mnalla

Hi;

I just placed an order for my 2009 C4s and got to wondering if I can request/specify Tires (Michelin or Pirelli)?

I understand from some that the Michelin Sport Cup Tires are better than the Pirelli's for the Pacific Northwest weather? Any thoughts or experiences?

Any insights on this would be appreciated. Thank you.

Murali
mnalla

Nugget

Even if you don't get the tires you'd prefer it's a problem that will solve itself in less than 9,000 miles. I wouldn't sweat it.

gota911

You get the type of tire that is on the manufacturing line that day. Totally random process.

sharmat

Michelin Sport Cup? Isnt that a track tire for the most part? I doubt you'd want that if your car is going to be daily driver esp. in the Pacific North West where rain is an issue.

emmros

Nope not an option.

Coochas

No.
In fact, I don't think you can order the cars with snow tires either any more.
As for selection, I think you mean Michelin Pilot Sport 2 (PS2) which is one of the more tires that the car comes with. The pilot sport cup tires are available on the GT3RS and maybe the GT3 from the factory (not sure about this). As Sharmat points out, the Cup version is more of a track tire and would be horrible in the rain.

Crazy Canuck

You can request it from the dealer but it isn't a factory option.

_Nathan

I asked the salesman the same question when I ordered my 08 997S. You get whatever tires Porsche decides to put on the car, which for 08 was either Michelin Pilot Sport 2 or Pirelli P Zero. I was hoping for the Michelins but got the Pirellis. The Pirellis are great but I have read that they wear faster than the Michelins. I have also seen a new 09 997 with Bridgestone RE050A tires.

axhoaxho

I think the Porsche factory people put whatever tires they want in the cars.... However, this is what I have done on my cars...

When my car freshly arrived to the dealer, I asked my salesperson to check what tires came with my car. If it came with the tires that I didn't want, I asked my salesperson to walk around his dealer and find another brand new car (or sometimes they have sets of take-off tires sitting around) that had the tires that I like. And then, I asked my salesperson to swap them for me.

Usually, if the wheels were the same and just the tires were different, most salespersons would have no problem to swap them. However, if the wheels are also different, the salesperson may need to go through the manager for permission because the wheel style is usually noted on the window sticker sheet. Sometimes, the price is also different for different wheels, so the dealer may need to adjust the car price accordingly.

Can it be done? Yes, it can. My 997S came with the standard 19" wheels from the factory. I liked the 19" Carrera Classic wheels, so I asked my salesperson to find a car in his showroom that came with the Carrera Classis wheels, and to swap them for me...

... My salesperson, with the permission from his manager, did that and charge me $600 extra for the wheel price difference and labor to swap the wheels (which is more work that I thought, including wheel balancing and setting up the TPMS), which was reasonable to me. Indeed, the Cerrara Classis wheels also came with the color center crests and the PS2 tires, which was nice.

Just my experience...

With best regards,

Edgy01

Porsche only did this for a very few years in the past. Although they have significant control over the entire build process that is one area that they have not interceded,--dictating the tire manufacturer for a particular car. If you were a special Porsche customer and have excellent connections with Zuffenhausen you could probably pull it off.

mnalla

Thank you all for the replies. I will wait and see what they ship with my car.

lig

Absolutely do *not* get Pilot Sport Cups for a daily. They are really bad in cold weather and lousy in the rain as well.

They typically aren't that great for autocross as they need a good amount of heat in them to work.

PS2s are good as are the Bridgestone RE050s. I haven't tried the Pirellis yet so I can't comment on them.

As others have mentioned - it's really a matter of working with your dealer if you have a strong preference on tires.

mdrums

my 09 came with the Michelin PS2. The last 3 997's I have bought came with the Michelin's. Last year (2007) very late in the year I saw some 997S cars with Pirelli and 997 Turbo's coming with Bridgstones.

Chris from Cali

I've had the Pirellis on my 997S and on my RS4, Michelin PS2s on my Cayman and S4. I like them both but each has its own characteristics. My impressions:

Pirelli - Harder sidewall, not as good in the rain

Michelin - Great in the rain, a little "squirmier"

Neither seemed to be louder than the other and I had great wear with both of them (my 15K PZeros on my RS4 look new).