Boxster approved tires

[SD987]

Somewhat in line with Pilot's comment, I'm curious why people wouldn't run N-rated tires? I understand that folks like to do their own research and draw their own conclusions, however, I have to think that Porsche is well aware of the importance of tires on their cars and have worked directly with the manufacturers in fine-tuning. I picked up Porsche's 'Tires - Porsche Approved Original Equipment Spring/Summer 2005' and I'm not seeing Sumi, Kumhos, Toyos, probably for a reason.

I'm not being critical of someone else's choice, to each his own, but I am curious about their rationale.

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by SD987

I picked up Porsche's 'Tires - Porsche Approved Original Equipment Spring/Summer 2005' and I'm not seeing Sumi, Kumhos, Toyos, probably for a reason.

No offense taken. I understand where you are coming from. It's the same with all car companies recommending particular items for their cars. Here are a few reasons Kumho tires and others are not "Porsche recommended" that may help you understand the rationale for it.

1) Payolla: They did not pay Porsche enough for advertising or give a deep discount to use them on the factory cars. Sorry, but that's just how the business world ticks. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Porsche would recommend sorry tires just because they were paid more by that company or got a deeper discount for the tires on the new cars (we're not talking about Ford here). They picked several that met the specs they were looking at, tested them and said "what can you do for us if we recommend yours instead of theirs".
2) National loyalty: All but one of the recommended tires are made in EU countries (I' think Yokos are made in Asia). I applaud them for that, but it is a factor in another EU company's decision.
3) Availability: Porsche is not going to take the time to test a tire for their car if it's not in every car tire place on the planet. They are not going to recommend it if their customers are going to be ticked off by a 1-3 week wait for the store to get the right size in. As for Kumho, they are relatively new tire company to the non-racing market place. Their tires have only been available at retail tire stores for a couple of years. They are not stocked as well as others until they prove to the retailer they can sell enough to get them out the door once they are ordered. The others mentioned are also too small to have widespread availability of sizes used by Porsche.

Personally, I am very anal about our Porsches and will not use cheap parts, etc. in them just to save a buck. Anything I use in our Porsches meets or exceeds their standards and that is why I went to Kumho tires. All of the Kumho tires mentioned are W or Z rated. The W rated are 10mph past the top speed of the Boxster and the Z rated are way past the top speed. They also have AA traction ratings, higher than all of the Porsche recommended tires.

The final reason I buy Kumho tires, or any other brand but Michelin is, simply, they are not a French owned company. (Yeah, I like the national loyalty thing too. )

Hope that helps with understanding the "why" part of the equation.

[bigislandboxster]

Thats a BIG reason people look elsewhere for tires instead of Porsche approved tires.....People who put 10,000+ miles a year on their tires don't want to be replacing them annually, so they look for more bang for the buck.....I don't think you can blame them either. I have Pirellis on my '98, bought used, and they are a sharp looking tire for the Porsche, handle real well on dry surfaces(especially with the Sport Suspension) , but wear pretty fast, and where I live it rains a lot as well, and we know what that means! On a dry track these would be excellent....Driving the car everyday means I'll be shelling out $1000+ a year for balancing, wheel alignment and new tires......Why wouldn't one look for tires which are a few hundred cheaper a set, perform well, and last almost twice as long?

[boxstter]

Quote:

Which Ecsta's do you have? 711, 712, ASX? The Ecsta ASX are bi-directional and have the lowest noise level and longest wear. The 711 & 712 are uni-directional and very soft for a tacky traction, but the wear faster and have a higher noise level.

I haven't had them rebalanced recently - never really thought that would affect the noise level but hey everyone here sounds like they know tires pretty well so I will give it a shot. Lots of good input on this thread .

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by boxstter

I haven't had them rebalanced recently - never really thought that would affect the noise level but hey everyone here sounds like they know tires pretty well so I will give it a shot. Lots of good input on this thread .

If they have already cupped, then a re-balance won't help much with the noise. Most shops give you free lifetime balancing when you buy the tires so do it often when you get new ones.

[RandallNeighbour]

I've decided to buy some el-cheapo sumitomos like my Boxster idol, Toolpants. If they're good enough for him, they're good enough for me. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

I have Kumho Excsta MX's right now and they're wearing alright I guess. I can't really tell because I had a bent rear strut and a bent front sub frame that I corrected last month and these tires have about 6k on them. I cannot say if they are quiet, loud, sticky or slick because I have nothing else by which to compare them. The next set of tires will help me see if they are good or not.

I chose the MX's over the less expensive Kumho's because the Tire Rack guy told me these would not get loud as they aged, which he said is a known problem with the cheaper Kumho's if they are not rotated. I have learned since then though that one can knock the rubber off the rim and put it on the other side to force a rotation of sorts, which is what I did four months ago.

I'm driving to San Jose next week from Houston though, and doggonit, I bet at least one of them will have a bald spot by the time I make it back home.

One thing I know for certain... If you want to start a hot debate on this forum, start saying one tire is better than any other or talk about oil weight preferences. Opinions on these topics are like navals... everyone has one, that's for sure!

[limoncello]

Agree that tires seem to be a touchy subject. Wonder where can I get a good set of whitewalls for the boxster to use in parades?

[Rail26]

Probably the same place you could get neon lights and one of those chain license plates. I personally think the giant wing on the back would be a nice addition as well as the rotating hubcap things.