Mix and match tires...

[Topless]

I do it all the time but... The tires must be of very similar design, compound, wear rating, and sidewall stiffness or you will get very ugly handling in this car. Mixing Hankook V12s and Pilot Sports will be very compatible. Mixing Italian All Season tires with fresh max performance summer tires will likely turn into a very spooky and unpredictable ride.

A/S tires on the front: Massive understeer and front tires hitting ABS quickly under braking.

A/S tires on the rear: Turns a mild mannered Boxster into a tail happy Viper. Backing the car into a guard rail will be very easy to do.

I currently have Hankook RS-3s on the front and Nitto NT-05s on the rear. 9/10ths compatible but I will go Hankook on all 4 when the rears are done.

[MikenOH]

I've been using NT05's as track tires for 2 years--for money a good tire. How do the RS-3s compare? I've thought about getting them but they are another $200/set in 18" sizes.

Originally Posted by Topless

I do it all the time but... The tires must be of very similar design, compound, wear rating, and sidewall stiffness or you will get very ugly handling in this car. Mixing Hankook V12s and Pilot Sports will be very compatible. Mixing Italian All Season tires with fresh max performance summer tires will likely turn into a very spooky and unpredictable ride.

A/S tires on the front: Massive understeer and front tires hitting ABS quickly under braking.

A/S tires on the rear: Turns a mild mannered Boxster into a tail happy Viper. Backing the car into a guard rail will be very easy to do.

I currently have Hankook RS-3s on the front and Nitto NT-05s on the rear. 9/10ths compatible but I will go Hankook on all 4 when the rears are done.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by MikenOH

I've been using NT05's as track tires for 2 years--for money a good tire. How do the RS-3s compare? I've thought about getting them but they are another $200/set in 18" sizes.

The RS-3s are slightly better dry grip in the heat out here. I think they wear better too. The NT-05s are just melting off my rims.

[BYprodriver]

[QUOTE=Topless;302429]I do it all the time but... The tires must be of very similar design, compound, wear rating, and sidewall stiffness or you will get very ugly handling in this car. Mixing Hankook V12s and Pilot Sports will be very compatible. Mixing Italian All Season tires with fresh max performance summer tires will likely turn into a very spooky and unpredictable ride.

A/S tires on the front: Massive understeer and front tires hitting ABS quickly under braking.

A/S tires on the rear: Turns a mild mannered Boxster into a tail happy Viper. Backing the car into a guard rail will be very easy to do.

+1 this is the key. Never drive your vehicle beyond the capability of the driver or the vehicle. The weakest link will fail if you exceed it's capability. You are usually safe when you are just replacing the rear tires with tires compatable with the front tires. Now as long as you don't exceed the capability of the front tires there's no problem.

[recycledsixtie]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be putting on my snow tires this fall anyway. There is no point in compromising safety by mixing tires. Hancook V12 tires sound interesting but because they are cheaper alarms me but I will look into it anyway. Either that or Michelin Sports and get 4. Being retired I don't put many miles on the vehicle and currently has 40k miles. Nothing has gone wrong at all but I feel that the tires should be replaced as I don't like tires with little tread left. The above poster is so right in that being overconfident in your car can lead to an accident/incident due to equipment failure or driver error.
Usually I go with the tried and true and buy Michelin but the Hancook V12 are intriguing. Once again great input everybody!

[Topless]

A recent comparison of 9 different tires to Michelin PS2s. The Hankook V12s are a very comparable alternative at 1/2 the price.

Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 Comparison Tests - Page 10 - Car and Driver

[stephen wilson]

Of course the PS2's have been made obsolete by the Super Sports, if available in your size. Granted, the Kook's are $400 cheaper.

[pothole]

With the greatest of respect, I think this no mixing thing is total bull****************.

Here's proof, if you need it. A base 2.5 Box left the factory as standard on 205 fronts, 225 rears. The 17 inch option is 205 front, 255 rear. A huge difference - much more of a balance - altering difference than sticking with the same size tyres but mixing brands. And yet no children died!

As long as you don't go for something really weird, like snows at one end and high performance summer on the other end, you'll be fine.

I wouldn't bet $5 on just about anyone being able to tell the difference between having decent mixed tyres and the same decent tyres all round in a blind test.

[papasmurf]

pothole. I drive my car pretty conservatively and with mismatched rubber front to rear and it has never been an issue. I do use similar tires front to back in that they are all summer performance and not all weather tires. The car until recently has been my DD so tire wear and longevity was one of my major concerns. IMO if you are driving the car to the point that mismatched rubber is frequently becoming a driving hazard (assuming the tire designs are similar) then you probably need to do that kind of driving on the track. I have been able to get about 35k miles out of the last set of fronts I had on the car and of course the rears are wearing quite a bit faster. When I go to replace tires, sometimes the tires I would be trying to match to the fronts or vice versa are out of stock or no longer in production so instead of scrapping the good tires still on the car and starting over with four new, I find whatever is comparable and still fits the budget and durability requirements.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by pothole

With the greatest of respect, I think this no mixing thing is total bull****************.

Here's proof, if you need it. A base 2.5 Box left the factory as standard on 205 fronts, 225 rears. The 17 inch option is 205 front, 255 rear. A huge difference - much more of a balance - altering difference than sticking with the same size tyres but mixing brands. And yet no children died!

As long as you don't go for something really weird, like snows at one end and high performance summer on the other end, you'll be fine.

I wouldn't bet $5 on just about anyone being able to tell the difference between having decent mixed tyres and the same decent tyres all round in a blind test.

I'll take that bet. Find a Boxster friend with very different tire compounds than you and swap 1/2 for a day. Mount A/S tires on the rear of your car and Max performance summer tires on the front. Take it for a spirited drive through the countryside to see if you can discover your new handling limits. If you don't stick it in a creek or back it into a guard rail you will still have a very clear picture of "Boxster gone wild". Afterwards you can send the fiver to my paypal acct or meet me in Dublin on St Patty's and you can buy me a pint.

It will be very evident that these different compound tires should not share the same car. Ask me how I know this.

Different brands with very similar compound, no problem. A/S 480TW on the rear, Max Summer 180tw on the front, PROBLEM.

[MikenOH]

If you're thinking about Hankook consider these Sumitomo's:

Sumitomo****HTR Z III

comparison of the two tires:
Tire Test Results : Testing Value-Priced Max Performance Summer Tires

Pricing between the two tires is very close in 986 sizes. If I was going to go with the most cost effective max performance tire, I think I'd choose this one.

Originally Posted by recycledsixtie

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will be putting on my snow tires this fall anyway. There is no point in compromising safety by mixing tires. Hancook V12 tires sound interesting but because they are cheaper alarms me but I will look into it anyway. Either that or Michelin Sports and get 4. Being retired I don't put many miles on the vehicle and currently has 40k miles. Nothing has gone wrong at all but I feel that the tires should be replaced as I don't like tires with little tread left. The above poster is so right in that being overconfident in your car can lead to an accident/incident due to equipment failure or driver error.
Usually I go with the tried and true and buy Michelin but the Hancook V12 are intriguing. Once again great input everybody!