Recommendations for high mileage tires

[Tool Pants]

Here is some info from a while back.

Good Economic Tire?

20,000 miles is good. I see people who only get 8,000 miles.

My Sumitomo HTR ZII has a treadwear rating of 220. Not in the market for tires so I don't know if ZII is still on the market as someone mentioned a ZIII tire.

[der Geist]

I just wanted to throw an alternative here to those who haven't heard of Mr. Tire. I had to replace a tire on my wifes Audi this week. Tire was on back order from Tire Rack. Not only was Mr. Tire's installed price better than Tire Rack's (after shipping, mounting, balancing, disposal etc.) they got the tire the same day and had it on the car by closing. I was really impressed. They were also almost 1/2 the price of Conrads & NTB. You must use their web site & print the quote to get the best price though.

[986chris]

I'm with Tool Pants, HTRZ's were on mine when I bought it. Seem like a adequate tire I got caught in a hellava down pour friday nite, you know the kind were everyone on the expressway slows to 50 mph, so I decide to see how well the boxster handles, got to 73 and was very stable. Anyway my two cents. Later

[blue2000s]

Just to give an opinion on an earlier noted tire, if you drive even somewhat spiritedly, I'd recommend that you stay away from Fuzions. I have them on my dd sports coupe and they sqeal at the slightest provocation and the give up grip far too easily. It's not a tire for a car with spirited driving intentions.

Just to expand on another earlier comment, using a non-n rated tire does not effect your vehicle warranty in any way so if your car is still under some kind of warranty your safe with using any tire.

[AUDIOGUY]

I just bought these today...

http://www.tirerack.com/tire-12/Yokohama/S.drive.shtml

I am pleased all around after about 50 miles on the new tires!

Price about 700.00 for all 4 in 18 inch.

[Brucelee]

Pilot Exalto A/S radials are the entry-level High Performance All-Season members of Michelin's Pilot family of performance tires. Pilot Exalto A/S radials are designed for sports cars, coupes and sedans to blend responsive handling and long wear with year-round traction, even in light snow.On the outside, Pilot Exalto A/S tires feature Michelin's Life Maximized All-Season Adherence Compounding (formulated to balance dry grip, wet traction, light snow traction, and tread wear) molded into a directional tread design to provide handling in nearly every weather condition. Siped independent tread blocks combined with wide circumferential grooves and variable width lateral tread grooves help eject water from under the contact patch to resist hydroplaning and enhance wet traction.

Internally, the Pilot Exalto A/S radial's twin steel belts are reinforced using Michelin's Banded At Zero (BAZ) technology (spiral-wrapped reinforcement) to stabilize the tread area, allowing it to withstand centrifugal forces at high speeds while minimizing tire weight and improving ride uniformity.

Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tires feature black sidewall styling with black letters reversed out of a circumferential serrated band.

[lapis986]

for what it's worth i thought i'd update the forum readers on my decision. So many reviews, so many different opinions and perspectives. I went to tire rack and did the side by side comparison, actually called them to discuss my objective- a longer wearing tire that still offered good grip and wet traction. Thought i was locked in on the Nexen 3000's, but the fronts don't come in my size
I went to my local PCA meeting, sat at the table with some legitimate racing guys with lots of years behind the wheel and asked them their opinions. several recommended the Kuhmos, and the sumitomos.

So here's what I learned-
there really are no high mileage tires for the 986.
One good source said you'll always burn up rear tires on mid engine cars about twice as fast as the fronts.
regardless of the tire, you are lucky to get 20 K miles out of a rear tire on these cars.

So my decision was to go with the Sumitomos HTRZ III's. 4 tires installed was $550.

I plan to get another 20K miles on the rears, and will have a few extra dollars in the bank since the Michelins were more than twice as expensive. I fully understand that I will have somewhat lessened performance, but this is a daily driver car that sees about 30 K a year. New shoes makes a big difference! Thanks to everyone for their recommendations.