Bridgestone/Conti/Michelin

[minny]

with all my other cars, i use continentals or bridgestone tyres... everyone rates the conti sportcontact2 or michelin ps2 on porsches... what about the bridgestone s02 or s02a... anyone with any experience of them... heard they are quieter than the other 2 but what about mileage and more importantly wet grip and braking?..

[violaGT3]

with all my other cars, i use continentals or bridgestone tyres... everyone rates the conti sportcontact2 or michelin ps2 on porsches... what about the bridgestone s02 or s02a... anyone with any experience of them... heard they are quieter than the other 2 but what about mileage and more importantly wet grip and braking?..

Hi, I have the new All Season pole positions (RE960's?) on my 99 C2 and they are quieter right off the bat. They have good traction all around for driving. I sometimes hit freeway entrance ramps @ 50mph or better for grins, and I have not once felt unsure or nervous about loosing traction. I would have to say they have better wet traction than the P-Zero's I had run for the past few years. They definitely have better lateral grip on wet roads. They are good in the snow, not on ice, but that being said they will tend to lateral slide during turns in the snow. HTH

[Arthur in Oz]

I recently replaced a VERY NOISY set of S02's with the Conti's(after lots of research). After around 4,000kms I am very happy. They are very quiet and have good grip.

[KevinMac]

ViolaGT3 - The 960's and GY Eagle F1 are on my short list, What intrgues me is both these tires have a high UTOG rating with the Bridgestone 40K tread wear waranty. Both have great survey ratings. Keep us up to date on the 960's.

Edited January 23, 2008 by KevinMac

[jsoto]

I replaced my factory Michelins with the Conti's. (rears lasted 17k) I have about 10k on them now and they seem to be pretty good. The traction is adequate, noise level is good, and I think the tread will last as long as the Mich's. Time will tell though.

I think there are quieter tires on the market than both of these. I just have experience with these two.

[horseman]

I just replaced my rears with 02-A 285/30/18 after 10K on the same basic tire. My Bridgestone fronts will go another round and I will most likley do something else next time as I will need to do all four then rather than just the rears. They are pretty quiet when new. Traction is super, ride is very good, and my only complaint is the short life. You do have to pay to play. May try Pilots next time.

[KevinMac]

I just replaced my rears with 02-A 285/30/18 after 10K on the same basic tire. My Bridgestone fronts will go another round and I will most likley do something else next time as I will need to do all four then rather than just the rears. They are pretty quiet when new. Traction is super, ride is very good, and my only complaint is the short life. You do have to pay to play. May try Pilots next time.

Bridgestones RE960's - have a UTOG of over 400 and a 40K tread wear out waranty. Not many tires in this class have this! U may want to try the RE 960's. Have an excellent survey result as it deals with traction noise ride etc. Check them out @ The Tire Rack for more info.

Edited January 23, 2008 by KevinMac

[minny]

i will probably go for the contis... wanted to use goodyear eagle f1 assymetrics which have won various independent tests in Evo and Car magazine but they are not N rated and i'm sure some insurance nitpicker will notice them should the unfortunate happen... contis on other cars of mine have good wet grip which is important

[CosmosC4S]

I'm using Contis and happy with them so far.

[Mike D]

I'm using Contis and happy with them so far.

How many miles have you put on them?

Thanks

Mike

[KevinMac]

Being N rated should have no bearing on insurance as long as you have the correct speed rating. The N level just means that Porsche has tested these tires on their vehilcle to meet handling ride etc specs.

[horseman]

I just replaced my rears with 02-A 285/30/18 after 10K on the same basic tire. My Bridgestone fronts will go another round and I will most likley do something else next time as I will need to do all four then rather than just the rears. They are pretty quiet when new. Traction is super, ride is very good, and my only complaint is the short life. You do have to pay to play. May try Pilots next time.

Bridgestones RE960's - have a UTOG of over 400 and a 40K tread wear out waranty. Not many tires in this class have this! U may want to try the RE 960's. Have an excellent survey result as it deals with traction noise ride etc. Check them out @ The Tire Rack for more info.

I am using 285/30/18 02-A on the rear of my 03 C2 and don't see that size listed on the TireRack for the RE960. I am not sure I would want to go down a size to 275 and to an all season tread patern and grip loss for the extra milage. You could call my driving agressive and from time to time I really appreciate all the dry traction I can get. Perhaps I am reading the spec for the RE 960 wrong. I would like to hear more from those that are using high milage AS tires on the C2. Perhaps I have been missing a bet here.

[CosmosC4S]

I'm using Contis and happy with them so far.

How many miles have you put on them?

Thanks

Mike

Coming up to 8k miles, looks like there's still at least 50% left.

[Richard Hamilton]

Being N rated should have no bearing on insurance as long as you have the correct speed rating. The N level just means that Porsche has tested these tires on their vehilcle to meet handling ride etc specs.

UK insurance assessors can get very picky about this sort of thing. Whilst I totally agree with you that there are plenty of tyres out there which would be equally as good (or better) than an N rated tyre, the fact is that Porsche state that only Approved N rated tyres should be used. An overzealous assessor might use it as an excuse to reject a claim. It may be unlikely, but it isn't impossible.

Just to give you a 'for instance' - my daughter fitted some aftermarket alloys to her car (same diameter, width, etc as original), and a while later had an accident. The insurance assessor took one look and said to the repair shop owner "looks like we are going to reject this claim". Fortunately, my daughter had the presence of mind to agree it with the insurance company before she fitted the wheels.

[FlashingBlade]

ViolaGT3 - The 960's and GY Eagle F1 are on my short list, What intrgues me is both these tires have a high UTOG rating with the Bridgestone 40K tread wear waranty. Both have great survey ratings. Keep us up to date on the 960's.

Just keep in mind that tread wear ratings do not compare between manufacturers. There are no standards for them apparently. I have had tires with a 140 rating last just as long as those with a number twice that high.

The 40k warranty on the other hand is amazing and close to unbelievable (on a 996, especially the rears).

[jsoto]

I have 10k on my Contis. I expect another 10k from the rears.

[every day]

I love the so2a's - tried the ps2's and not a big fan, just didn't have the same feel as the s02a's.

[wross996TT]

The N level just means that Porsche has tested these tires on their vehilcle to meet handling ride etc specs.

This is not quite correct....I refer you to this thread: tirerack and N rated tires

I have used the Bridgestone S02s (OEM), PS2s, MPSC...but my favorite so far is the Yokos...Neovas for 18 and Advan Sports for bigger.

[KevinMac]

The N level just means that Porsche has tested these tires on their vehilcle to meet handling ride etc specs.

This is not quite correct....I refer you to this thread: tirerack and N rated tires

I have used the Bridgestone S02s (OEM), PS2s, MPSC...but my favorite so far is the Yokos...Neovas for 18 and Advan Sports for bigger.

"In checking with our Michelin engineering contacts, they confirmed what we already knew, that OE tires are developed in conjunction with the vehicle manufacturer, and their exact design specifics are considered proprietary and confidential. Therefore, Michelin was unable to provide any details on the functional differences between the conventional Pilot Sport Cup and the N0 Porsche-OE derivative fitted to the new GT3.

As I siad the N rated tires are tested and designed to meet Porsche specs.

[wross996TT]

As I siad the N rated tires are tested and designed to meet Porsche specs.

Actually you just said they were tested...read your own quote.

[KevinMac]

As I siad the N rated tires are tested and designed to meet Porsche specs.

Actually you just said they were tested...read your own quote.

Well actually I was not wrong:

"Specification tires are fine-tuned tires designed by O.E. tire suppliers in conjunction with Porsche to meet its traction, noise, comfort and treadwear needs. Tires are rated from N0, which are mostly snow sport tires, to N5, the tires found on the GT2. The number on the N rating is the number of times a specific tire size from a particular tire manufacturer has gone through the homologation process. N-spec tires wear an N-spec badge on their sidewalls and are available through Porsche's dealer network"

In order to meet the stated specs they have to go through a certification process which involves testing.

"European homologation step is the testing of those components when fitted to the vehicle: field of vision of rear view mirrors, lamp installation, tire fitting etc. Parallel to those installation tests all other applicable safety- and environmental-related tests are conducted."

But my whole point was the "N" rating should not have insurance consequences.

Edited January 28, 2008 by KevinMac

[wross996TT]

KevinMac, I was just trying to ensure the proper information was being given...in your original post you suggested

The N level just means that Porsche has tested these tires on their vehilcle to meet handling ride etc specs.

. I am simply pointing out

This is not quite correct....I refer you to this thread: tirerack and N rated tires

. Not trying to attack you, just getting the correct information out there.

[minny]

point is that n rating SHOULD NOT affect insurance whatsoever but if the unfortunate happens, they can use the argument that other tyres have not been tested by porsche and is therefore a modification... you know what they are like...

[Team996]

After careful deliberation, I've settled on getting Fuzions for my '01 C2 from TireRack, but the "recommended installer" they gave me urged me not to go with Fuzion because they're not "N1 rated" and could "void the suspension warranty." Can someone put this into simple, but informed English for me? Thanks!

[Lerxst]

I guess I'm the minority here. I picked up my '02 C2 last Spring, which came with Conti's with plenty of tread. On the road, they were adequate for the daily driving. For AutoX and the race track I found them disappointing for traction, predictability, and durability (compared to RT615s and RE040s on my 350Z). After one half of a season, they already need to be replaced. Next Spring I'm going with Yokohamas and look forward to getting rid of the Contis.

Edited February 3, 2008 by Lerxst