Jam68

Newbie question and confusion.

I have a 2010 997 and it has 235/40-18's on the front and 295/35-18's on the rear. The car had the summer/winter tires and the summers are on it now. They are Yokohama ADVAN Sport. It was being checked out at the deal - unrelated problem - and they said you have 5/32's on the rears but the inner wall is getting low on life.

I asked for a quote to replace them and my service rep gave me an option for the Yokohama (which they did not recommend) or the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. They said the front was fine and that it was fine to mix front to rear. That really surprised me. I asked around several people said that the N-rated tires have a pretty limited selection but there were several options. I don't plan to track the car - and if I did I would buy track tires/wheels. When I stopped in to get my car the service rep was out so another covered for mine. This one said never mix front and rear tires. He said if you want to go to the Michelin's you should do all 4 AND it would be a few weeks before they could get the Yokohama replacements. So, the same dealer said don't mix and it is fine to mix. They said the fronts have over 8/32's left and they can be rotated because they are not unidirectional.

When I chatted with someone at TireRack they did not bring up the N-rating and they said, based on my preference for low road noise and good wet/dry driving with limited winter they would recommend a Continental ExtremeContact DWS (which is not N-rated). But they did recommend doing all 4.

So, I am confused. I know I need new rears and the fronts are in good shape. I am not sure about mixing front and rears or about going outside of the Porsche N-rating.

- Is it acceptable to mix and put the Michelin's on the rear with the Yokohama's on the front?
- Is a tire like the Continental appropriate even without the N-rating?
- What is a tire that is recommended for a street tire with low road noise and good wet/dry performance?

Thanks,

Joe.

GSIRM3

I wouldn't be as concerned about new tires not being N rated, although many owners prefer them. I would however NOT mix brands front and rear. Just curious, did someone at the local Porsche dealer tell you it was OK to mix brands front and rear? If you are not concerned about N rating, the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports get great reviews, if available in your 18" size.

dasams

Never mix brands front and rear because, for example, they may respond differently to temperature and you may find that creates varying oversteer / understeer which can bite. If it were me, I'd replace all four tires with Michelin Super Sports which is what I'm going to do when my Bridgestones wear out. Also, I have no problem running quality non N tires (except those who plan for a lease return). Dave

mk85911

One option would be to simply replace the two rear tires with the same brand and model you have on the front. Then all four will wear out together and you can select anything you want. typically, you will go through two sets of rears during the period it takes to go through the fronts. Also, the rear tires are not the original size; they should be 265/40-18 for a 997.2 c2, which I assume is the model because of the size up front.

PHX 911

Get 4 Michelin Super Sports at a tire shop that you can trust with your Porsche.

Jam68

Yes, it was the service tech at the local Porsche dealer. That is what stumped me - the service tech said it was fine but the one I talked with when I picked the car up said no way. That is the source of the problem.

Jam68

Mine is a Targa4 with the 295's on the rear. They are the stock tires but the Yokohama's are harder to find. I am thinking that I will just swap out the rears with 2 more identical Yokohama's and then do all 4 when they go. Thanks!

CORSASCHNELL

Lots of good advice above. Do not mix tire brands, Pilot SS the best tires, N rating not necessary.

2005997carrera2

As everyone else says I would go with 4 Michelin Pilot Super sports, they make the car feel noticeably quieter and bring better grip.

Jam68

All:

Thanks very much. The key to me is don't mix. I was very surprised that the dealer said it was fine. I am going to buy 2 more for the rear in the Yokohama's and when they go bad I will replace all 4 with Michelin's. I just can't seem to throw away 2 perfectly good tires.

Thanks,

Joe.

Iceter

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that on a daily driver, it is perfectly acceptable to mix brands front/rear. Unless you are going to track the car, there is no performance reason why you can't mix brands. I will say for 95% of daily drivers, this holds true.

Most people never drive their sports cars beyond 7/10ths--and even that's a stretch. Changing brands WILL change the points at which your car oversteers and understeers, but that would happen even if you changed all four tires. Just take it easy until you learn the new limits and I believe you will be fine.

There are enough worn-out tires in landfills. Discarding perfectly good fronts seems needlessly wasteful to me.

But, on a DD, you may find that running two brands is not aesthetically consistent. Sidewalls vary widely from brand to brand.

Just my 2 cents, let the flaming begin.

Mbiondo

I agree. But aesthetics alone, I would not want the mismatch on such a car. It's not a problem the OP created, but it is one in which he (or she) needs to fix. I think the OP is on the right track: avoid the wastefulness by purchasing Yoko's for the rear now; buy new set of Michelins when all 4 needed. Period. Let's drive!

seapar

OP
When you do replace all 4 with PSS consider an alignment to maximize your tire investment. When was your last one?

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S coupe

I have mixed tires with original Michelins on the front, and the Continental DWS on the rear... not my choice, a dealer did it (the Contis are the cheapest alternative for Porsche 19"). The Conti's are a recommended Porsche tire (IIRC), and are all seasons (DWS= Dry, Wet, Snow).

This setup is awful. The fronts grip like mad and the rears are squirmy has heck. My back end wiggles like -insert the name of your old girlfriend here-. The car will not drift out uniformly on a well executed, powered turn.

Having said this, I would not mix brands because you are getting different grip levels, at least this is a likely consequence.

If you don't drive aggressively, then I really don't think any of this matters... get the cheapest tires and forget about it. My car does move forward, won't explode, and generally drives fine with the mix. Aggressive, in my definition, does not mean FAST. It means breaking late and hard before a turn, then applying the gas through the turn and exiting with a slight drift. If you drive like this, don't mix.

Peace
Bruce

stubenhocker

Wow, where to begin?
There are NO ALL SEASONS RECOMMENDED FOR PORSCHE!
Even if there were you should NEVER MIX TIRE TYPES! Nrated or not.