While it's good to hear others' opinions and try to learn from them, realize that for just about any tire mentioned here, there will be those who like them, and those who don't. Also, the Web is full of information on Tires and how to select them. Tire Rack offers lots of information.

[RandallNeighbour]

I agree about reading up about tire choices by Tire Rack customer reviews on Boxsters. I looked for reviews from people who'd owned the tires for 12k or more because most everyone likes their choice after 2k miles but as the tires wear down a bit, the comments change about wet grip, tire noise, separation issues, etc.

[pcar-yvr]

Sounds like the Goodyears are a good compromise, especially for folks who live in the Pacific Northwest. If I was to only drive on sunny days like you guys in Arizona, I'd never hit the streets at all!! Problem is, it could be sunny in the morning and pouring rain in the afternoon on the drive home.

That being said, is there any tire that might even handle better on wet roads than the Goodyears?

I know some of you believe driving in the rain is a shame, but not driving at all is more of shame!

[renzop]

Originally Posted by pcar-yvr

..., is there any tire that might even handle better on wet roads than the Goodyears?...

Hoosier Radial Wet. Probably the best street-legal wet weather tire you can buy!!! Probably pulls more Gs in the wet then some performance tires do in the dry. Really amazing. However it will probably last less than 100 miles in the dry.

Seriously though, all street tires are compromise designs and that's a good thing. What is important is to determine what your compromise is and then find a tire that matches it.

Example - if you never drive in the wet you can ignore wet performance. But if the car is a daily driver and you live in an area that has moderate to heavy rainfall then you must not ignore wet perfomance.

Example - Everyone wants great dry grip but how much comfort and noise resistance will you give up for it?

Regards,
Alan

[Benny986]

rain tire.. well. depends are you talking a RAIN tire, or a M&S tire, or a good summer tire that works in the occasional rain?

my guess it the latter. in the rain, the yokohama neova and the bridgestone re01-R are both great in the dry, and actually pretty good in the rain.