_snowbird_

I also think that 10yrs is way too old. I had 5yr old Michelins on my Audi Q5 that started cracking/dry-rotting between the tread blocks, and had chunks of rubber tearing off of the treads themselves. And these tires were only summer driven for at least 2 of the 5yrs. They are complete garbage now despite having 1.5-2mm's of tread left before hitting the wear bars.

And for regular street driving, I'm not convinced that the expensive tires perform noticeably better than some of the lesser brands at 'normal' speeds. Having some (limited) track experience now, I can finally understand where my tires' limits are. But I NEVER drive that aggressively on the streets. In fact, I can't think of a single road that could replicate the type of tire stress created in Turn 2 @ Mosport.

fsa

Ditto on Conti DW's grip and handling, wet or dry. Slightly softer sidewall, and I run 36/44 lbs. front/rear; they stick to the road no matter how stressed.
'97 C4S, 18" turbo twists

Drisump

Has anyone on this board ever got 20k miles out of a set of tires on a 911? For me, 10k miles for the rears and probably 15k miles on the fronts is what I would normally expect on summer performance tires. Occassionally the fronts can do two cycles of rears. This mileage has been consistant with various makes I have used over the years. Michelin, Sumi, BF Goodrich, Pirelli, Dunlop. Cheers

AZ Targa

I usually get 15k out of my rear PS2's; I should get a little more out of the Super Sports.

bpu699

Depends on storage. My car had 10 year old kuhmo so on it. Spent most of its life in storage. I didn't know the tire age the firs time I tracked it. Car did fine, no issues, and tires were like new. So, tracked it again, and did fine...

10 year old, like new tires...

Keep in mind, tire rack will sell tires up to 5 years old... Coker will go beyond that...

fsa

"Doing fine" does not equal predictable good luck or prudence. Statistically, you're pushing both. Particularly true with the kind of driving you are describing.

Ed Hughes

And, a 993 on decent suspension with a decent alignment will handle better than most other cars on the road. Incremental improvement in tires, suspension and setup can be felt.

bpu699

I got new tires after the second day... Didn't want to push it. On the street, they were more than fine...

fatmike

I've bought three Porsches over the years. All three had old tires. Two of the three had visible dry rot. First thing I did on all three cars was replace tires (+ all filters, belts(s) and fluids).

I suspect my experience is fairly typical which is scary.

/

Blacktop

My 993 had brand new Hankook Evo tires on it when I bought it. I've replaced the rear tires twice in the last 4 years, driving 3-5k miles per year. I run 44 psi in the back. This car eats rear tires.

JPS

44? Seems high? Are Evos different that way? Seeking to learn. I've never run any tire on any car that high.

il pirata

For the C4S the plate says 36F 44R. My current thinking on why the pressure is so high is that this covers running at top speed (around 180MPH) on the autobahn and not having the tires roll off. My 2013 BMW manual on the other hand has pages and pages of tire pressure settings that in part depends on how fast your are going to drive.

There has been a number of threads on what the tire pressure should be. I usually run 2-4 pounds less F/R with appox. the same ratio between front and rear...makes for a smoother ride with 18" wheels in my case.

BTW here is the link to the Porsche current vintage car tire approvals, it's interesting there is no warnings on tire pressure like in previous bulletins. Neither the tires I currently use or the tires I would like to use if available in OEM size are on the list.

http://www.porsche.com/international.../tyreapproval/

Here is one from 1997. Porsche was adamant that the tire pressure be 36F44R for ALL 16/17/18" wheels and that tires should not be older than 6 years.

http://www.pcarworkshop.com/images/0...1997_64047.pdf

Ed Hughes

Porsche has long recommended pressures that would promote understeer and tame oversteer to cover their legal asses. Hence the silly 44PSI rear on the plate.

Foxman

Great discussion, and it took me three seasons of AX to realize what Ed just stated above. I was getting tremendous understeer in my C2S running 32 front and 40 rear (4 lbs less in each tire, while maintaining the 8 lb. recommened differential). The 8 lb. diferential between the front and rear caused tremendous understeer, particularly noticeable in the rain at AX events. I recently narrowed the gap down to 3 to 4 lbs. between front and rear and it really seems to have balanced the car out. Before AX or track events I now bring the pressure down to 29.5 in front and 32.5 in the rear. The car seems much happier and more balanced.

_snowbird_

Interesting Foxman. I was experimenting with tire pressures at the track too, and ended up with 35-36F 38R hot temps, and still feel like I had a challenge with understeer.

My instructor was adamant that (hot) pressures needed to remain under 40, which seemed wise after some opening laps at 39R cold. When they got heated, the rears rose to 44-45 and were not working well.