Nankang, Sumitomo, Nexen and other inexpensive tires - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

RandallNeighbour · 08-06-2015, 06:48 AM

I have been running Hankook Ventus V12's on my street and track rims for a couple of years and I'm quite happy with the grip, wet traction, treadlife, and especially the PRICE. Cheap!

BTW, the Michelin PS2's I had on my new street rims a few years back didn't nearly as long as I hoped they would, but they were definitely superior tires to anything I've ever had. Quiet, sticky, and they didn't get out of round with age.

mountainman · 08-06-2015, 08:34 AM

+ 1 for the Hankooks and Sumitomas. I run both and they perform just as well as the high priced ones at half the price. Used nothing but Michelin for 40 years and never did they stand behind a bad one. The last set I bought 3 of the 4 failed before they had 3000 miles on them and their representative ( appeared to be a 20 year old girl that had never really seen a tire up close ) told me they couldn't possibly have made a defective tire and it must be my fault. Even had 3 different Michelin tire dealers tell me that Michelin never will take responsibility for a defective tire and they can't adjust it. They think that because they have a relationship with Porsche that we are stupid enough to buy them no matter what.

j.fro · 08-06-2015, 08:55 AM

I've got a set of Nankang NS20's for my autocross car. They are not the race tires (those are Hoosier A7). I jokingly call the Nankangs my state inspection tires, however, I really like them as a day-to-day driving tire. They perform well in the wet, make very little noise, and wear well, even with big camber. $400 spent every three years on the Nankangs helps to budget $1700/year for Hoosiers.

mnc-i · 08-06-2015, 03:06 PM

Mike689,

Reference tires for your Boxster:

1) I have been very happy with Sumitomo HTR Z II & IIIs.

2) They are about $300 for HTR ZIIs and $340 for HTR ZIIIs (that is a set of 4, 17 inch tires)

3) ZIIs are Ultra High Performance Summer and ZIIIs are Max Performance Summer.

4) This first tier and second tier stuff is BS. Tires are regulated they have to meet certain standards. All you have to do is check their ratings (Temperature, Traction, Wear). The better tires will be rated higher in each category, and of course you will pay more for higher ratings.

5) HTR ZIIs are rated 360 A A
HTR ZIIIs are rated 300 AA A

6) I've had both and I currently have HTR ZIIs on my 99 Boxster w/255,000 miles.

Just my 2 cents.
MNC-I