ChuckG

Christian!

I was the guy with the Sumis on the 964 (it is actually Midnight Blue- very similar to Amazon Green but more purple than green). I posted some pics from the track day here (I think you will see your car a few times):

http://gallery.rennlist.com/gallery/album824?page=1

CraigC

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec is what I have on 964 and my STI. These are awesome performance tires that should give a reasonable amount of wear. If you are going to AX with them they are worth 2 to 3 seconds. Ive taken many fast time of the day placings with my 964 and these tires. about the only cars that can beat me are Z 06s on race slicks. The are pretty good in the rain too. These are the best bang for the buck for true upper level performance tires.

cobalt

Have to love cobalt blue thanks for the pics.

I have found for an all around street tire that can be used for AX and DE the Michelin MPS2's are outstanding in every way. They are superior to the RA-1's and R888's in the rain, do Ok at AX and when hot on the track can do quite well. Great communication. So i would suggest these if you are looking for a street tire and not M compound. The biggest issue is they will turn to rocks before they wear out but you should see 8-10k miles out of a set before you need new ones.

The RA-1's are a great all around tire for the 964. Assuming you can get the size you need I would suggest these over the R888's. Good all around tire but not so great in anything below 45 degrees and fair in the rain compared to the MPS2's. Great for AX and for DE although expect between 2k and 4k tops out of a set if you abuse them especially on a rough AX surface.

I have not driven on the Nittos NT-1's but I hear they are as good if not better than the R888's cheaper if you can find your size again don't expect them to take the punishment a street tire will.

The R888' s are a good tire but not great for the street. Noisy once broken in and take a hundred miles of hard track driving before they show their stuff. I think they are more consistent than the RA-1's which peak a little more so but pretty close in overall dry conditions.

In any case cobalt is always faster than any other color no matter what tires.

HalV

I am very happy with the Sumi HTRZ-III on my WRX. They'll be high on my list when I decide to replace the Bridgestone RE01s on my 964.

misterbeverlyhills

Great photos Chuck, sorry for the slight, I thought it was Midnight but then got confused looking at the photos over on the Bird site as it looked Amazon from one angle in the sun. Love the way Midnigh, Cobalt and Amazon all turn in various light to different shades, gives you so much more than Fascist White.

Thanks for the comments gents, it is between Sumi and Dunlop, Michelin too expensive as I wear them out quick and RA1s don't come in the right size for the 17 inch Twists.

PorscheZen

+1 for Cobalt's recco on the PS2's - I love these tires. I find them to be really high quality all around.
A little more expensive than the Sumi's however

cobalt

I hear they are releasing a new line in 17" in RA-1's did you check recently? Whatever they don't have in RA-1's you should be able to find in the Nitto's might be worth a look. Considering there the same company.

i also agree on the midnight, cobalt and amazon. My three favorite colors so far only have amazon and cobalt but maybe the next one will be midnight.

misterbeverlyhills

Bill, did you ever get your car paint matched satisfactorily? I finally took a leap of faith here and am getting the rust bubble at the windscreen repaired and we will paint the cowl, took the fuel door off to match, I am hoping it comes out OK.

As you walk around the car it changes color depending on angle and where light hits it so maybe even if we are off it won't look too bad. The painter is an artist, great work on all the cars in the shop including some awesome repairs to a real 73 rs that was driven hard and put away wet for years, it is gorgeous.

I agree about Midnight, I am waiting for a nice RSA to come up to really tempt me but I personally am not a big fan of camel/beige interiors and that is what is available in my price range just now.

cobalt

I never followed through with my tail. Got too busy at work. This year though. What I did learn is that any Porsche paint can vary extremely from one car to another even though they use the same paint formula. The biggest issue with cobalt is it has one of the most complex formulas with 11 different colors and they used mica in a single stage color to create the changes in color. Unlike today's pearlescent paints that put down a base color and then spray a Mica layer and then a topcoat. In the case of my turbo it changes to the extremes. It will go from light pink to purple to dark blue and many shades in-between depending on where the sun is in the sky. I have parked my car next to other cobalt blue cars and have found my car is quite a bit more pronounced on the color change and others were less some more so and some barely changed at all in comparison. Although I did see a 944 that had as much color shift as my car so it is dependent on the car maybe the person who mixed the paint or whether or not it was a Monday or Friday, drank the night before or didn't (??)

So the biggest issue is not just matching the base color but figuring out how to add the appropriate amount of mica and finding someone experienced in using it this way.