Zeus993

Hi guys - just looking for an up to date recommendation on tires for my C2S. I recently purchased a set of all season Continentals (model ?) on my OEM 17" Cup II's and, frankly, it drives like sh#t!

It tracks fine in a straight line but I have to muscle it through the turns and it seems to "bob" all over the place. Yeesh!

Next step is to check the pressures.

Any thoughts, recommendations?

Thanks in advance...

il pirata

Are you saying it was okay to you with the previous tires?

And just to clarify, your using the same wheels are before?

What specific Conti's did you get?

bobbyp

I just put 1,000 miles on some new Conti DW tires onto stock 17 inch Cup II wheels and was very impressed.
Felt more confident than the 18 inch setup with Michelin Pilots I was running before (but they were put on by the PO and wasn't sure about how they were used or stored so was careful).

Zeus993

I just checked - they are Continental EXTREMECONTACT all-season tires. Maybe this why are driving funny?

kreeshp

Souinds like you bought the Extreme Contact DWS (dry, wet, & snow) tires. Unless you plan to drive your car year-round, you should maybe have gotten the Extreme Contact DW (dry & wet) summer only version. The online reviews for these two lines vary vastly: mostly positive for the DW and mixed/poorer for the DWS.

I've had a set of the 17" DW's for over a year and have been happy with them through two summers; so happy, that I bought a set of the DWS's for my daily driver but have had them only for a couple months and not long enough to evaluate their non-summer performance.

bobbyp

If they are DWS, get some winter rims and use them in the months when the temperature drops below 45F - when the DW or any summer/extreme performance tire's compound is going to harden into a hockey puck and have no traction even in the dry.

fsa

Ditto's on Conti Extreme Contact DW's- terrific grip, great wear, reasonable prices, not too noisy.
'97 C4S

AZ Targa

Just my opinion, but I would always stick with Michelin tires, I worked at a tire shop in high school through most of college no other tire brand compared to Michelin quality. Given they cost more than other tires but you're driving a Porsche it's worth the extra $.

Again it's just my opinion but, Really All-seasons? Come on!

bcameron59

^ This.

I use winters in the spring / fall shoulder seasons, and summers from about june through september. Morning in Calgary can be below 0C in spring & fall, so summer tires would be downright dangerous

But first, definitely a good idea to check the tire pressures. Many tire shops don't have any idea what pressures should be for our cars and just set them to 30 or 32 psi. The wrong pressure can seriously mess with handling; for the 17" wheels, both front and rear should be 36 psi.

Also, new tires will have higher tread blocks, resulting in some tread squirm, especially with an all season. When I was tracking my 911, I always got my best times (and handling) when the tread depth was almost worn to zero. Brand new tires may still have mold release agent on the surface, which can also make them a bit squirmy initially.

Hope you get this sorted to your satisfaction whatever the cause.

Cheers/bc

Zeus993

Thanks B and all here. Really appreciate your thoughts. I'll have another look tonight as to whether or not they are DWS or simple DW and check the pressures.

bobbyp

Just to confirm bcameron's statement, correct pressures are 36/36 or 36/38 for 17 inch tires.
BC has much better roads than we have in the NE US so I'd start with the 36/38.

If tire pressure is too low, you'll get a lot more squirm.

bcameron59

Might make sense in AZ where you can probably run summer tires all year.

Joel lives in BC which has a climate (similar to northern Washington), with nice summers and cool wet winters with occasional snow and below freezing temps. So winter-capable all-seasons are actually a very rational choice in this climate, and there are several that perform reasonably well (though nothing beats a dedicated summer tire in that season, as you indicate)..

The rest of Canada gets real winter so if one wants to drive their 993 year round, bona fide snow tires are required for the kind of use shown below. All-seasons won't cut it but the new 4 season tires which are snow & ice rated work well, eg the Nokian WRG3 (unfortunately not available in 993 sizes last time I looked).

AZ Targa

You're right, and I do.
Let me explain,

If you're going to be driving in the summer where you would not expect any long duration of snow, I would recommend summer tires. Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you that you need different tire for different climates/seasons. I just expect anyone that is going to be driving their 993 in the winter would get winter/snow tires like you indicated above. I just hate All-seasons, there are just too many compromises you end up with a tire that does everything mediocrely.

You can use summer tires in snow just be careful, here are two pictures of my own...

An hour north of Phoenix (Jan 1)


In the middle of May, in Arizona....

bcameron59

Wow, I had no idea there was ever snow in AZ, that's an eye opener!

AZ Targa

It was for me too! I was coming home from trip in Utah in the middle of may and I ran into this $#!+.