Tires for 996

Hi Guys, I recently purchased some 18" TE37's for a C2. I'm looking for tires now but the choices are somewhat slim as I would need a 295 or 285 over the rear 11" wheels. I'm looking at Bridgestone S-04 Pole Position or Continental Extreme Contacts. I tend to drive very aggressively on the local back roads (I enjoy lifting the throttle) but really don't want a tire that will be harsh over impacts. Are the Continentals going to be to soft for my usage do you think? There's also the HTRZ-III but not sure about putting a lower end tire on a nice car like this. Usually I have found you get what you pay for when it comes to tires. Thanks!

My '02 996tt came with a new set of HTRZ-III's. I haven't done any track time on them, but in everyday driving, they have impressed me. Not sure what I'll do when they wear out, but I would definitely consider them again. When I bought my'99 C4 back in March 2013, it came with a brand new set of HTRZ-II's. Those tires were awful. I got rid of them within a few months.

Check out the Bridgestone RE-11. I like them light years better over the S-04 PPs.

If you don't mind spending the money, it's hard to beat the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2.

I had Bridgestone and Sumitomo before. Currently have Continental. Sumitomo are cheap. It's okay for street use (they gets louder as they wear). Rain traction is good at the beginning but deteriorate fast as they wear. I like the tires when they are new and grew to hate them as they wear. I managed to get 13K on the rears on street use. Bridgestone are more expensive but it does not degrade as bad as the Sumitomo and last 25% longer (managed to get 5K more life compared to Sumitomo on the rears). It does much better job than Sumitomo on the track, especially on hot days. Continental are somewehere in between. It has soft sidewall and quite comfortable. I found it to be the quietest tires compared to the other two. Traction is very close to the bidgestone but steering feel is not as good as bridgestone (softer side wall). I have not taken it to the track yet. I also notice that the conti has square sides, it is a couple mills wider than Sumi or Bridgestone with the same size. I like the look of wider/square sides better From my experience, either Bridgestone or Continental would be the better choice. Pick the bidgestone if you want more performance and Continental if you want more comfort. I don't quite like my Sumitomo but it's a great tires if you factor in the cost.

I got over 20k mi with last S04 so I just bought another set

Sumi's are not necessarily a "low end" tire, just lower cost I have HTR ZIII on my Boxster and they are wonderful tires In addition to lots of spirited back road driving I have 4 track days and 4 AX days and they are holding up well. They have performed well and while I will be replacing them with a sticker tire for track and AX use, I will get a set for my DD wheels. I am not sure if RE-11's are available any more, they were replaced with RE-71's which are great AX and track "Street" tires, but will not last very long. You can probably buy 2 sets of the Sumi HTR ZIII for what a set of some of the others cost. If you are looking for a better street , track and AX tire look seriously at Dunlap Direzza StartSpec. They are super performing 200 TW tires that last, heat cycle well and are not stupidly expensive Check out Tire Rack and their reviews Of course drink whatever koolaid you like

best thing about htrz3 is you don't feel bad burning them up at autox, sliding them around, or otherwise abusing them like I would with a tireset that costs double.

The Bridgestone RE-11s are still available @ Tire Rack (maybe elsewhere, too) and are a great tire. A big plus is that they are not directional, so you can rotate them side to side. This is a big help if you enjoy DEs. They are also 200's. The Dunlop Direzza's are very good with excellent grip; however, they are directional and a little more noisy on the street.

You know what, after reading reviews for the HTR ZIII I may just go that route. I like the descriptions of them on tire rack as "budget" PSS2's. I had the Michelins on my M3 and liked them a lot. I hear they do chunk at the track but it seems like I have some M96 issues to address before I ever do a track event. I imagine the rear tires on 911's wear out faster than the fronts?

After 4 track days and 4 AX, I have not had any chunking om my HTR ZIII's Yes, the rule of thumb is 2 sets of rears to 1 set of fronts and IIRC, Raby's wife set a land speed record on the Sumi's

I'll throw out another opinion on the Sumitomo HRT ZIII for the purpose of this discussion. I tried a set on my 996 C4S. I was not pleased with them, and I have no plans to buy them again. The good thing about them is that they are inexpensive. The bad things about them is that they are noisy as they age, they felt hard to me, the traction when cornering wasn't as good to me as other brands that I've tried, and they were very stretched on the wheel, offering little protection from curbs. I know that some people like them. I think that as a buyer, you need to consider your priorities and then decide which tire makes the most sense. When I buy tires, I order my priorities as follows: 1. Traction, including: lateral grip, braking grip, wet grip 2. Road noise 3. Ride comfort 4. Price 5. Tread life 6. Appearance when mounted on the wheel (curb protection, tread pattern, etc.) Based on my priorities, I prefer the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. I've tried Pirellis, Hankooks, Continentals, and Sumitomos.

I ran HTRZ IIIs on my old 968 and liked them. I just replaced my worn (and hated) Conti DWs with a set. Previously I ran Conti Extreme Contacts and liked them, but they are impossible to find these days. Options for 18" wheels if you want to run 285s in the rear are limited. I chose less expensive, and used some of the almost $900 I saved not buying PS2s to have the wheels refinished. I'll let you know.

You ain't heard noisy tires until you have a set of Michelin AS/3 I have them on my Targa and if you are on any surface other than smooth asphalt, you would think you had bad wheel bearings. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they are 19". In fairness, they do perform well, but far to noisy for me. I don't find the HTR ZIII to be noisy and I have them on a ragtop and am top down virtually all the time, so I would easily hear tire noise

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This^ because it's what the car came equipped with and they are made to work well together with your car and suspension. And they do. You want to drive aggressively, but you don't want it harsh over impacts, well you kinda gotta pick one...

Great feedback everyone. Gulliver, PS2's were good for aggressive driving yet comfortable for everyday use. I would default to the Michelins again but they are 4x the cost of other options per tire! It's still a consumable after all.

I currently have the Sumi IIIs for my summer tires and so far I'm pleased with the handling and affordability.

On a previous thread people really like the Hankook V12's and specifically the wet road grip over the Sumis. I can't compare yet but I REALLY liked the PS2's that were on my car previously.

I had Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 before the HTR ZIIIs. They were great street tires, but got really greasy when they got really hot on the track or for AX. I find the HTR ZIII's don't get greasy when hot The V12's also cost about 50% more than the Sumi"s.

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+1 Have AS/3s on 18s on my C2 cab and they are really noisy. Great in the rain here on the Wet Coast though.

I'm no Michelin loyalist or shareholder but I recently bought 4 PS2s and they were $1230. I have a hard time believing you can find 4 tires for around $325 Rant over

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Probably not that cheap but I remember buying an entire set of Sumis for around $600+ before. When I had them they were ok but in cold weather they would "thump" a bit until they got warmed up. This happened even though my car was in an insulated garage that didn't get under 50 degrees in the winter. But for what you get I think they're a great deal in comparison to the more expensive brands.

For sure, it's always a matter of preference and opinion, but when you are used to a certain ride and feel with a tire, it is a hard decision to switch and have 15k miles of potential regret.

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Agreed. The thumping did start to irritate me so I moved on to another brand. But I still think they were a good deal I just chose to go elsewhere.

225 and 285 Sumitomo HTRZIII from Tire Rack, including shipping: $560 Add another 100-200 for mounting, balancing, and an alignment if needed, and you have the best low-cost tire solution available. Say, $700 done. Are PS2s a better tire. Absolutely. But are they $800 better? For me, on a car that goes through rear tires in 10-12K, that is fairly simple math.

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Ok, maybe not 4 times, but 2-3 times is realistic That "thump" is flat spotting. The Sumi's do that and it takes a mile or so for them to "round out" again and then they are fine. Not A big deal for me That happens with other tires as well Should not cost more that around $100 for mounting and balancing, even with a road force balance. From the tire rack installer list, there is a place near me that charges $15 a wheel for a roadforce balance and mounting $100 is reasonable for alignment. I am considering the lifetime alignment deal at Firestone. $180 for unlimited lifetime alignments IMHO, PS2's are not worth the extra cost

Not sure they'll fit on 11" rims, but . . . Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec. I have a set for my 996, and I've used them for about twelve track days. This year I got a set of Nitto NT01 on a spare set of wheels for track days, and they have more grip than the Dunlops, but the Dunlops are pretty damn good on the track for street tires. The Dunlops also handle street conditions, including rain, pretty well. I wouldn't drive them in snow! For a good street tire that will give you excellent performance if you want it (I have been very competitive in autocrosses with the Dunlops), and comes at a reasonable cost, I think the Dunlops are a great deal. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Z2SS&tab=Sizes

Mark, I'm worried the star specs will have a hard sidewall like the Kumho XS I've used before. Great for auto-x but not so fun the rest of the time. I really like the DZ101 I had on my other car and would purchase DZ102 if they had them in the required size. Just stirring the pot a bit but I think I will be purchasing the HRZ-III Sumitomos for 1/3rd the cost of the PS2s. Nothing against the PS2's other than the price. They are a great tire.

Had the Sumi III, did not like- noisy. Have the Bridge RE's, mucho better both noise and ride. Good wet weather tire. Have a trac car for the 9/10ths stuff.

One more thing, Sumi's wear terribly and flat spot if left for a few days.

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I agree with this tire recommendation. It's what I'm running now. Put them on a couple months ago. So far have done three Autocrosses on 'em, and they have performed extremely well. I also use my car for my DD, and they are great for everyday driving.