Best tires for under $1000 ?

I need new tires. Id like to limit it to $1000 though I could go higher if there was compelling reasons. I have used expensive tires in the past that sucked and dirt cheap tires that rocked. So price does not always mean performance. I was curious to hear what others would reccomend for this price range.

Go on tirerack.com or other sites so you can plug in tire size and type...you'll find lots of choices(winter, summer etc) and brands.

+1 on Tirerack.com. They have lots of user feedback/reviews and all the info you could want on tires. Great prices, too.

I'm very happy with my Bridgestone Potenza R050A non N rated Porsche

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I agree with 911Joel. Tirerack is great guys but there has to be on here with opinions. That is the point of a forum. I have the Michelin pilot sports on my turbo twists and Conti Sport 2s on my Carrera S wheels. I am going to have to replace my 315/25/19s soon so this a question I am looking to answer as well.

Meh. Buy a set of Falken Azeni Rt615s. http://www.vulcantire.com/azenis_rt615_t.htm Thank me later.

The Sumitomo HTR Z III has been getting good reviews (note this is different than the HTR II's). They are very reasonably priced and I think you can get out the door with a set of four from the Tire Rack for under $1K. Do a search. Andy

This is probably an unpopular position, but here it goes: We've all bought expensive, highly engineered, high performance automobiles. And yet people are always trying to cheap out on their tire selections? If the tires suck, what's the point of everything else? Rubber is the only thing connecting all that fancy German engineering to the ground. I say suck it up and buy some n-spec PS2s. They're pricey, but pricey for a reason. Just my $.02.

Patrick: +1 Oil, service and tires are item I don't feel comfortable to deal with. I would try to save money on tires for a regular car (I have some Avon's on my BMW - great grip but noisy and bumpy) but would never try to save $500 every few years on the tires for my Porsche, especially since it's a pretty modern one. $500 saving on an old 912 that is driven gently on week-ends, why not, but on a 996 I don't think it makes sense. That's a very personal point of view of course, and maybe some don't want to live their dream at any cost.

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I went from Conti2s to Sumitomo HTR Z IIIs. Could not be happier. If you are not going to track the car these are good enough. Sumitomo is owned by Dunlop and have the same tread design. The set cost me less than $700 shipped. Do a search for these tires on the 993 board and you will find plenty of happy owners there. It is proven. You also have to realize that European tires are much more expensive due to euro vs dollar exchange rate. As for the suck it up and buy PS2 comment; I agree only if you don't have a budget limit. This thread is not about that. I believe OP is trying to get the best value out of his money. I would ask if you take your car to a dealer or an indy for service. Its the same logic.

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I have been running the Sumitom HRTZ III (or whatever they're called) for about 9 months. They are perfect as street tires. Long life, low noise, good all around and CHEAP. I have over 2 degrees of camber all the way around (closer to 3) for the track, and there is no premature wear on these yet. [For the track I use a separate set of wheels/tires] Alternately, I used Yokohama AVS ES100 for a year before that - but got rid of them when I moved 18" rims. They were also good for the price. -td

Sumitomo HTR Z IIIs, I just put a set on my car, and I couldn't be happier. I had them installed tax and everything for @750-800$. They are perfect as street tires, they are not n-spec, so it seems the sidewall is softer (among probably lots of other things). The ride quality improved substantially, and the noise is very low as well. It's like I have a new car, I love it. I had a set of older Michelin Pilot Sports on the car, and they rode pretty rough and were loud (but old probably) If you track the car you may want something a bit sportier. The steering does seem a liitle less precise than before with the Michelin's.

I would pay any amount for lower noise than the Michelins I have now I hear that the 997 is more insulated from tire noise and I may end up trading up just for that reason even though I like the look of the 996 better.

I have the Sumitomos HTR Z III and for the street they are GREAT, but for the track the completely suck...as soon as they reach 110 deg+ they squeal like pigs and have 0 grip...

All these opinions and not one person has asked what the OP is looking for in a tire. Seek first to understand, then be understood. The answer will depend up on whether you're looking for high performance track tire, or only use your car on the street. If you're looking to go on the track, then it's hard to beat PS2s, but if your car is a garage queen street car, then personally IMHO the Bridgestones take a lot of beating (I'm currently running RE750s, the 760s just replaced them in the market). Your choice all depends on what you're going to demand from your tire. The answer will vary depending upon what you need.

[QUOTE=Wellardmac;5719224]All these opinions and not one person has asked what the OP is looking for in a tire. Seek first to understand, then be understood. QUOTE] Good point. So these will mostly be a street tire. I do push it on the streets when in safe locations though. I may goto the track a few times a year. So really street tire performance, low tires noise, and a decent expected mileage would be what Im looking for. Thanks for everyones opinions. I actually have done a lot of searching I just wanted to get other peoples input. I have been leaning toward the BFGoodrich G-Force Sports.

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Good to get an idea of what you want. Based on what you said, a straight street tire like the Bridgestone isn't for you. I'm sure that others can give lots of recommendations for hybrid tires and whether the BFG you mentioned is a good choice. Good luck!

I just sold my car and put on 4 new nitto 555 before I sold it an was amazed how much less road noise there was and they were 700.00 installed for 4 - still handled good but not quite as good as the conti sports but for the driving that I do it was good. Keep in mind that most people putting on new tires are repalcing worn ones of course and they should feel a little better which I think was the same for me.

So shoot me. I love Pirelli PZero Rosso Asymetrico's for road and track. New set of 4 can be had for $1,000, and will do it all for what you are looking for.

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I had considered those but the bfgoodrich are rated much higher overall at tirereack http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....=g-Force+Sport http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=PZero+Rosso

I have said this before in experience about the Sumitomos HTR IIIs. They are excellent for a daily driver. Quiet, good wear characteristics, good grip in all but track situations. Certainly good enough that it is hard to justify wearing out $2000 of MPS2s on the daily commute. Buy the Sumitomos, and your savings over the next few years will allow you to buy a second set of wheels with real track day tires MPSCups. Just my $.02.

+1 for The Sumitomo HTR Z III; If you are not tracking the car. These are great daily driver tires for $650 out the door at Tire Rack

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I hope the OP is not trying to track on a shoestring budget..

I'm not sure where the prices are with the dramatic rise in oil prices but prior to all that, I decided on Goodyear Eagle F1's instead of the French and Japanese selections. Without a doubt these AMERICAN tires are the absolute best wet weather tires I have ever driven. They are cheaper than the B'stones, Pirellis, and Michelins and are a world class tire. Unless you are going through more than one set of rears per year I don't see justifying the savings of $300 to leave so much value on the table. It makes seem like buying a generic is really over paying from the perspective of the manufacturers production costs and testing. Most people will spend the $300 savings on one weekend of dining out a shopping for home stuff with wifey. Yet the extra performance from those tires could be the extra 3 inches that avoids a wreck.

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Vulcan has a good price on the RT615; they're cheaper at discounttire.com but on back-order there. Vulcan has them on stock; just got mine mounted yesterday. It's the most recommended AX tire. However, if you want a better treadwear, then the Falken FK452 is a great street tire; have them on my BMW. I had Michelin PS2, Bridgestone Potenza, Toyo T1R, Pirelli P-Zero Rosso and can't say that the more expensive tires (PS2 or P-Zero) are worth the price difference for street driving. Even on the Track (only tracked the Potenzas and P-Zeros), the more expensive Pirelli did not convince me.

@Steve: Rear Porsche wheels are noisy compared to other cars. My Pirelli Neros are noisy too. It was terrible on my old everyday Carrera 4 that had Dunlop sport SP9000... so noisy that I was wondering if some bearings were singing. Cheap tires, pretty good grip even on rain, but super noisy. If someone knows a tire that has a wonderful grip AND is quiet please give me the secret Goodrich, I've had two bad experiences with them (Actually the only bad experience I've ever had with tires) so I will never buy again.

with regard to BFG's, the g-force sport is good, but the KDW2 is GREAT.

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If only spending high dollar guaranteed quality, life would be so much simpler. There is a reason Marketing Depts spend so much money on advertising. I agree with your bolded statement, but why shouldn't tires be like practically every other purchase? That is, a wise purchaser can (and does everyday) get quality for much less dough.

Oh boy, this will be fun. I have been running p-zeros on front and ecsta's on the rear for a month or so. Haven't found the time to put the ecsta's on the front yet, but am doing it tomorrow. With the combo, PSM is totally unusable. If I forget to turn it off, I almost go off the road in the wet or a hard corner. It is totally confused. With it switched off, I have just as much grip as with the P's. And the rears are quieter than the P's. Flame away.

GoodYear Eagles GsD3s are the best tires I've had on my 996 in the wet, good in the dry and the rears still have 3/10s at 25k miles. Unbelievable but true. I've been waiting all summer for them to wear out to put my new wheels on. They just refuse to die! The fronts have more than half tread left. I got only 10k on rear S02s a few years back, and have never come close to 20k on anything else in the back. Discount Tire Direct has them for right at 1k with free mounting balancing and install....no affiliation, just a happy customer.

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+1...I'm running the Falken FK452's....couldn't be happier. I ran them on my '85 Targa on the track as well and thought they were very sufficient. As far as street driving, there is nothing noticably different b/w the 452's and PS2's. And I've driven very very hard on both. Oh...and they are half the price and look damn good to boot. That by no means they are a "lesser" tire, especially for the street. J

In a recent Euopean Car HP tire test the cheap(Korean) brands wer with in 10% of the good ones !

Too bad I can't get 315/25/19 close to these prices but I guess is the price you have to pay when you upgrade to larger wheels

Goodyear F1s. Had Pirellis. Were noisy, didn't grip real well. I put the F1s on my 87 as well after ditching some Ecstas. Both cars are transformed. They were about $850 for the 996 and $500 for the 911 from tirerack. Install by my local tire place.

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No kidding. I run ps2's and they are the best tire I've come across for all purpose. Now, if I was looking for a 2000+ 911 preferring c4 or c4s, where would I start to look........ Betting chrono still has no porsche and has moved on....... i'd like to be wrong, but i'm pretty smart..... and craigslist sucks@@@@

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have the eagle F1 supercars as factory spec on one of my others, great dry tire, don't like it in wet much, but looks amazing!

I like the Falken Azenis 615s a lot too. They have lots of grip, and I like the slip characteristics of the tire. The major downside to these tires is that they are WAY noisy (loudest street tire period), they wear super fast and they only come with 8/32" tread depth new. The benefits ALMOST out weigh the negative aspects for me but everyone else has different criterion. This is also a very heavy tire (stiff sidewall) The PS2 has great mix of everything: quiet, light, good traction; but, it has a very weak sidewall, which accounts for it's light weight. On track I had noticed the tire was starting to roll onto the sidewall and cause a really broad, vauge region of understeer (this pic is the front tire). The only way to remedy this was to run at least 2.5-3 degs negative camber on my M3; and i'm not sure porsches like that much camber up front. If i ever pick up a set of turbo twist wheels for the track, I would definitely put azenis on them (short of a good r-comp). For double duty the ps2 is more acceptable than the azenis, and in the end cost (with wear/lifetime taken into account) is probably the same, just depends on what you want. Never driven the azenis in the rain, i doubt it would be enjoyable... my .02 -Dan

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+ 1 on the Sumi's. I'm in a 993 and just put these on my car. Couldn't be happier. They run better than most tires I've had before (more grip, quiter, etc.) As for tracking, I know of one Rennlist member/founder who might not agree with everyone who says the Sumi's are no good on the track. Take a look at this post about JD's review of the Sumitomo HTR ZIII for track use (compared to other street tires.) John

Or you can buy used tires. I have a pair of Michelin Pilot Sport fronts that I'd let go at a bargain. New rears + my used fronts will keep you under a grand.

they're 225/40/18's

I pulled the trigger and went with the BFG g-force sports. Everywhere I read its good reviews, tirerack rates them very high, and they are also very wallet friendly. Total was $630 shipped. And I just ordered yesterday and they are on the UPS truck for delivery today! TireRack gets a big gold star

Good luck with those. anyway, now that all 4 escas are on, I noticed a few things. The ultimate grip is a bit lower than P0 neros, but at the limit of adhesion there is a more gradual release. More predictable. The PSM will not activate easily at all, even with all four wheels losing grip. Most important for me, there are serious truck ruts in the middle lane of the hiway I drive on every day. The P0s were so badly affected by these, that a regular cell phone talking, slurpee swigging driver would most likely be thrown into the adjacent lane. It was really bad. The escas do not respond to these ruts at all, they cross them as smoothly as can be. So over all, they are a better tire for me.

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how come they were so cheap... looked on tire rack just now and they price at $848 for a set excl shipping

I got toyo's (send about 1K .. think)...somethings....and have to say that i like them better than the ps2 I had before. I don't understand the tire noise problem..but that is because I never drive with the top up....so I have more wind noise than tire noise.....and even more exhaust noise, with my super sounds....

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You probably priced a 225/40/18 and 285/30 /18 set whereas the MK1 18-inch wheels (still 10 inch wide rears but 7.5 front and not 8 inch) came with 225/40/18 and 265/35 /18.

I am also stuck between what I want? I found the Toyo's (proxes) for $900 (all 4) but then I found the Bridgstone RE050 A (non-pole position) for $100 less. I don't know if I should get the Bridgestones? What do you think? I like the tire tread look on the Toyos but that doesn't mean much. Okay, other than the PS2s which are amazingly expensive, what do you guys think I can take to the track a couple times and drive around as a second car for a while and still not pay out of my pooper for it?

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Shay, did you see the review that JD did on the Sumi's for track use? There's a link in the quote above.

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I sent you a PM Ed

Are they still making the General UHP low-pro tires that were ranked # 1 on tirerack and also the cheapest in price? I was looking at those for my old 330i. Not sure if they make the size for Porsche though.

Yeah, I think it was General Exclaim UHP. Someone also told me that General is made by Continental.

I just checked tirerack.com and they are now available in sizes that will fit my C2 with 18" turbo twists. Check them out, they are ranked # 4 overall and cost $90 for the front and $158 for the rear. I will probably go with them the next time I need tires.

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John S. Irving? Facebook?