qwe

My "indy" mechanic is a former racer, PCA instructor & former mechanic and service manager for a large dealership. He now runs an independent shop. I asked him whether or not he recommended "N" rated tires. Short answer - 'yes'. He said that the "N" rating has to do with the sidewall stiffness, and that they are different from non-"N" tires. Porsche tests the tires to ensure that they will work properly with the other parameters of the suspension system.
I have a 2012 Black Edition Boxster, with PASM. It currently has Pilot Sport PS2's. Here in the Pacific Northwest, I am able to drive 11 months of the year with much rainy weather in the winter, so wet weather performance is important. I was considering a set of PS4S's. However, the Tire Rack shows that PS4S's are not "N" rated, but that Pilot Sport PS2 do have the "N" rating. His recommendation is pushing me toward the older Pilot Sport PS2 rather than the newer PS4S. I know the PS4S will work, but one of the great things about the car is its very direct steering and steering feel. I am concerned about losing any of that directness and feel.

What do you think of the opinion that an "N" rating is an important factor in selecting between these 2 tires?

LexVan

PS2s are the better dry performance tire.

The PS4S will be the better wet performance tires and less $.

I agree with your mechanic but that doesn't mean you can't use the proper quality non N rated tires.

Bxstr

I would get the PS4S. Better in wet. Less money. Newer with better technology.

badabing

I tracked a 987.2 cayman for 2 years using the oem N spec Conti sport contact 3.

Then they became unavailable and I moved to the newer extreme contact sport which are not N rated.

I've been through numerous sets and the car handles as good or better.

Unless you are driving your car aggressively and to the limits of adhesion I'd consider an all season tire like Pilot Sport A/S or Conti DWS06 depending on how often you drive the car in inclement weather.

Dave in Chicago

I met the Michelin folks at Parade in Vermont just before the PS4S were coming out. I positively glowed about my experience with my N-spec PS2's. I asked what aspects of the PS4S are going to actually be better. They answered, almost before I finished my question, with a resounding "everything"... dry, wet, braking, cornering... they had an overwhelming confidence in the new tire. They said the technology was just that good.

Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of N-spec. My winter tires are N-spec. But sometimes, the technology marches on in the sizes you need.

I went on to acquire the non-N-spec PS4S when my beloved PS2's hit the wear bars. Happy I did. Amazing tire.

My 2 cents.

Viper pilot

I run PS4S N-spec that I purchased from Tire Rack last Summer. Is that just a temporary shortage of the N-Spec tires? BTW, I think they are the best Summer all around tires .

MidEngineRules

Since the OP has a 987, it could be that there isn't an N spec 19" PS4S, although I haven't looked at the Michelin website to see. Tirerack isn't the end-all-be-all for all available tires. Porsche dealerships would know and while you might not want to pay their price, it would get you what you seek.

Viper pilot

That's a very good point and I should have clarified that the tires I use are for 20" wheels. Tire Rack does carry the 20" PS4s NO but possibly not 19" fitment.

CaymanSinAR

I would, without question, get the PS4S.

Another option for you would be something from the Continental line, as has been mentioned.

kiznarsh

If tire manufacturers had the luxury to spend the time & money to get every tire N-rated for Porsche, I'm betting they would. In reality, that's not realistic but like others have mentioned, technology improves and it's best to take advantage of that IMHO.

I just got new tires and didn't even hesitate to get the PS4S. When I switched to them on my 981 from the N-rated Goodyears, it literally felt like I changed my suspension. The improvement was that noticeable.

MidEngineRules

That would apply to oil more than tires, as consumer-based oil businesses (like Driven for example) would want to be able to supply their products to consumers without their product voiding the owner's warranty (only reason I'm not using Driven oil). For tires, it's Porsche deciding who's tire to fit to production vehicles and then working with them to tune the tire to the application before production commences. That's a big effort they don't need to do for any company for which they aren't buying tires to fit during the assembly process.

Tom R.

What do the trained experts at tire rack suggest?

daylorb

Just my probably un-educated opinion... but I think the whole N spec is more marketing hype than anything else.

Why NOT create some hype around it? Get folks to believe they are better/pay a premium for the same thing - that is marketing 101.... There is every incentive in the world to do so. A couple interesting data points...

If N spec really is necessary, then how could there be an N-rated Pirelli (or Conti for that matter) that almost universally is known to under-perform a non-N rated PS4 in every way? If the non-N PS4 outperforms the N-specs from other brands... then the non-N PS4 meets an N spec set for others, ergo the N spec is not all that meaningful.

I also find it hard to imagine that a Michelin engineer would be ok releasing an inferior product to market vs. one that was "jointly" engineered....

MidEngineRules

^^ Porsche isn't alone in this and car manufacturers aren't the sole beneficiary. It's not a matter of some variant being inferior.

If you're a tire maker, it's much more work to make specific tires for every major make and I doubt there's any profit difference between any maker's rated tires. If you notice via Tirerack, if you're not buying an N rated tire you're buying some other make's rated tire for their cars (in a lot of cases). I don't want a tire tuned to something else assuming it matters. I'm ok with N rated tires on my car, even if it costs a few dollars more per tire. Plus, car makers who source tires tuned to their applications are usually the ones making cars that can exceed 300 kph. It might not make a hill of beans difference on IH-35 but could greatly at autobahn speeds.

Most likely the differences have a lot to do with the pressures the maker establishes for the particular application. The same tire on different car makes and models require different pressures front to rear. With different pressures, I can see why a sidewall construction could vary.

daylorb

I think the debate though is over whether you believe there truly is a difference, or not. Clearly some do, I just tend not to believe it. I tend to believe that both Porsche and Michelin are marketing geniuses as much as they are engineering geniuses. Just like Gillette has 27 different razor blades at varying pricing levels that espouse different benefits, auto manufacturers know exactly how to market to consumers to deliver perceived value at premiums. The genius of it is that there is no way to disprove they are different, although there is virtually no evidence of any kind - lap times/wear/weight/spec/tests of any kind to show a difference.

If the scenario is "in order to be an N spec tire... the tire company must pay $$ to be tested, the tire must hold min X on the skid test, produce less than Y noise, hold up to Z stiffness test. Submit your tire as-is...." then companies would likely submit what they have, it passes, gets the stamps and the markup and on they go. In that scenario, I think there is a good chance that non-N are identical. Of course we'll never know....

I don't know if that is how it works or not, but I'd guess it is close given how vastly different the various N spec tires perform. There is no doubt in my mind that a PS4 non-N tire would outperform a Conti N tire in virtually every way. So clearly the N spec is some minimum that is being beat by non-N spec tires, so what does the N spec really mean?

This is somewhat like the DOT vs. SNELL ratings. There are plenty of DOT rated helmets that would pass a SNELL test, but they don't pay to get the SNELL rating. SNELL is generally considered better for a number of reasons that I agree with, but that doesn't mean that a DOT helmet is not identical - you just don't know for certain.