I was a good boy and went to the archives first! Couldn't find exactly what I was hoping for so here goes:
98 2s needs new rears. Since I've only had the car for a year the price of tires for this baby was a rude awakening....I know, "welcome to the world of P-car ownership!"
What do Rennlisters suggest for "standard" driving? I am not going to track the car or break 100mph. I mostly enjoy back-country, road driving, no high performance stuff. Does that mean I can buy a less expensive tire without giving up safety? I went to tirerack.com and found the prices to be high. Is there a better place to go? And finally, what do I do with them once I get them???Who puts these big boys on....(more importantly who puts them on properly without scratching up my wheels!?)
If you haven't figured it out already, I am cluless but definitely want to do my required research before moving forward so any websites you would suggest is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!aap

 

aap,

1) If you're replacing rears only, you will have to match the manufacturer and product number of your front tires. You should not mix brands or even products within a brand. If the fronts are good (not cupped, weather damaged or overly worn) then the decision on what to buy is made for you. How many miles and years on your fronts? These tires have a "life" regardless of mileage - if they are in good shape, but have been on the car for more than 5 years, you may want to replace all four.

2) Tires are a major topic of discussion here. Preferences seem to lean towards Michelin Pilot Sport's and Bridgestone S03's.

3) The TireRack is normally very competitive and has a good customer service reputation. You'll be hard pressed to find a better source.

4) Look for a tire installer with the latest Hunter equipment for mounting and balancing. I think the latest mounting equipment is a Hunter TC350 and Hunter GSP 9700 balancer. These pieces of equipment are very expensive and the installers that own them should be able to handle your install. You can also post a note here for guys in your area or call the local Porsche Club guys for a recommendation.

 

Mike,
Thanks for the reply. I am not sure how old the fronts are. They seem to be in good shape however (bridgestone So2). I had no idea they had to match! Thanks! Also, any snow in upstate yet? I was hoping to "ride" in Old Forge today but cancelled my trip b/c of lack of snow.

 

There are a few of us (obviously I'm one of them) that take a lot of flack because we DON'T think that the front & rear tires have to match. As you have noticed, the front/rear tires are different sizes, run at different pressure, on different sized wheels, have different suspensions, and do different jobs. There are so many variations that tire brand just becomes another variable. Sure, if you have really grippy front tires and really crappy rear tires, you will notice lots of oversteer. But if you keep the tires in the same performance catagory, you should be OK. I use Yokohama AVS Sports on the rear, and SO3s on the front. I prefer the AVS Sports.

Someone on this board also tried an off-brand Korean tire (I forgot the brand name), and was very pleased with the results. You can also lok into the Khumo MX and the Yokohama ES100 as lower-priced alternatives. I have the ES100s on the front of my Cobra (yes, more tire mixing), and find they howl a lot when really pressed in a corner. Not the best grip, but OK.

The S02s that you have on the front are pretty "grippy", so if you are pressing the car at all, you don't want to get a very inferior rear tire, or you'll get some surprising oversteer.

Flack suit on. Flame away.

 

Hankook maybe?

 

Chuck,

Yes, that's the one. Sometimes a geezer needs a little help. He took a BUNCH of crap for asking about and finally deciding on thos tires, but he posted the results, and was very pleased. Very inexpensive, as I recall. I don't track my TT but have been known to be very agressive on on-ramps, so I don't know if I'd be brave enough to try them out myself.

 

i too don't think you have to match your front and rear tires. if changing tire brands it is typical to change the rears first and then once the fronts wear out to change them aswell. so with that said...

s02's are obsolete. you can purchase the s03's if you've been happy with them. i personally don't car for the bridgestone line.

i much prefer the Michellin Pilot Sports but there price is too too high.

i would strongly consider khumo ecsta's for your your car. excellent tire, great handling and not too noisy. i've been very impressed with them.

so here is my oridnal list of ones that i've had experience with (non R compund tires)

Michellin Pilot Sport
Khumo ECTSA
Pirelli Pzero
Bridgestone S02/S03
Dunlop SP800

just my personal prefernce.

boris

 

When the time came to purchase rears last year my fronts were 5 yrs old but had plenty of tread. Dave frrom Wheel Enhancement suggested replacing only the rear Pilot Sports despite the change in tread design on the new series. Assured me that the age and variation in tread was not a problem. After 7500 miles I have encountered no problems but l looking forward to changing the fronts soon due to the age issue. I also BTW prefer the 285s for my 18" rear wheels because they bulge out further on the wheel making it less likely to acquire curb rash.

 

I've been using Hankook 285/30ZR18's on a C4S with good results.
I managed to get 11K miles on them before replacing them.
They have a 220 tread wear rating and most others I've seen have a
180 rating. Les Schwab sells them at only $181 each. I did not
replace the Nitto front tires as they have plently of tread life remaining.
Like many others, I don't believe using different brands from front to
back really has any real negative impact for most applications.
There's too many offseting variables that have far more impact than tread
design. Although, if I were running at top track speed, I would feel more
comfortable with new and matching sets.

 

Consumer Reports November 2003 rated 13 ultra high performance tires including Michelin Pilot Sports (4th) and Bridgestone S-03(7th). Braking, Handling,Cornering, wet and dry, hydroplaning and noise were the criteria. Their top pick was cheap. Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3. I have Toyo Proxes T1-S (#2) but expensive and I like ém.

 

FWIW......i use mine in a like manner.....for the money, the Kumho ECSTA wins hands down as a street tire......don't have enough miles on the 993 yet, but i put 25000 on a 911 and the tires still had a long way to go.....but then again i don't pull 2 g's off the line nor in a corner

 

forgot to add ......if you haven't already,you should join the PCA, your local region will have a lot of suggestions for competent help with the mounting

 

fwiw...I put on Bridgestone RE750 all the way around, went 225 in front instead of stock 205...helped alot with understeer and saved a bunch of money, but still feel grippy.

 

Just to weigh in here - I've used Toyo's on both my 89 and 97 and have had very good luck. Got over 14k miles on the rears of my 97 and probably more but I didn't want to take a chance.

 

I would never mix tire brands/tread patterns. Grip, wear and traction characteristics should be left identical front to rear, especially if encountering wet surfaces. Tire tread patterns can grip differently-your ABS will less likely appreciate different rates of traction as well. Also-why bother?
With a lot of $$$ already spent on a P-car, why futz with consitency when it comes to the most crucial component on your car? The last time I mixed tires up was when I had four different snows on my beater in college.