maximusbibicus

Hello!

I am on the hunt for new tires for my "new to me" 981 Boxster. Right now it is still the the OEM P-Zeros on the front. The rears are much newer with good tread ware and are matching P-Zeros but obviously have been replaced. Both are "N" spec.

I have a few options for replacement, here is what I am looking at:

1) Replacing the worn fronts and continuing with P-Zeros. Because I want to keep things the same front and rear this means i'm locked into P-Zeros, not the biggest fan. They are pricey as well, mostly because of N spec.

2) Getting a new set of Conti Extreme Contact Sport. I have had these on a previous car and liked them. Good value and overall good tire. I would then sell the rear P-Zeros. Not Porsche spec but thats fine, same thing all around.

3) Last, and my preference is to get a set of Michelin PS4S. Problem is right now availability in Canada seems low. My tire shop, who sources from various distributors cannot get a straight set of PS4S. What they can get is the Porsche spec NA0 for the front and Mercedes spec MO1 for the rear. Even looking at Michelin's site directly that is my only option for the rear:




The manual says only to put Porsche spec tires and I don't think thats a requirement for me. Same tires all around would be great. I'm just worried about different spec front and back. I've seen online that Porsche spec tires can be specific to the vehicle and there is a difference, especially in wet weather performance. I don't want to play with fire and have different specs front and rear.

I really want the PS4S but not in the only configuration available to me. The Conti's are good tires and they would match front to rear and I would save $600 bucks. What would you do?

KrisA

I've got the Conti Extreme Contact Sports, not N rated, on my car and I've got no complaints. Tons of grip in the dry and wet. Seem to be wearing well. Would buy again.

absoluteczech

I mean PS4's are the gold standard. I have them on all my cars except the wife's cuv. But if you prefer other tires than there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of your second options. I also wouldnt pull your hair out about Porsche spec and having to have NA0. You're going to have the purist up and arm saying it has to be that, but I can bet 99% people would have absolutely no idea if you didnt tell them. Only time I would say avoid a specific spec would be the Tesla PS4 spec as I've heard (not sure if true) has a stiffer sidewall because of the cars increased weight.

If you're tracking the car or driving it at events and on the limits maybe it would be worth while to get the proper spec, but for driving to a cars and coffee in the morning or putting around town with the occasional spirited drive, just get what you can and you'll be fine. I see tons of Porsche's that rarely get driven being on 6+ year old tires and it's better to have fresh tires than proper oem spec codes on them.

tldr unless youre gonna track the car N spec isn't that important.

xsbank

Take a look at the date codes on your tires. Michelin Canada says their dealers will not mount tires over 3 years old. At 6 years, they are toast. You didn't say what year your car was?

Chrismalberts

There's no issue with mixing tires F/R only within the axle. I'd consider getting the Michelin fronts, trying to tear up your rears as quickly as possible and then putting the matching Michelins on the rear when that day comes. I'd keep an eye on availability and grab them when you see them and just store them for a little while.

maximusbibicus

Loved them for the short time I had the on my Golf R. I just wanted to step up to try the PS4S out. So many stellar reviews.

maximusbibicus

Thanks for the input. I am not fussed about needing N spec, I am more worried about having different spec'd tries from front to rear. Just like your Tesla example, what are the Mercedes standards for M spec? I would prefer to find PS4S that are not brand specific but I can't seem to find that right now. Thats why I am considering the Conti's, at least they are the same.

maximusbibicus

Its a 2014, date code for the front is 2014 as well....they need to go in a big way.

ncster

I'm planning on going with PS4S on my 981 w/ 19" rims as well. It seems that 265/40R19 PS4S are actually only availabe in M01 type as you mentioned, and N0 235/40R19 are hard to find. I'm planning on getting the M01 rears along with non-N0 fronts. I don't think the difference is really substantial. There has been a lot of debate on N-rated vs non-N-rated tires on this forum to no proper conclusion. No one even knows what the actual difference is if there is. Some say that the tire shape is slightly different. Others say that it's a slighly different compound. I saw that the 1% potential difference between the specs is just irrelevant for most of us.

As far as mis-matched fronts and rears, not a big deal at all. Make sure each axle is matched though.

alvitdk

Just recently switched from Continental Extreme Contact to the PS4S, the Conti tires are great for the first 50% but got really hard towards the second half, hated them on my last twisties with lots of rear-end movement. So far the PS4S are great, will see how they hold up towards the end....

maximusbibicus

Thanks for feedback. What spec are your set? Were you able to get the rears in normal spec?

alvitdk

Yes, I never paid attention to the "Porsche" spec of tires, not sure what the difference is as there are so many different opinions about it. Never had an issue with getting regular spec tires for any of my cars.

CaymanCarver

This is just bad advice and is definitely not OK. Especially the part about driving hard to "tear up the rears" after creating a mismatch.
You have to consider tread depths, tread pattern design and relative traction, sidewall strength etc...
You're setting the car up to handle differently/unpredictably. Just don't do it.

In cases like this you have to sacrifice front tires that are in reasonably good condition.
Oh well ..have to take the leap and be prepared to burn two sets of rears before making a complete switch.
That's what I did recently jumping to the Conti's (had two reasonably good PZero's on the front).

Only mix tires this way in a pinch as a temporary fix. If you ever have to do this, just cruise in light driving mode ..avoid any panic situations and unpredictable traction behavior.
OR get a complete set of some other cheaper tire ..there are plenty of options.
The saving grace is the fantastic weight distribution and inherent balance of the Cayman/Boxster.

The Conti's are an excellent tire that provide great communication with the road. More of a Drivers Tire. This is the first I've heard they get hard after 50% wear (which I've experienced with Toyo R888's)
The PS4S's are a bit softer and sacrifice some degree of comms with the road. I've never heard anyone say PS4S's get harder with age and wear, but I also don't hear hardcore Drivers praising them either.

Schwinn

I recall in one of my previous cars (a FWD Mazda MX6) I had a set of Dunlop D40 on one axle and Toyo Proxes F1 on the other. I recall driving through the snow in MA on I-90 and even going 30mph on the plowed highway, I couldn't keep the car straight - it would spin out easily (remember, this is a FWD car!) just from driving straight.. and it was terrible even when trying to turn. It was ridiculous. I ended up driving to the first shop I could and tossing all 4 tires (the Proxes were pretty new, and the guy wanted to have me keep them, but I wanted to be rid of them ASAP... awful tires) and got Pirelli P4000 tires on all 4 corners... and had no problems with that the rest of the way.

Granted, that was a snow situation, but I will never mismatch tires again on any car... it's not worth it. What's more, it's fine to say that you should drive more carefully if you have a mismatch, but in an emergency situation, you have no choice... and that's not when you want to find out how badly the car is going to behave. Best to just be rid of the mismatch. Maybe it won't matter as much between higher-performing models like the PZero and Michi/Conti... but it's not something I would recommend anyway.

In the OP's case, I'm cheap, so I would consider just getting 2 new PZeros until they're all worn out, but if you're really itching to switch away, then do them all. As for the N-spec, it doesn't sound like you're going to 9/10+ performance with your car, in which case you are probably fine with standard-spec tires. I would do standard tires on my car, as I am not good enough to notice the difference in my driving or my skillset.

ncster

To clarify, I meant mix and match differently rated PS4S tires front and rear (such as M01 rears with standard fronts) but to avoid different rated PS4S on the same axle (N0 on one front wheel and standard on another front wheel). I believe it's best to stick with the same make/model on all 4 corners.