996 Tire Wear

[moosey]

I have a 03 targa with X74 suspension. I wanted to know if it is normal to go through rear tires faster since the car is lowered? I have only 11,000 miles on the x74 suspension and the rear tires that are Continental sport contact 2's and both rear tires are down to the tread bars. Also the inner treads are worn down to wear the tread bars are all gone. Is this normal? I drive 50/50 city/highway and always make sure tire pressure are right, could this be a balancing problem? Thanks all!

[Loren]

Yes, if I get 12,000 miles out of my rear tires I feel fortunate.

Your driving style can affect tire wear - but I still would expect to wear out two sets of rears for every one set of fronts.

[therock88]

Agree with Loren....On my last several 996's I don't think I ever got that many miles on the rear tires, so you are doing good with 11K IMO...

My last one had 27000 miles and I was on my 4th set of tires, and I tried a variety from Pirelli to Continental to Bridgestone

[kgoertz]

I'm pretty sure that lowering the car results in decreased camber which increases wear on the inside of the tire.

My 02 was lowered about 1.5" when I bought it. At that time the alignment shop that I was using was unable to get my car within Porsche specs with that height. The numbers after alignment were ~-1.75x for the rear camber where spec was -1.48x. The tires were completely worn on the inside, but still had decent tread on the outside. This was at ~15,000 miles.

I replaced the tires (PS2s) at that time and have since driven 15,000 miles on the them (mostly highway). I guess this means I don't drive aggressively enough :-)

If your tire wear is more extreme you might want to get a full alignment and check the rear camber.

[BryanH]

I've got 10,000 miles on the exact same rear tires and am starting the search for replacements now. And I'm a stock, 99, not lowered coupe. However my tire wear is pretty even across the tread face.

[pmfakelly]

Hi Guys

I have 996c2 on Conti sport 2 5000k on a full new set and back LHS in nearly worn to the Bars. The left has more meat by about 2mm.

Fronts have 7mm. Any comments

Alignment ??

Is it pos to correct alignmment if wear is already even accross tyre.

Thanks

[peckel]

I have a 03 targa with X74 suspension. I wanted to know if it is normal to go through rear tires faster since the car is lowered? I have only 11,000 miles on the x74 suspension and the rear tires that are Continental sport contact 2's and both rear tires are down to the tread bars. Also the inner treads are worn down to wear the tread bars are all gone. Is this normal? I drive 50/50 city/highway and always make sure tire pressure are right, could this be a balancing problem? Thanks all!

Moosey,

I think you have gotten pretty good wear out of those tires. My experience has been 3 pairs in the rear per 1 pair in the front. I plan on around 10-11k per rear pair. I drive moderately hard to hard, street only.

[geoff]

My wife's 997 Carrera just got her second set of rear tires installed a few weeks ago. I check the air pressure every 3 or 4 weeks, have the balance checked every 5-6K miles, and every couple of years get it aligned. She got about 28K miles on each rear set of PS2s, with a combination of canyon, freeway and stop-and-go driving. I don't think she ever hits 100 MPH, but comes close on the freeway at times, and she definitely doesn't drive like a little old lady. No track driving though. Somewhere I read the 997s don't go through rear tires as fast as 996s, but since I get good tire wear on all our P-cars by keeping them properly inflated and balanced, I think that has a lot to do with how well they wear. I've got 29+K miles on the original Contis on our '08 Cayenne S and they aren't quite down to the wear bars yet, even with lots of canyon driving. I can't understand how tires would have to be changed more frequently than motor oil