OP is in Maine. Do you garage in the the winter and only drive it in warmer temps? I have heard a lot of good things about the Michelin as/3, tire rack has some new tests on it including a light snow test. If you are looking for comfort and longer lasting vs sticky performance tires something like that might be a good bet for you.

I am in FL and have run the Sumitomo HTR Z III and the Hancock RS3. Good tires but wear and ride are secondary to performance for me and neither would be that good in cold in my opinion.

Another vote for AS3. First set on my first Box so cant speak to life span but otherwise Im very pleased with their performance.

I've got Continental Extreme Contact DW on the Boxster and Extreme Contact DWS all season on my 928. Love the Conti's as I feel they are a great balance of performance and price.

Mike

+1 Sumitomo HTR Z III
Came with the car. I bought at 52k miles. I now have 72k miles, 20 months of driving. I do have to replace the rears but the fronts are still good
I drive them through the winter (Oh No), some snow and I have never had any traction issues. Well in the snow it not very good.
I was going to replace with Mich Pilots but since the Sumitomo's have been so good to me and are price friendly, I'm replacing the rears in a couple months, then next spring the fronts with Sumitomos.
I do now have an extra car so I can pick and choose my winter driving

Thanks for all the input. I only take it out in winter on dry road days once a month or so. Just to roll the running gear and get the oil up to temp.

95% of my driving is summer, and only wet if I'm on a trip and it rains.

Some good alternatives here - I will check with Tirerack

Dunlop Direzzas or Continental ExtremeContact DW.. Greay Prices on them too . You can find them under $100/per tire front and rear

I need some new rear tires on my 2001 Boxster, and was searching this thread for any thoughts on asymetric rear tires. I thought I read in my manual (but can't seem to find it) that I should run directional on the fronts, and asymetrical on the rears. Currently have Kumho ASX on the rears, and have been happy, but am getting mixed responses from Discount Tire and Tire Rack on whether I need asymetrical on the rears. Thoughts?

Continental Extreme Contact DWS (asymetrical) on the rear of mine. They are inexpensive, look great, and perform really well in all road conditions so far.
I chose these after getting frighteningly bad rear end hydroplaning/squirming on wet roads with my old tires.
The fronts are Kumho directional tires. Also inexpensive and solid performance.

Add another for the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo.

I think most folks would recommend to run the same tire on all 4 corners (with the only difference being in the sizes). I think some of the higher end Pirelli tires come in matched sets with the fronts being directional and the backs being asymmetric and that may be where you had seen that. So if you wanted to run that configuration you might be able to get some Pirellis.

Are you on 17s or 18s?

Steve

Thanks for the replies. I've got 17" wheels. I've been happy with the Kumho asymmetrics on the rear, but am running Goodrich g-Force comps directionals on the fronts. Those are fairly new (maybe 5,000 miles), and I'm happy with them and wanted to match up the set. However, I don't really like the tread design on the Goodrich asymmetrics. But I swear I read in some official Porsche something about asymmetrics on the rears, which is why I posted. Oh, well, I'll figure it out. But thanks for the input.

Welcome to the forum & thanks for searching before posting, I agree with Steve, you must be confusing Pirelli's philosipy of different tread designs for front & rear. The main consideration is to match the remaining tires & I would put the BFGs on the rear THIS time.

BFGs are a great tire and I was logging in to recommend them when I saw you had them on the front. Go with them on the rear, I've been super happy with them. For a summer tire, great rain traction (as much as can be expected in a rear wheel drive sports car) and pretty decent wear. I'm in need of new rears and while I have BFG G-Force sport (the old version of the Comps) I'm going to be getting new comps on the rear and then going with comps on the front when those are worn out. No sense in throwing the baby out with the bath water. Great tire, great price and I'm an hour and a half away from the south bend tire rack location, so great price on installation along with top notch equipment.

My Potenza SE-02's (n3) are shot and I am getting a set of Hankook V12 evo2 put on tomorrow. I have 18's and they are $740 out the door mounted and balanced.
I did a lot of web research and talked to a lot of Porsche drivers and got lots of good feedback on the Hankooks. There is not too many reviews on the evo2, but what i found was positive

The SE-02s performed great, but as the are 140 treadwear, they don't last long. Hopefully the new V12 @ 320 will wear better. They will be mostly used for spirited driving on my DD. Gonna try a few AX and if I get serious, Ill get seperate 17" wheels and probably Hankook RS-3's

I post later how I like them.

I switched to Hankook V12 evo2's and can't be more pleased with them. Especially at their price vs. the competition.

Just did a spirited drive with my new V12 Evo2's and they felt great!
time will tell

Continental DWS Extreme Contact.

I agree on the Sumitomos. Replaced my Pilots withe HTR Z II and have no complaints at all. try Tire Rack- can't beat the price.

+1 Tire Rack
 

I agree Tire Rack has some great prices and some great tires with very, very fast delivery. However, I do question some of their "expert" advice. Yesterday I was chatting with one of their tire "experts." I want to go from a 255/40 17 to a 275/40 17 on the back of my Box. He said it would scrub because the 275 would be -- get this -- SEVEN inches taller than the 255. Think he needs a little more training before turning him loose on customers.

I agree mine break loose in the corners and wore pretty fast for a mild driver like me.

I bought my car with (almost) new Michelin Pilot Super Sports on it. Backs are worn down after 13k, fronts still look good. They car was was too loose in the rain (especially on the worn down tire). I'm going to replace the rears with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. As a daily driver and no AX or DE I think these are a good choice. 500 AA A rating. Tire Rack had a good price; however, the installation is going to cost a little more since I wanted to get them road force balanced. Discount doesn't do that. In a few months, going to switch to them on the front too.