intrepid1

Recently bought a 2002 Boxster, with new Pelican bearing, flywheel, clutch. Third owner, garaged, 88k miles. Great shape. Rear tires are Falken Azenis 255 40 ZR17 with very good tread life. Front tires are Sumitomo 205 50 ZR 17 93Y and they're thin and old. Looking for the quietest tire with the softest ride for basic driving, but I also have a lead foot and want to have performance when needed. I don't expect this care to ride like my BMW 535i obviously, and I bought this for sport/touring. Warm weather, Southern CA car.

Have seen many recommendations about the right tires, but what do you recommend based on this info? Just replace the front with Falkens, or change all 4 tires better suited to my driving? Appreciate any guidance!

Dr. C

continental extremecontact sport.

To my standards extremely quiet, pleasantly soft ride with reported high levels of grip for your driving conditions.

I like mine.

I can’t comment on doing two v.s. 4 tires.

Starter986

Forget the tires... what oil are you running?

intrepid1

Dr. C, thanks for the recommendation. Been researching quite a bit and of course there will always be many opinions, but the Continentals look great and I really appreciate the input!

Starter 986, great question! I am told by the guy I bought it from that it's Mobil 1 o-40 synthetic, and there is a sticker in the rear trunk lid suggesting that. My understanding is this is the correct oil. What are your thoughts? Going to get it serviced this week and get all things looked at, because I don't want to take any chances and will likely get the oil changed as well. What are your recommendations?

paulofto

I now understand why you call yourself 'Starter'. Starting trouble is your forte.

Starter986

I was jesting you. Oil... tires... and the IMS. All great topics to bring out the comments.

I run 0-40... not Mobil 1 (I forget which brand). However, based upon what I've read (and because of where I reside) I'll likely run 5-40 next oil change. I've read that the Mobil isn't necessarily the same product it was when originally it was recommended... which is why I don't run it.

Cheers!

Macster

AFAIK Porsche does not sanction Falken or Sumitomo tires on the Boxster, at least this was the case with my 2002 Boxster which I owned up until Dec. 2017.

My car came with Pirelli tires and these were good tires though they tended to get real noisy as they wore. But with a good alignment and reasonable driving I managed 20K miles from the rears and double that from the fronts.

When the price difference was inconsequential I ran factory sanctioned Michelin tires. There were a bit better tires. A bit longer wearing -- but not by much -- and to my ears a bit less noisy when worn. But really without looking I could not tell you which tires were on the car.

Might add even with sanctioned tires Porsche does not support mixing tires brands or even N numbers.

My advice is get a set of Porsche sanctioned tires fitted. Pirelli or Michelin or possibly even Continental or Bridgestone. (These last two were sanctioned for use on my Porsche Turbo and both were a super tire. Like with my Boxster and Pirelli or Michelin I could not tell which brand of tire was on the Turbo unless I looked. So if Continental or Bridgestone are ok for the Boxster you have 4 brands of tires to choose from.)

Be sure the alignment is right. There is some tendency to dial in too much toe and this can eat rear tires in no time. In one case I went through a set of rear tires on my Turbo in just 8K miles. Ouch.

But with the just right amount of toe the car's road manners are superb and tire wear is even side to side and across the tread face and 20K or more miles from the rear tires is easy. Once got 23K miles from the rear tires on my Turbo. Ahhhh.

While my cars never saw the track they saw mountain roads occasionally and the tires were quite up to the task.

intrepid1

Macster, thanks very much for that response. That information is extremely helpful and so greatly appreciated! From what I saw on recommended tires for classic Porsche version (their other list was for more current years from 2005 2008), found this:

Looks like any might be a good choice?

BTW, just have to say how grateful I am for all input. This forum is absolutely amazing and one heck of a tremendous resource!

Macster

People I know and trust and who gave me good advice over the years recommend Michelin tires. At least this was the case. I've been Porsche-less now since Dec. 2017. I followed their advice but only when Michelin tires were price competitive with Pirelli tires which is what my 2002 came with. So I can only pass on the advice and that is Michelin tires are probably the better choice, but as I mentioned in a previous post Pirelli or Michelin I could not tell which was which without looking at the tires.

Really this is comforting to me. I had various tires to choose from and yet did not have to accept subpar tire life or performance if I made the wrong choice. As long as I stayed with tires Porsche sanctioned -- and I always did -- which tires were on the car were transparent to me. I never once regretted my new tire choice for my Porsche cars in 468K combined miles of driving. That's a lot of tires...

intrepid1

More great info and again, very much appreciated!

Byprodriver

Since 1986 when I worked at the 1st of 5 tire stores in 2 different states. whichever Michelin tire best matches your criteria.

Dr. C

Well, after 3ish years, and not a lot of miles, my Continentals are being replaced. The two front tires still look brand new to me, but the rears didn't have a lot of tread left, and one rear separated. During their life I certainly did appreciate the ride quality quite a bit.

The rear tires have already been replaced with Michelin PSAS4s, Continentals are still on the front until the new Michelins come in.

My Boxster handles horribly on the freeway now. It's either a bad idea to mix tire brands, or something (Else) broke on the car.....

FraidyCatRacing

I do not recommend ever mixing tire compounds. I am surprised to hear that you notice a difference though while cruising on the freeway. If the rears wear quicker that the fronts, just replace one axle with the same tires and then replace all 4 when the fronts wear out also. That is the most cost effective solution, but then again if you hate the tires, replace all 4 and try to sell the 2 that are still good. Maybe you can recoup the mounting and balancing costs.

paulofto

The best solution. Been there and done that.