N Rated tires

Do you guys really think there's a real benefit or is it all marketing hype? Would you run a non-N rated tire on the street? On the track? Anyone ever hear of a "mishap" that was caused by the use of non-N tires? I see lot's of P-Cars at the track with race tires that obviously aren't N-rated. If non-N rated tires are ok for race tires, why not for street tires?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...currentpage=35

N rated street tires are tested by Porsche. They have to meet standards for wet/dry grip, response, ABS and PSM performance as well us ride and noise/harshness. Porsche does a thorough job of this. That's not to say that there are not plenty of other good tires out there, the difference is that N tires are PROVEN. PAG doesn't have time to test everything so they tend to stick to major brands like Pirelli, Michelin, Bridgestone and Continental. Once tested, the manufacturer cannot change the design or materials of a tire without a re-test. Hence some tires are N2, N3 etc. I have used N and non N tires on a varity of porsches without a problem. There are no N rating for R compound tires that I know of.

I've read all of the explanations of the N rating and understand the marketing claims. I'm just trying to understand if it's all marketing hype or not. I don't doubt that PAG conducts the testing. I'm just questioning how many changes are made to the tires as a result of the testing. If you compared two tires from same manufacture, for instance the N and non-N rated Pilot Sport, what's different? Are there any differences in the chemical composition of the compound? Any difference in the tire manufacturing process? Most importantly are there any differences in performance? If a professional racer did a "blind test" of the N and non-N version of the same tire (controlling for all variables), would he notice a difference? Bob, did you notice any differences between N and non-N tires?

Get the best tyres money can buy. Why would you wnat to risk your life and the car to save a few bucks.

I think that's what he's getting at. The S-03's are non N- tires whlie the S-02's are, however the S-03's rate equal to or higher than the S-02's in every category (and are a superior tire, IMHO). So why should I buy the S-02?

I know some of the guys will kill me, but I think it's just marketing hype. I've driven both n-rated and non n-rated tires and have never noticed a discerable difference with the possible exception that the n-rated Conti Sports were absolute crap and the non n-rated S-03 Pole Positions were fantastic. Go figure. My next tire is going to be a Goodyear F1 but it turns out to be a crapper, than I'll likely stick with the Pilots afterwards. But, it is important to mention that some cars do report a floaty feeling with some tires, though I can't say if they are n-rated or no, so it's probably not a bad idea to go with the tire that many of the guys on the forum have had GOOD experiences with.

I have never heard of ANYBODY thinking the S03 is a far superior tire than the S02 (more specifically the S02A). Actually quite the opposite. If you are going on the Tire Rack website ranking be my guest...take a look at who is rec'd the tire.

I recently went through this decision process. My bias was towards getting N-rated tires, but after doing extensive research, and finding that many of the "best" tires weren't N-rated for my 7.5" and 10" wheel sizes, I opted for non N-rated Bridgestone RE750s 225/265/18. I've got about 1,000 miles on them, including 100+ on the track, and I have no complaints. It didn't make sense to me that it would be "OK" to put N-rated tires on the rear, with non N-rated but "matching" tires of the same model on the fronts, or vice-versa, (since one isn't supposed to mix tires across N rating designation), without considering good tires that did not happen to have the N-rating.

Guys IMHO i have had the SO3 on with my BBS LM's and I found them to be Garbage..YES i said Garbage, I am sure there is better tires on the market but I have yet to be disappointed by my good ol pilot sports(N1s)Now back to the topic no you don't need N rated tires, we don't need our Porsches either

I agree with you in principle that you should get the best tires possible. But we all know that more expensive doesn't always mean better. I'm just trying to understand what you "really get" for the extra money you spend on the N rating. If it just a stamp on the sidewall then it's marketing hype. If it's more to it than that, great. I'm just trying to understand what's different.

Nupe....read the article in the link I attached. It is more than just a stamp. Think of it as an engineering seal of approval.

I'm not familiar with the S02A, but I stick to my opinion of the S-02 vs. the S-03. Tire Rack's performance testers thought a great tire here (link removed), although they thought it was starting to show its age here (link removed). I'm not sure what you meant by the last statement, but I take it you're suggesting the customer survey ratings are worthless. I mean, with 19 million recorded miles, what do they know, right? EDIT: removed my links...guess you can't cut/paste the URL for the .jsp pages

Some more thoughts at PCA . And some more from PCA here . It would seem the Joel highly recommends going with N-rated tires (and the correct N-rated tire for each specific model AND year) as a first choice. It would really be delightful reading if Porsche themselves could come out with a detailed overview of what separates one N-rated tire from another, and more importantly, the two from a non N-rated tire. I can't imagine that tire manufacturers R&D is so much worse than Porsches, particularly for fast fast fast car applications. I've been running the non N-rated Goodyear Ultra Grip GW3s in the winter with good success. Consequently, I've been eager to throw on the Goodyear F1 GSD3 tires in the spring on the high recommendations of a lot of drivers, Porsche and otherwise.

I often was told that the N-rated tires have stiffer sidewalls than their non N-rated versions. But that doesn't mean that there are no non N-rated out their with the same or better performance or the same stiffness in sidewalls. Well personally I'm running Hankook S1 Evo and would prefer them anytime over my Conti N2. Less noise, more grip (and better looks). And even the police is using them. IMHO this is just another "We recommend dishcleaner XYZ for our dishwashing machines" deal. If Lamborghini and Ferrari would sell as many cars as Porsche they probably would do the same.

nycebo - the 2nd PCA link you included above was Joel's response to the question I posted. It made more sense to me to go with a "matched" non N-rated set of Bridgestone RE750s than to put an "unmatched" set of PS2s (N-rated rears, with non N-rated fronts). BTW - I almost went with the Goodyear F1 GSD3s, but was a little concerned about soft sidewall comments on the Tirerack site.

The Tirerack views have to be used with caution I don't apply much weight to the comments. I am sure there are some good, competent drivers on there that can give valuable information but it is hard to know which ones they are. Consider this�.there is an idiot in those reviews that commented that he had driven his car with F1�s a couple of times in 3-4 inches of snow and was impressed and but for the lack of turn in the dry they would be the perfect tire. Please. I don�t like driving them when it 35 degrees out and dry as you can slide them around all over the place unintentionally because the compound turns hard and there is a complete lack of grip. I can only image how horrible (aka unsafe) they would be in actual snow (I have dedicated winter tires for cold weather and winter driving). I think the wide disparity of the tire sizes and application also makes it very difficult to get a real understanding of how a tire will work in our situation. The the impressions of someone running a front wheel drive car with 15" wheels, with a soft factory suspension (set up for comfort) are difficult if not impossible to apply to a 911. There are just too many variables to sort through.

ridin the pzero's rosso's and they stick like it on a stick never complain about them however the bridgestone tires are some of the best in the world in my opinion i would buy them in fact thery're on my wife's camry and they make her car handle like a sport model i wouldn't worry about the n rating if you're ridin bridgestone pguy