So I was chatting to my local Porsche Service manager and I told him I was amazed at how well my 991 could handle potholes vs any of my Ferrari’s. I thought it may have been due to the fact that the 991 has much less weight over the front wheels than a Ferrari FF or F12. He proceeded to explain that the N rating on OEM tires means that the side wall is 2x thicker than a regular tire, which mean that’s its much better at handling potholes and the like. Have any of you heard of such a thing?

 

Is there anybody out there?

 

Nope,. We are all on vacation, grilling burgers and brats!

I have never heard that before, yet I will ask the Michelin Engineers in my PCA area and post back.

 

Doubt it, especially without defining "handle" in this context.

 

A sidewall that is 2x as thick would also significantly increase rolling weight. Would be skeptical that Porsche would spec that in their "N-rated" tire.

 

Ha, thank you! Happy 4th everyone!!!

 

If you compare Tire Rack's specs for Porsche N0 vs. K1 Ferrari Michelin PS 4S tires in the stock sizes for my '16 GTS, you'll see that the N0 tires are 1 pound heavier each, even though the tread on the K1 is 0.5/32" thicker and 0.1" wider, so there may be something to this. However, I doubt that the entire sidewall is 2X thicker. Maybe just the thinnest part.

 

"N" tires are specifically designed by Michelin with input from Porsche. So, yes there will be measurable differences from other manufactures specs. However, I think 2x thicker sidewalls sounds like a bit of a stretch to me.

 

Sounds like some more dealership oversell and quotes of better specifications that would be hard to find out online to be truth or fiction. The dealership could easily say the Porsche windshield is made of some polymer transparent aluminum composite that is 25% more durable than conventional glass windshields... you wouldn't be able to find anything online about it, so can't say it isn't true, but nothing to show it's correct either. From videos posted, seems that any standard versus N0 or any manufacturer specific spec, has some variances... but to say 2x thicker... emmmmmmmm