Nexen tires

[purplegator]

While looking for new 265/35/18 tires for my 99 I came across a tire called Nexen N3000 for a great price. Does anyone have these or know anything about them? They are 340/A/A tires for $113. They are a relatively unknown tire but I have found a few reviews online that are all positive. Any real world experience from another Boxster owner would be great! Thanks

[Pilot2519j]

You will be best served if you went to the Porsche dealer and get the booklet of Tires 2004/2005 Porsche Approved Original Equipment. This list has the best fit of tires based on the engineering of the car by the engineers that designed the car.
You will see that brand Nessen is not mentioned in the list at all

[pbanders]

I know this is an old posting I'm responding to, but I just bought an '03 Boxster with new N3000's (235/40-18 and 265/35-18). I have a reasonable amount of experience with street tires (PCA and BMWCCA DE events, Michelin/Goodyear/Yokohama/Kuhmo tires on my 914 and M3), I've put about 500 miles on the N3000's. Low noise, maintaining balance, decent traction so far. In street use, a Boxster's cornering limits are so high that these tires should be fine for a vast majority of owners. No rain experience yet. I saw a full set of these tires in my sizes for under $550 on eBay. 340 wear rating might translate to getting 15K+ out of the rears. Overall, good street tires, hard to beat at this price point.

[CJ_Boxster]

I bought a set of z-rated Nexens for my rear wheels 5000 miles ago, they look new still. I usually corner really really hard at time and they have yet to lose grip.

and the price... $64 each... i cant pass that up, fathers mechanic shop cost price is all i paid.

[chaudanova]

Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster

I bought a set of z-rated Nexens for my rear wheels 5000 miles ago, they look new still. I usually corner really really hard at time and they have yet to lose grip.

and the price... $64 each... i cant pass that up, fathers mechanic shop cost price is all i paid.

wow, thats a smokin deal

[SC986]

I bought mine it October and they had just put a new set on. They seem ok. I had never heard of them. At this point I can't say anything bad or good about them.

[NickCats]

When I bought my Boxster last April, the previous owner had put brand new Nexen N3000 tires on the rear ( 265/35RR18 ) and Fulda Carat Extremo tires on the front ( 225/40ZR18 ). I have put about 8000 miles on the car since then and I have been very pleased with these tires...

Nick

[CJ_Boxster]

Originally Posted by NickCats

When I bought my Boxster last April, the previous owner had put brand new Nexen N3000 tires on the rear ( 265/35RR18 ) and Fulda Carat Extremo tires on the front ( 225/40ZR18 ). I have put about 8000 miles on the car since then and I have been very pleased with these tires...

Nick

Hey Nick, 8000 miles. Thats very good, how much life/miles would you say you have left on the N3000's?

[NickCats]

CJ,

Not sure. They still look pretty new. Next time I see bmuss I'll ask him to bring his tread depth tool and I'll see what they have left...

Nick

[wanna986]

Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster

I bought a set of z-rated Nexens for my rear wheels 5000 miles ago, they look new still. I usually corner really really hard at time and they have yet to lose grip.

and the price... $64 each... i cant pass that up, fathers mechanic shop cost price is all i paid.

Where'd you find them for that price?

[kt1]

I've had the Nexen n3000s on my wheels for about 4-5 months now (Fronts 225/40/18 Rears 265/35/18). Wet traction is decent and dry traction is great. Sidewall flex is good for these types of tires along with the pickup from a rolling start, there are no chirping of the tires on cornering either. Road noise is okay given the sidewall stiffness, freeway noise is not bad and very quiet.

These tires are comparable to the Falken ZE512s and Yokohoma Es-100s. Classified as all season mid-level tires.

I've owned the falkens ZEs, Yoks, Michelin Pilots, Kumho ECSTAs, Falken Azenis, and other brands that slip my mind at the time and these surprised me well.

As for the comment above on "Porsche approved list" it's essentially a dummy list for people who aren't too famaliar with tires and specifications. So to clear some things up...

There are three variables on tires when purchasing.

1. Size
2. Speed Rating
3. Traction Wear

Size is obvious, you must match the tire size of your wheels so as rubbing issues won't occur. Speed ratings on these tires are Y rating, meaning they can go up to 186mph. Highest are Z ratings which are roughly 190 (I work at Firestone Auto Care and don't have my booklet with me). And finally traction wear, general rule of thumb is that the higher the number it'll be less "performance oriented" and has stiffer rubber compounds. I think the michelin pilots are 140 speedwear rating so that means they'll wear faster and the average age is 12,000 miles. The speedwear rating on the Nexens are 340, meaning they're a much harder compound and will not wear off as much. You can get almost 20-25,000 miles on these (mileage may vary depending on your car's alignment specs, style of driving, etc).

Hope that clears up any confusion and don't follow the simple logic fallacy of authority because big brother (porsche dealership) said it's not on their list doesn't mean you cannot do the research and find out on your own.

One thing though, at the tracks the Michelin Pilots sticked a lot better on fast starts and cornering than the Nexens. So obviously you'll take a hit on performance driving with these tires. But as for longetivity, these tires are almost double the life span of the Michelins.

Originally Posted by NickCats

CJ,

Not sure. They still look pretty new. Next time I see bmuss I'll ask him to bring his tread depth tool and I'll see what they have left...

Nick

No can do, Nick, my Boxster friend! It can only be used on Porsche approved tires!

[CJ_Boxster]

Originally Posted by wanna986

Where'd you find them for that price?

Fathers mechanic shop, i only paid cost for them, the Store owner gives me these perks cause i sell some cars for him sometimes.

[edevlin]

I have two sets of wheels, one with PS2's and the other unitl today, with a set of Falken 512's, the later for winter driving. I just finished wearing out my second set of rear Faken tires and rather than putting on a thrid set (the fronts are still in great shape) I decided to put on a set of Nexen 3000 tires. Here is the kicker, four Nexen 3000 tires mounted and road force balanced out the door for 470.00!!!

Ed

[Sammy]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

No can do, Nick, my Boxster friend! It can only be used on Porsche approved tires!

Oh... that's cold...

Have you de-winterized your car? I think you need a name for your car... How about Bambi?

[FTD]

I got spare wheels for track and put Nexens on for about $400. My everday wheels have Michelins that cost three times as much. When the Michelins wear out I will replace with Nexens. They have longer wear, performed great in the curves and in rain. No complaints. Love the price.