Tire Help

[Mijostyn]

Well, the rears on my 1st set of P Zero Rosso tires is down to 3/32 and it is time to start looking for new ones. I managed 11,000 miles. The car is an 06 C4S and the only N rated tires for it are Michelin SP2s, the P Zeros, and a model of Bridgestones all with bad tread wear ratings. The Rossos handle well but I did't realized how bad they rode until I put Sottozero series 2s on for the Winter. The car feels great on those snow tires! I'm sure they do not handle as well at the limits but, who drives at the limits in a snow storm? My car is a daily driver and I might get to the track once a decade. Ride and noise levels are significant factors.

The two tires that I can get with better wear ratings are the Michelin Pilot Super Sports and the Bridgestone RE 11s both not N rated. Does any one have experience with these tires? Am I asking for it putting unrated tires on the car? The dealer will only put N rated tires on the car and they will not even discuss other tires.

[logray]

You can put non-N rated tires on, don't worry about that. When I go to drivers events people run everything from hoosiers to toyos to bf goodrich... none of those carry an N rating and they are putting some extreme pressures on the tires compared with daily driving.

I guess what are you looking for longevity, performance, budget, etc?

Pretty much any 911 is going to burn through a set of rears in 5-20k depending on how it is driven.

For longevity the michelins and bridgestones you mention are great, I've run both (the non n-rated version) and they last a long time and I have even tracked the car with them. To aid in longeivty following recommended tire pressures (which are high) and a neutral/non aggressive alignment setup helps too.

I've had continentals and hated them. I've had pierrli snow and they were great in adverse conditions, but thats about it.

For performance, toyo r888s or federals on the cheap. both are DOT street legal. they don't last a long time but offer 100 or below UTQG.

BF goodrich/hoosier Track day only

[0356kid]

I had the Pirelli P Zero Rosso on my 08C2S and got 14000 miles out of them. The last 2000 miles or so they got extremely noisy to the point I thought I had a bearing issue or something. Asked the same thing on what to buy here and most suggested the Pilot Super Sports so that is what I went with. Very quiet tires which I like. Not N rated but dealer was honest and said same thing as log ray that it wouldn't really be a problem even though my car is still covered by CPO. Wouldn't buy P Zeros again if you gave them to me free. I got my Super Sports thru Tire Rack and had them shipped to my work and then mounted and balanced locally.

[Mijostyn]

Thanx Logray. Price is not an issue. I suppose ride and safety followed by handling at the limit are my chief concerns. Not having to mount new tires all the time would be nice. It seems every time I get new tires mounted one of my rims gets dinged. Mounting 30 series tires is a royal pain in the neck.

My understanding, or that of the dealer is that N rated tires have been tested and approved to work correctly with all the electronic nannies. If you wreck with an unapproved tire on the car you are on your own. Which, is probably most of us since they charge a premium for N rated tires and there seem to be so few of them.

The cost concious folks like the Hancooks but, they are directional which I do not like. I rotate wheels side to side as in my experience the tires wear better and stay quieter. I forgot to mention the Bridgestone S-04s. The RE 11s are new. Has anyone tried these yet?

I guess I am leaning towards the Michelins which is unfortunate as I have a vandetta against them. They screwed me over a set of snow tires 10 years ago. Every one developed side wall hernias which they blamed on road damage. ALL 4 TIRES??? Finally I tossed them all and put Dunlops on the car vowing never to buy another Michelin. The next year that model was mysteriously updated. So much for customer service. I now get my tires from Tire Rack who have always treated me wonderfully.

I would love to recreate the feel of the Sottozeros in a Summer tire. They are quieter and there is less noise in the steering and the seat of my pants. I think I get a more accurate feel of the road. The Sottozeros are the full 19" size. I did not go with 18" snows as it is much harder to sell the Wheels if you trade in the car.

0356Kid, how do you like the ride of the Super Sports as compared to the P Zeros? If you rotate your wheels side to side every 2500 miles or so the tires will not get noisey. Scalloping of the tread blocks is what causes the noise. The tread block wears faster at the leading edge. You can tell if a tire is scalloped by rubbing your hand back and forth around the road surface of the tire. Your hand will run smoothly in one direction but catch on the edge of the tread blocks in the other. This is also why tires with continuous treads tend to run quieter.

Edited June 17, 2013 by Mijostyn

[Uwon]

Hated my Rossos-lowder as they wore and harsh. lowsy wet traction. Moved to Michelin Super Sports and the 295 rears gave me a howl at cruising speed (113-118 Kph as I remember). Based on discussions on this forum I moved to 305's in the rear and now there is no howling. Go figure. Great grip in dry and wet, relatively quiet and good wear. I'm a happy camper now.

[Mijostyn]

Uwon, my Rossos do not make much noise but they do transmit road vibration small irregularities more than I would like and they are STIFF. Again, if you rotate your tires side to side every 2500-3000 miles or so, all your tires will make less noise as they wear. Not sure how to explain the howl with the 295s. I get a quite, supple but still communicative ride out of those Sottozereos.

It seems the Super Sports are quite popular. Anybody have any comments on the Bridgestones, S - 04s or RE 11s??

[0356kid]

Mijostyn,

My Super Sports are too new to compare to the Pirelli P-Zero tires but they seem to handle fine. I'll have to wait until the winter months to see how they are in the wet but don't hold your breath as not too much rain here in southern california. Didn't know or think about rotating from side to side. Thanks for that advise.

[Mijostyn]

The side to side rotation applies to asymmetrical tires only which your Super Sports are. You can not do this with directional tires which is why I avoid them. Had a set of directional Yoks on a GM pickup once and they howled like a deranged cayote.

[seahawkeye]

Mijostyn I haven't changed my summer tires yet but just tracked them for first time (using stock Michelins) and I need to do this now. All the research I did last year pointed to the Super Sports being the best of all worlds so that is what I'm going to go with. Good tip about the 305s having less howl but I think that is already stock on my Carrera Sport 19s..

[Mijostyn]

Thanx Seahawkeye. I am getting ready to order the Super Sports. Just waiting till the credit card rolls over. I already have new tire pressure sensors and I have to get one rim trued then new sneakers for the stud!!

[Mijostyn]

Have new Super Sports on the stud. Car feels great. Ride is more supple than P Zeros. There seems to be a bit more road noise but it is tolerable. Now let's see how they wear. The only howl I here is air rushing over the car at 120 mph!!

Edited August 7, 2013 by Mijostyn

[R3nn3r]

On 6/17/2013 at 8:28 AM, logray said:

You can put non-N rated tires on, don't worry about that. When I go to drivers events people run everything from hoosiers to toyos to bf goodrich... none of those carry an N rating and they are putting some extreme pressures on the tires compared with daily driving.

I guess what are you looking for longevity, performance, budget, etc?

Pretty much any 911 is going to burn through a set of rears in 5-20k depending on how it is driven.

For longevity the michelins and bridgestones you mention are great, I've run both (the non n-rated version) and they last a long time and I have even tracked the car with them. To aid in longeivty following recommended tire pressures (which are high) and a neutral/non aggressive alignment setup helps too.

I've had continentals and hated them. I've had pierrli snow and they were great in adverse conditions, but thats about it.

For performance, toyo r888s or federals on the cheap. both are DOT street legal. they don't last a long time but offer 100 or below UTQG.

BF goodrich/hoosier Track day only

 

 

Are you referring to the Toyo Proxes? Would like to know your insight on the T1R and R888. I think I've read somewhere that it has the classic Porsche sizes. Are these suitable for fast road and track work?

[jl-c]

Mine when I had it had Bridgestone RE05A's on. Loved them and grip was great wet and dry, when they died I thought everyone says how good the Michelins are so I went for a set of Pilot Sports 2, they are horrible. Not progressive at all, they snap out at the limits, and they are so noisy. The Bridgestones telegraph what they are doing, the Michelins don't. Running 2005 Carrera 2S with standard 19" Classic wheels. Next time Brigestone definately. My opinion, yours may differ!