Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 265/40ZR18 - How long are they supposed to last?
 

I had about 19,000 miles on these tires (Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 265/40ZR18), which came with my Boxster when I purchased it. I was driving and all of a sudden the rear tire on the driver side went flat, no indication of any road debris damage or any nails etc. Roadside assistance took me to the Porsche dealership where I had to replace BOTH rear tires (something to do with the balance of treadwear) for $960 (!). This was back in April, and it never occurred to me that maybe I could have gotten this covered under the tire warranty? The warranty seems to say that it is covered up to 1.6mm left of treadwear (which seems really low, and I know the tires had more tread than that), how many miles are you guys getting on these tires? Is it too late for me to claim money or tire replacement now that I had done this 2-3 months ago?

Also, since I am now at around 21,000 miles on the front tires, should I be replacing my those as well? I came from driving a Mustang where I almost never had to change tires, so I'm not sure if now that I'm in the 18" performance tire world, I am supposed to be expecting tire changes every 15,000-20,000 miles, even if the tread isn't even that low. Even with the infamous penny trick, the tread went up to a point between Lincoln's eyes and his hairline (:-P).

I'd say you did well to get 19K miles out of them. Most folks indicate rears wearing out in the 8K-12K mile range. Items that impact tire wear are driving style and vehicle alignment. If you looked at the old rears, I imagine the tread block on the inside were fairly low, no? This is because of the desired negative camber that helps the car corner so very well. Its the price to pay to enjoy the drive! :)

I agree with racer_d there. From what I heard, if you don't track it and drive the car very gently, expect 20k at most. I heard people getting as low as 4k miles, but thats because they track it.

You should push your baby a little harder, that's what she likes to do. ;)

My 19" Sport Pilots lasted 20,000 miles. I am pretty happy with that. Next Friday I am replacing all four tires with PS2's.

if i have new pilot sport ps2's in the rear, is it necessary for me to replace the front ones with PS2's as well, or am i able to get cheaper tires like falkens or sonars. what are the disadvantages to having diff. brand so the front than on the rear?

You really need to match the tires unless you drive like an old lady. Balanced handling and no nasty surprises as you approach the limits of adhesion.

It's a bad idea. This has been discussed quite a bit. Try a search and you'll find a lot of discussions about mixing different tires. 20K is a lot of life for a PS2. Most see much less life than that. I'll be lucky to get 12k out of mine.

19K is a lot of miles out of Pilots on the rear wheels. If you're looking for cheaper tires that have decent performance, try Nexen N3000's. They're not Pilots or Goodyears, but if you got 19K out of Pilots, you probably are fairly easy on your tires and the N3000's would be a good match. I had N3000's before I switched to Goodyears, I thought they were a great deal.

My 987S had the rears (PS2) replaced at 10,800 as part of the Certification process. It now has 18,400 on it and the tires look fairly even on wear.
I'm more one for slinging it into a corner, rather than drag racing the ricers who always want to, so I think I'll get fairly even wear, possibly even more front wear, than rear.
What I've heard from the guys here and others I've talked to with Boxsters, you've been "old lady"-ing it to get 20k on Michelin rears.
Tirerack has the new Goodyear F1-Asymetrical rated better than the PS2.
I'm going to try a set of them when I need to re-tire, I loved the F1 GS-D3 on an RX8.

What's everyone's opinion here about getting tires that are not porsche spec? i.e. N0, N1, N2?

Not going with Porsche spec? that's ok. Cheaping out and getting ****************ty tires? that's bad. ;)

Unless you are driving Autobahn speeds, IMO, N rated tires are a luxury.

Tire wear is directly proportional to the weight of your right foot and gravity exerted on said foot. I went through 3 sets for RT-615's a year in my STI. It had a lot more hp and I autocrossed it 10-11 times per year and did track days. My neighbor's set lasted 2 years and a lot more miles than mine on his STI.

Just a thought, don't know if it could or has ever happened, but I could see an insurance company denying an accident claim if:

1) person did not use Porsche approved tires (slim chance)

and/or

2) person did not use correct speed rated tires (more likely hypothises)

Of course the insurance company would need to prove accident resulted from (or in some part or %) the tires.

Again, just a thought.

For those of you that have ebay accounts that need tires, I just bought 4 brand new Nexen N3000's 18 inch for my Boxster from ebay auctions from a seller in Florida. Z rated as well. Auction price was $335.00 plus $80.00 flat rate shipping.

However, the best thing is Microsoft is offering 20% cash back if you "find" the auction through their new "live search" function. Therefore, you get 20% back of the $335.00 which is $67.00. And ebay has a 10% instant off coupon right now as well, the code is CJUNE0810P that will save you another $33.50, and if you are earning "ebay bucks" on your qualifying ebay account, you can save another $33.50 which makes the net price of the tires after your rebates and savings $415.00-$134.00= $281.00!!!!

You won't beat that price anywhere and there are several good experiences on this board with the Nexen N3000's.

Hope this helps someone,

Mike

I don't have PS2's, but for what it's worth, my Nitto NT555 tires have about 7-8k miles on them and the rear's are looking like I'll be needing to replace them very soon...

I was surprised that they wore out so quickly from just street driving, and no track events on them...

I'm sure these will get even worse tread life, but I'm considering some Toyo R888 or Toyo R1R's next...

Even the lowest speed rated tires are capable of handling any of the speed limits in the US. Therefore:

3) person exceeded the posted speed limit

trumps 1) and 2).

At those prices, who cares how long they last? That's like one third the cost of PS2s at tirerack (1178 + ship)and less than half the cost of a set of Goodyear F1s (938 + ship), from same tirerack. 80 for shipping is not bad.

20,000 miles on the rear. I should probably get another 10,000 miles on the front. The fronts are replaced for every two times rear.

People that are getting 20,000+ miles on a set of PS2's are wasting their money. If you drive that easy (which isn't a bad thing), why not get something that is still Z rated but better suited to cruising? Motorsports or aggressive driving are the only reasons to own those tires. If you get 20,000+ out of a set of PS2's, you could get 40,000 out of a set of Falken 452's, Yokahama S drives or Kumho SPT's. Just a suggestion.