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Old 02-21-2004, 08:39 PM   #1
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Question about tires

I have just purchased 2 Kumho ECSTA Supra 712....205/50ZR17 tires for the front of my car. The front tires were shot. The rear tires still have about 5000 K's left on them. The rear tires are Pirelli 255/40ZR17 Pzero's.

My question is....is it OK to run the Pirelli's on the rear with the Kumho's on the front until the rears need replacing at which time I will replace them with the matching Kumho's? Or, do I have to replace all 4 to have the same brands front and rear?

There are numerous reasons I went with the Kumhos instead of the Pirelli'$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$....Things are very expensive here in Canadaland, so the question isn't should I have stuck with Pirelli's, just can I have the two different ,manufacturers on the vehicle at the same time without causing any harm, or should I buy the rears at the same time. I have already bought the Kumho's for the front.

Thanks for your help.

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Old 02-22-2004, 02:24 AM   #2
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Kuhmos are cheap, get all four. I have run mixed sets, but it is not recommended really. Hope you like the Kuhmos, I have heard good and bad. You have a Porsche, a high performance sports car, don't skimp on tires. A few more bucks ain't gonna kill ya. I have SO3s on mine, very happy with those. Cost me about $600 balanced amd installed with tax here in Southern California. Well that was last year, some 17K ago. And these still have lots of good tread left, I can see them going 30K miles.

Well you already have the Kuhmos in front, so get all four this time. See how they work for you. You may have a good experience with them. What good is it though if cheap tires last you half of what a better tire will? You aren't saving anything but actually paying more in the end.
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Old 02-22-2004, 03:14 AM   #3
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Thanks for the info...I will buy all four the same.

Just to let you know up here in Canada where they tax us on our taxes and then tax us again just for good measure and then add a tire disposal levy on each tire and tax us on the levy....The price of the SO3's , cheapest price I could find after very extensive looking , and I mean extensive is $1358.00 and that is just for the tires and doesn't include the install and balance which is a further $240.00 bringing the price of the SO3's to $1598.00.

The price up here for the Kumhos is $650 all the compound taxes and tire levies included and then the install. Pirellis are even more expensive then the SO3's...here anyways. So here in Canada the SO3's are $700 dollars more for a set then the Kumhos.

So I fully understand what your saying, but the price of stuff up here is a real killer because of all the taxes we pay. And it doesn't help much to buy from our brothers to the south because our dollar is always so pitifully low compared to yours.

Hopefully I am happy with them....if not...your right ...it's a Porsche and I will end up changing them for a better tire and costing more in the long run. You probably get what you pay for.

Thank you for your reply though. I appreciate it.
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Old 02-22-2004, 04:28 AM   #4
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I have heard a lot of guys are running 225/45 tires up front . Is there some benefit to this?
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Old 02-22-2004, 06:03 AM   #5
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I am running 225's in the front. I tried 235, they fit nice but my steering was cut to about 70% so I went back to the 225's. Other then a wider stance for the tires I dont see a huge benefit with going big in the front. However I am running 275's in the back tires and definetly suggest going with a bigger wheel in the back. More rubber on the ground to keep you from spinning the tires. Oh and FYI I am running the Michelin Pilot Sports. Probably one of the best and most expensive tires for the Porsche.
280 US dolllars for each front tire and 305 US dollars for the rear wheels. But then you still need to pay more for putting them on.I gpot mine at www.tirerack.com you should see if they will deliver up there.
I have heard some good things about the Kumhos but have always heard at the same time they dont last a really long time. I figured it was worth paying 50-100 per wheel more for tires that will last twice as long.
My 2 cents...
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Old 02-22-2004, 07:46 AM   #6
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I have just replaced all my tyres. I have perilli pzero tyres all the way round. 205//17/zr N3 for the front and 255//17/zr N3 for the back. Porsche reccomened running the same tyres throughout as this is why i replaced my front tyres which were still ok. I replaced them whole tyres with the same treads going the same way. It cost me £740 thats around $1320 and this was cheap as i know the guy who works there. but at the end of the day its the only thing between the car and the almighty. Quite expensive but it runs fantastic, sitting at around 130 mph is like an air pocket, its great.








remember the better the tyre the better drive you will have and less road noise. cheap tyres and your asking for trouble.

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Old 02-22-2004, 09:04 AM   #7
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Thanks guys

OK....so thats 225/45 17's on the front and 275 whats on the rear? I think I may give this a try. These will fit no problem on the 17 inch rims....no clearance problems or anything like that....right?
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Old 02-22-2004, 11:30 AM   #8
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If you're interested, I'm selling my 18" Turbo Twist wheels with 225/40/18 fronts and 265/35/18 rears mounted and balanced. Wheels are mint and tires are about 70% and the whole package can go for cheap. Email me if you're interested at donteventryme@aol.com.
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Old 02-22-2004, 12:51 PM   #9
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I have 205/50/17 zr N3 on front and 255/40/17 zr N3 on back. You really wanna try and get these not only does it make the boxster look huge! but they feel awsome to drive on.

Remember also its all about balance and these sizes balance the boxster just fine. I have been the highest speed of about 143 mph and it was like sitting at 60 mph. I havent been any faster than 143 as that was fast enough


o yes and no spacers needed.. direct swaps

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Old 02-22-2004, 03:31 PM   #10
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Last question for jfmillr and then I'll leave it alone. Will the 275 rears fit on the standard Boxster with no problems as is? No spacers...no nuthin just put them on the 17 inch rims and away I go? And they are 275/?.....whats

Thanks for your help
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Old 02-22-2004, 05:02 PM   #11
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I use the 18" rims like Stryke is selling. I have the 225's in front and 275s in back. No rubbing or anything. Runs well and gives a nice profile look.
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Old 02-24-2004, 08:55 AM   #12
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Jfmillr, are you running 9 inch rims in the back for the 275 Michelins?

I've heard those tires need to be warmed up more so than most for maximum grip. Do you find that to be true? How are they in the wet?
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Old 02-24-2004, 06:15 PM   #13
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Thats silly^. Why would they have to be warmed up more than a 255 or 265 series tire? Who gave you that info?
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Old 02-24-2004, 07:11 PM   #14
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Hey atomichead,
Actually my rims are 18x8.5 with 225/40 in the front and 18x10 with 275/35 in the rear. i would say that your information might be wrong. I have not found they need any additional time to warm up compared to the 265's I was running prior.
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Old 02-25-2004, 04:19 AM   #15
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Adam, it would be silly if I was trying to compare 275 tires to 265s, or whatever. But my question concerned Michelin Pilot Sport tires versus different manufacturers.

I have read in different trade magazines about a longer than average warmup time when using these tires and I wanted to ask someone with first-hand experience.

You know now that I think of it, all things being equal, it probably does take more time to warm up a larger tire relative to a smaller one.
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Old 02-25-2004, 04:42 AM   #16
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Well that all could be true since th Pilot Sports last longer then most of the performance tires for the 986. So if it last longer it must not heat up as quick. That would be my guess. Even thought I haven't seen that they warm up any slower then the Continentals the car came with. I will say however the tires handle great!

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