Tires For Boxster S
 

I purchased an 01 Boxster S. I need advice regarding tires. This is what's on it now:

Front: Dunlop SP Sport 9090 N-0 225/40 ZR 18
Rear: Dunlop SP Sport Super Sport Racer 265/35 ZR 18

I noticed the mismatch when I experienced a front wheel vibration at about 70 mph. A Porsche Dealer in Tucson (on my way back to Vegas) balanced the fronts. It moved the vibration point to 80 mph. The tires still have about 4K miles to go.

Here are my questions:
-Is the mismatch causing the vibration? Do I need a better wheel balancing job? Do I need new tires?
- If I need new tires what would you recommend for a combination performance for street/Auto-X?

Your advice will be much appreciated.
Regards,

Michelin Pilot Sport 2... doesn't get much better than that.

I will need tires soon as well. I have heard that Kuhmos (sp?) have good wear life. I am looking for something that will last over the "super stick that will wear out in a week" type of tires. What does everyone recommend for good tire wear, and hopefully a good price?

its good to see another member from Las Vegas! :cheers:

Richard, I have Kumhos and I like them... not expensive and seem to wear well. Just don't buy the cheapest Kumhos they make as I'm told they are noisy tires after six thousand miles and require rotation to stay quiet, which we can't do easily...

I will say this though. I'm going to knock off my rubber and have it moved left to right and vise versa on both the front and back here soon... I bet I can get more miles out of them by doing this.

Using different model tires front and rear won't cause vibration you feel through the steering wheel. Out of balance tire(s) would, but since you already got them balanced, I don't think rebalancing them again will help. Are you feeling serious shaking vibrations, or are they road feedback type vibrations.

There is something called road force variation balancing; balancing the tire under load. Most Discount Tire stores have the Hunter 9700 which can balance using road force variation. It cost $80 for 4 tires when I got it done. This may or may not help.

http://www.sullivantire.com/xcessorize/hunter.aspx

Maybe you need an alignment? How does the tread wear look? I recently got a wheel alignment, but it was because of my tire wear, not vibrations.

Good Luck,
Larez2

I agree with Jwocky. PS 2's have the best combination of track performance and everyday driveability. I plan on getting them when when my original pilot sports wear out. I think the tires are one place where you shouldn't compromise. They will cost a pretty penny though.

My money is on a bent rim. Assuming your guys balanced the wheel correctly, you can still have an issue if the rim is bent.

Re: Tires, if you are running around the streets, I would buy the Yokohama AVS100. Very nice tire for all around use, affordable and decent durability.

Pilot Sports are overkill for many drivers, I think, and they are very pricey indeed.

Michelins it is
 

Another happy customer here with the Michelins. I did have a problem once with my 2001 Audi S-4 with the Bridegestones OEM. S-03. Tires would suffer from tramming real bad. I was wondering what would make the tires go all over the place then I read about tramming. Very interesting reading. Not going to go into it since this is not an Audi S-4 forum.

I've got Yokohama AVS Sport on mine right now. Not real pleased with them. They don't seem to do to well in the wet and don't seem to do too well in the dry either.

Best tires I've ever had were the Michelin Pilot Sport MXX3 on my M3. The Pilot Sport 2 looks to have a similar tread design. I'll definitely be trying those out as soon as I wear out the Yokos.


.

The reason I suggested the Michelin PS2's was cause I run them and they truly at excellent. A slightly less pricey, but still great tire are the Goodyear F1 tires.

The top 3 tires (dry and wet performance) are probably:

- Michelin PS2
- Bridgestone S-03
- Goodyear F1

Bridgestone S-02's are also excellent in the dry.

By the way, also consider the weight of the tires. Many people only worry about the weight of their wheels, but tire weights can differ by several pounds between equal sized tires. For example, a 225 Michelin PS2 is 4-5 pounds lighter than the same sized Bridgestone S-03's (if I remember my #'s correctly). Theoretically speaking, adding/reducing the weight of the tire will have more effect than adding/reducing the same weight to/from a wheel because you're adding the weight to the outside of the spinning wheel/tire circumference.

Tires For Boxster S
 

I wanted to thank all of you for your input. I finally settled for the Michelin PS2's.
They will get mounted tomorrow and tested on 3/25 San Diego AutoX.

I am in Carlsbad. Can you provide more info on the 3/25 event?

Thanks

If you plan on doing more than 10 autocross a year you may want to consider getting a set of Kumho Victor Racers. AutoX is very harsh on your tires, it will subastantially lower the life span of your tires if they are doing double street/autox duty.
on my old car I ran a set of Azenis for Summer and then went back to the inexpensive Kuhmo Supra's. The Supra's are adequate for street but absoulutely horrible for Autocross. Sidewalls way to soft, but a nice ride.
I have to change my worn out Conti rears now, I'm leaning towards the Pilot Sports.

I run the Michelin PS2's and they are great. I have 225' in the front and 275's in the back. Very nice gripping tires. They seem to respond very well in dry or wet conditions. The michelins will cost you a little more but beleive me they are worth it! The added cost should give you some additional lifespan on tires as long as you dont abuse the rubber.

I did have Continental tires on the car when the car was first aquired and it was like night and day, the difference, between a good and not so good tire on our cars.

When it comes to the rubber on your rims dont compromise unless you are going to abuse your rubber. Then you might want a less expensive tire since you will be changing them fairly often.

Anyone have the Toyo RA-1?
They had a great review in Grassroot Motorsports. Not far from R compound peformance and very good durability/driveability on street.
(Strictly for Summer use)

Boxster S
 

The AutoX in San Diego is on Saturday 3/26. Please forgive me; it was senior moment!

Thanks! very much!

Is it possible to throw on 235/275 rubber on my 18" rims? If so, why don't more people do this?

will PS2's fit?
 

I have a 2001 S with standard 17s, 205-50-17f, 255-40-17r. I will be putting new tires on very soon and everyone has high regards for the PS2s. I have checked Michelin's site, but they don't show that tire in my size. Does anyone know if they do make them in my size? Thanks!

check tiresavings.com you can check availble models by tire size.

Adam,

a long time ago I put 235/40X18 tires (in the front)on the car and it WILL rub with them on....and it will significantly decrease your steering radius. I ultimatly after 1 week of dring that way went back to the 225's....I did however like and stay with 275's in the rear. No rubbing trouble there....

They don't make the PS2s for the 17s. Any other recommendations? I was thinking of the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Thanks.

No PS2 for 17"? Maybe they are available from another vendor?
All season Pilot sports sounds great but I don't think they mean snow when they say all season. A change of tires seems unavoidable. Maybe the summer only original Pilot Sports? They seem to be the most popular.

As far as winter drving I'm planning on switching tires this November and then running summer tire around April.
I plan on doing a fair bit of driving instruction/Autocross here in New Jersey so I'm looking for a good street tire that is decent on the track/Autocross.

here's a reply I got on the NNJ PCA forum:

"The PS2s, as you pointed out, have received excellent reviews from just about everyone I know that has experienced them. One friend of mine that has tried just about every wheel/tire combo on his M3 has said that these PS2s give a great balance of feedback, grip, agility, and ride quality. They would be a good choice.

Also to be considered would be a BF Goodrich KD. They were tested against the Falkens and other "near R-Comps" by Grassroots about a year ago, and won the street tire portion of the test.

That said, the best street tire still came in (in that test) a full two seconds behind the worst R-Comp (which in this test was the Toyo RA-1). If you were interested in a R-Comp that is extremely livable and durable on the street, autox, and track, I would suggest the RA-1. I have a set on my 911 and have yet to see a downside. They are even great in frigid temps...unheard of in the scheme of R-Comps. "

I checked with TireRack and although they don't make a PS2 in 205/50-17, a 225/45-17 will fit without any mods. Can anyone confirm this? I am not planning on driving much during the snow, but thought I could take advantage of the longer tread life of the A/S tires without sacrificing much performance. How much performance would I lose over the PS2s? Also, I don't plan on tracking the car, but I will put it though it's paces on the street ;)

well you will be ok in the back but that won't work up front. I'm sure it will affect the turning radius.
Best to call the tire rack, they love to talk wheels and tires. Don't feel any pressure to by with them.
Here in New Jersey give Euro Tire a call.

http://www.eurotire.com/

Has anyone tried the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (all seasons) version on the boxster? I drive mine in the winters and that's pretty much the only all season tire i've considered short of getting a second set of wheels for winter tires but would really rather not do that....

My dealer frowns when i say all season tires on a porsche. They told me if I were looking at all season tires i'd better go get a sedan :matchup:

Christian -

Dunlop SP 9090 Tires
 

Four months ago I purchased the SP 9090 Dunlop tires. While driving home in the rain the other night I experienced severe hydroplaning. To my surprise; I noticed that my rear tires were completely worn out. I only have 2400 miles on the tires. I'm very disappointed with Dunlop tires... Has anyone else had wear problems with the 9090 tires?

Holy cow :eek:

That's a third of the mileage you should be getting as a bare minimum... unless you've been very hard on them and done a lot of tire spinning or drifting.

If not, I'd be down at the shop getting a 4 wheel laser alignment to see what's going on in the back.

Hi,

The Dunlops are very soft, treadwear rating of 280. They do wear quickly and non-linearly. Still, you should get at least 3-5 times the wear you have. Performance Tires differ from M&S Passenger Car tires in that they require more care and maintenance to maximize their lifespan. They are much more sensitive to abuse and improper pressures.

My suspiscion is one of several things, or a combination of them. You have some fairly acute alignment issues, especially on the rear. You have lowered the car increasing the negative camber (probably inadvertently), increasing the Car's tire-eating abilities. Tire pressures were not properly monitored. You drive the car fairly hard. The roads are bad in your area. You've been using your Boxster to compete in Tractor Pulls... ;)

Seriously, I have the same tire on my Esprit and love the performance, I'm on my 2nd set. The Esprit eats rear tires as badly as the Boxster, but I still got 15k mi. from them on my 1st set and the 2nd set is at 8k mi. w/ plenty of tread left. This is what leads me to believe that your experience is an aberration and either the Car or the Driver (or both) are at fault. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Toyo RA-1s are R comp tires. I bought a set for my Boxster. I ran them for 2 seasons on my 911. Really good overall tires for AX and DE. NOT as sticky as Victoracers, V710s, Hoosiers or Avons but better than MPSCs and the rest.

They had a better life span than my Victoracers, but only by 2-4 track days, or 5-6 autocrosses. Yes, I am hard on my tires ;)

I didn't read all the fine print of this thread but I second what Perfectlap says. Regular tires will get chewed up quicker than usual if you autocross a lot. You can find an old set of 17" OEM wheels (cheaper tires and usually lighter weight) for around $500 and throw some cheaper track tires on for $500 (Falken RT-615's come to mind). This will protect your $1000 set of everyday tires and in the end you can sell the wheels (and whats left of the tires) and regain some of what you spent.

Check the rulebook!

Changing tires can affect the class you run in. An "R" comp tire can put you in an improved or modified class that, depending on what you have done to your car can put you at an extreme disadvantage. Many clubs use a treadwear rating of 140 as a guideline. Above 140=street tire. Below 140=competition tire.

I was worried about this as well but in all the events I've ran with SCCA my Victoracers didn't move me into a different class (kind of sort of but not really). In Chicago and Milwaukee SCCA the race tires make you a true AS. Before I put race tires on I would run "Street Tire" AS or "Street Tire" RWD. I'm pretty sure SCCA nationals is set up this way as well even thought I doubt anyone shows up without race tread.

This has been my experience so I'm hoping a SCCA rule expert can comment...

Of course there are autocross clubs outside of SCCA...

I have about 20,000 miles on a set of 225/45 x 17 inch Pzero N2 tires on the front my 01. No issues at all, except it reduced understeer!!

If tread life is the most important factor would an all season (Yokohama ADVAN S.4.) tend to last longer than a summer tire (Michelin Pilot Sport PS2)? --- Assuming the same driving conditions

Also, which one would do better in wet conditions???

The National classing structure doesn't have any "street tire stock" classes like Milwaukee region (and others) do. Nationally, whether you run R-comps or regular (140+ treadwear tires) your Boxster is in A Stock.

My co-driver and I are signed up for the Milwaukee National Tour, you should show up and help us fill up A Stock with Boxsters! :)

Quote:

"Four months ago I purchased the SP 9090 Dunlop tires. While driving home in the rain the other night I experienced severe hydroplaning. To my surprise; I noticed that my rear tires were completely worn out. I only have 2400 miles on the tires. I'm very disappointed with Dunlop tires... Has anyone else had wear problems with the 9090 tires?"

Originally Posted by Jetmd


I just got back from a road trip to Florida this week, 700+ miles each way. On the way back today there was a lot of rain down south, and I was suprised at how much my PS2's were hydroplaning. The rear tires have less than 4k on them and are showing less than 3/16" of tread. I have been trying to take it easy on this set of rears, but it looks like I will not get 6K out of them. BTW, the front set has 9K+ on them and is showing 1/4" of tread.

Ed

:(