Tire recommendations for 2004 Boxster S

[wroot]

The car I bought came with mis-matched lower end tires; Falkens on the front and Rikens on the back. I would like to replace them with a set of quality performance tires.

My car has the tiptronic transmission. (If I want to shift, I can drive my Lotus V8 Esprit). I do not track the car or drive it particularly hard, although I do enjoy having fun with the excellent handling of the Boxster on country roads.

The local Porsche dealer has recommended Conti Extreme Contacts, Michelin Pilot Sport 2 or Bridgestones. I would be interested in what experience others on the forum may have had with these brands, or other brands they liked. I don't mind spending the money for the mroe expensive tires, but don't want to throw money away on tires that are more suited for the track than the kind of driving I do.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[wroot]

One additional comment: my tire dealer has encouraged me to look at the new BFGoodrich g-force Sport Comp 2. Normally I wouldn't consider BFG for a sports car, but the federal wear, grip, temp and speed ratings are equal to the best brands. The reviews on Tire Rack are also very strong, although admittedly there aren't very many of them. Does anyone have experience with this tire? Again, Thanks.

[stephen wilson]

There are several threads on the subject to search thru, but here's my 2 cents. It depends on what is most important to you: price, performance on the street, tread wear, being competitive at an autocross, or if you will be driving in the rain. I chose Michelin Pilot Super Sports, since I do drive in the rain. They are better than the Michelin PS2's in every way, dry, wet, tread wear, and price.

[wroot]

Thanks, Steve. I couldn't find much on this topic in the forum search, mostly just tires for sale. I am new to the forum, though, so perhaps I just didn't do the search properly.

[ekam]

I'm using Dunlop Z1 Star Spec... same class of tire as Michelin PS2 but at about half price.

Another great alternative is Bridgestone RE11.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=118

[LAP1DOUG]

If you want warm weather use only street tires, it's commonly accepted that the best performance comes from: Kuhmo RS-3, Yoko AD08, Dunlop Star Spec, and Bridgestone RE-11.

None of these tires like temperatures less than about 60 F, and can be quite slippery at temperatures under 40 F. Some of these tires also make a fair amount of noise, so there are compromises to be made.

The Michelin PS2 is sold as a Summer tire, but in my experience it works better than the others at lower temperatures, but you will be giving up some performance at higher temperatures.

If you are not competing in any timed events, and don't do track days, the PS2 is probably all you need.

[fivepointnine]

Hankook V12's or RS3's both get great reviews and are probably the cheapest decent tire you will find! If you are not tracking your car you wont notice the difference between these and PS2, etc except in your wallet!!!!!!!

[ohhh my]

I just went through the same thing. If you want the best of the best and don't mind spending money, get the michelin super sport.

If you want extremely good quality tires for everyday driving then get the hankook v12. You are not going to be able to push these tires to it's limit on regular streets, they are very quiet, wear well and performance is very good.

[Dave928]

i'm getting the Dunlop Z1's installed this weekend. if i don't like them when they're done then i'll try the RE11's.
one of the guys at my local Discount Tire rally races a supercharged Miata. for street use, he says these are the top tires (he prefers the Dunlops).
the RE11's are about $50 ea more than the Dunlops.

i have one ~200° turn that i take every day and my RE760's just never felt right being pushed that hard.

[Ghostrider 310]

I'm running the factory Bridgestones, this is my first experience with this brand and they are incredibly smooth and seem to have good grip. I'm exploring the car carefully so I have yet to push it in a corner as hard as I pushed my 986 running on Michelin pilots. Compared to the Michelin tires they seem very nice and offer a savings upon replacement. However, in cleaning my wheels I noticed one front took some amount of weight to balance. To me that is where Michelin shines, they usually are delivered very round and typically require small weight additions. Lastly, my tires have nitrogen in them and I have read on here that said technology is just a gimmick. All I can say is so far the tires have not budged one bit on retained PSI, I don't know what to make of that or whether my experience with the tires is impacted by the fill.

[wroot]

Thanks for all the great advice. The car will be driven primarily in Florida. We may take it north for a vacation trip, but never in snow or ice.

[Jaxonalden]

You might want to read this very informative article from Popular Mechanic's;

http://www.popular mechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair-questions/4302788

[thstone]

Hankook RS-3 or Kumho Ectsa XS give the most grip. When I am too lazy to put on the r-comp track wheels/tires, I use my street wheels with RS-3's for track days and only give up a few seconds a lap as compared to the r-comps.

[wroot]

Thanks again to everyone who responded. I guess I will go the safe route and buy the Porsche-recommended Michelin P2's. I would go to the new Super Sport, but they don't make it in the correct size for my 17" wheels.

[Topless]

Here is a good comparison test of the various tires mentioned:
Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 - Comparison Tests

[onefastman]

For your use I would say:

Value for a performance oriented daily driver: Hancook V12's, cheap, middle rating for performance.

star specs, rs-3s, or the like wear quickly, are loud, bad in weather relative to the v12's and terrible at lower temps. They are good tires but more than you need.

[kyleturner2020]

I just installed Nitto Nt05's yesterday. Not much testing done on them yet.

The car came with Nankang Chinese BullS---. I replaced the rears after 5500 miles with Dunlop Star Specs. Those also lasted about 5500 miles. This is from slightly spirited street driving, no burnouts no track time. This time I replaced all 4 and am excited to get them out on the road.

They definitely look bad ass...

[Topless]

Originally Posted by kyleturner2020

I just installed Nitto Nt05's yesterday. Not much testing done on them yet.

The car came with Nankang Chinese BullS---. I replaced the rears after 5500 miles with Dunlop Star Specs. Those also lasted about 5500 miles. This is from slightly spirited street driving, no burnouts no track time. This time I replaced all 4 and am excited to get them out on the road.

They definitely look bad ass...

Prepare yourself for a shock. I have a set of NT-05 on the rear. The are melting away like butter and are nearly gone in 3k street miles. Grip is very respectable though.

[kyleturner2020]

Originally Posted by Topless

Prepare yourself for a shock. I have a set of NT-05 on the rear. The are melting away like butter and are nearly gone in 3k street miles. Grip is very respectable though.

Not what I want to hear!! but somewhat was expecting...