Mix and match tires...
 

or not? My 2001 Boxster base has Pirelli tires - I think all season. The rear have about 10-15% wear left and the front have have about 30% left. I want to get Michelin Pilot summer tires put on the back but is it okay to put them on the back only? I don't race but just use for street use only. Or should I wait till the rear have no tread left and and change all 4? Thanx in advance!

I would not mix tires unless 1) I absolutely had no other viable options or 2) I planned on getting the corresponding replacements within a very short time. I know buying four is a kick in the crinklesack but if you really want to enjoy any sports car good rubber is vital.

I'd wait until you didn't have any left. Or if its a matter of money, buy 2 now and 2 when the tread is gone. Then you can mount 4 brand new ones at the same time.

ghost: crinklesack! HAH!

recycled: generally the rears wearout twice as fast as the fronts. so by the time you need all 4 tires, it'll be that time again. if you can, just get 2 of the same as the front and replace all 4 later. if i were in your situation, i'd just do the rears now (same as what's already on there) or replace all 4 now.

I am in the same boat, where I need 2 rears.

I want to put Hankook V12's on the back and leave the Michelen Pilot Sports on for a while longer that are perhaps 50% tread left up front.

With standard new tires the 986 is supposed to under steer but since my rears are nearly gone I get the back end letting go before any understeer can take place, so I figure new rears will fix that and when I replace the fronts in another year I'll go to 225 wide Hankooks instead of the standard 205 and the fronts will then be closer to neutral and they should all break traction at nearly the same time and cause drift instead of under/over steer.

For racers and tuning I can see how rubber consistency is important so you can tune properly but for street use I don't see any reason for a major impact since they are all performance tires.

Yes the ride will feel different but that gets corrected on the front tire change out to the same brand/type as the rears.

I doubt it will cause any nasty behavior on the street unless your really pushing hard or racing.

My 2 cents

I used to do it out of necessity in high school and because we had junk cars to strip which frequently had decent rubber left on them. I guess my only issue is each tire has a specific tread design, rubber compound mix and therefore they have differing qualities. In the rain or a hard corner, they wouldn't cause an accident per say but they sure as hell wouldn't add to the prevention of one. As for "pushing hard" we get so used to the superman qualities of these cars we don't even realize when we do that because that's why they are Porsche cars.

I'd throw them all away and put 4 hankook V 12's on. Half the price of pilot sports and a better tire. Try discounttiredirect.com for the best price and free shippinghttp://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1345496315.jpg

i have to agree with that!

different tyres, tread patterns and compunds react differently at different temperatures and circumstances, which can in a performance car that has excellent handling characterists slightly unpredictable.

sure if your going from stop light to stop light in the 'burbs it wont make a jot of difference, but if you drive on winding roads some moisture on a higher speed bend could very well give you a the 'gotcha' you dont need.

sometimes changing tyres can alter the cars handling performance

personally, i keep with the P-Zero Rosso's and have found the car handling excellent and predictable to the limits of tyre friction and have only spun the boxster once (my bad, took the set up into the bend a little too fast and wide and got the rear offside onto the grit that accumulates and the tyres let go ).

but then again, the main road in the area is the one that the racing driver Mike Hawthorn was killed on.

it's really down to your choice and the kind of driving you do and the conditions you drive in, tyre choice is equally as important and brakes.

I do it all the time but... The tires must be of very similar design, compound, wear rating, and sidewall stiffness or you will get very ugly handling in this car. Mixing Hankook V12s and Pilot Sports will be very compatible. Mixing Italian All Season tires with fresh max performance summer tires will likely turn into a very spooky and unpredictable ride.

A/S tires on the front: Massive understeer and front tires hitting ABS quickly under braking.

A/S tires on the rear: Turns a mild mannered Boxster into a tail happy Viper. Backing the car into a guard rail will be very easy to do.

I currently have Hankook RS-3s on the front and Nitto NT-05s on the rear. 9/10ths compatible but I will go Hankook on all 4 when the rears are done.

I've been using NT05's as track tires for 2 years--for money a good tire. How do the RS-3s compare? I've thought about getting them but they are another $200/set in 18" sizes.

The RS-3s are slightly better dry grip in the heat out here. I think they wear better too. The NT-05s are just melting off my rims.

Just purchased my 01 S in May. Put 2,200 miles on it driving home, and using it as a DD. Having put 3K on it since May, rear were at 90% wear, front at 75%. I was at the point of being worried about traction in the rain (although with the Summer we've had, rain driving has only happened twice; last one was the cautious one).

After researching at Tirerack.com, I replaced all four Michelin PS with Hankook V12. At their price, figured I would start fresh all around and get my own feel for what to do when the next set are due. But that's my newbie approach.

Bear

[QUOTE=Topless;302429]I do it all the time but... The tires must be of very similar design, compound, wear rating, and sidewall stiffness or you will get very ugly handling in this car. Mixing Hankook V12s and Pilot Sports will be very compatible. Mixing Italian All Season tires with fresh max performance summer tires will likely turn into a very spooky and unpredictable ride.

A/S tires on the front: Massive understeer and front tires hitting ABS quickly under braking.

A/S tires on the rear: Turns a mild mannered Boxster into a tail happy Viper. Backing the car into a guard rail will be very easy to do.

+1 this is the key. Never drive your vehicle beyond the capability of the driver or the vehicle. The weakest link will fail if you exceed it's capability. You are usually safe when you are just replacing the rear tires with tires compatable with the front tires. Now as long as you don't exceed the capability of the front tires there's no problem.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be putting on my snow tires this fall anyway. There is no point in compromising safety by mixing tires. Hancook V12 tires sound interesting but because they are cheaper alarms me but I will look into it anyway. Either that or Michelin Sports and get 4. Being retired I don't put many miles on the vehicle and currently has 40k miles. Nothing has gone wrong at all but I feel that the tires should be replaced as I don't like tires with little tread left. The above poster is so right in that being overconfident in your car can lead to an accident/incident due to equipment failure or driver error.
Usually I go with the tried and true and buy Michelin but the Hancook V12 are intriguing. Once again great input everybody!

A recent comparison of 9 different tires to Michelin PS2s. The Hankook V12s are a very comparable alternative at 1/2 the price. :cheers:

Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 Comparison Tests - Page 10 - Car and Driver

Of course the PS2's have been made obsolete by the Super Sports, if available in your size. Granted, the Kook's are $400 cheaper.

With the greatest of respect, I think this no mixing thing is total bull****************.

Here's proof, if you need it. A base 2.5 Box left the factory as standard on 205 fronts, 225 rears. The 17 inch option is 205 front, 255 rear. A huge difference - much more of a balance - altering difference than sticking with the same size tyres but mixing brands. And yet no children died!

As long as you don't go for something really weird, like snows at one end and high performance summer on the other end, you'll be fine.

I wouldn't bet $5 on just about anyone being able to tell the difference between having decent mixed tyres and the same decent tyres all round in a blind test.

I have to agree with you
 

pothole. I drive my car pretty conservatively and with mismatched rubber front to rear and it has never been an issue. I do use similar tires front to back in that they are all summer performance and not all weather tires. The car until recently has been my DD so tire wear and longevity was one of my major concerns. IMO if you are driving the car to the point that mismatched rubber is frequently becoming a driving hazard (assuming the tire designs are similar) then you probably need to do that kind of driving on the track. I have been able to get about 35k miles out of the last set of fronts I had on the car and of course the rears are wearing quite a bit faster. When I go to replace tires, sometimes the tires I would be trying to match to the fronts or vice versa are out of stock or no longer in production so instead of scrapping the good tires still on the car and starting over with four new, I find whatever is comparable and still fits the budget and durability requirements.

I'll take that bet. Find a Boxster friend with very different tire compounds than you and swap 1/2 for a day. Mount A/S tires on the rear of your car and Max performance summer tires on the front. Take it for a spirited drive through the countryside to see if you can discover your new handling limits. If you don't stick it in a creek or back it into a guard rail you will still have a very clear picture of "Boxster gone wild". Afterwards you can send the fiver to my paypal acct or meet me in Dublin on St Patty's and you can buy me a pint. :cheers:

It will be very evident that these different compound tires should not share the same car. Ask me how I know this. ;)

Different brands with very similar compound, no problem. A/S 480TW on the rear, Max Summer 180tw on the front, PROBLEM.

Eh?

I specifically said I wasn't claiming you can mix summer tyres with winter tyres.

What I specifically said was that mixing decent summer tyres was a non issue. Which it is!