986 tire replacement

[hillguy]

I recently purchased a 2002 Boxster S. The front tires have aged out and the rears are getting close to replacement. The fronts and rears are currently Michelin ps2 which are no longer available. They are recommending the Michelin pilot sport as4 all season. The other choice is the CONTINENTAL EXTREME CONTACT SPORT 02. I will be storing the car from Nov-March and live in southern NE.
No track or racing, just aggressive turns at times. Greatly appreciate any advice or other options.

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by hillguy

I recently purchased a 2002 Boxster S. The front tires have aged out and the rears are getting close to replacement. The fronts and rears are currently Michelin ps2 which are no longer available. They are recommending the Michelin pilot sport as4 all season. The other choice is the CONTINENTAL EXTREME CONTACT SPORT 02. I will be storing the car from Nov-March and live in southern NE.
No track or racing, just aggressive turns at times. Greatly appreciate any advice or other options.

I opted for a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus all-season tires. Love 'em. They're surefooted on wet surfaces, of which Oregon supplies plenty. The Sport 02 series is billed as a "summer ultra-high performance tire" for "both the street and track," which might work well for your needs, since you store the car during the winter.

[hillguy]

Wound up going with the continental extreme contact 2
Contacted several dealers who carried Michelins, could not get the PS2 205/50/zr17, and they said they advised they were discontinued. Contacted Michelin by email and they responded that they were not available.
Contacted Michelin by chat and they said they would be in production date TBD.
Note the ps2 255/40/zr17 (rears) were in stock but I needed fronts. My rear had maybe 3-5 k miles left on them.
Breaking in the continentals now, they seem really sticky and will work well.
I acknowledge that based on research that the Michelin pilot all sport would perform reasonably well.
hope this helps
Mark

[S50Sinner]

I'm quite happy with my Dunlop Direzza ZIII's. I have 17" rims, and run 225/45R17 up front and 255/40r17 out back. The extra 10mm over OEM at the front axle helps with understeer. I'd recommend these mostly if this is a fair-weather weekend car, as tire life will be plenty in that case.

These tires hold up well to hard use, they won't turn into a crayon when hot or pull a one-wheel-peel at launch, so you won't shred them when you flog the car. Should last about 10-15k hot and fast miles.

I commute with mine and have never found them too loud or harsh. I can definitely hear them with the top down, but there's not much that you can't hear in a Boxster. Going over tar snakes at 45 mph sounds like walking on a sticky movie theatre floor. It's kind of cool in a "wow, they even sound sticky" way, but definitely not for everyone. Doesn't bother my wife, though. YMMV with 18" wheels in terms of harshness.

These are handling-centered cars and aggressive rubber makes them absolutely surreal. Steering feedback and precision go up to the next level along with grip. I even get body roll with these tires, it feels like an overgrown Miata in a wonderful way.

They're great in the dry, but just acceptable in the wet. I'd say that when it rains, it feels about like a really wide economy tire.

The nice thing about the Direzzas over most 200TW's is that you don't need to warm them up to get the most out of them, so while they're not ideal for long track sessions as they don't get grippier with heat like their competitors, they're great for the road because you don't get caught out by cold tires when you come up on a nice corner. You don't get a warm-up lap when a moose steps onto the road.

To roughly quantify it, other extreme performance tires are a 7/10 cold and 10/10 hot, while the Direzza is a 9/10 all the time.

That said, if you're more concerned about longevity, wet performance or tire noise, I'd skip the Dunlops, and extreme performance tires as a whole.


edit: I should've read the whole thread first, just saw that you already got tires.

[bcrdukes]

This page might be of interest to folks looking for new track or performance tires (note the emphasis. Some can be used for daily driving, I suppose.)
Grassroots Motorsports ultimate track tire guide

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by hillguy

Wound up going with the continental extreme contact 2

Good choice. Conti is always chasing Mich and tries to make a tire as good as Mich for a cheaper price. Trouble is, Mich keeps rasing the bar and is a moving target. But the consumer wins regardless.

Originally Posted by hillguy

and live in southern NE.

Next June you should come to Hastings and check out our club race. Plenty of cool race and street cars. And we do parade laps at noon so you can safely drive your car for 5 laps on the track. Only costs $10 that is donated to our charity cause (it changes from yr to yr). We do parade laps on Fri and Sat. Next yr's event will be June 20-22 at MPH in Hastings.