2004 Boxster - 17 inch tire discussion

[alansanmateo]

Hi. I'll do more searching on this topic, but if someone wants to chime in I would be pleased to listen.

I need new tires for my 2004 which I bought used three years ago. My wife uses it daily for very non-spirited driving, about 10 miles/day, nearly all highway. But I do like to take it out occasionally as we have some nice hills nearby.

I live in the western hills of the San Francisco peninsula (San Mateo), so it's rarely above 85 degrees and rarely below 40. We don't get as much rain as we used to, and even the fog is less, but there is often moisture on the road. And we have about 8 months of no rain, but I can slow down during those first rains and through the winter.

My rear tires are worn at the inside edge, so it's time to replace them. I'd like one set for the entire year, and I would like reasonable performance in the rain. I would like the tires to be reasonably quiet, as I much prefer to drive with the roof open.

I would really appreciate recommendations. I do understand that the N sidewall is not "mandatory" according to most folks (though the service department at the dealer disagrees).

I am not concerned about the cost, really. I consider tires to be very important and it's a small price to pay for comfort and safety.

I did see the recommendation to use 225 in the front

[Luv2Box]

If you're asking for recommendations for brand of tire I'd go with Michelin PSS. I've had Pirelli, Hankook, Bridgstone and Sumitomos on my '99 and the Michelins out handle and are quieter than any of the others. Don't know about wear factor as they are still too new. I will keep Michelins on the car when it's time to replace if I still own it. I do a lot of "spirited driving."

[alansanmateo]

Originally Posted by Luv2Box

If you're asking for recommendations for brand of tire I'd go with Michelin PSS. I've had Pirelli, Hankook, Bridgstone and Sumitomos on my '99 and the Michelins out handle and are quieter than any of the others. Don't know about wear factor as they are still too new. I will keep Michelins on the car when it's time to replace if I still own it. I do a lot of "spirited driving."

Thanks. Looking for model and size tips.

[fanguy]

Allen, If you go to Tirerack.com yiu will see the test have done compairing all theres tires. A side by side is a good thing to look at.

[alansanmateo]

Originally Posted by fanguy

Allen, If you go to Tirerack.com yiu will see the test have done compairing all theres tires. A side by side is a good thing to look at.

Thanks. I have done that, but it's always interesting to hear the views from actual users.

I'm leaning toward a summer, not all-season, tire, as the Boxster will never see snow or ice. Likely the Michelin PS2 with the N mark.

[barkinfool]

I'm in Pennsylvania and drive only the summer tires (store car in winter). I have experienced Dunlop SS, Michelin PS2, and Michelin Pilot Super Sport XL. I much prefer the Michelins and very much like the performance and ride quality. I moved to the Super Sport XL because they are supposed to wear a bit better and were even slightly less than the PS2s. I haven't noticed any performance difference (decline), but they are only 1 year old & can't comment on if they will wear better. That is my hope, only was getting 10-12k on rears of PS2. I've got 18" sport classic rims and the sizes are 22540zr18 front and 26535zr18 rears driving '02 S. Good luck!

[crooster]

I went with these recently because they looked like good bang for the buck. An incremental improvement over the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sports I was running previously.

Firestone****Firehawk Indy 500

[mikefocke]

Tire wear is influenced by alignment. Someone who really really knows Porsches can set the car up for even tire wear. I replaced a set of Michelins PS2 p-RATED with another only because of the age of the tires. The wear was perfectly even. The guy who did the alignment set up P-cars for racing and had cars in the shop that proved it.

My previous tires wore unevenly and cupped( Yokos).

When I bought there were two tires with the same Model Name but only one was P-rated.

[Topless]

For a non spirited daily driver where road manners and long life are most important, here are my recommendations:

Michelin Pilot SportA/S 3+
Michelin****Pilot Sport A/S 3+ (W- or Y-Speed Rated)

BFG g-force Comp 2 A/S
BFGoodrich****g-Force COMP-2 A/S

Good grip wet dry and even light snow if you go to Tahoe. High treadwear #s so 20,000 miles per set is very realistic. Do spend $120 and have a neutral alignment done to maximize tire life.

[alansanmateo]

Originally Posted by Topless

For a non spirited daily driver where road manners and long life are most important, here are my recommendations:

Michelin Pilot SportA/S 3+
Michelin****Pilot Sport A/S 3+ (W- or Y-Speed Rated)

BFG g-force Comp 2 A/S
BFGoodrich****g-Force COMP-2 A/S

Good grip wet dry and even light snow if you go to Tahoe. High treadwear #s so 20,000 miles per set is very realistic. Do spend $120 and have a neutral alignment done to maximize tire life.

20,000 miles will take me 5 years. Maybe more.....

I decided that I didn't need the AS, as there is zero chance this car will see Tahoe

The drive from the Bay Area to Tahoe is lousy, and it wouldn't be much fun in the Boxster.

But I do agree that the Michelin would be a great tire if I there was any real risk it would see snow

re the alignment issue, I had heard that the Boxster is supposed to wear the rear tires on the inside edge - that the camber is part of the engineering. Is that a load of crap? (or am I misunderstanding the alignment comment?)

[tlc356]

I had a set of the BFG g-force tires, and while I got 30,000 miles on them (yea, I'm old and slow now), they were so loud that I hated them. I replaced them with PS/2's which are great.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by tlc356

I had a set of the BFG g-force tires, and while I got 30,000 miles on them (yea, I'm old and slow now), they were so loud that I hated them. I replaced them with PS/2's which are great.

On the subject of tire noise, it is a product of both tire design and tire age. As the rubber hardens over the years it gets a lot noisier. An A/S tire that is 5 yrs old will always be noisier than a fresh summer tire that will be used up in 8k miles. I sorta prefer tires that wear out in 1-2 years for this reason.

[BirdDog]

I went with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's for my 2001 Boxster S and love them.

I'm not AXing or anything, just some spirited driving on the road.

They stick like glue wet or dry. Not noisy at all.

Maybe a bit expensive compared to some other tires, but when I wear these out I will definitely buy them again.

[JayG]

Don't waste your money on a N tire
I would go with Pilot Super Sports over the PS2

[alansanmateo]

Originally Posted by JayG

Don't waste your money on a N tire
I would go with Pilot Super Sports over the PS2

I'm sure I've wasted money on stupider things.

I appreciate everyone's feedback/comments. Those contributions are what makes forums so useful. It's very generous for you experts to help out those of us who are noobs.

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by JayG

Don't waste your money on a N tire
I would go with Pilot Super Sports over the PS2

Not available in the right sizes in 17 for 986 Boxsters unfortunately as I have heard nothing but great things about it.

[alansanmateo]

Can someone give me guidance about the neutral alignment topic? My service tech. - the local dealer - did not recommend any alignment change. I was told the wear on the inside edge of the rear is how the car is designed.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by alansanmateo

Can someone give me guidance about the neutral alignment topic? My service tech. - the local dealer - did not recommend any alignment change. I was told the wear on the inside edge of the rear is how the car is designed.

If you have excessive wear on the inside of the rear tires from lots of highway miles you can adjust for that with a more neutral alignment. These cars come with significant negative camber to maximize grip in the corners because it is a sports car, not a Camry. If your typical driving style doesn't include a lot of "sporty" driving and you are seeing excessive wear to the inside shoulder you can adjust for that with a more neutral alignment taking out some of the negative camber.

If it were my car and I mostly commuted on the highway I would go to a specialty alignment shop and request an alignment to maximize tire life. There are limitations to what they can do but mine would look something like this:

Front: 0 camber, 0 toe
Rear: -.5 camber, 1/16 total toe-in

This will result in the gas best mileage, longest tire life at the expense of max "sporty" grip in the corners. All alignment settings are a tradeoff so choose the one that best suits your driving style. Often that will differ from what your dealer may suggest.

For my car I want just the opposite. The only time it is on the highway is heading out to "sporty" roads and race tracks. I want max cornering grip at the expense of everything else. My alignment looks more like this:

F: -2.6 camber, 0 toe
R: -2.0 camber, 1/16 toe in

It is a good match for my driving style and my tire wear is pretty even. I run soft compound tires so they don't last very long (3-5k mi) but they do wear fairly evenly across the tread.

Set your car up for YOUR driving style, not your dealer's driving style.

[alansanmateo]

Originally Posted by Topless

If you have excessive wear on the inside of the rear tires from lots of highway miles you can adjust for that with a more neutral alignment. These cars come with significant negative camber to maximize grip in the corners because it is a sports car, not a Camry. If your typical driving style doesn't include a lot of "sporty" driving and you are seeing excessive wear to the inside shoulder you can adjust for that with a more neutral alignment taking out some of the negative camber.

If it were my car and I mostly commuted on the highway I would go to a specialty alignment shop and request an alignment to maximize tire life. It would look something like this:

Front: 0 camber, 0 toe
Rear: -.5 camber, 1/16 total toe-in

This will result in the gas best mileage, longest tire life at the expense of max "sporty" grip in the corners. All alignment settings are a tradeoff so choose the one that best suits your driving style. Often that will differ from what your dealer may suggest.

For my car I want just the opposite. The only time it is on the highway is heading out to "sporty" roads and race tracks. I want max cornering grip at the expense of everything else. My alignment looks more like this:

F: -2.6 camber, 0 toe
R: -2.0 camber, 1/16 toe in

It is a good match for my driving style and my tire wear is pretty even. I run soft compound tires so they don't last very long (3-5k mi) but they do wear fairly evenly across the tread.

Set your car up for YOUR driving style, not your dealer's driving style.

Thanks, Topless, that's helpful

The Boxster gets driven a bit more aggressively than if it was a Camry, but certainly not as aggressively as you drive yours.

[Lew]

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