Do i need N rated tyres? - Page 3 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

Cayenne is now out of warranty, need some new tyres and theres a 15% off deal on some p zeros. However.... N rated are something like 270 each and non n rated are 220each iirc. both p zero. one is n rated the other isn't. Whats the actual difference? Can i just get the regular ones? i think it works out to £750 for 4 new p zeros which sounds bloody good to me!

If you’re no longer running warranty I’d say you’re free to run whatever tyres you like and ignore the n rated b ks.

The n-rated thing certainly isn’t b ks, but out of warranty you are free to put on whatever tyres you choose. As long as they are the correct size etc, then there are no issues.

Do "used approved" Porsches need to have N rated tyres to be retailed?

What i cant determine is if there is actually any difference. For example there are multiple p zeros listed all at different prices. merc, audi, Porsche approved. All different costs but on the face of it the same tyre. I did read as well somewhere people saying insurance wouldn't pay out of not porsche approved tyres, is that true? i could partly believe it tbh.

m3jappa said: What i cant determine is if there is actually any difference. For example there are multiple p zeros listed all at different prices. merc, audi, Porsche approved. All different costs but on the face of it the same tyre. I did read as well somewhere people saying insurance wouldn't pay out of not porsche approved tyres, is that true? i could partly believe it tbh. https://www.caymanoc.com/old-home/records/porsche-myths-busted-car-insurance-n-rated-tyres-r62/

Last year I needed some new rear tyres on my GT3. I wanted PS4S rather than Cup 2 as I only really use it for road trips and very occasional track day. The car was scheduled to have its geo realligned at Center Gravity so I asked Chris this very question he said if its out of warranty non N rated were fine so that was good enough for me. Chris took the wheels off, tyres were fitted by a company on the same estate then Chris refitted and sorted the geo adjustment - very happy with both the service and results.

Oh why not. m3jappa said: What i cant determine is if there is actually any difference. For example there are multiple p zeros listed all at different prices. merc, audi, Porsche approved. All different costs but on the face of it the same tyre. There are probably some physical differences, but nobody knows why the manufacturers won't specify what they are. It beggars belief how stupid this is. As if some Chinese copycat tyre manufacture are going to knock out BMW * copies that everyone will rush to buy..... BUT - you will never ever ever ever be able to tell what that difference is as a functional part of your Cayenne.. m3jappa said: I did read as well somewhere people saying insurance wouldn't pay out of not porsche approved tyres, is that true? i could partly believe it tbh. N-rating is not and never was of any interest to any insurance company, ever. Only Service Managers at OPCs would intimate it to customers so as to boost sales. IMO buy the best tyre you can afford in the market today. Here is a good place to look at factual unbiased functional comparisons. https://www.tyrereviews.com/ Here's one specially for your car https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2021-Tyre-Revi...

Just to check OP - you do know how important Load Index and Speed Rating are?

Orangecurry said: Just to check OP - you do know how important Load Index and Speed Rating are? Yes. There are 3 types of p zeros listed all 3 are y rated one is 103 and the others are 107. the non n rated is 107 Thanks for the previous info as well, i will go and have a look and see what else there is. I just want a non budget decent tyre for reasonable money. As its not a 'fun' car im not mega fussed. Just dont want to turn it into a jelly on wheels Edited by m3jappa on Monday 22 May 22:08

m3jappa said: Thanks for the previous info as well, i will go and have a look and see what else there is. I just want a non budget decent tyre for reasonable money. As its not a 'fun' car im not mega fussed. Just dont want to turn it into a jelly on wheels Ah well that's a different question - sidewall rigidity varies quite widely - look for this in SUV-specific reviews. Car Bridgestones for example usually have harder sidewalls than most - Uniroyal Rainsport (at least used to be) one of the softest.... Good luck.

I would do a bit more research. Both BMW and Land Rover owners have had issues with using the non marque rated tyres on their AWD cars. Judder on turning slowly and one of them had some serious transfer case issues. I think Merc had issues too on their RHD GLCs, that was with MO tyres too, they had to fit customer cars with winter tyres and then change the compound of the MO tyres for RHD cars. BMW were refusing warranty claims for non star rated tyres fitted as they had so many issues when 'some' tyres were fitted to xdrive cars. So just easier to say warranty refused on transfer case replacements if not the approved tyre fitted. Probably fine, but maybe search for more info?

I had slow speed judder on my 981 Cayman S with N tyres on.

the-norseman said: I had slow speed judder on my 981 Cayman S with N tyres on. That's the Ackerman effect. Happens on all Boxster/Cayman to some extent. Temperature and tyre type seem to effect how prevalent it is.

Trevor555 said: Do "used approved" Porsches need to have N rated tyres to be retailed? Yes

All tyres carry speed ratings & it is my understanding that all N tyres carry the speed rating that's suitable for the vehicle. https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/new-and-used-cars/... So can you run non-N? Probably. But will they be rated to the performance of the car? Have to check.

Sounds like just another way of fleecing more money out of Porsche owners to me. Personally I wouldn't bother. Just buy decent tyres to begin with.

SV_WDC said: All tyres carry speed ratings & it is my understanding that all N tyres carry the speed rating that's suitable for the vehicle. https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/new-and-used-cars/... So can you run non-N? Probably. But will they be rated to the performance of the car? Have to check. Probably? Of course you can run non N rated, and there will be no difference in the speed rating Different of course if you have or wish to warranty the car, then you will need them

boitjie said: Trevor555 said: Do "used approved" Porsches need to have N rated tyres to be retailed? Yes If that's the case then OP needs to decide if he'll ever want to sell it to an OPC. And if he does they will want to reduce the purchase price by a set of tyres.

The one negative of Porsche ownership for me was to retain warranty you are forced to use N-rated tyres, which in my case are either the god awful Pirellis it came with or the Good Years which are a huge improvement on the Pirellis but I'm not allowed Michelin (18"s) as no n rated options. It's very restrictive, but if you're free of the warranty then no issues.

Trevor555 said: boitjie said: Trevor555 said: Do "used approved" Porsches need to have N rated tyres to be retailed? Yes If that's the case then OP needs to decide if he'll ever want to sell it to an OPC. And if he does they will want to reduce the purchase price by a set of tyres. Given OPC trade in offers are usually laughable it's probably no great loss to sell elsewhere.

Having looked it appears the best tyre to go for is the goodyear eagle f1 for suv's. Not N rated but as many of you have said it doesn't seem to matter. The Yokohama's we have always had are N rated and are actually a few quid a tyre cheaper but the wear is quite disturbing, they don't last that long and seem to be really prone to sidewall damage, although i'm sure that has more to so with the silly profile than the tyre itself so i'm giving something else a try. I have had this car for around 35k miles now and i have lost count of the amount of tyres we've had, im sure theres been numerous puncture repairs as well. Theres even been at least one where i remember putting new tyres on and the mrs bumped up a kerb leaving a huge slash in one which must have been a couple of days old.... Put it this way, next time we get an suv which may be never i will be getting one with some side wall

OP - are you on 21" wheels? If so why not get some 2nd hand 19s or even 18s - bigger sidewall for your real-life experiences, and tyres will be significantly cheaper. anonymous said: [redacted] Your insurance will probably be invalidated....

I've just seen these - two more quotes straight from the mouth of an OPC Service Manager SV_WDC said: All tyres carry speed ratings & it is my understanding that all N tyres carry the speed rating that's suitable for the vehicle. So can you run non-N? Probably. But will they be rated to the performance of the car? Have to check. Trevor555 said: If that's the case then OP needs to decide if he'll ever want to sell it to an OPC. And if he does they will want to reduce the purchase price by a set of tyres.

deutsche.diagnostics said: Both BMW and Land Rover owners have had issues with using the non marque rated tyres on their AWD cars. Judder on turning slowly and one of them had some serious transfer case issues. Probably fine, but maybe search for more info? The issue is probably one of confusing correlation with causation.

Sounds like the op is now deep into the rabbit hole that is tyre technology and myth. Just to add to the picture, this video from Tyre Reviews is worth watching (although to do with BMW Star marked tyres). https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/Should-I-Fit-O... In my view there are 2 areas that are often over looked when it comes to tyres selection; sidewall protection and noise. Don't use the picture on the retailers website to decide if the sidewall protection will be enough. Tyres in the same range can have different protection depending on their size and profile. You really need to find the tyre in the size and spec your after and have a good look. It will be easier to find N rated tyres in the parking lot at your OPC. Tyre noise is subjective, and the noise rating in db for each tyre is only the drive by noise level. Inside the car it can often be different and the frequency of the noise is almost as important as the db level. Reviews or trying them yourself are the only real help. However, having said all that Cayenne's as pretty good when it comes to road noise (or the service loaner from my OPC was anyway).

Tyrereviews also compared a new generation off the shelf tyre vs. previous gen BMW * rated tyres fitted to M models. The newer gen non * tyre performed better than the older gen BMW * rated tyre. If the tyres were the same generation, BMW * rated tyres performed better than the non * counterpart. In your shoes, I’d check if the off the shelf tyre is the same generation as the N tyre. If so, I’d get the N. If the off the shelf tyre is a newer generation tyre, I’d get that instead. Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 24th May 17:58

m3jappa said: What i cant determine is if there is actually any difference. For example there are multiple p zeros listed all at different prices. merc, audi, Porsche approved. All different costs but on the face of it the same tyre. I did read as well somewhere people saying insurance wouldn't pay out of not porsche approved tyres, is that true? i could partly believe it tbh. Pirelli do a road show where they bring along a pile of the same model tyre, but in different car manufacturers versions. They have cut them ope so that you can see the different carcass and ply construction. So yes, they are different. So buy buying an N rated tyre for your Porsche you buy a tyre that has been designed and developed to work on your car. Buy a non N and it might work fine. Or maybe it won’t. You are doing the experiment. Your choice.

Interesting thought, what do people who use their porsches for sprints do? Surely the best tyre (going on thoughts above) would be N rated but the chances of that being the championships control tyre is slim to none. Pretty sure R888's or Yoko or Advan AO48's will perfirm significantly better than say a PS2S. Okay quite extream difference I know. More real world options are avaliable like the new PS5S

Strawman argument if I ever heard one.

Hi folks, I recently purchased a new Cayenne Turbo and wasn't able to find a conclusive answer to this question, so I called Porsche GB and they sent me the below response after a couple of weeks. I would paste a screenshot of the message but don't know how to do it. But hope this is at least somewhat helpful. Cheers! Porsche GB response to my query: Thank you for contacting Porsche Cars Great Britain Limited. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in coming back to you. Fitting non-N-rated winter tires generally does not automatically void your Porsche vehicle warranty. However, it is important to note the following: Manufacturer Recommendations: Porsche recommends using N-rated tires, as they have been specifically tested and approved for Porsche vehicles. Using non-N-rated tires may affect the vehicle's performance and handling characteristics. Warranty Coverage: While using non-N-rated tires may not void the entire vehicle warranty, any issues that arise and are determined to be directly caused by using non-approved tires may not be covered under the warranty.

I went through this same dilemma last year when replacing the original Pirelli’s with PS4S’s. I bought privately and will likely have something non Porsche next, so a future OPC trade in wasn’t a factor for me. What I did do, was look at the online advice given to new buyers on the more popular FB sites. A consistent bit of advice rolled out was to ensure N rated Tyres were fitted, especially if you wanted to pass the 111 point inspection to get the extended warranty. Rightly or wrongly, prospective buyers were given this advice and many good cars were probably passed over because of it. Are the people giving that advice correct? Probably not, as many variables apply. Do people act on that potentially flawed advice anyway? Yes they do. For the sake of less than an extra 10% in cost, I just bought N rated tyres and removed my own car from that potential pool of non conforming cars come sale time.

It can make a difference. I fitted Maserati rated Pzero’s to the back of my F Type. Exactly the same size and type of tyre, just Maser, rather than Jaguar (couldn’t find any). It had a material effect on the handling and the car was significantly twitchier under camber change. Thee must be a difference on loading, construction, or compound.

A well known tyre fitting service replaced the tyres on my 911. For weeks I noticed the car lurching / twitching at motorway speeds - when I checked the tyre specs, they were P when they should've been N (or maybe the other way around, I can't remember). Tyre fitter said it would make no difference, but I made them change them.. which solved the problem. Lesson learned for me, always fit the correct rated tyres.

I've just changed mine and replaced like for like with the same Pirelli N Rated , £848 with Kwik-Fit online deal 295/35/21

I had to get 4 tyres for my macan a few years ago - the Porsche recommended ones were about 260 each. My tyre fitter asked me if I regularly did over 150 mph. I don’t and we fitted some hankook ( not sure how it’s spelled ) tyres for about 120 quid each. Absolutely fine .

swanseaboydan said: I had to get 4 tyres for my macan a few years ago - the Porsche recommended ones were about 260 each. My tyre fitter asked me if I regularly did over 150 mph. I don’t and we fitted some hankook ( not sure how it’s spelled ) tyres for about 120 quid each. Absolutely fine . I wouldn't always go by the advice of a tyre fitter.

He could have made more on the branded ones but for me to no back and forth to m and s in it I couldn’t see the point in expensive tyres

OccasionalPetrolHead said: Hi folks, I recently purchased a new Cayenne Turbo and wasn't able to find a conclusive answer to this question, so I called Porsche GB and they sent me the below response after a couple of weeks Porsche GB response to my query: Thank you for contacting Porsche Cars Great Britain Limited. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in coming back to you. Fitting non-N-rated winter tires generally does not automatically void your Porsche vehicle warranty. However, it is important to note the following: Manufacturer Recommendations: Porsche recommends using N-rated tires, as they have been specifically tested and approved for Porsche vehicles. Using non-N-rated tires may affect the vehicle's performance and handling characteristics. Warranty Coverage: While using non-N-rated tires may not void the entire vehicle warranty, any issues that arise and are determined to be directly caused by using non-approved tires may not be covered under the warranty. If over the xmas period, the delay in responding may be considered acceptable, but the fact they cutnpasted the above from their American documentation shows a certain level of automation or laziness, which if you'd just bought a new car would be setting a very low bar for their future levels of service. I'm guessing you want to fit winters to a car that was supplied on summers? My advice - buy a 2nd hand set of smaller diameter wheels (cheap as nobody wants small wheels on a Cayenne), fit high quality and recommended winters (look at for example https://www.tyrereviews.com/ ) and if the vehicle goes wrong, put the summer wheel/tyre combo back on before you take it back to your OPC.

Just took a quick look at a Macan near to me at a local secondhand dealer. Purely out of interest as the mileage was higher than I wanted anyway. Turned out to be a bit of a dog - scuffed alloys, Macan diesel badge on one wing but not the other suggesting bodywork damage, uneven wear across each front disc & between inner & outer faces. But it had a brand new set of tyres fitted - Davanti - never heard of them but after a quick Google told me everything I needed to know about the garage. Chinese manufactured with serious issues of sidewalls parting from tread. Absolutely lethal in my view and they should be shot for thinking that’s acceptable. Of course to the uninitiated it will be!

The uninitiated haven’t a clue what tyres they have on their cars. My son runs a garage and the mismatch in makes and sizes is quite common. Lots of the cheapest tyres fitted, some with hardly any air and a surprisingly large amount of illegal tread depth. People just don’t care.