where are you buying tires ?
 

Not a discussion of brands just curious where are you guys buying your tires ? I know Tire Rack is popular and there are other online sellers. Or do you prefer to find a good deal at a local shop ? Big box shop or independent shop ?
I am NOT going to bring them my car, I will load up the wheels in my truck so my interest is good price, clean damage free install. For road tires do you recommend extended road hazard warranty or no ? I'm not normally a fan of extended warranty. Anyone have a recommendation for a tire shop in or near Marietta Georgia ? Merry Christmas .

I go back and forth between Tire Rack and Discount Tires Direct. DTD has specials occasionally that are great. I got 4 Hankook's (17's) for my car a two years ago for $325 shipped!

I buy all of my tires from TireRack (total around 12 sets per year; 9 sets for racing and another 2-3 for the family stable of 5 cars). I have them all installed at my house by a mobile installer.

For me, TireRack is very competitive and it saves time not having to drive to a tire store and wait. The mobile installer puts them on while I do something else with my time.

I almost always buy from Discount Tire for the last 20 years. They are always able to match or beat the installed price that Tire Rack has and if I have problem they alway take care of it without a fuss. If their price is higher then Tire Rack just mention it and they will match it. They also take care of flats free of charge. They offer a warranty but never do a hard sale and to date I have never brothered with purchasing the warranty as I'm not a fan.

For the power you are going to be putting down you are going to need some sticky tires.

Tirerack offers a free road hazard warranty on most tires
since Porsche does not recommend patching or plugging a tire, Tirerack will replace the tire directly, or reimburse you up to your original purchase price for a tire from someone else

They also have great deals for local mounting and balancing.
I got roadforce balance and mounting for $14.50 a wheel through them!

Tire Rack. Mainly because I am only about 90 miles away, and I can load-up the wheels into my SUV and have mounted & balanced by TR's shop. They do excellent work, and as noted by JayG only charge $15/wheel. Dealerships charge almost $75/wheel. I won't let an indy shop touch my wheels, only TR or a dealership. Risk (damage, scratches, improper balance) is too high with indy. If a wheels were damaged, I trust the deep pockets or either TR or dealership to make right/good.

Ever since I got my boxster I've used tire rack. The prices are good and they ship right to my mechanic. The sumitomos I've been using have always been in stock and are there in a few days. My next full set will be the Michelin pilot sports and their prices seem as good as it gets for those.

Ditto!

I also do the above, depending on where the best deal is. Last time was Discount Tires for a set of Hankook V12's for the 17" rims.

Brought them to the local Big-O shop where they have a spcific dynamic balancer (forgot what its special name of this balancer was) and had them mounted and balance.

One in the Trunk, Frunk and 2 in the passenger seat. Easy!
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Haha your comment about the power I'll be putting down is what got me thinking about stickier tires. I currently have Conti's but they are getting long in the tooth and I have a brand spanking new set of rims barking for new tires.

I just did a compare of Michelin Pilot Sports between Discount Tire Direct and Tire Rack. The size was 225/40 x 18 + 265/35 x 18. DTD was 898.97 delivered and TR was 944.30 . I was surprised that Discount was nearly 46.00 dollars cheaper. It does pay to shop around. Now I just have to figure out what tires I want.

I get all my tires from a local chain in OMA & Lincoln. TR listed tires for my LE at $1150. Went to my local store and the guy quoted me $1250 mounted & balanced. Charged me $80 for a 4 whl alignment. And gave me a $70 rebate card because I bought Michelins.

Up here in Canada I usually get the best price from costco, there is also a local tire shop that has incredible customer service i also get tires from.

I went back to the DTD website and reran the Michelin Pilot Sports again and noticed there was a charge for valve stems. I normally like to run metal valve stems so I removed them from the website quote which brought the delivered price down to 886.13 that's a very competitive price !

look at the Dunlop Direzza StarSpec. One of the best street tires that work well for AX and track

+1 Tire Rack -1 DTD
 

Went to DTD because of all the entries here. They don't sell Sumitomo. I'll stick to tire rack.

I got a tire rack warehouse less than an hour away. I buy there, and they install them there. Hunter road pro equipment, fantastic installation price. Worth the drive.

Most tire stores price match
 

Get the best price and then have your best installing shop match the price. I find almost all the tire shops in my area around Boston will match a written quote. Tom

I wish that were the case where I live. I tried to get my local tire stores to match prices with DTD and Tire Rack, and they wouldn't come within $300 of the online cost, even factoring in shipping, sales tax, mounting and balancing :(! I bought my Michelin AS/3s from DTD and had the local shop mount them.

Every now and then DTD has a $100 off on their eBay store, a lot of folks stock.up on their Nitto nt01 from.there.

I get from tirerack and take the wheels to a local.guy that charges $14 a tire if I bring the wheels off the car.

I am thinking of skipping the balancing for my track wheels (any thoughts?) after a session or two they go.out anyway due to wear and picking up tire rubber...

You also could lose a wheel weight.
Put the metal "duct" tape over them

I use America's Tire or a local mobile tire installer. Both are very competitive with Tire Rack on the tires I use and take good care of me if there are any problems. I order them in advance and when they call I bring down the wheels or for street tires, just have them mount them on my car. I don't get extended warranty on track tires but always on my wife's Lexus.

Just before Christmas my wife picked up a nail so I took the car down for free repair. They said the tire was not repairable and found a sidewall blister on another one. These tires were 4 yrs old with 50k miles and I was eligible for 2 new tires free under dealer road hazard warranty. The others were close to the wear bars, did I want to replace them also? Yes I do. Four fresh tires for the price of two. A good day!

I asked for an online quote from a local tire shop. I specifically asked for Sumitomo HTR III as many seem to like these tires. The shop per their website is a Sumi distributor/reseller. Yesterday I received the email quote.........986.00 for Continentals ! :mad: OK you are off the list onto the next shop :D

Is that just a coincidence that the price is 986.

Porsche9 I hadn't noticed that ! But they still aren't getting my business.

May have found a local tire shop to work with. Received an online quote today for Sumitomo HTR III in 225/40 + 265/35 x 18 for $600.00 plus tax. Tire Rack is at $578.22 but then I have to pay for mounting. Sounds like about the best deal I will find so I think I'll pull the trigger on them.

That's a good deal! You are going to need a good source as with that new engine the rear tires aren't going to last long. :p

I just called the shop and placed the order they will have them by Thursday the price was too good to pass up. I will limp the car home from Jake's on the Conti's she's currently wearing but I will drive it easy. Between breaking in the engine, old tires and possibly cool/cold temps the drive home will be a nervous dance.
I'll throw the new wheels/tires on the car and wait for warmer weather........then look out ! :D

Don't drive in a spirited fashion and you'll be OK. Remind yourself at upcoming turns NOT to go fast. Be mindful on bridges and overpasses too. I've driven my cars on summer tires to work in sub-30 deg weather and have lived to talk about it. Just drive with caution, which can be hard to do with a Porsche.

Hey guys this morning I went and had the new tires installed on my new wheels. I was a little leery as the price seemed too good to be true and I never have used this dealer. But everything went exactly as quoted my total price out the door with tax, mount , balance and valve stems was $638.00 hard to beat that deal. Here are a few pics to show it was real :D .http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1451591929.jpg
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Nice!

The HTR ZIII is a great street tire. I am getting a set for my 18" DD wheels.
They will flat spot overnight and it goes away in a mile or so
I used them for a little AX and track and they actually were OK, but not really meant for non-street driving

They are summer tires, so be careful when driving in temps below 40

The Conti's that are on the car now flat spot overnight also . The stock 18 " wheels will now become AX/DE wheels and will get some kind of super sticky tires on them. The Sumi's are just going to be street tires and I'm sure will be fine. The tire dealer said he has LOTS of guys buying these Sumi's so that's a good sign. Will definitely be careful with these tires in the low temps.

Those wheels look GOOD.

Thanks :cheers: I bought them from a forum member over a year ago just got around to dusting them off and getting tires installed. I think they add a little bling over the OEM without being gawdy . They have plain center caps with some type of script on them I may try to find some Porsche crests to add to the center caps.

If you can find a set of 17" wheels, it will save you a bunch of $$ on tires
maybe find someone that wants to swap 17's for 18's ??

Hey... I want to swap some 17s for 18s. 18" wheels offer better tire choices for the crazy 987 Cayman sizes with staggered diameter. Anyone??

Dave, I have a set of Boxster 18's that I'd be glad to swap for 17 rears. The 18's have a bit of curb rash so would make perfect track wheels.

Fronts Turbo I 7.5x18 PN 993.362.134.06
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Rears Turbo I 9x18 PN 993.362.138.01
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Those might work. What are your rear offsets? They need to be about 43 to fit the Cayman in stock form without spacers. Curb rash is not a problem, my wheels are not pristine either but straight and true.

You want 2 rears or 4?