Bit of a dilemma. New tires were installed on my 2009 C4S at about 13,100 km as part of a purchase agreement at the dealer. Car now has about 22,200 km and the rear tires, especially the one on the passenger side, are almost worn out. Although I will rotate the rears side-to side to squeeze a bit more life, this gets a bit expensive getting only 11-12,000 km from a set of rear tires given that I don't race in any form, just drive a 200 km round trip to work 7 days a week. I would not even want to think how long they might last if I drove aggressively.
The tires on the car now are the Pirelli ones with the red lettering on the side (can't remember the name). Anyone have a suggestion of a longer wearing tire? My Cayman S came with the OEM Bridgestone ones (RE50 maybe?) and they lasted about 20,000 km on the rear. I could live with that if they lasted that long in the wider size of the Carrera.
Yes, I know that if you can afford the car you can afford the tires. Or so "they" say. But some common sense might also be useful given that I really don't drive all that sportingly.
Ideas?
Unfortunately tread longevity is not a characteristic of any of the tires used on Porsches these days. My wife recently replaced the original Continentals on her 08 Boxster S at 15K miles w/ Michelin Super Sports. The price at Tire Rack was reasonable for the set and they seem to be a very good tire although I believe they are still non "N" rated by Porsche. You can always try a Kumho or Hankook tire at much reduced cost. Whether the tread will wear any better I cannot say. I certainly don't think these tires are an unreasonable choice for daily driving.
If your tires are Pirelli P Zero Rosso, they wear very fast according to Tire Rack's user rating of 4.7 for tire wear. In contrast, the Michelin Super Sport has a user rating of 8.8 for tire wear. The Super Sports are a very popular choice for their all around goodness, although they're not Porsche N-spec. If you insist on N-spec tires, the Michelin PS2 has a user rating of 7.3, so should provide somewhat longer wear than the Rosso.
I had the Rossos on my 996, did not like the semi-wet grip, wear was terrible jumped back to PS2, got 50% milage and better grip. My 2010 997.2 was on Pirellis when I got it, ripped them right off, running PS2s now.
I like my Bridgestone RE-11s on my Lexus, wear very well if you keep the alignment and pressure correct.
Bought a set of Michelin Super Sports yesterday. Will be ready for spring. They are tough to get around here.
