New 996 cabriolet owner, Tires?

I need to replace the dry rotted front PZero tires and I am not sure what to go with. I had Pzero's before and they wear too fast. I am looking at the Michelin Pilot sport A/S plus and also at the lower pirced Conti extremecontact DW. ANyone have comments on these two tires. The size is 225/40ZR18 's I am a spirited driver, that likes to drive up in the mountains along the windy roads, near my house. Thanks!

ya gotta post pics or the help will be limited to sarcasm just kidding, Welcome... I guessed you were on the wrong side with that size tires, tell us about your car...year, miles ect, and what type of driving you do/plan to do for DD I dont think the SUMI HTRZ III's can be beat, lots of 996 owners love em

Most common replacements for tires found in the forums are either Hankook V12s or Sumitomo HTR Z III's.they are relatively inexpensive and you get good traction and wear for about 1/2 the price of P2s. Why the A/S (all season)? First they are ugly, second do you really need all season, usually use a snow tire if you live in snow country, If you go with MIchelin P2s get the Pilot SPort P2s summer tires. They look great and perform great ( however at a big price) and they are what is found on all the new Porsches, and exotics

You say you just want to replace the front? Are are you going to put a full set on or "mix & match" ?? I highly recommend you match what you have on the rear or replace all four.

Hi Ed, Welcome to Rennlist! I'm looking forward to seeing some pictures of that yellow 996 cab. So far all I've seen are some tiny pictures Mike showed me last night on his phone.

i know people knock on A/S tires...but i just put the Pilot sports A/S + on a month ago and they have been awesome so far. I dont know enough about cars to tell if its like a 9/10 or 9.5/10...but i have a C2 w/o psm and when i was on warm pavement in the south they didnt sound any louder than my summer tires. On the cold pavement up here they've been quiet and given me very good performance feedback. (around curves and hills and the such) My long driveway is on a hill and is snow covered. I have no problem going up the hill and i slam on the breaks going down to see if i slide at all, and theres less sliding than my parents SUV (w/o 4wd on). I talked to people from tirerack and they told me the pilots were the best A/S tires out there...i havent tried anything else but i can say they're pretty darn good in all seasons. (had bridgestone potenza summer tires before) FYI i replaced all four even though my front tires could've gone a little longer.

My plan was to replace the front two first, since the rears are good and have about 4k left on them and then change the rears in about 6 months. Not a good idea?

yea, dont get A/S - yukk! you have an ultra performance car, get an ultra performance tire

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Not so much... and Welcome to Rennlist!

I think an entire set of ZIII's only sets you back about $600

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Best buy out there if you're not going to be around snow.

Thanks for the comments!!! ZIII's it is.

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Welcome and +1 on the Sumis. They are not the best wet tire, but for the price they are a great value. If money was no object, the Pilot Sports (not the A/S!!) are my favorite tire: great performance, reasonable road noise and very good for the wet weather we get here in Seattle.

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Forgot one: There is no substitute.

Never tried the sumi's but I like Conti's a lot. They are the quietest street tires I've ever had on my car. 340 treadwear will last really well.

I think for tooling around in a DD mixing tires is no big deal.

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Yup I agree......that is if your car is a Buick 225 Electra. Mixing tires on a high performance car is a no no.

Well I am here to speak up for both the New Conti DW and the DWS. I put the DW's on my 2000 C4 and love the smooth quiet ride (on Coil-over low low suspension) and the very responsive handling. Now I have not had the opportunity to really push these on the track (yet) but all the reviews and TireRack test say I will not be disappointed. And I now have a set of the DWS on my 968. And again I find these are very good for what I need --- Notes: I am in Rainy Seattle (yes we are close to Rain records this winter) So my choice is to focus on good traction biased to wet roads. A Fresno CA driver only sees wet roads when he's washed the Porsche - (right?) so this and perhaps how one drives a Cab (like my 968) makes for different choices. BUT - if Cost is any issue - price a set of 4 Contis against any other Very Hi Performance rated tire and consider the wear rating and Conti warranty. It might just sway your decision. - It did it for me!

Living in a mostly dry and hot area of central california, I am not really concerned with the rain. Also, I doubt that I will take it out when it is calling for rain anyway. It's my play car, nothing else!

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Summer rubber for sure!

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As most have said before, go for the summer tires. You might find that once you have a good set of tires on, you'll want to take it out in any weather! I find it extremely enjoyable driving mine in dry/wet/snow conditions!

So tell me sneaky pete, what are the implications for mixing tires on a daily driver. Data?

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Don't have data...I'm not that smart There have been posts though of adverse effects of mixing tire makes over long term. Something with how the car's brain is reading traction on all 4 corners. I don't know if it would mess the ABS or PSM or not. To get best results for our cars I would think you want the same tread style all around. Most tires sets if not all are designed to work together. I think a bigger issue would be to use asymmetrical tires and non-directional tires at the same time. To the extreme think of using 2 snow tires and 2 summer tires at the same time. The ABS will pick up something is wrong overtime. Short term say 100 miles no biggy. I think common sense says to run all the same...the car with perform with all its operating systems that much better. But to each their own

Thanks for your response Pete. For DE I run the PS Cups and pushing the car to the limit on the track(or as much as I am capable of) I wouldn't mix brands. Riding around under "legal" street conditions is so much less taxing I can't imagine it making a difference. However, I can't argue with your points regarding the way it interacts with the electronics becasue I don't know. Common sense would tell me that as long as the size were the same the tread pattern wouldn't be noticeable under street driving conditions. So like you say, respectively, to each his own.

This has been a great thread and I thank all of you for helping me decide on the tires and the mixing of tires on the car. I agree that in the long run, it isn't wise to mix tires, and in the short run it is OK if it is casual driving. Since I am NOT a casual driver and like to push the limits, I will look at changing all the tires.

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Not wanting to start anything here.......since you DE, you know how fast things can happen. DE's are controlled (somewhat) driving events, you won't mix tires there but you will on the road in everyday conditions where anything goes? Why take the chance?

i have falken fk452

Re mixing tires or not: Everyone has their own comfort level with all things. Some play by all the rules, don't like to explore, experiment, test and experience first hand the consequences of behavior contrary to authority. They are comfortable in knowing that what they do will most assurdly always be safe. Being safe, secure and free from worry makes them happy. My wife is like this. I, on the other hand, live by the premise that rules were made to be broken. I detest authority, relish and thrive on being a contrarian. I'll run a mix of 4 different tires, with all the directional arrows backward, down to the cords, at 125 MPH in the rain, and even the sleet. Well not quite, but I will run mixed brands front to back to get maximum usage. No right answer as far as I'm concerned. You're an adult, choose your level of comfort. Oh, and on brand of tires, if you don't have to ask how much, Bridgestone or Michelin. If you still look at prices occasionally at the grocery store, Sumitomos. lls last longer than llls and cost less as well but may slide a bit prematurely at 9/10ths.

ME: Michelins on the P-car. Soon to be Sport cups. If I wanted a little more tire life, I would buy Bridgestone RE050Pole Positions. Had them on before and really like the grip and life. The DD gets Conti Sport Contact 2's. Nice tire for daily driving in So Cal. Image below... 1st Conti 2nd Bridgestone.

Pete, no worries about stirring anything up. I've just never been in an anything goes street experience that anywhere near taxed the car like DE. You may very well be right about the electronics being able to tell the difference in one brand vs. another. I just don't know enough about how the electronics work and how differing tire brands can affect them. Separate of that I just don't think there is any risk. I'm driving mixed now and the car handles great, all the time. I would be more worried about tire pressure being off a pound or two from corner to corner having a bigger affect on handling characteristics than the tread pattern. (And I bet my pressure is always off a pound or two).

Bridgestone RE050A. Outstanding value.

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Its all good.....I was thinking more defensive driving than offensive. In any case