From your experience what is the WORST tire in handling & grip?

I'm curious, and this is a great place to gather other's experience. You can choose more than one if you have tried more than two of the above.

none of the porsche recommended tires are bad. pzero's are awful in the rain but good on dry pavement--at least until you need customer service conti sport 2's are good in the rain and adequate on dry hot roads all the summer tires are dangerous below freezing and suicidal in the snow. i am pleased with conti wintersports. my pirelli winter 210's self destructed at 3k miles with no factory support overall pirellis suck except for the first few thousand miles on pzero's on dry hot roads where they excel

i recently went from p-zero rosso to bridgestone s-02. the improvement was significant--more grip, better handling balance, etc. the s-02s respond better to tire pressures changes and it suits my alignment. the rossos' will 'squirm' under load and consquently break loose easily--either while applying power exiting a corner, or balancing the car with the throttle mid-corner. they have narrower tread blocks with wider gaps than the s-02. this beneifits wet weather performance but is not ideal for dry. to the rosso's credit, they did last 18k miles, even the rears! they went through a few de's and misc track duty. however, i will not go back to them, the s-02s are much better in the dry and were cheaper!

I think that you might need some differentiation between S-02 and S-02A (two completely different tires), and between P-Zero Asymetrico and P-Zero Rosso (two completely different tires).

DJ, I have P-Zero Asym and don't like them It's a C4S so not real concerned about wet streets yet. Whn ready I think I want Michalin again. Someone had mentioned the S-)2A and the Pilot Sport Rib. Can you shed light on this? Thanks

What is it that you don't like about the Asymetricos?

I have PZero Asimetricos and they seem to grip well dry and wet. Treadwear 140. They ride harshly and are noisy on most surfaces. The Rosso's are supposed to be smoother and quieter. Treadwear 220. Pirelli considers the Rosso a more modern tire. From what I've read Goodyear has the best street tire, but they are not available in the size I need.

I agree completely. The Rosso's are definitely a smoother and quieter tire than the Asimmetricos, but at the expense of ultimate grip and feel. Grip is very important to me, but feel is even more important. The Rosso is obviously a newer design, but in my opinion, for a Porsche, not a better design. If the Goodyears you're referring to are the F1 Supercar and F1 Fiorano, then I agree on those too. Absolutely spectacular tires, but they are far more like the Asimmetricos than they are like the Rossos.

I swapped my rear pzeros for Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s. I ain't never going back. These tyres are amazing in wet and dry. I highly recommend them. Are you sure they don't have your size: http://www.eaglef1.com

Looks like there is a new kid in town, the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. They scored the best in handlig/grip wet&dry on tireracks comparo but I don't trust tirerack too much so anybody try these yet?. Are they Porsche approved? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...nextGen_c.html Scouser, for what its worth, those Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s do really well, especially in the wet, in TireRack's tests. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...d3_charts.html

In this case, you may want to trust the Tire Rack's tests. The PS2 is standard equipment on the 2004 GT3. The best maximum performance street tire I've driven on this side of the Goodyear F1 Fiorano.

Would you think a 295/30 would fit okay on my 04. I have 285/30 Contis. Also, any idea on what the XL after some of the tires sizes mean.

Thats just what I was hoping to hear, thanks, Viken. And they are good in wet too like the test results say? I do lots of highspeed highway on the wet due to the rainy winters here and I enjoy wet driving very much.

Yes it would fit, but without added benefits. I would wait for the 285/30 to be available. Extra Load rating is what it means. Don't worry about it, though.

Yes, since I got the GT3 back in October, I have driven it enough in the wet to say that the PS2 is very good. However, I do know that it does not dissipate water too well to the outside of the outer shoulder as there are no lateral grooves there. I would be a little more careful than normal with heavy rains and some standing water.

BTW, I just looked at the Tire Rack tests, and in typical fashion they used a BMW. Be aware that a tire that works great on a BMW does not mean it does the same on a Porsche or even some other sports car. In the case of the PS2, however, we know how well it does on our cars simply because I have yet to hear one GT3 owner complain.

Viken: Thanks. Any drawbacks on going with 295s. I would like to replace my Contis soon as possible.

No drawbacks other than the 295 will have bulging sidewalls on a 10" wheel. If you don't mind that, then it's OK.

Thats great advice. Aquaplanning is my main problem though since at our highway driving speeds here, when raining you encounter standing waters too often and too fast to be able to slow down or brake for them. Thats my main reason for using S03's and S02's because they dissipate water so well and greatly reduce the length and number of the frequent short aquaplanning episodes compared to other tires I have tried. I still remmenber those MXX3's, they were so bad in dissipating water that they made the car just a dull means of transportation when it rained and almost got me killed. How would you compare in that aspect the PS2 vs S02 or S03?

This is a very difficult question for me to answer. Unfortunately, the S-03 is clearly the wet winner but it is so horrible in all other aspects. That leaves the S-02 as the compromise, but I don't like the way it feels as it lacks precision and feedback. However, the S-02A is far superior to both. And, the fact that its tread pattern is modeled after the S-03's, I'd guess it would be great in the wet. Too bad I have driven my F-car with S-02A's in only light rain. Otherwise, I could give you definite answers. But, if I were in your position, I'd give the S-02A's a chance.

I think I will follow your advice since the S02A's seem to be the best compromise between water dispersal thread design and handling. If I can't find the S02A's here I will go for the PS2 though, and bite my lips when it rains too much Thanks again Viken.

Carlos, after reading some threads in this and other Rennlist forums shouldn't we agree on a "final"(?!) decision on the Best tire for dry and for mixed conditions ? 1st Eagle, 2nd Michelin 3rd SO2-As, There seems to be an agreement on the ...Worst tires !!!

Yes, its tough to make a poll about the best tire since the most frequently used tires would be tremendously biased and are likely to get the most votes and not the best one, so I chose to ask the worst tire since that gives a bit more true result. If there would be a way to do a poll in which each tire would be rated from 1-10, that would definately shed some light into it. But we would have to do a poll for each tire and give as options for each poll a 1-10 scale of answers. And ithe question could be only about one aspect like handling, noise, confort, etc since "best" is not the same thing for everybody, for me "best" means exclusively handling and grip and the rest is irrelevant. I for one I'm very interested in hearing the 996 forum's general opinion since, like Viken said, you can only draw conclusions from other 996 since in other cars, tires behave differently. And the question keeps poping up form time to time continuously about which tire this and that. I for one, think the S02A may be the best choice for dry & highway-rain, and the PS2 for dry & normal-wet, but I'll try the S02A soon and see.