996 tt - feel and handling

Guys (and girls!) New to the forum and to 911's. I'm about to purchase a 996 tt (03/03, 31k) which i had an extensive test drive in yesterday. Everything seems to be in order (although Ray at Northway will inspect it) but one thing is playing on my mind. The front of the car didn't feel as planted as i would have expected. It followed the ruts in the road and was easily bounced offline a couple of times. The front tyres are virtually at the limit P Zero's so will get these replaced and will get the alignment checked as part of the inspection. My question is does this seem normal and just a trait of the car or will the tyres have an effect ? I have an integrale which has been my fun car up until now and it's probably the most planted car i've driven ( apart from an R8 ). I'm not sure whether my expectations are a little high or whether there is genuinely something amiss. All advice appreciated. Thanks Hayden

Hi Hayden.. Welcome to 911uk. Dave has a 996 TT I am sure he will be able to shed some light on this !

I've heard GT3's follow the tramlines in the roads but don't know about the Turbos. Hopefully Dave and other TT owners will be along to advise you. ~ Maxie

Bald....ish tyres will have this sort of effect and to be honest PZero (are they Asymmetricos?) aren't the best tyre for this car for that completely planted feeling. When you do replace the tyres remember not to mix the tyres front-to-rear.

Thanks all for your replies. Yes they are asymmetricos and was going to replace with P zero rosso's, although it will still have virtually new asymmetrico's on the rear. Will this be a problem ? Thanks again Hayden

It wont be a problem, but your car would be transformed with 4 new Michelin Pilot Sports...

TBH, I've never run different tyres front to rear, but they can cause problems, some people say they have no issues others describe 'strange' handling traits. To be safe keep the same tyres front to rear and go for a Bridgestone S-02A or the Michelin Pilot Sport Rib. If you got exotic tastes in rubber consider Pilot Sport 2 or Corsa System - both are only available in 235/295 combos in N-Rated versions. That extra 10mm on each front corner certainly helps dial out the wide-bodied 4wd understeer trait.

Hayden The cars will naturally tramline quite a bit given the width of the rubber. However IMO the biggest factor is tyre pressure. The handbook suggests 36 front and 44 rear. I run mine on 33 front and 39 rear and this makes a huge difference. Tyre wise I prefer Michelin Pilot Sports - great all weather grip and seem to wear OK unlike P Zero's.

In my experience, nearly worn out tyres have a huge effect on tramlining especially under braking.

Thanks all for your advice and wisdom. As I haven't purchased the car (or the tyres) yet, I will rethink and maybe go for a full set of Michelins. I'll keep you all posted when I have some more news. Once again, thanks Hayden

When you do get tyres change, I strongly recommend that you have the same tread pattern on both front and rear as the 4WD system used in these cars will be under constant load if you don't... Also, it's not a brilliant idea to have much better tyres on the front than the back, as the rear is where all your handling stability comes from. I usually change all four at once, or just the rears (usually works out that way for me - 2 rear sets for every 1 front) I had to change tyres in a hurry last time and could only get Contis at the time, but have to say I've been really pleased with them and think I prefer them to the Rossos that I put on my last car. Favourite tyre is Goodyear GS-D3, but not Porsche approved unfortunately.

my supersport tramlines...

Don't all cars do that in Manchester? :lol:

Nah... I try and avoid them if possible...

Hi all, just an update on the tyres. Collected the car last week after going for the Michelins all round. The car drives and handles completely differently and is so much better. Now to play with the tyre pressures Thanks all for your help Hayden