Tires...which tires? Think I need different tires...

When I was negotiating for my new (to me) Targa, the dealer said that the tires weren't really up-to-snuff. Their solution was to instal a new set of Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tires for $2,200. The tread depths measured 6/32 and 7/32 of tread so I passed on their solution and told them that I'd deal with the car later. Plus, I knew that I could get a set of those tires for about half that amount from Tirerack.com. When I got the car I found that the tires are what appear to be a mongrel set. The fronts are Continental and the rears are BF Goodrich. I decided to live with these tires for a while and sort out what I needed to do. The fronts seem just fine. The driving and steering is responsive and accurate. The rear tires are where I am a little concerned. The Goodrich tires don't seem to have much traction when there is the slightest amount of moisture on the pavement. The weather this last week as been rainy, foggy, and a little icy on the bridges and overpasses. The Goodrich tires did little to instill confidence in the cars footing, if you know what I mean. Now, while I like to save a buck as well as the next guy, I'm not looking for cheap when it comes to tires. I learned long ago that when I'm cruising at 90mph, there's only about 4 square feet of tires that have me connected to this existance. I'd love to have a set of run-flats, but, alas, no one makes them in the right sizes for my car...found a set of Michelins that would work on the front, but no rear runflats in the rear size. So...it seems that I have 3 options.... A> Live with what I have... (This would be based on the theory that none of the tire options will have better crappy weather grip than what I have.) B> Buy a pair of Continentals for the rear to match the Continentals that are on the front.... (This would be based on the theory that the Continentals a good tires and I only need to lose the Goodriches.) C> Buy a whole new set of [blank] (fill in the blank for me)... (This would be based on the theory that there really is a superior tire and I just need to find it.) So...what say you? Are you completely satisfied with your tires and, if so, what are you running?

Don: It's hard to make a recommendation without knowing more about your driving habbits. If you're an enthusiast, I'd recommend all new Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires and an expert, four corner balance. But it sounds like you might not drive hard enough to appreciate the performance/cost ratio, in which case option B would seem appropriate, as Continental makes a good full performance tire and BF Goodrich (to the best of my knowledge) does not. Ric :-)

+1 on the recommendation of the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires. You will love them.

I've tried the following: Stock Pirelli's - tread wears fast, not much traction in cold weather, good in rain. Pirelli PZero Rosso - tread wears fast, not much traction in cold weather, good in rain. Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07- great treadwear, predictable in turns, get slimmy in 95+ degree weather when pushing through corners, excellent in rain, horrible/fun in cold weather. Expensive! Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec- I only have 500 miles on them so far, excellent in cold weather, oddly, and excellent in rainy weather.

I've had Pirellis, Dunlops, Michelins, Contis between the two P-cars. Never had Goodrich on them, but had them in other cars. Here's my .02C. Get a pair of rear Contis to match your front's. The reasons are that it's always good to have same type tires all around, and the rears will wear out 2x faster than the fronts so that service life for the older Conti fronts and the new Conti rear should be equivalent. I'm not a Conti fan, so when it's time, get a different brand for all 4. When it's time to change all 4, here's some more of my .02c. If you drive exclusively on the street, Michelin PS2's are excellent. Quiet ride, soft sidewalls make for a softer ride while providing excellent grip for street safe but maybe not legal speeds. If you do more than the occasional track event, I've found that the PS2's have great grip but lousy wear pattern. The soft sidewall allows the car to run on the edges of the tread when driven at track speeds and high G's. I've corded the outside edge when the rest of the tread was still good. On both P-cars. What a waste. I've found the Pirelli P-Zero Assimetrico to be a better track/street tire. Excellent dry grip, better than the PS2. Surprisingly good grip while still maintaining decent longevity. If you want more dry grip, you'll have to go to R-compounds and their accelerated wear. P-Zero Assims also have hefty shoulder blocks for those high G's which help the wear pattern. f you run negative cambers, the inside tread blocks are even heftier. Negatives include road noise and cornering squeal. These are the noisiest tires I've had. Another negative is that their firm sidewalls accentuate the Porsche firm ride. The 2 negatives I don't rmind, but I mentioned them just in case you might. You mentioned run-flats. Good for flats, they suck in performance. I would not buy one even if they had it in P-car sizes.

As others have noted, it depends upon your driving habits and needs. If you're going to track the car, PS2 or Pzero are probably the best choice. I've had both, and personally preferred the Pzeros. If you're car is a daily driver, I'd seriously consider running with Bridgestone RE050A. They are a nice tire at a very good price. I just put a set on my 997S, and am very happy.

Lots of great reviews for the Sumitomo HTRZ3s too. LINK

I like Palting's advice. Otherwise go w/PS2s or Bridgestones - Pirellis just don't last.

Thanks for the input so far. My wifely-unit will tell you that I am a High Maintenance, Low Mileage type. My use of the car will be DD duty split between the "new" Targa and the non-Pcar pictured in the avatar (that's good for about 5k miles/year). And road trips of probably about 4k miles/year. As much as I hate to admit it, my track days are over. They weren't much when I was younger and had something that resembled good eye-hand coordination and reflexes. Not so much any more. At my age I'm probably supposed to be cruzen around in an STS Caddie, Lexus or a 7-series BMW, but I just can't bring myself... I don't street race, but probably do drive aggressively. So good street tires, grippy and quiet are probably what I need. Soft...not so much. When I want soft, I'll take the wifely-unit's Acura.

have the sumitumo's on my 2000 996----ok tires, nothing special, cheap. i would give the yokohama es 100 a look if they are available in your size. had them on my air cooled carrera and loved them; wet, dry, track, street, great tire. definately my next choice if they are available in my size.

I just put a set of NEXEN 3000 (ZR rated) tires on my car, for street use only. Cost $434 for all 4 delivered to my house. Personally I notice no difference between these tires and my old set (Yokohama ADVAN Sport) which cost over $400 per tire. Again, I don't track the car, and never drive over 100 mph. I've only driven about 400 miles on these tires so I can't comment on long term mileage, but at this price does it really matter?

I've had the BF Goodrich TA KD's on my car for about a year an a half now. Tire is discontinued, but the dry traction control was excellent. A little scary in the wet, but it doesn't rain that much in SoCal. Definitely don't think its a tire for everyone. I use it for both daily driving and intermediate group track sessions. Am definitely curious what tires sizes people running the Michelin PS2's are using. I didn't see a rear tire in 285/30/18 for narrow bodies... are people running 295 in the rear instead?

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Yes, I ran PS2 295/30/18 on my C2.

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Michelin is now making the regular Pilot Sport in the 285 size with the same tread pattern as the PS2. Michelin is completely cryptic about the difference in the two versions. I elected to go with the regular Pilot Sport.