2002 Boxster S need new tires
 

I am buying tires and was going to buy the Kuomos but the Tirerack recommends the Bridgestone Potensa RE050A Pole Position or the Michelin Pilots. They say I would be disappointed in the handling of the Kuomos. I would appreciate any input. I am mostly a strret driver and go to the track once per year with the Porsche club.

Tire Rack are the experts... trust their guidance.

I put the Bridgestones on my car two weeks ago. Love 'em. They replaced Michelin Pilot Sports, which were also excellent.

I had Kuhmos (the ECSTA 712) on my old 911 a few years ago... they were mediocre. Good for their very low price, but a big step down from the Michelins they replaced.

Buy the Kuhmos only if you want to be cheap. By the Bridgestones if you want the best value. Buy the Michelins if you want the best. Simple as that.

I have the Bridgestones on my daily driver. They did really well on the twisties and are quiet on the highway, so that meets both your requirements. Seems to be a good value for the price. The wear rating is on the lower side but mine only have 1000 miles so I can't comment on that.

It comes down to the fatness of your wallet. If you're broke, buy the Kumho MX's or better yet, the Sumitomo HRTZ II's.

However, if you have the cash, get the Bridgestones or the Michelins. I have had Kumhos on my car and they had poor traction when wet, and HORRIBLE traction when it was 50 degrees or lower outside. If it was 50 or below and wet or misty, I was forced to leave the car in the garage.

The Sumitomos are excellent in wet weather, but I didn't have them on long enough to experience them in cooler weather.

I'm riding on Michelins now. Amazing tires. Excellent in the wet and from what I hear, good in cool weather too.

Of course, all of these tires are ultra high performance SUMMER tires so one must expect them to be lower in performance when it's not fall, winter or spring outside and the lower temps reflect it.

Bridgestone RE050 is OE on my GTI - excellent tire, as is the Michelin PS2 on my Boxster, though I gather they're expensive...

I'd have to agree on the Kuhmos, not a bad tire on a budget, but the really don't match up well with the Bridgestone's or the Michelin's........you might be disappointed. Another high end tire you might check into is the Yokohama ADVAN series tires. Cost is up there with the high end stuff, but I've found them to be pretty excellent tire. I think Tirerack has them pretty highly rated.

If you're looking for a value tire, but want to sacrifice as little performance as possible, check out the Yokohama s.drive

Tires are the ONLY component of your car to actually touch the road. Your car when new cost over $50K. Tires alone were likely $800-1200 to replace. Yes, it could cost more, but do yourself a favor and get a brand/tire model for their performance and not price. If you drove your car on "bad" new tires and then drove it on "good" new tires, you would never go back.

Kumhos or Sumitomos = $400 a set
Michelins = $1200 a set

Having driven on both, I feel the Michelins are easily worth 3x the cost in safety and to a somewhat lesser extent, performance.

Get the Bridgestone RE-01's. They're the best tire street legal high performance tire I've driven.

Put me down for a vote for Goodyear F1's as a happy medium between the PS2's and the Kuhmo's.
:cheers:

Toyo T1R... price, performance, and quality... should at least be a possibility. I love mine... great street tires.