tires pre aproved for boxster
 

Are there any specific brands or models of tires that have been approved or certified by Porsche?

Yes, N rated tires. Good quality and about 3x the price of similar non-N rated tires. Personally I have no use for the N rating. YMMV

Michelin Super sports you will never look back :)

N rated tires are tested by Porsche and are specific SKUs (Stock Keeping Units or part numbers). They generally come from very large manufacturers who are willing to subsidize the testing and to produce tires to Porsche's specifications. Think Michelin, Pirelli, etc.

There are lesser known brands often from offshore manufacturers (but aren't Michelin and Pirelli offshore brands too?) that some in to Boxster community swear by as being as good or almost as good but significantly cheaper.

There is no perfect tire, all tires are compromises.

I'd suggest you ask for recommendations here but also suggest in your posting what your top priorities are in terms of wear, noise, dry handling, all-seasons, snow, wet handling, braking, cost, etc.

The N rating by Porsche is useless. Don't waste your time giving it a second thought.

Do a search on tires and you'll find numerous threads on the subject.

As mikefocke said, every tire is a compromise. So, Step 1 in selecting a tire is to figure out what you want and what you're willing to give up:

high mileage vs high grip?
quiet vs louder?
maximum dry grip vs everything else?
quick turn-in and corner response vs poor corner response?
all weather vs sunny and clear?
cheap vs expensive

For instance, all I have ever cared about is maximum cornering grip and I am willing to sacrifice everything else (rain performance, noise, longevity, and price) to get it. This narrows all of the selections down to about 3-4 very high grip tires.

Once you know what characteristics you want in a tire (and understanding that you can't get them all and get it cheap), then post back and folks can give you specific recommendations.

And yes, there are a few good "all-around" tires, but the more specific you can be, the better the advice you'll receive.

Thanks for all important and useful information that u shared! I am interested for high grip all weather tires no matter cost

For high grip and all weather, I love my Michelin A/S 3 all season tires. Many here will say all season tires are no good, but where I live it can rain hard or snow any month of the year. The A/S 3s aren't nearly as grippy as my previous Pilot Super Sports, but they are useable in a much wider range of conditions.

Pilot Sport A/S 3 tires | Michelin US

there is no easy choice as every parameter effects the others
High Grip and all weather don't happen together.
You can get decent grip and all season, but high grip, probably not

That being said, I have Michelin AS/3 all season on my 996, they do perform pretty well, good grip and tread wear. My only complaint is they are really noisy, especially on grooved concrete like most of the freeways here in San Diego.
Could be that they are 19's?

I haven't tracked the car or did an AX with that rubber, but a bunch of spirited back road driving with them

I also have the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 on my 911SC daily driver.

No track duty but very good grip on the street and can handle the weather when it turns bad. I grew weary of sliding around on my extreme summer tires just because it rained a little and was willing to give up some grip for all weather.

do you find them noisy

The Pilot Sport, Continental DWS, and Yokohama Advan are all good choices for A/S tires. I have run on continentals in the past and my Lex is currently on theYoko Advan A/S with good results.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=194

the rims are 18!!

LOL

I meant my noisy ones on my 996 are 19's

hey! thank you all for your advices!! I have purchased the Michelin pilot sport 3 with date of production early 2015...see attached images


http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1438859709.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1438859796.jpg

Hi,

this is the official list (08/2014) from Porsche with tyre recommendations for 986 and 996 cars: Click

Regards
Markus

I was looking at discount tire for these Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's and could only find the correct size for the front 225/40/18 they did not offer the 265/35/18 for rears. Does anyone know if DT is showing the correct size for the rears or why Michelin doesn't offer this tire in this size? What other options are out there for good tires? How do the Pirelli Zero Nero All Season compare?

did you try Tirerack.com?

Darn, should have looked there first. They are showing both sizes available on Tirerack. Has anyone tried the GENERAL G-MAX AS-03? Between the 2 types there is about a $270 difference in price. I have heard that the General brand are great tires but just not quite the main stream name as Michelin, Pirelli, Continental etc.

For all season, look at the Continental DWS as well