Needing advice on tires
 

I purchased a 2002 Boxster about three months ago and it needs new tires in the rear only. It has 17-in rims and Sumitomo ultra something-or-other summer tires now. Unfortunately budget is really tight right now :ah: so I'm considering tires that will hold up a decent while but aren't too expensive. Any advice? I'm considering Nexen and Kumho all-weathers.

Thanks.

Since you live in California I'd go with a summer tire. This one below is one of the best you can get for the money right now. All 4 would cost you about $400 out the door.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+V12+ev o+K110

Thanks Adam. :) Interesting you mention it because that was the exact tire recommended to me yesterday by the guy at a supposedly reputable shop. That was the direction I'm leaning.

Reviews aren't stellar on tirerack. Any idea how long those would last on the Boxster?

My buddy's running Hankook's and he's really REALLY happy with them, and says they're every bit as good as Michelin PS2's.

I'll be buying them as well when I have the money saved up.

The Hankook's are great tires if you put them on all four corners at once... don't mix and match them with a different brand up front or in back or the car will be squirrely.

I'm using:
Front: Pirelli PZ Rosso N4, 225/45-18
Rear: Pirelli PZ Rosso N4, 265/35-18

On 18" Carrera.

Works really great, though I think I need spacers.

Pirelli's at Costco
 

Hi,
I know it sounds silly to shop for tires at Costco if you're driving a Porsche, but you can save a few hundred bucks on Pirelli's (even if you get them mounted at at your favorite tire shop). Then you spend that extra money on another upgrade, or a real nice dinner.

Might want to check it out where you live.

Best,
gunmetalgrey

'02 Porsche Boxster
'07 Mustang

And Michelin PS2's
 

Also, you can also get Michelin PS2's.

Best,
gunmetalgrey

'02 Porsche Boxster
'07 Mustang

+1 on the Hankooks, also the Sumitomo HTRZ III offer a great bang for the buck. You don't say where in Cali you live but if your driving will nearly always be in temps above 40F a summer tire will work well. All season tires generally last longer but sacrifice some grip in the compromise. As Randall said, don't mix A/S tires with summer tires. Car control will evaporate.

If you don't have to bother with snow or temps that are regularly below 40° I would skip the all seasons and get summer tires. You can get long lasting summer tires.

I haven't tried out many tires because I have been using BF Goodridge g-force T/A's that came on the car and they have held up very well, but I can't comment on their longevity. However, whatever you end up picking look for them on the internet. I consistently find tires cheaper on tirerack.com (even with shipping) than at a tire shop or even Costco. :cheers:

i agree 100%

i have the htrz II on my car now and they seem to do well.

When i purchased my car last year i decided to replace the rears with another brand of a/s tires. The fronts were summer tires and the pair did horribly together. I could barely go over 70 on the highway. I could go faster in my dd on the backroads that my o2-s

i replaced all 4 with the sumi's and all is well.

It just depends on driving habits and conditions. If you're not tracking or autocrossing you'll probably see 20-30k miles out of the Hankooks.

Without saying what is important to YOU
 

in a tire (you said you are very price sensitive but nothing beyond that) and how you drive and where I'd be hard pressed to recommend a tire.

Rank these in order of importance to YOU:
Dry Braking
Dry Handling
Wet Braking
Wet Handling
Hydroplaning Resistance
Noise
Ride
Rolling Resistance/Gas mileage
Tread life
Snow Traction
Ice Braking

If I know you must have Snow Traction, the recommendation is wildly different than if I see you want Dry Handling..for example.

There is no such thing as a best tire, they are all compromises even the most expensive. But some are better than others at one specific thing.

Don't put wildly different characteristic tires on the front and rear axles.