recommendations for longer lasting rear tires
 

All: would appreciate any recommendations for tire brands for my rear size 17 wheels on my 2002 Boxster S--have tried Michelin Pilots and currently have Kumhos. I would like to get more than 25K from the rear tires. I don't AX or DE my tires. Many thanks for any ideas. Cabjose.

I think the only way you're going to get 25,000 on the rear tires is to let them ride in the trunk for about 10,000 miles. I got 17,000 on my Bridgestones and was very happy. I just put on a pair of Pilot Sport Plus on the rear, and I expect about the same mileage, and I'm a very conservative driver.

Kumho 's , espically Excta SPT's, are one of the longest lasting tires. Not being able to rotate tires and the rear alignment settings contribute to low mileage for the tires. If you want to play you have to pay. No pay means driving a Yugo. Happy new Years , Ed

If you get 25k from Michelins
 

you are doing better than 98% of Boxster owners. I have about 15k on my Michelin Ribs and could get another 4k before they are down to the wear strips but they were made in 02/02 so next year I'll change them just for age reasons.

Feel the old tire tread. Did it wear evenly? Did the noise from the tire become more cyclical as it wore? You can get better mileage from a mileage-friendly alignment but you are already doing better than most of us so you may already have one. That and your driving style help you get mileage.

Buy a front-wheel drive car. If you drive a performance car, your tires will not last that long. It's just the way it is.

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Actually front wheel drive cars mow throught the front tires roughly twice as fast as the rear tire. Deive it hard and it's more like 3 to 1.

Regards, PK

With a front wheel drive car you're more likely to be able to do tire rotation from front to back, therefore not a concern.

just hit 56,000 miles on the original Michelin PS One's lol
can you say, "I need new tires" ?

For maximum mileage go all season. They have a higher wear rating and last longer. I only get 4-5k on a set of street rears but most of my driving is "spirited" with few hwy miles.

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THis is true.

The bottom line to me on this whole subject is this. A soft gumy tire is going to stick better. It aolso going to leave ruber all over the street or track, because it's softer. The grippiest tires in general, have horrible tread life. A rock hard tire will work great in the snow and rainnn but won't exactly be turning stellar track times. That rockhard compound wil make them last.

PK

A rock hard tire will be horrible in the snow and rain. It would be like trying to walk on snow with plastic soled shoes. No traction at all. Softer compounds with plenty of siping for snow and ice.

Harder / softer. I just know that my Summer tires don't like temps into the 40's. Which means my next set will most likely be All Seasons. Not really fond of a tires that don't like cold mornings. What good is Performance if it only happens at sunny and 70.

You need new tires! ;)

There is no perfect tire, choosing a tire always involves a compromise unless you do not care.

One attribute of sports cars you do not usually hear about but rather find out for yourself, is the accelerated tire wear. Generally due to the nature of the car and the fact that most performance cars come from the factory with and recommend softer compound tires.

Reminds me of my friend who saw a woman at the gas pump putting 87 octane in her BMW 330 ... he went up to her and ask (in a nice way) does she have any idea what she's doing, and I think her response is "gas is gas" or something stupid along that line.

Hitting 56k with a set of tires is nothing to brag about unless they're on a Prius. I'd imagine they'd be extremely bald way pass the warning bars. You'll be a real treehugger when you drive by a sand/oil/wet patch on the road.

If you want long tire life get harder tires. A nice cheap all-season passenger tire should do it for you. Of course the handling performance will stink so why bother?

Other than ruining the performance with a crummy tire, you can try two other things:

1) Get an alignment - 0 degress front camber, 0 degrees front toe, as little camber as you can get in the rear (it will be a negative number - get it close to 0), 0 degrees rear toe

2) DRive like a granny. Accelerate slowly out of turns. Turn in slowly and gradually. No full throttle.

Basically, if you want to save money on tires you bought the wrong car.

I would like to brag if its ok. ;)
I got 95k miles out of a set of Michelin MXV4 tires on my VW Beetle

I have found Michelin's give me the best mileage and yes even on my Corvette (56k +) they lasted longer than any other brand.

To clarify, I usually drive with the traffic and rarely go over the speed limit.

Once and a while I boot it up but not often.

If you want the best possible idea, then here's my suggestion:

Buy another set of 17" front wheels, and place them on the rear of the car (Yes, it will work just fine). Then install 225/45-17 tires on all 4 wheels, using a tire that has an asymmetrical tread pattern. This will allow you to rotate the tires front to rear, and side to side anytime you want.

Using the same size wheels and tires all around won't compromise the driving performance, because you don't use any of it, and you will no longer have any issues with the rear tires wearing out as fast.

Congrats, now you can drive the way that you want.

BC.

That may be, but he didn't ask about making front tires last longer. Just rear tires. In a front wheel drive, the rears will last much longer. :p

Agreed but be aware of oversteer, especially if you put the same pressure in all 4.

I'm sure for someone looking to get 50k+ on their tires, they're not turning at anything over 15mph. :cheers:

As others have said, rapid rear tire wear is a fact of life with rear-drive mid-engined and rear-engined sports cars. That said, there are things you can do to minimize tire wear. First thing I do before swapping in new rear tires is to get an alignment check. Too much rear camber will increase wear. Tire pressure is also important, you need to monitor it every week or two and keep it correct. Over or under inflation will cause uneven wear and premature replacement. Driving style is obviously a factor, but IMO, Porsches are meant to be driven hard and if you're going to tiptoe around to avoid tire wear, you'd be better off in a Toyota :) .

Tire selection is a major factor. Kuhmo's are cheap, but from my experience, they require frequent balancing. I suggest doing a road-force balance to start with to minimize re-balancing issues through the life of the tire. Pilot stick great but wear like erasers. I've had extremely good luck with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires. They wear well, stick great in dry or wet conditions, stay in balance, are reasonably quiet, and are cheaper than Pilots. This tire may be or is already phased out by Goodyear, hopefully, they're offering an improved replacement.

It's all about the cost
 

New Porsche recommended tires will cost you, say, $1000 to $1200. They ride nice have a very good grip and last...maybe up to 40,000 miles. Most Porsche drivers like it a little on the fun side...that's why we buy a Porsche. I just installed Falken 912's on mine and so far they are performing great. Now, I live in Florida and we have heat and rain which these tires are great for...not recommended for the snow country. I have 225x40x18 on the front 265x35x18 on the rear. Cost installed $604.00 at Discount Tires. :cheers:

If long lasting rear tires is all you're after, just buy the tires with the highest treadwear rating and get an alignment. It was said earlier that you could get another set of 17" wheels and run the same size all the way around but you don't need to buy another set of wheels to do that. I have a 2004 Boxster with stock 17" wheels all the way around and in the winter I run the same 255mm winter tires all the way around and have not experienced oversteer, I do run staggered tire pressures, though. When the rears get worn half way down just get the tires swapped on the rims, front to back.

For what it's worth...

I bought Kumho Ecsta ASX for my '01 Box. They said they had a 30,000 mile warranty and that's almost exactly what I got - 30,000 miles before I had to replace them.

I just recently put Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110 on the rear but I've only had them on for less than 5k miles so I can't really give a good opinion how they are over the long haul. All I know is that I like them a lot. Great grip and a good price from Discount Tires.

:D

Um, seeing as how this is a Boxster forum and all.... shouldn't we be bragging about how quickly we wore out our tyres rather than how long our tyres last because we granny-drive them? :D

Interesting, why do you go with 255 as supposed to 225/45/17 which is cheaper and more appropriate? Not to mention your wheels are staggered it'll be interesting to see 255 tires on the front?