Need to decide: Michelin PS2 or PS Rib

Rear tire flatted again and the fronts are almost gone, so I've decided to replace all four corners. I've searched the archives and have made my tire choice...almost. Now I need your help! I narrowed down to the Bridgestone S-02A, Michelin PS2 & PS Rib and Pirelli PZero Rosso. Then I thought hard and I'm down to the 2 Michelin choices PS2 or Rib ...What should I get??? My criteria... Price isn't a factor...they are all equally expensive Not for track use (at least not yet) Northern California street use.... usually warm. wet only in winter. While this car is my daily driver, I usually leave it in the garage when I know it's going to rain. I want "performance", but it doesn't have to be ultimate I want a high quality tire....heard so-so things recently about Pirelli, Dunlop, etc. I want a relatively quiet tire, again not necessarily "ultimate", but towards the quiet side of the spectrum. Treadwear is relative....will be happy to get 12K - 15K from rears. My driving style is "aggressive" probably only 5 or 10% of the time. I don't care about official "N" rating or not, but want the more "modern" tire is the technology of one surpasses the other. My drives could be curvy mountain passes, straight freeway or city streets. So what is it guys.... PS2 or PS Rib? Many thanks, Jerry

in the same boat and interested in responses why The Rosso instead of the asymmetrico? Have not tried the Directionale in front though that's a next option. I have used the asymmetrico twice and like the stiff side-wall (compared to the OEM tires). Tires only last 7-8 K miles.

Have you ever tried the BF Goodrich, TK DW s ? The word on the street is that they have an amazing grip without sacrificing comfort. I still have the P Rossos, and enjoy them a lot. But have not yet tracked them. W.O.T. Andre

I have used just about everything for 911s except the race treads, S02s and Ribs. So far, the PS2s are by far my favorites, with the Pilot Sports 2nd.

So far, I positive comment on the PS2. From the archives, Viken likes the Rib, but also has good words for the PS2 From my perspective, the Rib has the advantage of "being designed explicitly for the 996" but doesn't do well unless it's hot. The PS2 is "newer" and in the tire world that usually means much improved, but there have been comments about softer sidewalls (though as a relative comparison, I'm not sure how to interpret). Appreciate more comments from you guys who have tried either - PS2 or PS Rib. Thanks!!

Jerry, I don't know how sensitive you are to tires. If you are, you might find that the Rib and PS2 are slightly different in at least one area. However, they are extremely close, and the average person may not find a difference. The PS2, as approved by Porsche, seems to have been designed for a better ride. Softer sidewalls require a bit more attention in the suspension tuning. I think that's the direction Porsche has taken with the GT cars and now the 997. While I love my PS2's on the GT3 in terms of absolute grip, I don't like the softer sidewall feeling. The car *feels* very skittish, mostly due to this and a stiff suspension. There is really nothing wrong with this feeling, and most people learn to adapt to it. I might add that this feeling may not be as obvious on a non-GT car. Having said that, I would be more inclined to run the Rib's on a plain 996. It is a phenomenal tire no matter how you look at it.

My 2004 c4s came wih ribs, they are quiet on asphalt but noisy on concrete. ride is good, handling is great, i am so far very pleased. they also did great in the heavy rains we are having here in ohio

Redcab, With lots of thought and help from Viken and others. I went with the PS Ribs for my car. Seriously considered the PS2S and going with a bit larger tire (no choice.) Anyway, I went to road Altanta this past weekend. Now I am no race driver by any stretch. But these tires performed like a champ. I ran my best times ever 1.53 on street tires. Most of the guys in my run group had track tires. The only place they were faster was coming down the hill at 12. These tires amazed me with their performance......I am sure the PS2s are just as exceptional. Now, I know you won't use them on the track. But I think performance there will give you an idea to the quality of the tire. For normal driving I find them quit and smooth. Must more so than my SO2s which I loved. One concern, I got caught in a rain storm (heavy rain) and they really didn't feel comfortable. Now keep in mind they only had about 200 miles on them at the time, so that could have been the problem???

Redcab, I have a 01 Cab which I have run the Rib, PS2 and Pilot Sport Cup as track tires. The PS2 is quieter, smoother and response is virtually as good as my track tires. I highly recommend the PS2. You will be pleased! Tire Rack generally has the best price.

The PS2s have an unreal amount of grip in the corners and they are actually awesome in the rain. The outer edge tread might as well be a track tire, but it has nice deep center channels in the center for rain. Mine are still not even broken in good yet.

I really wanted to get some PS2, but they are not available in a 285 yet. So I bought a set of N1 PS Ribs, after driving on them at PDE, I am very pleased. At a recent track weekend they performed very well with an abundance of grip once they had some heat, much better than my worn out Pilots.

I'm running on PS Ribs (OEM w/ my car) and they have been tremendous through all sorts of crappy weather, on a couple of tracks and a bunch of spirited mountain driving. I did some laps at the Ring when it was absolutely tanking down rain, and only broke loose once (which resulted in a mercifully short, gotta go and clean out my shorts now, spin through the grass/mud apron of two turns near the km 8 marker ). Having said that, I am planning on going to the PS2 N2 when I buy another set of wheels in the near future. From all reports they are everything the Rib is and more; awesome dry tire and great wet tire. As a driver of average skill and high aspiration, I think they will exceed my requirements. fwiw..... Jeff

Thanks guys for all the input. Seems like either way I'll be getting a great tire. To sum up my (almost) final decision, I think I'm 95% likely to be happy with the PS Rib and 90% likely to be happy with the PS2. I think that there is some possibility that if I could drive both tires back to back in a controlled setting I might choose the PS2, but I'm a little conservative some times, so I'll go with the PS Rib. WheelWorks is shipping down a set from Reno tonight, and will sell them to me at the Tire Rack + $10 ea price (+$30/tire for all the stem, mount, recycle, blah blah blah and another $30/tire for road hazard insurance). I found it interesting that I made me produce the VIN before they would let me order the PS Rib. Is that normal? Thanks again for all your help....and let me know immediately if you think I've made a foolish mistake. I can still change the order.

That's really interesting. This was the case last year when the GT3's started coming in. There were very few OEM PS2's in the country, and Michelin was requiring a GT3 VIN to release them. This was to ensure that these tires actually went to needy GT3 owners. This condition has since been removed, and I have never heard that they did the same with the Rib's with normal 996 sizes.

I just had the PS2's put on last night and only drove the car from the garage to home. I could already tell that the ride was more comfortable. The PS2's seem to take the edge off of bumps better than any other tires I've tried. Couldn't tell anything else from the 2 mile drive.

That is not a fair assessment. Going from an older worn tire to a new one will always indicate drastic differences. Even when the tires are the same brands and type.

I was leaning toward the Rib for both my 04 996 and my 03 TT. I called Michelin tech support and Tire Rack several times because I was concerned about the PS2s in the TT size not being N rated. Both Tire Rack and Michelin tech support strongly recommended the PS2s over the Rib for my TT. I am still considering the Ribs on my NA 996 just to try them out, but I like the PS2s so much I may just stay with those on the NA. The tread design on the PS2s, however, seem/look more advanced than the Ribs and I would hate to buy the Ribs only to end up buying PS2s a month later. Anything has to be better the Contis on there now and the PS2s were a dramatic change over P-Zeros with about 4,000 miles on my TT (had a blow out due to puncture on the P-Zeros).

I just picked up the phone and spoke directly to Michelin support (thanks for the idea Doug). They said that the "Rib" tire is actually the same generation tire as the PS2 and that the differences would be very subtle and only experienced at the limit. I asked him "If I was to drive both these tires back to back, what difference would I notice?" and he said Very little, but that he'd take the Rib on a track. He said that the PS2 might have slightly better water dispersion and slightly longer tread life (which he wouldn't or couldn't quantify). I asked him"if it was your car, what would you put on" and he said the Rib, because it was tweaked to Porsche specification (although he couldn't elaborate in which factors).

Cool. Maybe I will try the Rib then on my NA 996. I have plain Pilot Sports on my 964 and absolutely love them.

BTW, redcab, I was told the exact opposite when I made my phone calls so I guess it probably boils down to who you talk to as the tires are so close. Tire Rack though seemed to think that the PS2 was the better track tire. The PS2 design is being used for McClaren, CGT, GT2 and 3. They are also a couple of pounds lighter than the PSs. Check out what the tread looks like on the TT size wheel. The grooves on the outer edge are very shallow and there are huge solid rubber patches on the outer edge. Seems like this pattern would give you a whole lot more surface contact area or more slick like on the outer edge.

The PS N1 "Rib" tire I put on last night has a very similar tread pattern to what you posted Doug. I'll try to find the dig camera later and post a pic. First impression (driving just 5 miles of suburbia) was that they felt like a freshly sharpened pair of ice skates...light and fast turning. I think I'm going to like these alot. One other interesting observation...Wheelworks had the tires shipped in from Reno overnight. I saw them on the dock, and the return address was Tire Rack!!! So TR must have a wholesale business as well. I bet they are in the supply chain of half the tires sold in the US today. (just a guess).

And here is what the PS "rib" N1 tire looks like...

Cool. Thanks for the photo.

PS Rib. With it's N1 designation, it's designed for the Porsche suspension. Very grippy and a lot quiter than the Pirelli.

RedCab, How is the noise level for the Rib? Is it quieter than PS2? I need to replace my rear tires soon.

Alright. I'm going just a little nuts here. I've been lurking hoping to get some illumination, but this thread is now 2 pages long. What are you guys talking about? Rib??? I can't find the dang thing on the Michelin web site nor at TireRack. What is "rib"????

Here: Pilot Sport Rib

Does anybody have "rough" estimates of tread life comparisons (all things being equal) for. It seems that they are all relatively similar in performance, etc.: SO2a PS2 PS Rib

Cannot speak for the ribs, but this morning I noticed how quiet my tires are. My radio code was lost and could not turn the radio on and the car was dead silent sounding and very smooth with the PS2s.

I can't comment on noise of the Rib vs. PS2, but the Rib is significantly quieter than the Pirelli I replaced (that were 75% worn in back, 90% in front). All in all, I think it is very smooth / quiet.