96redLT4

Having had both on my 997 I think the Michelin PSS is a better tire. This seems to be the board consensus as well. Plus its cheaper! Curious why Porsche stays with the Pirelli?
Jim

systemr

i think the 991.2 comes with a N0/N1 MPSS?

basically whomever pays porsche the most i'd guess?

13mit

If I remember right, when the 991/981 came out, the Michelin PSS wasn't on the approved tire list because they didn't meet N-spec at the time for whatever reason. So Porsche probably got with Pirelli/Goodyear and just stuck with them for this cycle.

Larry Cable

I think I recall that there was some deal between Porsche and Pirelli for them
to be the exclusive tire partner for the 991...

I believe that Michelin finally have an N spec MPSS for the 991 now.

Michelin and Porsche definitely worked together on the MPSS, there were even Porsche engineers present at the global press launch of the MPSS , I
believe though that Pirelli had signed an exclusive deal with PAG that finally
expired to allow Michelin to develop an N spec MPSS for the .2 ...

I'll be replacing the PZeros on my GTS with MPSS when time comes!

golfnutintib

it is a common procurement strategy to dual source or even have three sources for all procured items.

as management consultants purveying 'global procurement best practices' it is one of the holy rules... without qualified alternate sources there is no negotiating leverage in annual supplier discussions - in an industry like the car industry this can mean many millions of dollars a year in cost impact to the bottom line

this having been said... we all know that michelins are by far the best, dunlops second best, pirelli's basically suck after the first 25 percent of tread life... to me pirelli's are a joke - but porsche sells new cars and for most, pirelli p zero's work fine for the first year or so under normal use for non tracking customers

mikeearly

Did not see any MPSS at tirerack with the NO rating but they do now list Cup2's with NO certification for about $2100 for 4.

Probably OK for track use but sure seems a bit high for normal street use....

Hopefully the MPSS will follow soon.....

Larry Cable

right those are for the 991 GT3 ... we will have to wait until the 991.2 starts shipping in ernest before the rubber will become available...

Larry Cable

agreed, and Porsche *used* to multi-source their rubber up to and including
the 997, but for some reason when the 991 came out they didn't continue
the practice...

I think we will see them return to this for the .2s ...

Homeles

$$$

MKW

don't forget that Porsche has announced that the 991.2 PZero will be generation 2 ,i.e., " N1 " , reformulated because tire technology moves fast , so even if there is a first gen MPSS " N0 " for the 991.2, it will be compared to the second gen " N1 " P Zero ....so ....apples and oranges ...ya know .

So a true comparo can only be done with .2 car shod with the two latest OEM brands , not for these new tires as mounted on a current .1 , since they are optimized for the extra weight , revised limit handling balance , susp tweaks, wider spec'd std rear rubber and the chassis behavior caused by the vastly different lower rpm torque characteristics of the new turbo motors ...not the 0.1 .


until the rubber hits the road...who knows...maybe the PZero N1 will handle better AND be quieter/ ride smoother than the MPSS N0 ...opposite of experiences now ....no one at the retail level knows

bottom line....either coming new N spec tire is prob better for the 991.1 than the now several year old tire...but neither are optimized ..has always been that way, going back decades of N specs ...technology marches on..a good thing , in the big picture

MerlinsGarage

For the street I'd put Bridgestone ahead of P-Zero as well. (I use N-spec BS's on a non-Porsche). I find them to have more communication nearing the limit of adhesion. Also much better than Goodyear F-1.

John 996 TT Cab

This one is easy and does not require any conjecture. Porsche put the development of the 20" tires out to the tire companies to develop and supply those tires for the 991 Series. Porsche supplied the required tread life and all other specifications vis a vis performance and life time use. Pirelli won the contract which involved Pirelli doing all the engineering work on the 20" tires themselves. In return they received a 3 year contract to be the exclusive supplier of 20" tires for the 991 series. Simple economics on Porsche's part. This information comes from Pirelli itself not Porsche.

RobC4sX51

This one is easy and does not require any conjecture. Porsche put the development of the 20" tires out to the tire companies to develop and supply those tires for the 991 Series. Porsche supplied the required tread life and all other specifications vis a vis performance and life time use. Pirelli won the contract

Thanks John in V. I have Pzeros now and they are fine. I had MPSS on my 997.2 and liked them too. Have Sottozeros for winter now, and they are just fine. Looking at some Pirrelis Scorpian Eco for wife's CD as TireRack highly recommends them.

MKW

and we musn't forget , ANY similar class tire will be " quieter " when replacing a worn one , whether exact same model tire or different brand

( separate issue from the baseline relative tire tread noise of brand new tires of different makers or within same company )

Daekwan

What does N spec mean?