HELP, Confused by Tire Choices

Help ! I have an 01 C4 Cab, and the fronts are almost shot, so i would like to re-consider what tires to use.I still have the original Dunlop 9090's, which i guess are OK, all-round tires but not the greatest performers. I have the Std 225-40-18 and 265-35-18 on Std OEM 18" wheels. I use this car as a daily driver, run PCA AX and would like a few track days in the near future (a few a year possible perhaps). Its a California car so lots of hot sunny days, and no freezing temps or snow. Im not bothered by road noise or extremely long wear lift (dont want to change every 3k miles either though) The N-rated options look somewhat limited. PS2's arent N-rated in my sizes, Conti's are not so great from doing a search, i didnt like the Pirelli rears i had in a emergency, and the Bridgestones are being discontinued in the N-rated sizes (as best i can tell from searches on the Forum). PS1 or PS-rib dont seem to get glowing recomendations either. Dunlops are not performance tires The Non-N rated Bridgestones seem to be totally confusing. SO2 ? SO2a ? SO3, RE750, RE-01, RE01-R, RE050a.... etc Any advice ?

Have you by chance done a search here? There are a ton of great posts where people talk about the pros and cons about all brands. You'll generally read "no" to Continental and then a bunch of mixed, but mostly positive comments on various Pirellis, Goodyears, Bridgestones, etc...

2 suggestions: 1) On the rear, move up to a 285/30-18. Porsche did this (I think) starting in '02 with the same exact rim, etc (I did it on my '99 with no problems whatsoever). You'll appreciate the better grip and also the tire fits the wheel better IMO and you get a little protection against curb rash. You'll realize right away that the 265 looks stretched and too small in comparison. 2) For what you are describing, get Michelin PS2's. Easily the best street tire I've ever driven. Obviously not a r-compound, but still good for tracking too. Can't speak to their AX ability, but I would think it would be okay for that too.

I wouldnt go to a 285 unless you want to upset your handling...I did on my C4 cab and i regretted it. I got alot more understeer which I had dialed out with my PSS9's...I didnt get the handling right again until I went to 19's which handle better than the 18's. Maybe my fronts were so bad that the extra rear grip just pushed the car....

Thanks Holger, The PS2's are not N-rated in these sizes... well the 285 may be but the 225 is not. Mixing N and Non-N seems to be the biggest no-no of all. Anyone run the PS2's on a 99-01 in 225 / 265 sizes ? (non n-rated?) I think the front rim is 7.5" and 225 is the biggest size possible. Anyone try the Bridgestone RE01-R ?

I went with the Bridgestone RE750 for my '00 C4 cab last year and have been very happy with them. They are a harder compound than many of the more performance oriented tires, so they won't grip quite as well in the summer (but worked fine for me on the track and street). The advantage is they'll last longer, and I found that they did better in cold temps (low 30s) compared to my P-zero assymetricos. After leaning towards 285s, I decided to stick with the 265 rears for better wet weather handling.

C4 Pazzo, Thanks. This is my impression from doing searches... i wanted a bit more performance oriented. So how do the Bridgestones line up ? RE750... everyday tire that lasts a long time ? SO3... N-rated... not good ? SO2.... Unavailable ?? SO2a.... N-rated... Close second to PS2 ?? To be discontinued soon ??? RE050a ????? RE01-R ?????

Dr. Karl - Why would it make any difference if a particular tire were doing to be discontinued? Are you worried about getting irreparable damage to a tire and can't replace it? If that were the case, there would still be some of the discontinued tires in the �pipeline.� There will probably be "new and improved" tires on the market by the time you wear out the tires you are getting ready to buy.

Why is that? I've never heard that before. My understanding is that the N-rated tires have been tested by PAG and have their stamp of approval. Other than that, how do they differ? FWIW, I've owned a 996 since April of '98 and have gone thru a number of sets of tires from various manufacturers. None were N-rated and I never had a problem. In fact, that has never even factored into my decision. Am I overlooking something?

Holger, Perhaps i saw it on PCA web site ? N rated on one axle and non-n rated on the other seemed to be a bad choice.... my head is spinning with tire info, so i could be wrong though Non-n rated all round didnt seem as bad, but ive no idea why. Im not sure im sold on the n-rating either... hense this thread Thanks for the replies

AAAAAHHHHH! The dreaded N-rated debate again!

No debate, just trying to get educated. (Although, I think the N-rating is meaningless. )

I'm running 225/265 PS2s right now. I ran them on Highway 9 (from highway 35 to interstate 280), and they held road very well through the twists and tight turns. They also give off less road noise than the equivalent Pirelli Assimetricos. I will be autocrossing them at the GGR PCA AX this weekend. I will update you on how they perform.

The RE750s are very impressive tires for their wear and price if that's a consideration. They are also on the cushy side if that's to your liking. They gripped almost the same as my S-03s (97%?). I would say they gripped at least as good as my Pirelli PZero Assims and vastly better than my N-rated Contis. Mine is a Boxster S if you care, and I drive it hard. If you live in Cali like me and don't care about tire wear, you may want to try some mild R-compounds. I run R-compounds year-round, and they make for some great fun as long as you don't try anything stupid in the pouring rain in January. Another tire worth considering along with the PS2 is the Yoko Advan Neova.

Holger, I don't mean to belabour the issue, but it's been discussed a million times. The reason that a search is the best way to learn about it is because they're tons of links that people have posted (the easiest being on Tire Rack's site itself) about n-ratings, what people think about it, what PCNA thinks about it, what Joel Reiser thinks about it, and ad infinitum. Moreover, some of the more salient comments may be omitted in this thread for whatever reason so I highly suggest you check out all of the threads here and on RennTech. Of course, you are going to get strong POVs in both camps but you'll be able to make up your own mind. While I was originally in the what's the big deal with a non-N certified tire, at this point, considering the multiple miniscule factors that can affect steering, tracking, balance, floatiness, and what not, I'm kind of leaning to staying with N-rated tires if only so that I never have to regret going the other way. At the moment, the Pirellis have been pretty good but they ain't cheap. The Bridgestones seem well regarded also.

FYI...the S03 is NOT a n-rated tire. Never has been. Also,not nearly as good of a tire as the n-rated S02A. Here a good write-up on the n-rating designation: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=26

Thanks, that's helpful. That whole write up to me just boils down to common sense, don't mix-and-match tires on a vehicle. I don't know how long the N ratings have been around, but it seems to have made a lot more sense 20 years ago than today. Tire engineering and construction techniques seem to have progressed a lot lately to keep up with the increasing demands of high performance vehicles. Any high end performance tire from a major manufacturer will hold up to the demands from a P-car, N rating or not.

[Image-only post; no author-written text. Original image references:] https://rennlist.com/forums/images/smilies/beerchug.gif

Give me a call Doc, I'd be glad to help.

I've run Toyo T1S's as replacements on my (previous) daily driver Boxster - a little harder compound for the DC streets and good in the rain but not particularly sticky for the track. Pirelli's didn't last long on the daily commute. Might replace the Pilot Sports on the C2 with Toyo's when the time comes (no AX).

S02-A from bridgestone are awesome tires...... but pricey... if your on a budget get the RE-750... last long and good performance...

'01 996 Coupe with PS2 here. Originally came with P-Zeros and replaced them with the PS2 michelins non-N rated. Night and day difference in wet handling, longevity, noise. Slightly better in dry handling compared to the P-Zeros. Rears lasted 25K on the PS2 compared to 10K on the Zeros. On the second set of rear PS2's now. Overall, best tire I have had on this car. The PS2's on our size (225 front/265 rear) are XL which means extra load. If you look at the load ratings in the tire rack website, you'll notice that they have a higher load rating than the N-rated Michelin Pilot sport Rib, and about the same or slightly less load rating than the PS2 N-rated for the newer 997 in their sizes. To me, this means that the PS2 in our size (non-N rated) sidewall is almost as stiff as the PS2 that come in the 997s, yet stiffer than the Micheliin ribs that are N-rated for our size (225f/265r). I was never able to tolerate the P-zeros rear reccomended tire pressure of 44 psi because they felt too stiff after 5-6k. I run the PS2 at 44 psi and they feel stiff but not harsh all the way to 25k. Awesome tire.

Auto-Xr, Thanks for the info. Are you doing the Marina AX ? Please let me know how the PS2's work out... i think im leaning that way right now even if they arent N-rated Chago, Do you track or AX your car ? 25k on rears in amazing. My Pirelli's lasted about 4k. In fact the car has only 15k total miles and i need new fronts and its in the 3rd set of rears. I saw the RE-050 were N rated for the 997 sizes ? anyone tried these on 996 ?

Arena-red, What mild R compounds do you run ? Thanks

Where did you see this?

Dell, On the 997 part of rennlist. There are guys who have C4's delivered with RE050's. As they are not "S" i guess they are 18" sizes. I can try to find a link as they had a poll running over there

Correct, but those are in a 235/295 size and designed for the C4.