Leader

I have found my P-Zeros (original tires) have gotten progressively louder as they've worn down...not surprising, I know.
I'm replacing all four this week with Bridgestones - thanks, in part, to the comments on this thread.
My original Pirellis have almost 19k on them! The rears are shot, but the fronts could probably go another 5k.

My wife has new PS2s on her Boxster. I think they're noisier than my worn Pirellis. Thus, the Bridgestones for the 997; it gets a lot of highway time and quieter tires would be good.

Dave07997S

Wow how did you get that kind of mileage on the PZero rear's? I am at 13,88 and the rears are right now on the tread bar on the inner tire.

Dave

ds2k1

I have to admit that I'm amazed everyone has such strongly help opinions about their tires, and seems to understand their strengths and weaknesses so clearly. I've had Contis and PS2s on several different cars now and, I hesitate to say because it might be heresy, I honestly have no idea what the difference is. Did one perform better in dry weather than the other? No idea. In wet weather? Not sure. Was one quieter than the other on the highway with the same miles on 'em? Maybe? Did one release adhesion more progressively than the other? Not a clue. Sure, when I replaced the Contis with the PS2s, I really liked the PS2s. Was that because they're better, or because they were new? My guess is the latter, but I really have no idea. If someone was to place me in 3 different cars and ask me to guess whether the tires were PS2s, Contis or Bridgestones, I certainly wouldn't have the faintest idea. Am I just that much more out of touch with my car, or is there some secret the rest of you have that enables you to deeply understand all the seemingly subtle differences between these high performance tires? I've driven more than 100K miles in Porsches with these tires, including multiple auto-x events. What am I missing?

Leader

The Force.

ds2k1

Yeah, I guess The Force is not strong in this one.

BobbyB

I don't think you're missing much. For me the new set of tires are almost always "better" than the last set until the miles are put on them and then you can start to tell how well you really like the new set. My experience with the stones (S01, S02) were that as they got older, at street speeds they were much louder than the Michlens. My Conti's, actually lasted longer than either the stones or Michelins. I'll need new tires soon, so I'll keep an eye on this thread, as my PS2's are getting a bit loud. But it's a SPORTS CAR - quiet it ain't.

mdrums

ds2k1, you are not missing anything...other than a lot of placebo effect!

I had a student 2 weeks ago at Sebring in a new 09 C2S with Bridgestones. They performed awesome on the track and at much higher velocity than anyone will see on the street.

I have PS2's on my car now but am really surious to put on a set of Bridgestone RE050A when the PS2's wear out.

useridchallenged

I used to live 5.2 miles up a very twisty road and I pushed the car very hard through all those turns 2 to 4x per day. That sort of daily driving will get you really in tune with your tires because you just know where those tires start to let go on each and every turn. The Contis always felt sloppy and slippery when compared to the PS2s. I had one set of Contis and as soon as they wore out I went back to PS2s. The dealer always commented about how my tires always looked a bit "shredded"

I don't think the PS2s represent "value" in terms of $/mile, but I do think they are an excellent value in the $/fun department. The Bridgestones sound like they might be an interesting compromise between $/mile and $/fun - I am going to check them out.

For those in the SF Bay Area, the road to which I refer is Page Mill Road in Palo Alto / Los Altos Hills heading West from Highway 280. Too many bike riders on the weekends to drive aggressively, and if you're on the road at about 10pm you should look out for bobcats and fox between miles 3 and 4. Definitely watch out for deer (you quickly learn where they tend to hang out and cross). Avoid Page Mill Road if you or your passenger gets motion sickness easily. Beautiful views of the Bay Area if you're driving slowly. I prefer a fast drive at night because oncoming headlights give me a good heads-up that I don't get during the day. Also, I wouldn't drive Page Mill Road aggressively until you've burned all the turns into your brain - the road is pretty unforgiving without guard rails in some areas and narrow shoulders between you and the mountain below.

Leader

New Bridgestones went on my C2S on Thursday. The change from the (nearly slick) P-Zeroes was significant, as I would expect with any new set of tires.
But, comparing the "noise" factor over my wife's nearly new PS2s on her 987, I think the Bridgestones are, in fact, quieter on the freeway so far.
I also put 305s on the rear (were 295s). Don't know about performance differences yet, but the "look" is definitely stronger. That's a lotta rubber back there.

lexpilot

I just turned 10,700 miles on my 2006 Carrera 4S cabriolet. The PS2 in 305/35-19 in back seem to be outwearing the rears on my 1999 Carrera and my 1995 Carrera. I ran Toyos on both of these because the biggest tire outfit in Oregon is Les Schwab.
Is everybody getting 11,000 or more out of the Michelins ? We have curvy mountain roads around Bend and I thought I was pushing my street go-kart fairly good.
How many miles can I expect on these rear tires on a C4S car ?

mkk62

just ordered Potenza RE960AS Pole Positions very reasonable ith wear rating of 400 vs 220 on the ps2's and great reviews on tirerack...let you know when they are on how they are..almost half the price of ps2's. save the money for the track tires.....mk

Deanski

I did the same thing: 305's on the rear and yes it does look much better. Only wish the wheels were 12".

SO far, so good on my set as well. Pressure set to 2 person capacity settings.

Enjoy yours!

Deanski