Tyre recommendations

Getting my 996 next week. Early up on the shopping list will be some new boots. Currently (as far as I can rembember) the car has Michelin Pilot sports on the front and Mich. MXX3's on the rear. The fronts are low on tread on their inside edge and the rears will probably want replacing soon. When I had the 111pt check done the mechanic said I should keep same brand AND same N number across all tyres - otherwise the handling would be shot. i.e. don't mix manufacturers front to rear and dont mix and N1 with an N2 etc. Is that the general wisdom on here too ? If so, what do you swear by ? Previously (Fiat Coupe Turbo) I was very pleased with Pirelli P-zero's. Before that I found Goodyear GDS3's excellent on a scooby. Yokohamas I found to wear out too quickly. Any recommendations for the 996 ? If it makes any difference its running on 17" wheels, so we're looking at 205's on the front.

The list of approved tyres and a Porsche document on 'N' rating are on the FAQ and Technical Articles pages. If you would like a copy, send me an email, and I'll attach them to a reply. You'll get lots of opinions on tyres, but Michelins seem to be the most often recommended if you do a search. That's what I am going to try next time. Currently have P-Zero Rossos, which are very grippy and have worn well (for me, but not others) but are a little noisy.

worn well = how many miles ? I got 15,000 out of my P-zero's on the Fiat, which for 220 BHP, front wheel drive seemed pretty good to me.

I reckon about 13-14000 from the rears, and double that for the fronts.

I'm on GSD3s on my 996 C4 and I think they are fantastic - but not N-rated, so I've been advised to let the insurance company know (bit late as they've been there for about 14,000 miles now!) Need new rears soon, so may play safe and go back to N rated all round. Shame though, as the D3s have the best wet grip of any I've tried (inc. P-zero rossos and Contis), are noticeable quieter, and seem to have lasted well too (for me).

I have differing N ratings (but not manufacturer) and at my last service nothing was said regarding this as unsuitable? It seems to me it depends where you go and who you talk too. RB

According to Porsche, you should not mix tyres with different N ratings (even from the same manufacturer) I have 225/40ZR18 N1 and 285/30ZR18 N1 Michelin Pilot Sport 2 and find them fantastic. Have done 3,000 carefree miles and still have 5mm on the rears, but come summer I'm sure the rears will wear much quicker. Try ELITE DIRECT , they have the cheapest tyres in the South East (a friend has just put four Goodyear GSD3's on his Audi S4 and saved £20 a tyre over blackcircles)

There's a couple of recommendations in the Suppliers thread on the FAQ pages as well.

Does anyone have experience of using Bridgestone Potenza's ? They seem quite a bit cheaper than Michelins or Pirelli's ? Also they are up to an N4 rating. Does that mean they are newer design than a Pilot Sport N2, or is it just the N0, N1, N2 and N3 ones were rubbish so that had to keep redesigning ?

No experience of Potenzas on the 996, but the 993 boys seem to rate them highly. There is a really good explanation of N rated tyres in the FAQ section, a small extract of which says: " Production tyres that have passed all of the tests and received Porsche's engineering department's release can be branded with an N-specification. The N-specification brandings include: N-0 (N-zero), N-1, N-2, N-3, N-4, N-5 or N-6. These markings on a tyre's sidewall clearly and permanently identify them as approved by Porsche for their vehicles. The N-0 marking is assigned to the first approved version of a tyre design. As that design is refined externally or internally, the later significant evolutions will result in a new generation of the tyre to be branded with N-1, N-2, N-3, etc., in succession. When a completely new tyre design is approved, it receives the N-0 branding and the succession begins again." New version=new N rating. It doesn't necessarily mean that the previous version was rubbish, just different.

Ah I see - so that means Bridgestones tyres are presumably of an older design, noisier, less economical, but have more character and don't leak oil.

FYI. Chris Horton, in this month's 911 & Porsche World, is very complimentary about the new ultra quiet Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres. Let me know how you get on Diesel as I need to replace the Conti's on C2 soon...

Try Contis on the 996 they're a good compromise between grip and wear. Alternatively try a full set of Michelin Pilot Sports for good grip but less mileage. Whatever choice you make, the car needs to be shod with the same make and N rating all round - otherwise there may well be insurance implications because it will not comply with manufacturer's recommendations. Regards, Clive

Touché. I had Contis on my 993 and they were good all-rounders. My brother has them on his C4 and likes them. I just fancy trying the Michelin PSs to see if they are as good as everyone says.

I'll let you know what I do. The car has currently Pilot sports on the front (fairly worn) and Michelin MXX3's on the rear, which I was told in the 111pt inspection are OK tread depth but too old now. (and they've been discontinued)

Personally, I wouldn't mix makes, so if it was me I would replace the fronts with P-Zero Rossos. I used them on my C2, and found them fine. Michelins were the best I used, but the most expensive.

Just been told by Protyre today 4 weeks for michelins ps2 n3 Paul

I just bought a full set of 19" Michelin PS2s for £1088 fitted. I can't say I've noticed a huge difference in the performance compared to the 18" Pirelli P-Zero's I used to have. They do look better though! My old 18" wheels and tyres are currently for sale if you're interested: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250690151899&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

new pirillis on the front a few weeks ago cost me just over £300 from my local kwik fit 225/ 40 18 p rosso n3 .booked online ,cheaper than going to branch and no waiting around for fitting ! 75pno

Maybe i should mention that ive just got the standard 17" rims so theres not much choice.

Could be time to consider moving to 18s then Chris! They will fill those arches much better! NB, I would not recommend moving to 19s (having done it myself). 19s require spacers, longer bolts and modification of the wheel arch liners - all very costly and even after all this they still rub slightly!

Hi Chris, I have recently changed my Porsche but just before I got rid of the old one I have 4 new Continental N rated tyres for my 17" wheels. I haggled them down to £500 fully fitted. Cheers Aaron

Thanks for the response guys, but it looks like i was fretting over nothing. i got my wheel back yesterday and it was just a faulty valve. So thay saved me a load of cash.

Here's the reason why there has been a shortage of Michelin tyres for Porsche since June : Dear Mr Chew, We are sorry that you could not obtain the Michelin tyres you required for your Porsche. As you are probably aware, the front 225/40 ZR 18 Pilot Sport PS2 N3 front tyre is in good supply at the moment. For a few of the other Porsche tyre sizes, the supply difficulties have been caused by several reasons. This includes the fact that we have had to change specification of the some of our Porsche tyres due to European legislation which dictates that we can no longer use certain aromatic oils in our rubber compounds. Unfortunately this change of specification also coincided with product capacity issues at one of our factories, and then a switch of production to a different factory. The new production factory has taken longer to come fully on stream than we would have liked, and this capacity issue has also coincided with an increased demand in the market for our tyres. We are working towards improving the situation, and this situation only concerns a limited number of products. We anticipate that the supply situation on the rear 996 tyres, 295/30 ZR 18 and 285/30 ZR 18 Pilot Sport PS2 N3s will improve towards the end of October. Once again, we apologise about your difficulties in obtaining the Michelin tyre for your Porsche. If you would like to contact Michelin directly, please ring our Technical Help line on 0845 366 1535. Yours sincerely, Steve Dolby Product Marketing Manager Car, Van & 4x4