Street Tire / Mild Spirited Driver

[CJ_Boxster]

I need a tire recomendation for a street tire that has low vibration, good tread life like a Dunlop Direzza DZ101 but without all the noise complaints.

Im looking into P-Zero Rosso's but i dont know anything about there tread wear...how long many miles before they need to be replaced if i drive easy on them?

Usually the draw-back you hear about Pirelli tires is their short tread life. They are good tires, not cheap, sticky, get louder with age, and wear quickly.

Ohh, one more plus about Pirelli....the calendar!!!:

http://www.pirellical.com/thecal/home.html

[CJ_Boxster]

I was affraid of that, Any one have experience with the Dunlop Direzza DZ101?

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Ohh, one more plus about Pirelli....the calendar!!!:

http://www.pirellical.com/thecal/home.html

wtf,they can show that on a tire web site

Originally Posted by blkboxster

wtf,they can show that on a tire web site

Yes, they are Europeans. Not like us hung-up Americans about nudity!

Sex sells and nudity sells tires.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster

I was affraid of that, Any one have experience with the Dunlop Direzza DZ101?

Hi,

I've used several sets of Dunlops and Pirellis. They share alot of the same traits. One is that their wear is not usually linear. At 10k mi. they look hardly worn, but by 15k mi. they're down to the wear bars. I personally like them both, but they're spendy.

Any tire you pick is going to be a compromise. Grip vs Wear, Wet vs Dry, Grip vs Noise, Price vs Grip, Tread Pattern vs Price, etc.

Lots of the tire recommendations you get are going to be from people using that same tire, so they may be a little biased, or have little to compare it to. Even with their last set, their impressions are usually of the tires after they have worn - those are the freshest impressions in their minds, not when they were new. So they get a new set, and "WOW... what a difference, these new tires are MUCH better than my old ones" - little wonder.

Unless you're going to be Beating the Snot out of the car on a regular basis, one way to lessen the pain is to go with a lower speed rating. These ratings indicate a Tire's ability to shed Heat at a sustained speed and have nothing to do with Grip at all.

Admittedly, there is a lot of Machismo wrapped up in Tires, everyone wants the Z-rated, like going with a different rating might be seen as 'Girlie'. But I suspect 50% of the Z-rated Tires out there never see 130MPH in their entire lifetime. And, of those that do, I bet 75% are for short stints, not sustained driving at that speed. So, they're really a waste of money as far as function is concerned.

On the Boxster, there is NO reason for a Z-Rated Tire because these are rated for sustained speeds over 186MPH, much higher than any Boxster is ever gonna go. To use a Z rated Tire is just wasting money. They don't grip any better than the same tire rated 'V', 'H' or 'U'. A 'U' rated Tire is for sustained speeds over 124MPH, 'H' Rated to 130MPH, and 'V' Rated to +130MPH.

If you're using the Car for mostly street, and some spirited driving, an 'H' or 'V' rated tire will save you considerable $$. For a pure street Car, even an M+S Tire will give good performance and treadwear and save $$.

Tires are expensive no matter which way you go: They're all consumables, so you need to decide which compromise is best for you and then find the Tire that best meets this criteria. You don't start out by asking about a specific Tire, you begin by deciding what you want from it, how much you can spend, and go from there...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Originally Posted by bmussatti

Yes, they are Europeans. Not like us hung-up Americans about nudity!

Sex sells and nudity sells tires.

yep,thats true

[edevlin]

Jim makes an interesting point that I had not considered about the Z-rating of the tires. Most of my "spirited" driving is at speeds below 100 mph. I have only used three tires on my 2000 2.7L Boxster, Pirellis, Michellins and Falkens. Of those, I really liked the Z-rated Michellins. Is there a cheaper Michellin that handles like the Z-rated Michellin P/S at lower speeds?

Ed




"I've used several sets of Dunlops and Pirellis. They share alot of the same traits. One is that their wear is not usually linear. At 10k mi. they look hardly worn, but by 15k mi. they're down to the wear bars. I persoanlly like them both, but they're spendy.

Any tire you pick is going to be a compromise. Grip vs Wear, Wet vs Dry, Grip vs Noise, Price vs Grip, Tread Pattern vs Price, etc.

Lots of the tire recommendations you get are going to be from people using that same tire, so they may be a little biased, or have little to compare it to. Even with their last set, their impressions are usually of the tires after they have worn - those are the freshest impressions in their minds, not when they were new. So they get a new set, and "WOW... what a difference, these new tires are MUCH better than my old ones" - little wonder.

Unless you're going to be Beating the Snot out of the car on a regular basis, one way to lessen the pain is to go with a lower speed rating. These ratings indicate a Tire's ability to shed Heat at a sustained speed and have nothing to do with Grip at all.

Admittedly, there is a lot of Machismo wrapped up in Tires, everyone wants the Z-rated, like going with a different rating might be seen as 'Girlie'. But I suspect 50% of the Z-rated Tires out there never see 130MPH in their entire lifetime. And, of those that do, I bet 75% are for short stints, not sustained driving at that speed. So, they're really a waste of money as far as function is concerned.

On the Boxster, there is NO reason for a Z-Rated Tire because these are rated for sustained speeds over 186MPH, much higher than any Boxster is gonna go. To use a Z rated Tire is just wasting money. They don't grip any better than the same tire rated 'V', 'H' or 'U'. A 'U' rated Tire is for sustained speeds over 124MPH, 'H' Rated to 130MPH, and 'V' Rated to +130MPH.

If you're using the Car for mostly street and some spirited driving an 'H' or 'V' rated tire will save you considerable $$. For a pure street Car, even an M+S Tire will give good performance and treadwear and save $$.

Tires are expensive no matter which way you go, and they're all consumables, so you need to decide which compromise is best for you and then find the Tire that best meets this criteria. You don't start out by asking about a specific Tire, you begin by deciding what you want from it, how much you can spend, and go from there..."

[binaryc]

I have Bridgestone Potenza Pole positions on my Boxster and really like them. They are quiet, fairly, good in water, and have a decent tread life. Mine is the RE050A model, which replaced the S-03 (which replaced S-02). They got great reviews on tirerack:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE050A+Pole+Position

Originally Posted by binaryc

I have Bridgestone Potenza Pole positions on my Boxster and really like them. They are quiet, fairly, good in water, and have a decent tread life. Mine is the RE050A model, which replaced the S-03 (which replaced S-02). They got great reviews on tirerack:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE050A+Pole+Position

They are putting these tires on the new 997's

[Billb]

From an insurance point of view, I would be cautious using a tyre with a speed rating below the Porsche OE spec rating. In the UK (at least) the insurance companies will argue that you have altered the car from the manufaturers spec and will not honour any claim.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by Billb

From an insurance point of view, I would be cautious using a tyre with a speed rating below the Porsche OE spec rating. In the UK (at least) the insurance companies will argue that you have altered the car from the manufaturers spec and will not honour any claim.

Hi,

That's probably a little extreme. I doubt this would happen with a name brand 'H' or 'V' rated Tire. The same could be said for using non 'N' rated Tires, non-OEM Wheels and Brakes, Intake Mods, De-snorkeling, and on and on.

If the insurance company is going to deny the claim, they'll do so and force you to litigate it for any number of reasons.

There are a number of owners using non-performance or non-spec tires with no reported ill effects...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[sticks77]

very informative site, thanks all. Thanks edevlin for your post on tires, great info for a newbie.

120 mph is about my max, but I drive like that on a daily basis. My car has Continental 245/45 R17 91W for the rears. back left is very bald. will replace both rears.

My car doesn't have many miles, so I'm a little dissapointed at the wear of these tires. any recomendation on a good priced rear tire that will exceed my driving is appreciated.

I have been searching through this site to find the best info I can.

Thanks!

Sticks77