recommendations for longer lasting rear tires - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

All: would appreciate any recommendations for tire brands for my rear size 17 wheels on my 2002 Boxster S--have tried Michelin Pilots and currently have Kumhos. I would like to get more than 25K from the rear tires. I don't AX or DE my tires. Many thanks for any ideas. Cabjose.

I think the only way you're going to get 25,000 on the rear tires is to let them ride in the trunk for about 10,000 miles. I got 17,000 on my Bridgestones and was very happy. I just put on a pair of Pilot Sport Plus on the rear, and I expect about the same mileage, and I'm a very conservative driver.

Kumho 's , espically Excta SPT's, are one of the longest lasting tires. Not being able to rotate tires and the rear alignment settings contribute to low mileage for the tires. If you want to play you have to pay. No pay means driving a Yugo. Happy new Years , Ed

you are doing better than 98% of Boxster owners. I have about 15k on my Michelin Ribs and could get another 4k before they are down to the wear strips but they were made in 02/02 so next year I'll change them just for age reasons. Feel the old tire tread. Did it wear evenly? Did the noise from the tire become more cyclical as it wore? You can get better mileage from a mileage-friendly alignment but you are already doing better than most of us so you may already have one. That and your driving style help you get mileage.

Buy a front-wheel drive car. If you drive a performance car, your tires will not last that long. It's just the way it is.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Actually front wheel drive cars mow throught the front tires roughly twice as fast as the rear tire. Deive it hard and it's more like 3 to 1. Regards, PK

With a front wheel drive car you're more likely to be able to do tire rotation from front to back, therefore not a concern.

just hit 56,000 miles on the original Michelin PS One's lol can you say, "I need new tires" ?

For maximum mileage go all season. They have a higher wear rating and last longer. I only get 4-5k on a set of street rears but most of my driving is "spirited" with few hwy miles.

------------------------------------------------------------- THis is true. The bottom line to me on this whole subject is this. A soft gumy tire is going to stick better. It aolso going to leave ruber all over the street or track, because it's softer. The grippiest tires in general, have horrible tread life. A rock hard tire will work great in the snow and rainnn but won't exactly be turning stellar track times. That rockhard compound wil make them last. PK

A rock hard tire will be horrible in the snow and rain. It would be like trying to walk on snow with plastic soled shoes. No traction at all. Softer compounds with plenty of siping for snow and ice.

Harder / softer. I just know that my Summer tires don't like temps into the 40's. Which means my next set will most likely be All Seasons. Not really fond of a tires that don't like cold mornings. What good is Performance if it only happens at sunny and 70.

You need new tires! There is no perfect tire, choosing a tire always involves a compromise unless you do not care. One attribute of sports cars you do not usually hear about but rather find out for yourself, is the accelerated tire wear. Generally due to the nature of the car and the fact that most performance cars come from the factory with and recommend softer compound tires.

Reminds me of my friend who saw a woman at the gas pump putting 87 octane in her BMW 330 ... he went up to her and ask (in a nice way) does she have any idea what she's doing, and I think her response is "gas is gas" or something stupid along that line. Hitting 56k with a set of tires is nothing to brag about unless they're on a Prius. I'd imagine they'd be extremely bald way pass the warning bars. You'll be a real treehugger when you drive by a sand/oil/wet patch on the road.

If you want long tire life get harder tires. A nice cheap all-season passenger tire should do it for you. Of course the handling performance will stink so why bother? Other than ruining the performance with a crummy tire, you can try two other things: 1) Get an alignment - 0 degress front camber, 0 degrees front toe, as little camber as you can get in the rear (it will be a negative number - get it close to 0), 0 degrees rear toe 2) DRive like a granny. Accelerate slowly out of turns. Turn in slowly and gradually. No full throttle. Basically, if you want to save money on tires you bought the wrong car.

I would like to brag if its ok. I got 95k miles out of a set of Michelin MXV4 tires on my VW Beetle I have found Michelin's give me the best mileage and yes even on my Corvette (56k +) they lasted longer than any other brand. To clarify, I usually drive with the traffic and rarely go over the speed limit. Once and a while I boot it up but not often.

If you want the best possible idea, then here's my suggestion: Buy another set of 17" front wheels, and place them on the rear of the car (Yes, it will work just fine). Then install 225/45-17 tires on all 4 wheels, using a tire that has an asymmetrical tread pattern. This will allow you to rotate the tires front to rear, and side to side anytime you want. Using the same size wheels and tires all around won't compromise the driving performance, because you don't use any of it, and you will no longer have any issues with the rear tires wearing out as fast. Congrats, now you can drive the way that you want. BC.

That may be, but he didn't ask about making front tires last longer. Just rear tires. In a front wheel drive, the rears will last much longer.

Agreed but be aware of oversteer, especially if you put the same pressure in all 4.

I'm sure for someone looking to get 50k+ on their tires, they're not turning at anything over 15mph.