873/1960

I searched high and low for pictures comparing N-spec to non-N Michelin PSS and couldn't find any before I had to decide, so in case anyone in the future is wondering, here are what they look like side by side. One of them is a 235 and the other is a 265, and my perspective is slightly askew on one of them, but they look pretty damn identical to me. Of course, there is still the "special compound" argument, but I find that only slightly more plausible than chemtrails

brad@tirerack.com

Here is our writeup on N vs. Non N rated tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=26

Slantnose!

That was good to read.

LexVan

Super Sports are now N rated? When did this happen? This week?

brad@tirerack.com

Yes, in sizes:

255/45R19
265/35R19
285/40R19
335/30R20
255/40R20
295/35R20

leftlane

Interesting read - I'd like to know if Porsche shares in the development costs and/or receives a kickback from N-spec tire sales. Seems like a lot of marketing to me that adds to the cost of the tires.

LexVan

I don't have any answer to your questions. But, does Porsche really need any monies back from the fat little Michelin man? I mean what's a few million when you're making billions. Whatever.

Here's a little known fact:

At some of the MAJOR Porsche race events, like the ALMS/Grand Am at Road America last year, race teams "lease" tires from Michelin. All the tires belong to Michelin. The Michelin people account for, and confiscate each and every used tire during the event. Nothing is allowed to be kept by the race teams or Porsche Motorsport.

leftlane

I think getting a kickback on tires would add up to a huge amount of money every year. Not saying they do it, but since when does a company not want to maximize profit just because they already make a lot of money? It would be interesting to do the actual math on total sales of N spec tires every year and then figure out what a realistic profit sharing arrangement might be.

Anyways, I'm bored today, and watching the US Open, so my mind is wandering.