Is it difficult to find tyres for a 987Cayman on 17" wheels? - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

It seems the majority of Cayman 2.9s were optioned with larger 18" wheels, but I am also looking at some with the base 17" wheels. Doing some research, it looks like tyre availability may be a problem. The Michelin website recommends Pilot Sport PS2 for both front and rear, yet it seems they are not actually available in the size 235/50/17. In fact there is only one tyre available in that size with Y-rating (Yokohama Advon Sport). As for the fronts (205/55/17), the PS2 is shown as available on Halfords but not Blackcircles. Yet again very few options are available with Y rating, and at W rating there don't seem to be any performance oriented tyres available. Are tyres really that difficult to find or am I missing something here?

I feel your pain. I have the same wheels and both summer and winter tyres are very difficult to get if you want n rated tyres. I may well look elsewhere next year as I'd rather not sell 2 sets of wheels and have to get 18" tyres.

No idea if they are in stock but National Tyres are at least allowing me to add to basket https://www.national.co.uk/tyres/brand/michelin/pi...

Just looked on camskill and the rear size in PS2 are not listed so i would say currently not available. Also seen the price of the fronts on there I have a set of PS2 (front and rear) with 5mm-ish tread with date codes around 4020 for sale soon, you would have to buy the boxster 3 style alloys with them though

I've not searched but are you looking for N rated? Are you also searching by car reg or type too as that mostly gives results for N rated. If you are not looking for N rated search by the size rather than reg or car.

I run the Yoko Advan V105. Good tyre. I'd take them over the N spec options which are all ancient designs. Indeed I do, I've had all the N spec options for the 987 17 inch wheel at one time or another - the Goodyear Asym 1s are very soft and squidgy and not at all sharp, the Conti CS3s are surprisingly hard, but quite sharp and responsive, the Michelin PS2 are still quite good in the dry but crap in the wet. The Yokos are good all round, pretty sharp, good feel, ride OK, not bad in the wet. Overall, better than the n-spec options for this tyre size. You can get them in exactly the right speed and load ratings, too.

Incidentally, MyTyres has the GY Asym 1 N-spec rears in stock - for £200 a pop, which is a joke. The Yoko is easily the better tyre. Bit worrying, thought. If the Yoko goes NLA, that really will make things tricky!

To clarify I am looking into buying a 2.9 Cayman. I saw one I liked the look of but it is on 17" rims, personally I don't mind 17"s with regards to style (and dealing with bad road surfaces better would be a benefit too). But my concern is that with a rare tyre size it may be increasingly difficult to find tyres in the future, being N-rated is not so important, but I definitely want performance oriented tyres.

The Yokos are the answer for now - for as long as they are available. I may actually buy a couple of sets and store them. Hadn't realised the choice had narrowed so much as I have been buying the Yokos in these sizes for years so haven't looked for alternatives for quite some time. Another option may appear at some point.

Just buy a second hand set of 18's?

The cars drive very differently on the 18s. Possibly preferably depending on what you like. I far prefer the way the 17s drive. So switching to 18s not an appealing option.

esotericar said: The Yokos are the answer for now - for as long as they are available. I may actually buy a couple of sets and store them. Hadn't realised the choice had narrowed so much as I have been buying the Yokos in these sizes for years so haven't looked for alternatives for quite some time. Another option may appear at some point. Good call.

As it happens, new set of rear Yokos went on today. The 17s are a tough sell for looks, but worth it for the drive.

esotericar said: The 17s are a tough sell for looks, but worth it for the drive. They look great to me. I get the impression for most manufacturers that the base wheels are intentionally made to look a bit puny but some wheel spacers and slightly lower ride height can fix that.

It's a bast case scenario pic. They look pretty puny most of the time!

I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my next set of tyres won’t be N rated, unless I swap to 18s. I really like my car the way it is, looks included, so I’ll probably just look for whatever Michelin tyres are available in the correct sizes.

I went from 18” stock on my boxster to 19” spiders. The suspension on the stock car is crap hence why the 17” side wall provides a much nicer low speed feel. My current 2.9 I purchased at 7500 miles and also had a 3.4 Spyder at 11k miles. Get a nice set of matched dampers and spring / coilovers and it totally transforms the car at any speed. You lose the pogo stick feeling below 50 mph and gain a lot of control for the higher speed stuff. Admittedly the Spyder suspension was really good at high speed stuff but the 2.9 loses all composure over 100. Both had firm low speed ride which doesn’t always work on poorly surfaced roads. Appreciate it’s a different price proposition but the 987 chassis is beautiful but they lock it away with substandard components. Edited by jayxx83 on Friday 30th September 22:56 Edited by jayxx83 on Friday 30th September 22:57

I had exactly the same problem. I deliberately bought a 987 Boxster 2.7 manual on 17" wheels, because that is what I wanted. I didn't realise that there are hardly any tyre choices in the same tread pattern front and rear (the only setup I'd accept). The big 3 n rated choices come up from time to time (Mich, Conti, GY), but be quick, as they seem to be manufactured in batches. I'd planned for a while, earlier this year, to buy some GYs, as they seemed to be the cheapest and most readily available. But then, when I came to pull the trigger, they were suddenly unavailable. I like the sound of what esotericar has said above, to try the Yoko V105. I might try that next time. What I've actually gone for, out of desperation, is the Michelin PS2. They're OK, but not worth the hype, IMO. I admit I'm biased, as I've never enjoyed the feel of any Michelin tyres, on any of my cars. I've always been a Conti man (on my 328i, 130i and Clio 182). Tried Michelin PS3 on the Clio and hated them. But, I bought the PS2s anyway, cos my tyres were out and I needed new ones for MOT.

Just buy 235/45/17 you won’t notice any difference

The V105s won't disappoint. It's a good tyre. The N spec Contis for the 987 are ancient designs, the Sport Contact 3. They're OK, definitely quite sharp and grippy, but the Yokos are nicer.