Michelin Pilot Sport for 05 Boxster S - need opinions

Originally Posted by greg9ball

Fortunately, I do have the Pilot Sport PS2 tires on them,

Are you sure? PS2's were not put, as OEM, on the 2005 MY. Not until about the 2007 MY. Most of the 19" tires in 2005 and 2006 were Pilot Sports. And a few Conti's.

If you do have PS2's, then that's at lest the second set of rear tires. How many miles are on the car?

[edevlin]

5-7K is normal for me with PS2's on the rear. Alingment is fine, tread wear pattern is fine. I dont autocross the car, but do often drive it the way it was meant to be driven. I am on my thrid set of rear PS2's with probably 1-2K left on them, the fronts still look fine. I suspect I could get four sets of rears to one set of fronts, but next time the rears go, I will replace all four.

Ed

:dance:

[Jaxonalden]

I've got PS2's with about 1/4 life gone and the wear is fairly even. A little more on the inside of course. I actually was thinking of having the rear tires swapped for more even wear.

I was on TireRack.com and found a set of Sumitomo HTR Z II's. PS2's are $217/$303 and Sumitomo's $97/$141, with a $564 delta. You can get a two for one deal at that price. That's a savings I can live with.

[kabel]

Originally Posted by Jaxonalden

I was on TireRack.com and found a set of Sumitomo HTR Z II's. PS2's are $217/$303 and Sumitomo's $97/$141, with a $564 delta. You can get a two for one deal at that price. That's a savings I can live with.

true, but do they stick like a PS2. Me, I am addicted to the PS2's for sure.

[Jaxonalden]

A little correction to my post; I don't have PS2's, I have the Pilot Sports, duh. I did some more research and compared the Fuzion ZRi, Kumho Ecsta SPT and the Yokohama S Drive and they basically have all the same test results. The S Drives are about $100 more a set.

I guess the real question is what your going to do with the car. Track it, go sticky which means $$$ and frequent replacements. Joy rides with a few bursts up to a buck thirty plus, I think the tires above would be fine and you can pocket a few dollars.

[944boy]

I just bought a set of Sumi HTR ZIII's in 18". I am waiting for the wheels (will post pics when Its all set and mounted). On Tirerack they tested out just a shade above Brigestone RE050A's and Conti 3's. I'm not expecting them to be the grippiest tire in the world, that's what I have a race car for. But at $109 for a 235/40/18 and $165 for 265/40/18 they are quite reasonable. In person they look very Pirelli like and have good attention to detail.

I only expect 12-15K miles out of a set of performance tires on a sports car. If I got 20K out of these tires I would be very happy. That being said, the point in which you replace a tire can greatly effect the "life" that you get out of a tire. I have a habit of cording tires before I bother to replace them, I guess it comes from driving in an area that rarely gets rain.

[edevlin]

"true, but do they stick like a PS2. Me, I am addicted to the PS2's for sure."

Sad but true because of the cost, I think I am addicted to the PS2's as well. I ended up getting a second set of Carrera lightweight wheels and put on a set of inexpensive Nexen 3000 tires, man those were inexpensive.

I got the second set of wheels both for the all-weather performance of the Nexen, but also to see if I could wean myself off the expensive PS2's, especially after hearing good reports from others on the fourm with the Nexens.

For me, the Nexen's are OK, but feel heavier, provide less road feel, are less responsive and definately less sticky. Still, for our household, the Nexen's are the tires for these economic times. I sure like my PS2's, but they seem to melt away before my eyes.

Ed