dgcate

'06 "S" 19"

27K miles

I've always used Pzero's. But, I'm having a hard time getting to the wear bars on them. I like the tires, but going through about 4 sets on the rears just from flats and "going out of round" before the wear bars is getting rediculous. Current set of pzero rears has around 5K miles and the dealership cannot balance the tire because of it being "out of round from the way they're made". I told Porsche Pirelli should stand behind them and they laughed and told me to "give 'em a call and see what they tell ya".

Anyone ever used Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110's? Can buy 2 sets for the price of one Pirelli. How 'bout the Yoko's? Anyone use them?

If they're not going to last, I'm going "cheapo".

Anyone use "cheaper" tires for around town? How do they do?

thanks

Nugget

There's a middle ground between the stupidly expensive OEM tires and the "cheapo" end of the range.

I just put a set of Bridgestone RE11s on my GT3 for my street tires. I like them more than the PS2 Cups the car came with (for street, at least, I'm sure the Michelin would be better on track) and whole lot more than the PZero Rossos I had on my C2S. They were $282 per front, $308 per rear for 305 width.

I also notice that Yokohama makes an ADVAN Neova in the right size for a 997 now. I had the previous generation of those tires on my BMW and they were -- no lie -- the best street tires I've ever encountered. I'm sure the current generation is great too. Tire rack says $258 per front, $293 per rear for 295 width.

atr911

Buy a road hazard warranty. I happen to sell them at my shop and since we don't deal in many high end tires, the price is disproportionately low. $6.99 / tire and it covers you for free repairs or replacement as long as there is more than 2/32nds tread left. You just cover the cost of the install.

It should cover you for uneven wear, road hazards and tire manufacturer defects as long as the suspension and alignment is in order. Technically, it wouldn't cover you if your alignment was outside of factory settings (i.e. aggressive negative camber for track). Also noteworthy is that it'll cover you for opposite side tire if there's too much wear to safely match up tread.

Only down side is that you'd have to come up to Canada to get it and that tires here are WAYYYYYY more expensive (i have no idea why). My 305's for my 19's are about $780/tire and that's retail pricing from Michelin, not an inflated cost to account for the warranty.

My point is, shop around, see what you can find. Might be worth checking with your credit card company for their product protector insurance. Sometimes on certain cards there is 'extended' warranty if purchased on a gold card. Usually doubles manufacturer warranty.

simplysql

dgcate - I'm with you. I'm using Bridgestones now - had Kumho's before that - which replaced my original PS2's. I didn't like the Kumhos - they were very noisy from the start. I like the Bridgestones but they give a bit more of a harsh ride. With rear tires lasting 7K miles, at best, I figure if I don't like a set, they'll wear out and I'll replace them in 6 months anyway. If I only drove my car 4-8K miles per year, or tracked it, it might be a different story - but at 14K miles per year, I'm replacing rears twice and fronts once - that's too much to be spending $3-400 per tire - just my 2 cents.

alexb76

Just enter your vehicle in Tirerack, and you get a list of matching tires. From what I see, there are some very good tires a lot cheaper than OEM N-rated.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...99&tireIndex=0

Hankook is cheapest, but I'd stay away. Next down is Yokohoma Advan AD08, which is a great tire, and has a higher wear rating than Bridgestone.

Also, there's the new Pzero (NOT PZero Rosso) which is re-design and has had very good reviews and feedback so far. Although just as expensive as Pzero Rosso!

PS. I'd call Pirelli anyways, nothing to lose to try...

Edgy01

Apparently you are new to the Porsche experience. You buy a high performance sports car and then bitch about tire life? You're the wrong owner. Sell the car. I've even seen some people put RETREADS on Porsches. There's something really wrong there.

This doesn't mean you can't be smart about what you buy. Mine came with the Bridgestones and I like their mileage and price. The Michelins are much higher in price and are worse at mileage. Ditto for the Pirellis. If Yokohamas prove viable, that's an option. But I would personally stay clear of the Hankook and Kumhos.

BillJ

Do the Sumitomo HTZ IIIs come in those sizes? Have found them to be a great bang for the buck on my car.

utkinpol

For what it may worth I am on PS2s now and next tires will be RE11 Potenzas - mostly because they have similar grip but are less rigid so ride quality should be a bit better, not as firm as on 19" PS2s.

As of lower price category choices - I am not sure it is worth to do on 997 car as it defeats the purpose of this car.

85Gold

RE11's or AD08's stickier than Pirelli/Michelin and much better price. The also are a very good track tire. You will still go thru 2 sets of rears to a set of fronts.


Peter

alexb76

Quick question... I gotto change my rears this summer for sure. While fronts are at 60%, rears 30%... some said for C4S gotto change them all at the same time, is that right?

Edgy01

Not necessarily (on a C4). You need to evaluate the tread.

alexb76

Ok, thanks! the problem is I am on PS2, and wanted to switch to Pirelli or Bridgestone, but if I only did rear, can't! and the rears make the biggest price diff!

rijowysock

the cheap cheap ones just stink.. ive tried em and they either have sidewall band failures.. or they delaminate..

cheapest ill use are Nitto INVO and ive used YOKO S drive in the past which are great tires and super cheap for what they are... stay away from the random low end brands tho.

Palmbeacher

Stupid question: can I use a different brand of tire on the rear than on the front? Currently my car has the P-Zeroes it came with when I bought it (used), the rears have about 50% left and the fronts are like new. So I'll need to change out the rears first. I'd like to get away from the P-Zeroes but don't want to change all four. Note: I don't care about performance driving, I drive 15 miles/day to and from work in the suburbs on flat straight roads @ 30-50mph. Once in a blue moon I might take it on the freeway for a short hop, but not more than 70-80mph.

Tsurara

Can the folks "poo-pooing" Kumhos and Hankooks explain their reasoning? Hankook and Kumho make excellent tires and their DOT R-Compounds are among the best. Kumho V710s were the fastest for years until the Hoosier A6 came around.

I think a lot of this ends up as brand snobbery vs. actual results.

With that said, the Yokohamas are an excellent tire and have a fairly decent lifespan on them.

However, look at any of the reviews of the Hankook V12 Evo and you will see that they are a faster tire than the Michelin PS2 and second only to the Direzza Star Specs. With the RE11s I imagine this has changed but despite this they're probably still better than most of the stuff on TireRack's site.