I need your advice on tires.....

[recycledsixtie]

Okay don't go tell me to go search. This is slightly more complex a question.
I have 16 inch rims and winter tires for my 2001 Box base. The car sits a little too low for my liking but when I bought them the price for rims and tires was super cheap.
My question is this. I need new summer tires and was thinking of getting all season tires to replace the 17 inch worn out tires. This would extend the season of driving on 17 inch rims and if the snow got too bad I could switch over to my snow tires.

Also complicating the situation is that I may sell next spring and get another P car(987 or 996) and do you think a prospective buyer looks at tires closely other than wear level?

Would I notice much difference between all season and summer tires in summer?
I am not an autocrosser, track guy. What about noise level between a/s and summer tires? Do any of you use a/s tires year round and are you happy with them?
I would appreciate any input! You guys rock....

[Mark_T]

I have the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. This is the 5th season they have been on the car and although there is still lots of tread left, I've noticed that towards the end of last season, and definitely this season, they've turned into hockey pucks. They have about 30k km on them now.

For the first 3-4 years they were plenty sticky enough for my limited skills, but this year I have found I can break them loose and slide the car around with little effort. I actually have to think about my speed going into corners now. I came out the top of a cloverleaf the other day at about 95 kph, got on the throttle a bit too soon and rather suddenly found myself pointing perpendicular to my direction of travel. It didn't end badly, but it was definitely an adrenaline rush for sure. Wouldn't have happened earlier in their life.

I would have to say that they lasted longer than I expected them to and, although not as good as summer performance tires in the hot weather, they really performed well in the shoulder seasons. I bought them because I had just got the car, the existing tires were crap, and I wasn't sure how far into the fall I would be using the car.

It is my plan to replace them next spring with some Hankook V12's as I've heard lots of good things about them and I really don't drive the car early enough in the spring or late enough in the fall to warrant all season tires this time around.

As Winnipeg and Edmonton have somewhat similar climates, I hope this info will be useful to you.

[southernstar]

I too have MIchelin Pilot Sport Plus and although I do not drive my Box in the winter, I can definitely echo Mark T's comments concerning wear and performance in moderate to warm temperatures. Having said that, if you have winter tires and rims I would use those once it gets cold as the tire compounds are designed for colder termperatures and the tread and narrower contact patch are imiportant in the snow. If you are buying summer tires with the expectation of only using them for the remainder of the fall and next spring, I would purchase a more performance-oriented and less expensive summer tire than the michelins - let face it, wear will not be an issue!

Brad

[riverside986]

I recently purchased a set of the latest Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 all-season tire for my 2004 S (245/40ZR18 and 265/35ZR18). Few miles but nice tire, excellent steering response, should be decent in cold weather. Not a soft and cushy tire like the ContiExtreme DWS all-seasons. Good wear rating (though that's something of a moot point for me); not as pricey as some of the alternatives. You might check out the recent Tire Rack tests. On the face of it, they are claimed to combine the performance of a summer tire with the desirable traits of an all-season.

The new Michelins are very quiet, certainly quieter than the N-code Michelin summer tires they replaced. (And those summer tires weren't bad in this regard.) Hope it continues. My most recent experience with performance summer tires was with the generally well regarded ContiExtreme DW (on a VW GTI). The good times with those went sour, started getting slight cupping of the tread and fairly sudden onset of "bearing-like" noise after only 5K miles.

From here in southern CA, I have no business offering advice on tires for snow!

Gil

[woodsman]

When I bought my car it had Pirelli P Zero Nero's (all-season) and I think they're a great tire. With pirelli on the sidewall, few will even notice that they're all seasons.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by recycledsixtie

Okay don't go tell me to go search. This is slightly more complex a question.
I have 16 inch rims and winter tires for my 2001 Box base. The car sits a little too low for my liking but when I bought them the price for rims and tires was super cheap.
My question is this. I need new summer tires and was thinking of getting all season tires to replace the 17 inch worn out tires. This would extend the season of driving on 17 inch rims and if the snow got too bad I could switch over to my snow tires.

Also complicating the situation is that I may sell next spring and get another P car(987 or 996) and do you think a prospective buyer looks at tires closely other than wear level?

Would I notice much difference between all season and summer tires in summer?
I am not an autocrosser, track guy. What about noise level between a/s and summer tires? Do any of you use a/s tires year round and are you happy with them?
I would appreciate any input! You guys rock....

The bad news... 16" tires and 17" tires are exactly the same height (25" diameter) so changing to 17s will not raise up the car but it will make you a bit more vulnerable to a bent rim from a snowy pothole. The 16s are narrower have a taller sidewall which is why they are often preferred for serious winter driving.

17" all season tires do make good sense considering you live in the great white north.

[jsceash]

Originally Posted by recycledsixtie

Okay don't go tell me to go search. This is slightly more complex a question.
I have 16 inch rims and winter tires for my 2001 Box base. The car sits a little too low for my liking but when I bought them the price for rims and tires was super cheap.
My question is this. I need new summer tires and was thinking of getting all season tires to replace the 17 inch worn out tires. This would extend the season of driving on 17 inch rims and if the snow got too bad I could switch over to my snow tires.

Also complicating the situation is that I may sell next spring and get another P car(987 or 996) and do you think a prospective buyer looks at tires closely other than wear level?

Would I notice much difference between all season and summer tires in summer?
I am not an autocrosser, track guy. What about noise level between a/s and summer tires? Do any of you use a/s tires year round and are you happy with them?
I would appreciate any input! You guys rock....

I agree with Topless 16" tire sizes and 17" and 18" tire sizes are all staggered so the outside diameter are right at 25" +/- .3" so you will not notice a big height difference in any case 205-55-16, 205-50-17, 225-45-17 , 225-40-18 all have the same diameter

Personally I would never buy a tire higher than a Dot 280 AA for my car and almost all the all seasons are well over Dot 330 range. All seasons tire are a compimise and you end up with a fairly hard treaded tire and little performance. Again that is my prefference, which also means if there are cynders on the road my car isn't.

There have been some not so bad reviews of the Sport Contact DW I believe they are one of the lower Dot rated seasonal tire I also believe they are pricey about $1000 US a set

[Joe B]

+1 for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires on my 2003 S. Very smooth and quiet with more than enough handling and grip for sane street driving. I wanted something best suited for my climate and roads. Here in Wyoming it can snow any month of the year, and the roads can be dry for weeks in winter. I didn't want to change back and forth twice a year to and from snow tires, because then if I took a trip somewhere warm (CA., AZ.), I'd ruin them. If the snow gets too deep for the all season Michelins, I'll drive my 4x4 pickup truck.

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-selector/category/ultra-high-performance-sport/pilot-sport-a-s-3/tire-details?Wt.mc_id=Paid%252520Search%3bGoogle%3bpilo t%2520sport%2520a/s%25203&WT.srch=1&mkwid=sGYSfF2G9&gclid=CJ-W27vN6rkCFS9dQgodhhAAyA

"With pirelli on the sidewall, few will even notice that they're all seasons."

Who cares what anyone else notices (you were kidding, right?).
__________________

[recycledsixtie]

Well my local garage is getting me a quote on summer tires as he thinks that in this part of the world that you need snow tires for winter and summer tires for summer. Yes I asked here if a prospective buyer looks at the kind of tire the Boxster has on it and if that influenced a buyer's decision and I would think the prospective buyer would look at the amount of wear left on the tires not so much the kind of tires.

I asked the garage owner(he also has a Boxster base 2001) what kind of tires he had and he said Chinese tires - they are cheap. Winter tires for winter driving etc no a/s. He being from China/Hong Kong it makes sense. Well I said I did not want cheap and nor super expensive. I will see what he comes up with.....

[recycledsixtie]

Originally Posted by Joe B

+1 for the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires on my 2003 S. Very smooth and quiet with more than enough handling and grip for sane street
Who cares what anyone else notices (you were kidding, right?).
__________________

Hi Joe,
To answer your question. When I do something to the Box because I do not keep my cars that long, I look at what I like and whether it would appeal to the prospective buyer. I try to stay oem with everything but tires do provide some leeway.

I stay away from JD yellow(sorry JD), tiptronic transmission and lowered suspension as an example of being in the minority. Anything custom made forget it.
Cheers. G.

[riverside986]

Originally Posted by recycledsixtie

I asked the garage owner(he also has a Boxster base 2001) what kind of tires he had and he said Chinese tires - they are cheap. Winter tires for winter driving etc no a/s. He being from China/Hong Kong it makes sense. Well I said I did not want cheap and nor super expensive. I will see what he comes up with.....

You should perhaps consider doing a bit of research on your own, might not want to depend entirely on the garage guy picking the tire with the best retail profit margin. But I understand that the upcoming sale of your car is also a factor in the choice, difficult balance of price vs quality.

Technology has changed a lot in past few years, not sure all the old assumptions about summer vs all-season tires still apply. For example, here's a recent comparison test (of quality A/S tires) from Tire Rack:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=177

Tire Rack is a decent place to research tires, they offer customer reviews and surveys as well as detailed comparison testing. I've bought from them a few times; I confess that my new A/S 3 set was a few dollars cheaper direct from my local tire retailer, even with CA sales tax of over 8%.

Gil

[Perfectlap]

If you live where it gets cold enough to snow, then winter tires are a must.

Snow is not the issue it's the ice patches.

All season tires are simply summer tires with a tiny bit more bite over ice, barely.
Winter tires are a whole other ball game over ice. You will be safe at faster speeds and over tighter turns. The rubber sticks.

As far as summer over all season, you have a car that is 3/4's 996.1 Carrera with the part that isn't Carrera being the best part of all (mid engine).
That's a world-class handling car. Putting it on all seasons for summer use is like wearing a custom made tuxedo with work boots.
One time I drove another car with all-seasons, after immediately getting out of my car (RA-1 r comps at the time), and I couldn't believe how numb the steering felt in comparison.
Enjoy your car the way it was designed to be used. This is a roadster not a bloated convertible.

Also, winter tires last forever, which in turn prolongs the longevity of your summer tires since you aren't running them year round.


This video sums it up well, particularly at 3:11
http://youtu.be/GlYEMH10Z4s

[Mark_T]

Sometimes I think this winter tire business is just a load of hype to sell more tires. I've no doubt that they perform better under the conditions they are designed for, but lets remember it's only been a few of years since they came on the market and we all did just fine with our all-seasons before then.

I've been driving year round (and this is Winnipeg we're talking about) on all seasons for 30+ years now. They have always worked just fine for me, and I'm just not prepared to take a step back to the bias-ply days when we all had to change tires/wheels twice a year and then find somewhere to store the off-season set. What's next - the return of frost shields?

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Mark_T

I've been driving year round (and this is Winnipeg we're talking about) on all seasons for 30+ years now. They have always worked just fine for me..

were those mostly front wheel drive cars?

[recycledsixtie]

I hear you all and many of you are in favor of a/s tires. I really don't like my 16 inch telephone dial rims/winter tires. It seems to sit lower than my 17 inch summer tires. Maybe it is my imagination.

Talking to my local garage(I want to give him a try and would think that he would treat my oem rims better than Costco !?!)he recommended a summer tire that is a size that is not listed in the Porsche manual. To me this is a minus. I want the exact measurement tires as listed in the Box manual. 2. He did not refuse to put a/s tires on my Box but recommended I get summer tires as I already have the winter tires.

I favor the idea of a/s to extend the fall driving season but putting on my snow tires when the snow becomes more of a problem. I think that I have to get assertive with my local indy garage.

One more thing. If there is equal wear on my summer tires then an alignment is not needed - am I correct in saying this?

[Mark_T]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

were those mostly front wheel drive cars?

Absolutely not. I've owned very few fwd cars in my time.

[woodsman]

Originally Posted by Mark_T

Absolutely not. I've owned very few fwd cars in my time.

BUT-- you haven't driven on winters-- you don't know what your missing! Full snows have effectively softer rubber ( rubber hardens as it gets colder) and has as many serrated edges as the mfg can squeeze onto them which bite there way down the street. If you installed 4 new snows you'd laugh as you slice your way effortlessly around traffic. In some northern European countries they don't have half assed all-seasons. Try pushing your fingernail into the tread on a Nokian Hakkapaletta NR 10- the compound is meant to 'work' at -20 -30 -40 and the increased tread depth and void area allows the tread squirm to clear the grooves of snow. Since 1990 there has been a revolution in the winter tire grip available in North America and you 've missed it! Full snows provide more grip in cold weather and offer increased safety as a result.

[Perfectlap]

^ Agree 100%. The big problem with driving in winter is all of the people driving on the wrong tire. Either the temp is too cold for what they have or their tread pattern is all wrong. An all season tire is in the optimal range in only a very narrow condition - not cold enough to freeze water, not enough accumulation or snow packing. The very nature of winter is for conditions to change rapidly and severely. Those snow tires at home aren't going to do you any good when you're sliding backwards up a highway with an 18 wheeler approaching at 60 mph.
And when its the other car that has lost control and is drifting towards your car, the last thing you want to happen is for you to be unable to move quickly to avoid them. As the Tire Rack video I posted above clearly shows, evasive driving on winter tires has no equal. You will get around that curb, highway divider, tree, fence, etc. without hitting it.

[woodsman]

Originally Posted by recycledsixtie

I hear you all and many of you are in favor of a/s

One more thing. If there is equal wear on my summer tires then an alignment is not needed - am I correct in saying this?

I think you know more about the tires required in Edmonton than your mechanic
and like JOE B in Wyoming you require a more weather friendly tire than a warm climate- only track- like, balls to the wall, specialty tire. No need to get an alignment if the wear pattern's good. PS your car is very clean looking and those phone dials look better on a Boxster than on a 944!

[TeamOxford]

Originally Posted by woodsman

and those phone dials look better on a Boxster than on a 944!

Yes, those 944/928 phone dials DO look surprisingly good on a 986.

TO