W8MM

I asked my dealer service guy about a rumor of newly released Pirelli PZero Rosso tires being available for the Carrera GT. He got a look of recognition on his face and said I was one of very few who had asked, but yes indeed, there were some new Pirelli tires recently available. He said they were supposed to be a little more track oriented than the Michelin PS tires that came on the car.

When I asked for details, he went over to the parts department and had them chase down a quote for the Pirelli tires that may have needed my car's VIN to put in the system. I got a custom printed quote with an "advertising-style" description of the tires. I assume this quote was generated by the same system whereby Porsche Dealers order tires through a custom Tire Rack web site set up by PCNA. The picture of the tire on the quote looks exactly like a Tire Rack presentation.

When I go to the civilian Tire Rack web site, there is no mention of the PZero Rosso when searching for tires for a Carrera GT, only the Michelin choice.

Anybody have some insight to share?

RS Clubsport

The Pirelli Rosso are available for CGT fitment, I was offered this option when Porsche GB supplied new tyres to my car last December.

The Rosso is a street tyre the same as the Michelin PS2, I stuck with the Michelin as the PS2 is the best street tyre for occasional track use in my opinion.

HOV

You might want to check out the Pirelli PZ TROFEO. This is Pirelli's DOT rated track tire and the equivalent of Michelin PS CUP/N+
I had it presentation of the tire at a recent track event and a tire test driver was very happy with the tire showing more grip than the PS CUP tire.

W8MM

I just recently chose among candidates for tire refurbishment on my CGT for combo street/track use. I am embarrassed to admit that I had not previously considered manufacturing date (as molded on the sidewall) as something about which to worry.

The last "new" set of tires I bought was 2 track seasons ago; that's during Spring, 2008. I checked the fronts and they were molded in late 2004 while the back set came from early 2005. Three or four years of sitting on the shelf doesn't make the compound get any softer; especially if stored in a typical tire warehouse located in the Southern USA where it gets "heat cycled" daily during Summer.

One can easily imagine that CGT tire demand is a weak market where volume of sales measured by tire count is concerned. With two sizes involved, it's doubly so, compared to other cars which have one tire size all around. The tires are probably molded in a volume that amortizes the set-up costs and then stored until they almost run out before making another run. Its seems that the run interval might be as long as once every 3 or 4 years.

Over the years, I have purchased a number of sets of Michelin tires for the CGT, thinking I was getting fresh, soft rubber for the coming track event season. I always wondered why the car seemed to grip better when brand new, but not so well as time went on. Now, I know why! Every set of tires I bought were probably molded about the same time as the OE fitted tires. My new sets were no fresher than the ones I discarded!

With this in mind, I had my dealer check on the mold date of the Pirelli and Michelin tires available. The Pirelli's were located in an automated warehouse where they could not be inspected, but were thought to be "at least 2 years old". The Michelin tires were able to be looked over and the fronts were mid-2008 and the rears were late-2009. I chose the Michelin set on the basis of "freshness".

I can now report that the "fresh" set of Michelin tires seem to grip about as well as I remember from my first track event in the Carrera GT at Mid-Ohio in April of 2005.

Mystery solved!!!!!

bbs993tt

Mike,

Thanks for that info. Very interesting and I will definitely check for the "freshness date" when I need my next set.