Tire Recommendation? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

ssitek · 05-05-2010, 09:09 AM

I'm a newb and I need a tire recommendation. I basically inherited a '97 boxster with about 32k miles. Lots of fun to drive.

Dealer quoted $1,200 for a set of Michelin PS2 Sports or something like that...

I'd like to spend under $1,000.

Any help?

Thanks,
Steve

P.S. - still looking for a mechanic in Minneapolis/St. Paul area, other than the 2 dealers in town....

Lucky · 05-05-2010, 09:23 AM

A week ago, I replaced Bridgestone RE050A Pole Positions (great tire) with Sumitomo HTR Z III's. So far I'm very impressed by the Sumi's. Smooth, quiet, ride well, great turn in response, very good grip. Not too impressed by braking... that is their one weak point.

Very affordable compared to other 3-season perf tires.

Topless · 05-05-2010, 09:26 AM

Lots of choices in that price range. Will you ever drive it in snow or below 40F. How important is tread wear, dry grip, road noise, wet traction?

ssitek · 05-05-2010, 10:11 AM

Thanks Topless. I won't drive in snow or below 40F, unless its by accident. Probably the most important factors are noise and dry grip. I'm basically driving it on the weekends with the wife for fun and to and from work a couple days a week on some cool windy roads by our house.

Topless · 05-05-2010, 10:32 AM

The Sumi HTRZ III would be a good choice then...Near Michelin PS2 grip and road manners for about $500-600 a set mounted in SoCal. The Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec will give you more grip and a bit more road noise and are very good in the wet but more $$.

Here is a very useful link for tire comparisons: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=93

Enjoy!

ssitek · 05-06-2010, 08:13 AM

So, i went on Tire Rack to check on ordering some Sumis. I got this message when i was checking prices:

The following tire you have selected has a higher load rating than the vehicle's Original Equipment (O.E.) tires. This typically results in increased ride harshness, which some customers may find undesirable.

WTF? Either of you guys experienced "increased ride harshness"?

Steve

Topless · 05-06-2010, 02:50 PM

Negative on the harsh ride. I am running off a set of Sumis on my street wheels and I think the ride quality is as good or better than the PS2s I had before. Tirerack's own test results agreed (see link above). Remember though that all tires are a tradeoff and there are no perfect tires. A tire that one driver really likes may be all wrong for another driver in the same car. Choose wisely.