New Tyres - MPS4S or SportContact 7? - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

It's time for new tyres on my 981. The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S has been the go-to choice since 2017, but the Continental SportContact 7 is a much newer release and seems to outperform the MPS4S in most areas - plus, it’s a bit cheaper. https://www.tyrereviews.com/Compare/SportContact-7... Has anyone here tried the SportContact 7s yet? Bonus question: are N-rated tyres still required to maintain the Porsche warranty?

The mps4s appears to be quieter, more efficient and better in the wet. So if it’s n rated why not stick with it. Porsche oddly demand n rated tyres when doing a warranty inspection. I can’t understand why.

bennno said: The mps4s appears to be quieter, more efficient and better in the wet. So if it s n rated why not stick with it. Porsche oddly demand n rated tyres when doing a warranty inspection. I can t understand why. That is no longer the case. N spec tyres not required for warranty or warranty renewal now.

SC7 is a great tyre but buyers report a firmer ride than the Michelins. Something to bear in mind if that matters to you.

I have not tried the N rated PS4S, but the non N rated version I thought were pants. They feel wooly, the steering is just off, the car loses that razor sharp turn in that makes it such fun to drive. I moved the Bridgestone Potenza Sports, I was told that the steering feel comes back, which is does (90% anyway) and the rears are not as firm and noisy as the Conti Sport 7. The nosie seems fine to me. Also the Bridgestones are fabulous in the wet, which is the one area where the PS4S was very good. But, like I said, I have not tried the N Rated PS4S, which do have a different compound, so I would only go N Rated if I was going to try the Michelin tyre.

Evo magazine reviewed the latest Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 (I hope I remembered the name right, doesn’t quite roll off the tongue easily), and seemed to rate it quite highly for wet and also dry performance. I’d be looking at that tyre too if I ever decided to switch from the Cup 2

I have always gone MPS4S and also found them to last quite long for road tyres. I think Michelin have a cash back offer at the moment.. G

Thanks for the replies so far. I've had multiple sets of PS4S and while I don't have a problem with them as such, they are older and more expensive than the SportContact 7. Not really bothered about longetivity or ride comfort. Will post an update on how I get on. jackwood said: bennno said: The mps4s appears to be quieter, more efficient and better in the wet. So if it s n rated why not stick with it. Porsche oddly demand n rated tyres when doing a warranty inspection. I can t understand why. That is no longer the case. N spec tyres not required for warranty or warranty renewal now. I have heard a few people say this, but have yet to find anything official from Porsche. Do you have a sourcce for this?

SkinnyPete said: I have heard a few people say this, but have yet to find anything official from Porsche. Do you have a sourcce for this? I've used the SC7 and rate them over the MPS4S. Found them to have better turn in and more feedback. Road noise difference was about the same and they were maybe a bit stiffer than the MPS4S but neglible really. I haven't tried the 5S yet but I guess it is probably better than the 4. Wear was slightly worse on the SC7 but they saw more abuse, make of that what you will!

I tend to buy my tyres from Costco and last year had a new set of PS4s put on the back of the Boxster. When I turned up at my local branch the fitter went to check that the tyres I'd ordered were N rated as he said they won't fit non N rated to a Porsche if it's still under warranty, which mine was. Apparently they've had a couple of instances of customers returning to get the tyres changed because the no N rated tyres they'd had fitted voided the warranty. I assume this was for the extended warranty but didn't enquire further since I'd already avoided that scenario.

My understanding is if the warranty is already in place then it will remain valid. In my case my car is so old it won’t be an issue either way.

Just put a set of PS4S on my 981 after all the hype, but I’m frankly a little underwhelmed. I think the outright grip is very good, and in the wet they’re better than my P-Zero (N1), but as someone else mentioned, the turn-in is nowhere near as sharp. As Cayman handling is all about the first half of a corner, I definitely feel like I have sold the car short. I’ll get a new geo done which may help to a degree, but I personally wouldn’t recommend them.

Royal Jelly said: Just put a set of PS4S on my 981 after all the hype, but I m frankly a little underwhelmed. I think the outright grip is very good, and in the wet they re better than my P-Zero (N1), but as someone else mentioned, the turn-in is nowhere near as sharp. As Cayman handling is all about the first half of a corner, I definitely feel like I have sold the car short. I ll get a new geo done which may help to a degree, but I personally wouldn t recommend them. Don't bother getting another geo done, the steering feel on the Michelins is just rubbish and no amount of geo can dial it out. Well, by the time it does the car just feels like it is on ice. (Being a bit extreme here, but hope you get what I am getting at?). These are sports cars, they have amazing mechanical grip no matter what tyre (if we are sticking with the main players) and I simply don't get why so many people praise the PS4S tyres in Porsches. The loss in steering feel, that razor sharp off centre turn in is completely gone. Sure they may last a bit longer, they may corner at 3.2G instead of 3.1G, but the car now feels more like a Golf or something. I dumped mine after 1000 miles, considering I am paying £700 a year in road tax, £600 in insurance, £80 every fortnight in fuel, I just decided to bit the bullet and swap them out. To be fair I got £450 for them used and think I paid around £620 new, so it wasn't that bad. But I just didn't want 2 years of the car feeling so numb when it had felt so good up until then.

Interesting take. I’ve never really had any complaints about the MPS4S - they were a massive step up from the Goodyears and Pirellis I had before so I was grateful for that. If I had to nitpick, I’d say they need a bit of heat before they really come alive, but that’s to be expected given they’re more of an occasional-use track tyre anyway. I'll report back how I get on with the SportContact7s'.

SkinnyPete said: I have heard a few people say this, but have yet to find anything official from Porsche. Do you have a sourcce for this? I've been running SC7 for over a year / about 6k miles on my 718 GTS and they're way better than the P Zero which were fitted before. I had PS4S on my previous car so not apples for apples comparison with those but i'm very happy with the SC7 and would get them again. I'm in Scotland so the better wet handling of the SC7 was a big consideration.

jeebsy said: SkinnyPete said: I have heard a few people say this, but have yet to find anything official from Porsche. Do you have a sourcce for this? I've been running SC7 for over a year / about 6k miles on my 718 GTS and they're way better than the P Zero which were fitted before. I had PS4S on my previous car so not apples for apples comparison with those but i'm very happy with the SC7 and would get them again. I'm in Scotland so the better wet handling of the SC7 was a big consideration. That’s great, thanks for sharing.

My 718 GTS 4.0 came from the factory on the Pirellis and I've nearly worn them out now after 9,000 miles.. I think they are OK in the dry but don't fully trust them in the wet, and I find that they don't provide all that much feel and feedback. On my other cars (E90 M3 and GR Yaris) I had been running PS4S on them for about 15,000 miles (just the generic version of the tyre) and thought they suited both cars very well. The M3 had previously been on Conti SC5P and then SC6 as I hadn't got on with the Pilot Sport 2 tyres that it originally came on. Both these cars now have SC7s on them and I think they have slightly more feel than the PS4S and slightly less grip, but the transition from grip to slip is well-telegraphed. This makes the Yaris a bit more fun (especially with the differential set to Sport, being 30% to the front and 70% to the rear) but perhaps not ultimately as fast. I don't tend to corner the M3 as hard as I do with the other two cars, so the slight improvement in feel is helpful and useful. The SC7s were about £200 cheaper than the PS4S for a full set on each car, which was not to be sniffed at. I'm happy with them. I'll still probably go with Michelins on the 718 because I really got on with them on my previous Caymans. But we'll see!

I'd agree with the general sentiment expressed in this thread that the Michelin PS4s whilst having great ultimate grip dulls the steering, and that's in comparison to the P Zero's mine came on (718 GTS 4.0). Wear is impressive. Pirelli's lasted 7800 miles, Michelin's looking to be 11-12000. I'll be putting SC7's on in a couple of months. The Pilot Sport S5 is meant to address the issue above, but isn't available in the correct sizes yet, and probably won't be until at least next year.

SportContact 7s are on. I’ve put about 600 miles on them so far, though I haven’t really pushed the car yet. A few early impressions.. The sidewall does look a bit stretched, with virtually no rim protection. I noticed this in photos when researching, so it wasn’t a surprise. It doesn’t really bother me, but you definitely don’t get the chunkier, more aggressive look of the MPS4S. Some people might find that off-putting. The ride is noticeably firmer. I didn’t pick up on it driving home from the tire shop, but on familiar roads the reduced compliance became obvious. That said, my car is X73-equipped, so ride quality is a moot point. The only real downside so far is tread depth. Mine came with 6.5 mm in the centre and 5.5 mm on the inside. Continental advertise 7.1 mm, but a quick Google search shows I’m not the only one seeing less. No wonder people have reported they don’t last long. All in all, I’m looking forward to giving them a proper test on track and seeing how they hold up.

jeebsy said: I've been running SC7 for over a year / about 6k miles on my 718 GTS and they're way better than the P Zero which were fitted before. I had PS4S on my previous car so not apples for apples comparison with those but i'm very happy with the SC7 and would get them again. I'm in Scotland so the better wet handling of the SC7 was a big consideration. I feel like a mug now getting N PS4S when I could have had the SC7 for significantly cheaper. Great info.

SkinnyPete said: SportContact 7s are on. ...The only real downside so far is tread depth. Mine came with 6.5 mm in the centre and 5.5 mm on the inside. Continental advertise 7.1 mm, but a quick Google search shows I’m not the only one seeing less. No wonder people have reported they don’t last long... Thanks for the update. That is a bit rubbish! I typically start thinking about changing when any measurement goes under 4mm, and certainly before 3mm which is the german minimum tread depth. With a 5.5mm starting depth and my typical wear rate (1mm ~ 2500 miles) I'd only get 6000 miles out of them. Contis are due to go in a few weeks, if they are short of the listed spec across the tyre I'll be having a grumble to the manufacturer.

SkinnyPete said: SportContact 7s are on. The ride is noticeably firmer. I didn’t pick up on it driving home from the tire shop, but on familiar roads the reduced compliance became obvious. That said, my car is X73-equipped, so ride quality is a moot point. Having stiffer side walls you can run the pressures lower, like you would with the Cup 2's. Not sure what you run on a 981, but on my 997 I run cold pressures of 31 front and 33 rear on 19s, instead of Porsche's recommended 38f and 40r. After a long blast that will see hot pressures hit around 35f and 39r. So definitely play with the pressures, too high and you lose the bite. I know a lot on the 'Ring start off with 1.9bar front and 2.0 rear, which is what? 27psi front and 29 rear? For a fully loaded car doing 175mph on the Auotbahn sure, up the pressures, but for a back road blast drop them right down till it feels right.

You’ve probably bought new tyres already, but I went from Goodyear Asy 2 N rated on my 981 s to MPS4Ss and found them extremely grippy, but absolutely dulled the lacklustre steering. They also only did about 9k miles on the rear.

Little bit of an update… I’m really enjoying the continental tyres, the car feels absolutely fantastic on them. As I said in an earlier post, I never had an issue with the Michelin’s, but these have moved the game on. I find it amazing that they’re also cheaper as well.

SkinnyPete said: Little bit of an update I m really enjoying the continental tyres, the car feels absolutely fantastic on them. As I said in an earlier post, I never had an issue with the Michelin s, but these have moved the game on. I find it amazing that they re also cheaper as well. Exactly what I thought on my Cayman R. It's the sharpness that I really like and on the 987 I get more steering feel with the SC7s. They wear a bit quicker, but they cost less. I'll buy again unless there is a new product to consider by the time I next need tyres.

SkinnyPete said: SportContact 7s are on. I ve put about 600 miles on them so far, though I haven t really pushed the car yet. A few early impressions.. The sidewall does look a bit stretched, with virtually no rim protection. I noticed this in photos when researching, so it wasn t a surprise. It doesn t really bother me, but you definitely don t get the chunkier, more aggressive look of the MPS4S. Some people might find that off-putting. The ride is noticeably firmer. I didn t pick up on it driving home from the tire shop, but on familiar roads the reduced compliance became obvious. That said, my car is X73-equipped, so ride quality is a moot point. The only real downside so far is tread depth. Mine came with 6.5 mm in the centre and 5.5 mm on the inside. Continental advertise 7.1 mm, but a quick Google search shows I m not the only one seeing less. No wonder people have reported they don t last long. All in all, I m looking forward to giving them a proper test on track and seeing how they hold up. Mine are exactly 7.1 across the whole tread. I would not be happy with 5.5.

Mine went on 4 weeks ago, replacing the PS4s. [718 GTS], and now have 3300 miles on them. Significantly more dynamic than the Michelin, perhaps a fraction more noise on poor surfaces? Turn in is back to where it should be and I'm running them at 2.2 BAR vs 2.4 for the Michelin. Wear rate? I'll have to check my scrap of paper that had the new measured depth, iirc it was a minimum of 6.8mm. I'll measure again and see how they are getting on vs the Michelin, but so far it is all positive and has restored the alertness that the MPS4s took away.