mdrums

I was at Sebring this weekend and I attend a talk about tires with Michelin and Porsche and the Porsche Platz tent. I asked 2 guys from Michelin about N Spec PS2's. I asked them what the difference is between 2- PS2's, same size, load rating except 1 is N Spec the other in not.
In a nutshell they said the N Spec tire is the OEM tire designed along with Porsche to provide the best tire for the car in many aspects. They went on to say how the N Spec tire MIGHT have less rolling resistance, save you fuel and so forth. They said the N Spec tire will sometimes alter the ply layup to help with ride comfort and so forth. I asked them about warranty between a non N Spec and N Spec tire on my Porsche. They told me that using a non-N Spec tire can not and will not affect the warranty on your Porsche. After listening to the Michelin people talk more about N Spec I came away feeling that N Spec is more of a marketing plan than a technology that we actually benefit from.

Another guy that was near me after the talk brought up some law about manufactures can not force a non-warranty situation on consumers by telling them what brand of something they have to use on a car or the car manufacture has to provide that something for free. The manufacture can demand a certain spec like a tire load rating or oil weight for example.

cviles

Speaking on the PS2 only, there is very little/no difference between N-spec and regular tires. Michelin simply makes n-spec tires in the OEM sizes Porsche uses and just doesn't put the stamp on some of the tires they produce. It's a cost-saving measure to avoid designing, producing, and storing another set of SKUs.

Continental, however doesn't do that -- at least they didn't with their Conti SportContact2 line. The N-spec tires were *very* different from non-spec tires in the OEM sizes. Tread patterns were different, load ratings were different, how the bead set was different, etc. I don't know if this is the case with the SportContact3 line though, as I switched to PS2s when I had to replace all 4 tires early when the SC2s went out of production.

abe

to buy a brand product to maintain your warranty have been around for decades. This too applies when Porsche wants you do buy their version of antifreeze or brake fluid. As long as its equivalent or close to...you don't have to buy their product.
abe

mdrums

Yes that was the law that this guy was speaking about.

Again, what I basically took away from the Spec talk at the Porsche tent with the Michelin guys was as long as the size and load rating is correct you can run any tire you want.

ADias

N-rated tires are production series that were tested by PAG for that particular vehicle. It's not to say that non-N-rated tires of the same spec aren't the same but they could be different, and I have seen series that were definitely different. Tire production runs do change all the time. N-rated tires cost the same (or a few dollars more) as non-N-rated of the same spec, thus I see no reason not to buy the N-rated versions.

RonCT

Where this all blurs is when you have a totally different tread design, shoulders, and compound yet call it the same tire. Example: N-specification 19" Pilot Sport Cup. Now that's a totally different tire from "real" PSCups. The N4 that's made out of some new compound with lower rolling resistance, lower pressures, etc. does sound quite a bit different from say the same PS2 N0 tire... All very strange - you'd think that Michelin (for example), would simply "update" the tires along the way for all - not just N-specification.

mdrums

Ron, there is no N4 spec PS2 tires....only N1...same tire it has been for years.

PT Doc

This sounds like the tires that are * rated specifically for BMW. But many folks will probably pay for them even if they are more expensive.

Edgy01

It's been quite interesting to observe all the Porsche forums (on Rennlist) at one time or another and what I have found over time is that as Porsches get older, owners choose less expensive tires for their rides. Routinely, the most current model (i.e., 997) gets the latest tire technology and the owners of these cars tend to spend the bucks and maintain the ride. As a long-time Porsche guy, I can tell you that these cars perform as they do mostly because they are developed with the tire manufacturers hand-in-hand. Many 996 owners are already migrating away from the usual N-spec guys like Pirelli, Michelin, Bridgestone, etc. simply to save a buck. FEW pre-89 911 owners these days spend the bucks for that stuff, opting instead for the lesser brands, like Sumimoto, and Kumho.

If you truly appreciate the work Porsche went through to get these things to handle like they do it may very well pay for you to factor that into your tire-buying.

Of course, part of the problem is that it is getting more and more difficult to buy a performance tire in anything smaller than a 17 inch rim, which means the 993 and earlier cars have a challenge out there locating a viable tire that (1) fits and (2) performs.

RonCT

Mike, there are N4 PS2s, the ones I've been referencing in past N specification threads, including the reference to the Excellence article talking about the latest "green" compound with lower rolling resistance and lower pressures. 235/265 for the base 2009 C2, Cayman and Boxster. They are available at Tire Rack and when I ordered some new fronts for my Boxster, I had to figure out which version to get. I should have been clearer in my reply.

mdrums

Ron I thought we (you and I) were talking about the 19" stock tires on the Carrera S. No? That is what is was refering to as only in N1 spec...the 19" tires for the Carrera S. The 19" tires that come stock on the Carrera S are N1 spec and that is the latest and greatest.

Edgy, I understand what you are saying so please then explain why a Carrera S will handle better with NON N SPEC R-Comp tires such as Toyo R888?

888's are not a great everyday street tire due to high wear and road noise but they will out handle N Spec brands of tires.

technik1

Hi all,

Aside from ride, rolling resistance etc., an "N" spec tire has chassis-specific engineering and development for handling and road holding and thus wear characteristics. "N" spec tires differ slightly from number to number, brand to brand, but that spec is primarily the tire compound stiffness (or softness). Naturally, the softer the compound will yield better grip, balance and control, but will wear faster--especially on rear or mid engine cars.

Being the former Manhattan Porsche service manager for several years, I recall specifically how one number would grip and wear more or less than another--and how they would warm up quicker in colder weather, and also from Porsche training and customer replacement frequency.

Porsche was one of the first companies to commission a tire company to develop a specific tire compound AND sidewall stiffness for their cars. Other manufactures such as Ferrari, Aston, Lamborghini, BMW M, and Mercedes AMG's have since employed tire manufacturers for just this purpose.

Alstoy

Mike-did you discuss 18 vs 19 at all?

Edgy01

If the compound is a racing compound (R-Comp) then of course it will perform at a much higher level than anything Porsche recommends. But then, Porsche also discourages the installation of such tires on these cars as the suspension will fully exploit the tire,--but the engine cannot. They didn't build the 997s to race on a track with such tires because of the g-forces' tendency to starve the engines.

RonCT

There is no R-compound N-specification tire. The faux Pilot Sport Cup that comes standard on GT cars is simply not R-compound as has been revealed here at RL and elsewhere. This is perhaps my biggest beef about the whole N-specification program - that Porsche and Michelin would call the OEM 19" tire from the GT cars and say they are "Pilot Sport Cups". The shoulder design is different and performs differently, the tread patter is different (2x the rain channels on the N-specification), and the compound is totally different and in my opinion is the PS2 rubber as it acts exactly the same (same lateral Gs, same sound at the limit, same braking distances / Gs, same cold weather and rain characteristics, etc.). I spent plenty of track time on "real" Pilot Sport Cups, and these N-specification 19s from the GT cars are not Pilot Sport Cups. So, any true R-compound (including semi-R like any DOT tire - R888, RA1, etc.) will out perform the hybrid 19" N-specification faux-Cup.