pirelli'sor Conti's

hi all i own a 996 C2 2001 (pre-facelift model) with 18" 5 spoke carrera's 02 rims i currently have 225-40-18,285-30-18 conti-sportcontact and I am just about to have new shoes.... should iI stick with conti's or should i try P's? and f I go with the P's should I use rosso's? or the Nero's? any comment ? thanks in advance harris

neither... go with the bridge or michelins.. at least thats what I hear...

If you mostly do street driving..I like Yokohama AVS sports...look great..wear good...and cost less... my .02c

I agree with redduck996, PS2 or SO2/SO3 is the way to go... Pirelli - wear out quick and not good at cold tire, great on dry road with warm tire. Yoko AVS - squeal loud at hard corner, slighty cheaper but you got what you paid. Michelin or Bridgestone...actually, Michelin is better from my experience. even I'm using SO3 now...

While a couple of highly respected boarders like the Contis, I do not. I've had Conti Sport Contacts, Pirelli PZero Assims, and Bridgestone S-03s. S-03s are easily and by far the best of the bunch in basically every category. My Contis were basically the worst in almost every category. I am also highly impressed with Bridgestone RE750s if long life is a concern, but they're not made in 285/30. If I were to buy street tires now, I would probably look at Yoko Advan Neova, then PS2, then S-03. Possibly throw in Goodyear F1 GS-D3 if rain is a priority or BFG KDs if you don't mind the ride stiffness.

I'm just now replacing my conti's and bought a set of Goodyear F1 Gs-D3 along with a new set of wheels. they were delivered this week and I hope to get them on this weekend. It's been a long time since I bought a set of goodyear tires, but I've wanted a set since the first time I saw them.

Best tires in my opinion are Bridgestone SO2A's N4. Smooth and sticky. No noise. Good wear.

Tire preference really depends on what you want and how you plan to use them. Factors such as wear rate, noise, wet weather traction, etc. all come into play. Also wear rate is relative to how you drive and what you consider good. If the absolute best grip/performance is what you are after then take a serious look at the Bridgestone S-02A. Excellent grip, however, the wear rate is quite quick for car that is primarily a daily driver on the street, IMHO. However a weekend fun car or more frequent track/autocross usage this may be the best. My $.02 with my experiences from the tires you mentioned is as follows: I ran a couple sets of Pirelli's on my former 993 (p-zero asimmetrico). Great grip in the dry. Not so great in the wet. Relatively quick wear rate. Rather stiff riding tire. Overall a good tire, more performance oriented than the Conti. If wet traction/hydroplane resistance for daily driving is important probably not the best tire choice. I had Conti Sport Contacts my 996 when I got it. Fairly comfortable tire. Relatively quiet for a performance tire. Good traction in the wet and dry. Wear rate was much quicker than I anticipated (approximately 8k miles on the rears). Basically a good all around tire that was neither great nor horrible in any category. At the end of their life they lost grip much more quickly than the Pirelli�s. I currently have the Goodyear F1 GS-D3�s. I have approximately 7k miles on them. Excellent wet weather traction and very good dry grip (have not used them under track conditions). Wear rate appears to be excellent so far. Stiff side wall with somewhat harsher ride than the Conti�s. Very aggressive tread pattern that is quiet and smooth on most road surfaces. However certain concrete surfaces (not all) cause rather loud hum at speeds above 50 mph.

I replace my Conti's in the rear with Michelin Pilot Sport Ribs N rated. I like them a lot and will replace the Conti's in the front with Minchelin's when the Conti's wear out.

I have the contis and have 17 k and counting. I like them and just got a pair on ebay as a spare.

i'm not necessarily a conti fan, but i did own both the conti I's and the II's (on a boxster). the conti sport contact I's do suck, IMO. the II's are much improved, and for the price and depending on how you drive, they may be worth considering. i AX'd & DE'd on both flavors of conti sport contacts, huge difference, II's are much better. i have pirelli assims on my '02 C4S now. i'm going to try something different when i kill these, they seem too noisey & rough riding, but did hold up very well at the one DE track event i've done in this car (buttonwillow, CA).

first of all, thanks a lot for the rep[lies!!!!! to be more specific now...... cost is not a problem, i.e cost of purschuase, as well as wear rate and noise levels does seems to bother me at all. ( i have a "cheated" sports exhaust ) my only concern is the GRIP on a DRY BAD TARMAC, which covers almost 90% of roads around here in athnes greece wher i live.

Pirelli Asimetricoes perform well but are VERY harsh and noisy. Pirelli Rossos are quieter and smoother and seem to perform well. Michelin PS2's are smooth and quiet (at least when new), have a somewhat soft sidewall mushy feel, but excellent grip. They're my favorite so far. They feel like the sidewall rolls under some before they take a set in a corner.

Given this and the sizes Bridgestone S-02A's.

Agreed, S 02a's if all you want is grip in the dry

I've had 4 sets of Pirelli P-Zeros and I really liked them, but they don't last (at least not on NYC roads). When my new car came with the ContiSports I was really unhappy with them, but they lasted a lot longer than the P-Zeros. I still have the original fronts, and replaced the rears once (28,000 miles). The next time I need to replace them I'll have to replace all 4 and in that case it's S02A's for me.

Having in mind all the replies i have a feeling that i will stick with the bridgestones S-02 (which i used them a lot on my 964 on 17") what is the code that proves that are aprooved for porsche? N-what? all of you stated S-02A's? what is the A for? and another guy stated S-02A N4? is there an S-02A N3 as well? i have a feeling as well that 02 is not available any more since o3 is out.is this correct? thanks in advance harris

Harris - I am not sure what the "exact" meaning of the A is, except that it designates a different (second) version of the S02 tire. The S02 is still available. As I understand it, the S02-A tire retains a very similar compound as the S02 but has the tread design very similar to the S03. Just to clarify the Porsche N ratings of N0, N1, N2, N3, N4... signifies the progressive version of the tire tested. Pirelli, or any manufacturer, may make minor changes to a particular tire design (say P-Zero) and Porsche tests that version of the tire. If the previous version was rated a N2, the "tweaked" version, if it passes all of the tests, will be rated a N3. It does not mean that the N3 is a better tire that the N2 tire, it just designates a slightly different, and later, version of the tested tire. Here is a thread from April of this year about the S02, S03 and S02-A. https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...&highlight=S02 The one Bridgestone tire that keeps surfacing as the preferred tire is the S02-A, both in this thread and in the attached thread. FWIW, when my P-Zeros become "toast," I will replace them with S02-A tires, unless a different, and better tire surfaces between now and then. I hope this helps!

Hi again can anyone post pics from the treads of S-02, S-02A, and S-03 to compare? thanks

Harris - These pics are off the Tire Rack web site. If you got to tirerack.com you can get a lot of reviews and consumer feedback about the tires.

many many many thanks

i will go for the S-02A, but can anyone tell me know what N rated should it be?

and what speed rate should it be? 93Y?

As Tim said there is no "N" number you need to look for but you do need to make sure it is "N" rated. For example, the Tire Rack site willl let you know if the tire is PORSCHE OE. N0-Nx willbe just fine.

Many rennlisters use the SO2a and are happy. I have tried Contis, Pirellis and Michelin. Pirellis were for me the best performance tire, but at very high wear rate. Conti were slightly numb but performed well allround, with an extra mention for wet handling, however exposed to heat cycling on track, they will get toast in no-time. Michelin PS2 seemed great and are used now the 997, but they were not for me, not hard enough sidewalls. PS1 I have had for almost 10k kms and they have perfomed beautifully. Will buy again. My 2c..

I have had the Michelin Pilot Sports, Continental Sport Contacts, and Pirelli P-Zero's on my cars. I'd rank them as follows 1 - MPS, Great grip, great life, low noise 2- Conti's, OK Grip, good life, low noise 3- P-Zero, Good grip, ok life, terrible noise Just my experience....

As i said Be4 i wanted to go for the Bridgestones unforunetelly S-02A is not imported here in greece...and has to be special order at about 50% higher price than the pirellis and contis... p-zero rosso i think is the best next available tyre for me what do you think?

I have P-Zero Rossos on my 2002 that came as OE. Rears went about 18K miles and were replaced, but I probably could have gone another 2K miles. I'm approaching 25K miles now. I don't compete with the car and generally drive sedately. The P Zeros have worn well, are quiet and ride nicely. Dry traction has been fine, and since it doesn't rain here all that much and the car stays inside when it does, can't really say how they run in the wet. The fronts will easily last the life of the second set of rears, and then I'll switch all four to Michelin. My dealer claims the Michelins perform better and wear as well as the Pirellis. A friend switched to Michelin PS2 (from Dunlop) on his M3 and swears by the Michelin. I think you'd be happy with the Rossos, but if the Michelin is competitive on price, I'd take that one.

snaproll, thanks a lot for the reply... since P's came as OE, why your dealer delivered the car with pirellis while he thinks PS2's peform better? thanks in advance.. p.s. price is not the problem as i mentioned be4. p.s.2 wear rate (= price in terms of duration) is not the problem my ONLY concern is the grip 90% on dry slippery roads rather than 10% wet slippery roads...

harris, Get some specific advice from someone who has tracked their car wtih Rosso's and has experience with some other tires. It is my understanding that the Rosso is a more "consumer" friendly tire in that is wears less quickly and is less noisy than the P-Zero asemetrico's. The trade off for these improvement is grip. The Bridgestone S-03 is supposedly the same story. If you venture into the racing and/or autocross section of Rennlist and ask for the best street tire with the best grip wear and money are no object (mention the S-02A is not available to you becuase that will probably be the first recommendation) you may get some better suggestions. Dunlop also makes a tire that is DOT approved compound similar to some of the R compounds found on track tires. While I know DOT approval is not important to you, I only mentioned it because in the US it signifies a street legal tire.

I have conti's on my Cayenne (22" Gemballa's) I would not even try another tire I am so happy with them - this is my wifes car, she drives like a typical wife and as a result they tread wear is fantastic - I do not want to replace 22" tires every year. And, when I want to push it - they handle great - no complaints. On my 996 however, I want some thing that sticks like glue - I have gone through Yoko's, Michilin's and pirelli's - I must say that I am happiest with my pirelli's - yes they wear out fast, but I find them to stick the best out of the tires i've tried (street driving)

At the time, 2002s came with Pirelli, Michelin or Continental and mine just happened to have Pirellis. The service writer (who I trust) said that all three tires were good, but their feeling was the order of merit was Michelin, Pirelli and Continental, based on owner reports of performance and longevity and their observations as well. The differences between the Pirelli and Michelin were not dramatic in their view. I've been partial to Michelins but had Pirellis on a somewhat tricked out 240Z and liked them also. The dealer didn't offer to swap tires and I didn't ask (mostly because we'd ordered the car and once it arrived getting it out the door and on the road was the main objective).

I have had the pirelli's and they were ok. I have gotten fabulous miles and unbelievable wet traction. My vote is for the toyo's Have not tried the new t1r's though.

Sorry these were toyo proxes t1s.