N rated? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

BIGJake111 · 07-11-2016, 01:22 PM

I had a blowout on one of my pirellis likely due to lowish tread, heat, and I think a puncture from fireworks in the road Saturday. Anyways the car needed new rear tires soon anyways and the fronts are somewhat low and I was looking to switch to a different better value for money brand anyways.

Anyways I really like Michelin pilot super sports and my whole family loves by the Michelin brand heck we have the latest all seasons on our dirt cheap Sienna extra car. The issue is that the pilot super sports are not N rated while the PS2 are. The super sports are a newer better performing and cheaper tire, the only benefit for the ps2 is its N rated.

To what extent does an N rating matter for a Porsche?

911monty · 07-11-2016, 01:29 PM

Jake; I have the Michelin SS on my car. Car originally had 16" BFGs. The 18" Super Sports feel better in every way. I attached a previous thread that got testy with some info. I can't believe there is any significant difference between the N or non N version of the same tire.

http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/61969-n-marked-not.html

BIGJake111 · 07-11-2016, 01:39 PM

Thanks for the link. I'm sure the N ps2s are great tires but I don't know that I can justify paying more for an out of date design. I wonder why Porsche hasn't N rated the super sports yet they're usually hand in hand with Michelin.

Porsche9 · 07-11-2016, 01:50 PM

Jake - your a student and by definition on a budget. With that in mind there are plenty of quality tires at reasonable prices. I can recommend Sumitomo HTR Z II as decent summer tires. Sumitomo HTR Z III are also good but are a little stickier with still a decent UTQG of 300. Neither will break the bank and offer 90% of the best tires, which in some cases cost double, and are likely to be better then what the car had from the factory. Tire tech has advanced quit a bit since these cars were in production.

911monty · 07-11-2016, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

Thanks for the link. I'm sure the N ps2s are great tires but I don't know that I can justify paying more for an out of date design. I wonder why Porsche hasn't N rated the super sports yet they're usually hand in hand with Michelin.

I imagine it's because they don't want to go through the certification process for an out of date....car.

Dr. Acula · 07-11-2016, 03:53 PM

You can get N rated Super Sports...

But only in 19 and 20 inch sizes.

Time to upgrade wheels? (just kidding)

JayG · 07-11-2016, 03:59 PM

Don't worry about N rating. There are a bunch of threads about it
In any case, its not something to be concerned about

The PSS is a better tire than the PS2

As Porsche9 said, sumi makes a really good tire for low $$. HTR ZIII is a better performing tire than the HTR ZII. I had the HTR ZIII's for a while and had I not tracked them hard, I would still have them as my DD tires. I now have PSS for my DD tires, but bear in mind, I got them for free. Had I been paying, I would have gone with HTR ZIII for my DD wheels

I have a set of wheels/tires I use for AX and track and those are RE-71's

BIGJake111 · 07-11-2016, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 911monty

I imagine it's because they don't want to go through the certification process for an out of date....car.

It's the latest Michelin tire and isn't N rated for the newest Porsche's. when researching I found a lot of rennlist guys asking the same question about their 981s, gt4s, 911s and etc. if you want N rated you can't get a super sport which is odd.

BIGJake111 · 07-11-2016, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayG

Don't worry about N rating. There are a bunch of threads about it
In any case, its not something to be concerned about

The PSS is a better tire than the PS2

As Porsche9 said, sumi makes a really good tire for low $$. HTR ZIII is a better performing tire than the HTR ZII. I had the HTR ZIII's for a while and had I not tracked them hard, I would still have them as my DD tires. I now have PSS for my DD tires, but bear in mind, I got them for free. Had I been paying, I would have gone with HTR ZIII for my DD wheels

I have a set of wheels/tires I use for AX and track and those are RE-71's

Sounds good but Michelin has a good rebate going right now and we arnt paying full retail. I've read reviews for cheaper options and there seem to be good value options out there, however it's hard to say no to a Michelin in Greenville SC.

thstone · 07-11-2016, 06:40 PM

Ignore the N rating. Worthless.

JayG · 07-11-2016, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

Sounds good but Michelin has a good rebate going right now and we arnt paying full retail. I've read reviews for cheaper options and there seem to be good value options out there, however it's hard to say no to a Michelin in Greenville SC.

unless Michelin is doing a 50% rebate the Sumi's are still a lot less and will probably last longer