2 Tire Questions

I just put my summer wheels on this weekend and had a 2 questions: 1- Should I let any air our of the winter tires for storage till next year, or just leave them at normal pressure? Whats best to preserve the rubber? 2- My summer tires seem to be kinda worn in the backs, although the dealer said they were ok when I got the car a few months ago. The tread on the outermost side is almost entirely worn off, but there is some life left on the rest of the tire. Can I just replace the rears and if so do I have to match the fronts? These are Pirelli pzeros and I have'nt heard too many good things about them and would like to switch over to michelin pilots if I can. Thanks for any help!

On a C4 you want to match all 4 tires

I routinely just get the rears only if the fronts are not worn. So far, it's been 2 pair rears for every pair fronts. You do, however, have to match all tires. If you are down to the wear bars on the rears, I would suggest getting a pair of rear PZeros then replace all 4 with whatever brand you like when both front and rears are gone. As to the air pressure question, I have no idea which way is better. I keep my track tires at regular pressures when stored. I'd be curious to know too if it's better deflated.

Store winters away from heat-sun. Sounds like a good time to change all 4 from Pzero......(unless you really like them, and not that concerned about some handling sacrifice of just rear rep[lacement). Either way........get your car all wheel aligned.........always request a print of readings before and after align.

If the outside of the rears are worn more than the inside, the tires were probably remounted on the rims. The rear tires should wear considerably more on the the inside half of the tires due to the negatice camber. If they are directional tires, make sure they are rotating the correct way.

Good point Do the rear Pzeros say.........Direzionale? and, if so, which way is the 'Rotation' arrow going?

P zeros are not directional. They are assymetric, meaning there is an inner and an outer. At least on the OEM P-Zeros. You can't flip them on the rim. The outer shoulder tread, however, has shallower cuts as part of the design for more stable cornering. Therefore, it looks like it's more worn on the outside shoulder than it actually is. Particularly if you track the car. I used to go by the wear bars as a level of wear when I had those tires. When the wear bars across the flat part of the tire are level with the tread, the outer shoulder is now pretty much solid rubber/bald but still a long ways away from cording.

Palting Correct me if I'm wrong but, you are talking about the Asimmetrico Pzero's?.......and in the 'Pzero System', they are on in the rear (w/Direz up front).......or can be used all around...........they have no direction. Pzero Direzionales are directional........for the Pzero System they can be used up front, with Asimmetrico's on the rear (or in the case of Rosso Pzero's, Direzionales all around).

They are pzero assimetrical all the way around. I was noticing some slight alignment issues (a slight vibration or wobbling feeling but thought it might be in my head) and was going to have them checked this week. I would like to replace them all but not too keen on dropping that kind of $$ unless they are needed on all 4, the fronts seem fine with maybe 70% of tread left.

Though I don't have winter tires on my Porsche I do on my other cars. I was advised by the folks at the tire dealership that I should leave them inflated on their winter rims at the recommended pressure store them away from light. They told me that it would not hurt the tires if that pressure fell during the year. I just thought I'd pass that on to you knowing there may be better advice which I would welcome as well... Jim

Gregg, yeah, I was talking about the assimtricos. I believe these are the OEM tires, at least on the C4/C4S. Jaxx, I would just buy the rears for now, then have all 4 balanced, including the fronts. Make sure it's dynamic balancing from a good shop. Unless you've got alignment issues, that should take care of the slight wobble, including the one in your head . After that, all 4 should wear out at the same time and you can chose any tire you want. P-Zeros ain't that bad. I've had twe sets front and 4 sets rear of them before I switched. If you take the car to the track, it won't be too long before you have to replace all 4 Thanks, Jim. I guess that relates to track tires as well as winter tires.

Question on the assimetricos, i just put them back on this weekend. Because the are not directional, the the tires actually are spinning with opposite treads from right to left. The inner aspect of the tire on the right side has the small "V" part of the tread spinning in the proper direction to displace water, etc, and the left hand tire is spinning in the opposite direction with the "V" spinning to trap water under the tire. Is this normal. These tires should be made left and right specific. This is the way the car was deliverred to me

P zero Rosso's are unidirectional, as are the Corsas. I have gone thru 3 sets of backs and two front so far!

I like to store tires in black garbage bags, keeps the ozone, light and oil off of them. Also the Rosso's on my car are not unidirectional, you can put them on the right or left (unlike Corsa's).

I believe the Rosso's are avail in both Direzionale and Asimmetrico version......Tire Rack.

Once tires have been mounted & inflated, they should be stored with some pressure, but not full pressure (you want to relax the bead). With no internal support (air pressure), mounted tires that are stacked together may develop slight creases where external pressure has been applied (this is not a good thing), esp if a tire is stacked on upon another (I prefer that way - storing tires on wheels "upright" makes me nervous - I'm worried @ slitghly flatting the tire, but that's just me). Also, for storage, it's a good idea to wrap each wheel/tire in plastic before stacking. My .02 on tire storage (have done it off & on for longer than I can remember...) J