Advice on new tires - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

fun42 · 02-20-2007, 06:44 PM

Hello everyone - I just joined the forum and I'd appreciate your advice/experience with replacement tires. I've owned my Boxster S for almost 2 years and it's time to look for new tires.

It's a 2001 S with about 19k miles on the original Dunlop 9090. Wheels are 18" with 225/40ZR front & 265/35/ZR rear. Prior owner had put 10.5k miles on it over a 4yr period. Seems like I don't drive it much either, but I enjoy it everytime I get behind the wheel

.

Weather is pretty dry in the San Francisco Bay area, and I don't drive it in the rain. Driving style is moderate to aggressive at times. Important criteria are: long treadwear, good overall handling and performance. I went to Porsche dealer for an oil change and service manager wanted to sell me a set of Pirelli Rossos for around $1800 out the door. I declined as I usually get my tires at America's Tire and wanted a 2nd opinion.

Thank you all in advance.
Cheers and happy roadstering... is that a word?!

deliriousga · 02-20-2007, 07:29 PM

Kuhmo Ecsta ASX. They last us about 25K miles with moderate-hard driving, AA traction rating and a 410 treadwear rating. I love them so much they're on all of the autos.

MNBoxster · 02-20-2007, 08:21 PM

Hi,

Hey Fun42, you stole the vanity plate I own in MN for my '71 Datsun 240Z since 1979. I planned on transferring this plate to my boxster, but I guess not now...should have copyrighted it, oh well...j/k...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

fun42 · 02-21-2007, 07:45 AM

Interesting, I've been looking at Kumho's ECSTA SPT not ASX. SPT for Summer and ASX for all season is that the way it goes? Thank you for the feedback.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deliriousga

Kuhmo Ecsta ASX. They last us about 25K miles with moderate-hard driving, AA traction rating and a 410 treadwear rating. I love them so much they're on all of the autos.

fun42 · 02-21-2007, 08:01 AM

it's all good...Fun42 is not my license plate, only my user name here on this site.
Any advice on what tires work best for moderate to spirited driving. A good compromise between: long tread wear vs. handling/performance. Mostly dry weather driving conditions.
Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

Hey Fun42, you stole the vanity plate I own in MN for my '71 Datsun 240Z since 1979. I planned on transferring this plate to my boxster, but I guess not now...should have copyrighted it, oh well...j/k...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

YellowJacket · 02-21-2007, 08:46 AM

I have the OEM replacement Continental Sport Contact's. I love them so much I just put a 2nd set on last week, actually. They're 1/2 the price of the Michelin Pilot Sports, and they seem to handle about as well, and they're MUCH quieter as they wear than the Pilot Sports.

docdyh · 02-21-2007, 09:57 AM

What did the set of 4 cost you?

YellowJacket · 02-21-2007, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by docdyh

What did the set of 4 cost you?

I think around $750 for the tires, and then 2-3 hours labor (give or take; can't remember) for balancing on a Hunter 9700, and a 4-wheel alignment. I think it was right at $1000 out the door.

FrayAdjacent · 02-21-2007, 11:01 AM

I had to put tires on the rear of my Boxster. Same size wheels.

Check out tirerack.com. I found the Kumhos and the tires I bought - BF Goodrich GForce Sports- were the most 'cost effective'. Only put about 1000 miles on 'em so far, and they're very sticky. They have a pretty high treadwear rating, so I'm hoping they'll last a couple years as a daily driver.

I need to get another pair for the front, as the Bridgestone Potenzas that are on there are slipping a bit. They still have a decent amount of tread, but they don't stick for crap.

Anyway, a pair of 265 35 18s were $163 each from Tirerack. Had them shipped directly to the NTB that installed 'em.

NickCats · 02-22-2007, 11:16 AM

When the times comes, I may go with the Kumho's as well...

I just put them on the Benz and I am VERY happy with these tires.

225/40ZR18 front - 265/35ZR18 rear

$500 for 4 ECSTA ASX ( All-Season ) or ECSTA SPT ( Summer )

Nick

Perfectlap · 02-22-2007, 11:40 AM

I had Kumho's on my old car and although they were certainly a bargain I'm not I would buy again. Something in the rubber compound lent itself to flat spotting. So for a passenger car it would be better but for a car where you will have to get on the brakes hard more frequently I'd spend the extra dough on Michelin Pilots or similar from Bridgestone.
I don't have a great deal of experience with Pirelli but their durability stood out to me as not being very good relative to what I've tried from Michelin, Toyo, Bridgestone, Dunlop. By the way that price your dealer quoted you is not good at all.

Tires really are not an area you should be cutting corners on when it comes to sports cars. Its maybe the most important maintenace item you will ever spend your money on. Check the tireRack.com they will ship the tires to a shop near your home and they offer discounts on mounting and balancing.

NickCats · 02-22-2007, 11:56 AM

Perfectlap,

Thanks for the head's up on the Kumho. Luckily the tires on my box are pretty new so tires can wait awhile. The price I quoted I pulled from tire rack, $85 for the front and $163 for the rear each ( I used them for the Benz, $200 for 4 tires, 20 for shipping, and $50 at a local shop for mount and balance ).

On a seperate note, started reading the book this week ( Going Faster ) - great info, a lot to digest. Now if I could get the box out of storage and start practicing my heel / toe.

Once again, thanks for all the help...

Nick

YellowJacket · 02-22-2007, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Tires really are not an area you should be cutting corners on when it comes to sports cars. Its maybe the most important maintenace item you will ever spend your money on.

Give this man a medal. That's the best advice I've heard on this forum ever. Bad tires can ruin the feel of a great car. Stick w/ the OEM brands and possibly Bridgestone. Even if you don't feel the need to buy the OEM (N0, N1, etc.) tires, The Pilot sports, p-zeros and sport contacts are all fantastic.

My personal opinion is that putting Kumhos or whatnot on a Porsche is like buying top-of-the-line amplifiers, signal processors, DVD player, and then listening to it all through computer speakers. It just doesn't make sense.

bnorman · 02-22-2007, 12:17 PM

I am considering the Michelin PS2 tires (same size). What has been the experience with these?

thanks

porsche986spyder · 02-22-2007, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YellowJacket

Give this man a medal. That's the best advice I've heard on this forum ever. Bad tires can ruin the feel of a great car. Stick w/ the OEM brands and possibly Bridgestone. Even if you don't feel the need to buy the OEM (N0, N1, etc.) tires, The Pilot sports, p-zeros and sport contacts are all fantastic.

My personal opinion is that putting Kumhos or whatnot on a Porsche is like buying top-of-the-line amplifiers, signal processors, DVD player, and then listening to it all through computer speakers. It just doesn't make sense.

I do agree with getting good tires for your car, but I'm not sure why your bad mouthing the Kumhos. I currently have Perreli's on my boxster but the Kumhos are better in my opinion. They offer the same features and tread wear as some of those other well known brands. They aren't cheap either, and they are not unheard of. In the sport compact scene and in drifting especially they are the premier tire preferred by rear wheel drive car enthusiasts. I've had them on several of my older cars with no problems.

porsche986spyder · 02-22-2007, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bnorman

I am considering the Michelin PS2 tires (same size). What has been the experience with these?

thanks

Those are good to but they don't last that long. Tread wear rating says only 220!

porsche986spyder · 02-22-2007, 01:00 PM

Check this out.
http://www.speedoptions.com/news/article_view.php?id=6108

Toyo makes a good line of tires. These are mainly for racing and wont last that long at all. But they do also sell a good "year round tire" that has a decent tred mileage. Check around and I'm ture you will find some. In my opinion it all depends on what your looking for. A tire that will last long with a good overall rating, or something that's super sticky and great performance but just wont last as long. Take your pick.

Perfectlap · 02-22-2007, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickCats

Perfectlap,

Thanks for the head's up on the Kumho. Luckily the tires on my box are pretty new so tires can wait awhile. The price I quoted I pulled from tire rack, $85 for the front and $163 for the rear each ( I used them for the Benz, $200 for 4 tires, 20 for shipping, and $50 at a local shop for mount and balance ).

On a seperate note, started reading the book this week ( Going Faster ) - great info, a lot to digest. Now if I could get the box out of storage and start practicing my heel / toe.

Once again, thanks for all the help...

Nick

Not sure I would start Auto Crossing on new tires. You will be making ALLOT of mistakes(which is what you want in the begining) and depending on your venue it could be like taking a cheese grater to your tires. I've been to some lots where the black top was so bad and full of gravel that I decided against running my expensive tires on them and decided to watch the event instead.
I'd start out with a beater set of tires. At start you aren't really so concerned with your lap times but instead learning the limits/characteristics of your Pcar.
I might go so far as to suggest a set of 2nd hand tires on a seperate set of wheels.
Once you've got about a dozen events under your belt look into getting some new rubber. Some guys head out to their 1st, 2nd or 3rd event with brand spanking new tires and wheels and are then stuck with flat spots for the rest of the season or worse flat spots on their daily drives.

NickCats · 02-22-2007, 01:22 PM

Well, the tires are not totally new - I bought the car in April 2006 and have put about 8000 miles on them. I did one Autocross with Sammy last year and you are absolutely right, I made a TON of mistakes, but had fun none the less. I hope to get a couple more under my belt this year, and I agree that if I start doing this often a second set of wheels / tires would be a sound investment...

BTW - your PM inbox is full

Thanks,

Nick

Perfectlap · 02-22-2007, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YellowJacket

My personal opinion is that putting Kumhos or whatnot on a Porsche is like buying top-of-the-line amplifiers, signal processors, DVD player, and then listening to it all through computer speakers. It just doesn't make sense.

I have to agree. This may be one of the five best sports cars under $100K made in the last 10 years. The $400-500 difference in performance between 'adequate' tire and an ultra high peformance tire seems like a strange area to skimp on considering how much testing and engineering went into this particular car. I understand that durability is an issue but sports cars are inherently tough on tires because of loads they toss around. An extra $400 a year may seem like allot every year but Some people will spend that much in one weekend going to dinner/drinking with their friends. And tires can be the split second difference that avoids a big crash.
GRIP!!