Bill Gregory

This was just posted on the PCA web site. It's the January 2005 Porsche approved tire list:

16":
Bridgestone Expedia S-01 N2
Bridgestone S-02 N3
Continental SportContact CZ91 N0
Continental SportContact N1
Michelin MXX3 Pilot SX N1
Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico N2
Toyo Proxes F1S NO

17":
Bridgestone Expedia S-01 N2
Bridgestone S-02 N3
Bridgestone Potenza S-02A N4
Continental SportContact CZ91 N0
Continental SportContact N1
Continental SportContact2 N2
Dunlop SP Sport 8000 N0
Michelin MXX3 Pilot SX N0
Michelin MXX3 Pilot SX N1
Michelin Pilot Sport N2
Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico N1
Pirelli P-Zero Direzionale N2 / Asimmetrico N2
Pirelli P-Zero Rosso N3
Toyo Proxes F1S NO
Yokohama A008P N0

18":
Bridgestone Expedia S01 N0
Bridgestone S-02 N1
Continental SportContact CZ91 N0
Continental SportContact N1
Continental SportContact2 N2
Michelin Pilot Sport N1
Pirelli P-Zero N0
Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico N1
Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico N2
Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetrico N3
Pirelli P-Zero Rosso N4

Note, using a tire on this list doesn't mean you're taking your life in your hands, as there are good tires which are not on Porsche's recommended list. However, Porsche does put alot into testing tires, so these are good recommendations, and a good starting point.

And you already know that Porsche never approved 18" tires for the non-Turbo production 964's, although people do use them.

TA911-64

I'm surprised they don't list B. F. Goodrich G-Force. I just put these on My 1991 C-2
(after removing Toyo Proxes). The Toyo sidewalls are very soft, giving a smoother
ride overall, but terrible cornering (spongy!!) . I can't believe the difference in the
handling with the B. F.'s......although it's a harder ride overall. (Not hard enough
to switch back!) Tom 1991 C-2 1966 911 20 years ago

bhensarl

Thanks for the post, Bill. Good info here. I'm sure we'll be pointing people to this thread at least a few times in the near future.
Brian

hawk911

I'll be referencing it if my search yields a car that needs new tires. Thanks

JasonAndreas

The other thing to remember is that Porsche hasn't actually tested any of the tires on its approved list on a 964 (or 993).

jtkkz

I am using Yokohama AVS ES100 on my 964 and it seems pretty good.

Colin 90 C2

jtkkz,
How are the Yokos. I am comparing them to the Kuhmos and Tire Rack test show tham to be a better handling tire. How many miles have you put on them and how have they lasted. Any thoughts on wet/dry handling?

TIA
Colin

jtkkz

Colin
I have put over 1000 miles on them already, Iam not sure about wet cause I do not drive my car in the rain.
In the dry they are pretty good. I have a freind who races and have pushed his cars with those same tires and likes them a lot.

jimq

I use them in the rain and had no problems.

shophobbit

Having recently gone through this excercise I would share a few of my thoughts. The approved list did give me some pause in my decision but I needed a bit more balance in the final choice of tires. It was my perspective that the approved tires I found available were of high quality and exceptional performance but the longevity was a factor.

Considering that these automobiles are some of the most well built, high perforamce examples available, why would anyone consider anything less that the best tire to support the potential performance levels?In a word the why was answered by cost.

As I planned to drive the hell out of my car and get every bit of satisfaction from this thing I was looking at a daily driver. This consideration led me away from the super high performance (treadwear 140 and below) that tend to last about 10-14K miles to a more reasonable choice. The car came equipped with a touring tire (treadwear 400, 50KA mile) that by it very nature was too hard to give me the type of performance I sought.

So I compromised with a 280 tread wear tire that was a good balance of grip, handling, wet weather performance that would allow me to enjoy the car and not have to replace the tires every year. My research also include reviews and customer feedback from the Tire Rack which I found helpful but you need to consider as not the absolute gospel.

I finally landed on a set of Eagle F-1 GS-D3's. While these are not an officially approved tire I have been happy with them to date. Good dry and wet weather handling, stiff enough to make the unenthusiastic complain just a little. So far I found this to be a good choice for my conditions up in the NW.

Millemiglia

What models are these tires approved for?
The whole 911 range?

NotTwinTurboYet

Yes, where they fit

NotTwinTurboYet

I tested Bridgestone S-02, Yokohama AVS sport, BF goodrich and Pirelli Assimetrico (and Pirelli p zero corsa, but it's not the same purpose...).

The S02 is the best, incredible grip both when braking and in corners. Very good tyre on wet roads also, the best choice for all 911! BTW, it has a treadwear raed at 140, and it is true The S02 is also very good on track, again the best tyre for those who don't want to go for special tyres such as p zero corsa or michelin sport cup.

The Pirelli Assimetrico is also good, but comes hot to quickly on a track and after 3 laps it lets you feel you are on a wet road... On road, it is good but it's not the S02...

The AVS Sport (reinforced) was a big disappointement for me. Compared to the S02, there is no grip when braking and in corners. Treadwear is 180 but using them the same way I used the S02, I ran twice the distance! Compared to the Pirelli, on a track, they come hot later, which means you can expect to go for 5 laps instead 3 whithout the feeling to loose control of the car. However, again, their grip in corners was a big disappointement.

The BF goodrich. Can they wear out? I don't know their treadwear, but 2000 should be the value Their grip is not bad, but they are too soft (no reinforced version available). The main problem with them is that when they are cold, there's no grip at all! They come hot slowly which means that, finally, on a track, you keep a good feeling for a long time, and even using them hardly for 2 days on y track, they don't wear out! Of course, with them, you will never follow a guy with S02 tyres

This is my small experience, but I think the feeling each one has with a tyre largely depends of roads, drivers, cars, and set up of the drive train. Therefore, comparisons between personnal experiences are almost impossible.

NotTwinTurboYet

To my knowledge, you can add the Yokohama AVS Sport ZR N1 (18") which I beleive to be the same than the old AVS Sport "Reinforced" before that they went N-rated (but I may be wrong on that last point)

A+