993 Targa 17" Tyres

[chinoloco]

Hi

My local garage fitted Semperit rears for me a week ago - a bargain I thought at £75 quid a go. Apparently made by Continental - they're like their unbranded brand so to speak. Only trouble is I took it to a porsche chappie last night to have a look at a few things, and he said the handling was seriously dodgy, and wouldn't begin to look at the suspension until the tyres were replaced with N2 ones. What is this N2 thing and is it an absolute must? Should my garage (a local tyre garage) have known this, even if there were non-N2 on before as they claim? Should I expect them to replace with N2 tyres by me just paying the difference?

 

[Porker993]

N rated tyres are tested and approved by Porsche for fitment to their cars. I would not consider fitting any tyre that was not N rated. Apart from anything else an insurance company might well argue a policy was invalid in the event of a claim.

Some other manufacturers operate similar schemes - BMW for instance.

You have quite a few makes to choose from - Pirelli and Continental to name but two. Many people recommend the Continentals for the best compromise between tyre wear and grip. Everyone has their own preference though.

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

Maurice has put a post about the "N" rated tyre issue under Technical Articles http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=112459

As mentioned above, there is considerable debate about the wisdom (or otherwise) of fitting non-N rated tyres. It certainly can be an insurance issue - some companies insist on N rated tyres, some don't.

My view is that if Porsche see fit to have tyres specifically made to suit their requirements - particularly for a tail-heavy car like the 911 - it seems only reasonable to use them.

Regarding your question as to whether the tyre shop should know to advise you the power of the question is in the word "should". Ideally, yes, they should - but they may not.

If you decide to change I would imagine it pretty unlikely that the tyre shop will take back a slightly worn set and exchange for the difference in price. They will not be able to sell your set as new and would likely lose half their value as a part worn set. Just my 2c.

Regards

Dave

 

[John Maddox]

I think you should get N rated fitted as soon as you can. It is tempting to go with cheaper ones but not recommended.

 

[chinoloco]

Hello chinoloco ... that's a particularly obscure ID, is it really necessary to shroud yourself in anonymity ?

Hi Maurice

Not intended to be anonymous, chinoloco is a nickname given to me by spanish hire car drivers when I worked their briefly and it kind of stuck for anything racing/driving related

I can't seem to access the technical article even when logged in, do I need to associate my club membership somehow?

Thanks for the advice, I'll see what I can do re the garage. They had a similar set of N2 tyres sitting on the floor from a Boxter they had the same problem with, I asked at the time if my car needed N2 like the boxter and they said no