Cracking on tyre

[keiththo]

My car had a routine inspection yesterday at a OPC and a nail was discovered in a rear tyre. The nail hasn't punctured the tyre but I was advised to replace both. I have Pirelli P Zero's manufactured in 2014.

In an attempt to find cheaper tyres I went to 2 independant tyre specialists who pointed out cracking on the edge of the tread on all tyres. The car is only 16 months old and has done 14k miles, there is an average of 3.5mm tread remaining on the rears and 5.5mm on the fronts.

It was disappointing to find that I had to replace the rears but I am very annoyed at the thought of having to replace all four after only 14k miles. Has anyone else experienced this cracking on Pirelli tyres ?

Many thanks

 

[AndrewCS]

Here ... https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=941320&high=pirelli%60s+cracking

 

[MrDemon]

Pirelli P Zero's are shocking crap tyres sorry to say.

 

[Brian_Innes]

I couldn't agree more Mr D.

My new 982 CS came with the latest version of P Zeros, and I was hopeful of an improvement. Not so.

I've already discovered that only after 1500 miles on Highland roads, I am not impressed with the feel of the Pirellis. They are rubbish IMO.

I'm replacing them with Michelins asap.

The P Zeros will be stored in my garage for re-fitting when I come to sell the car back to OPC. Hopefully, a while away yet!

Brian

 

[ralphmusic]

The old ones were not great on track either..

 

[800MAN]

Hello Keith.

Its Kev from the East Mids PCGB.

FYI, I only changed my rear tyres last October at Zentrum after 4 yrs ownership and covered 27000 miles !

They were good old Michelin Pilot Sports N3's replaced with N4's.

No cracks just a bit thread bear at the end. (I don't do too many quick getaways to preserve tyres and clutch !)

Hope you get sorted soon.

 

[Brian_Innes]

I think that says it all.

Brian

 

[Buddy]

I'm surprised that you have done so much mileage on Pirelli's they have a reputation for rapid wear with some reporting only 8,000miles, the Michelins are undoubtedly a much better tyre although I found that the Pirellis gave good grip when new on a 981 at the PEC when even on the low adhesion surface they gave amazing levels of grip, however, from previous experience of them on a 986 Boxster S, I had little confidence they would last over distance. Get the Michelins and you should get good grip consistently through they wear out at a later date than would the Pirellis.

 

[keiththo]

Thank-you all for your responses.

Tyre dealers were also suggesting Michelin or Goodyear Eagle and I was checking prices with a view to changing. However following another visit to the OPC, to remove the nail from the tyre, they insist that the cracking is nothing to worry about at this stage and I should simply replace the rears as they are down to 3.5mm.

I am not a fast driver and drive mainly on motorways so it is shocking to find that tyres from a major supplier can end up in such a state after so little time.

There is no immediate rush to replace now so I will continue until the rears are at 3mm and continue to check out prices of alternatives.

Many thanks

Keith

 

[Buddy]

Keith,

Like most I have found Michelin PS2 to be the best of the N rated tyres, I thought of changing to Goodyears but others said they wear rapidly and being in a similar stage of wear front/rear to yourself I just changed the rears, when I changed them ( about a week before changing to winters ) I found that shopping around saved a lot of cash and Black Circles saved £50/tyre over the OPC, my tyres being 987.2 are the max 19" for that model and while rears do wear faster than fronts maybe next time I will fit the Goodyears as I always preferred goodyear as a brand on my earlier cars, it would be interesting to know users experiences of them after all if the earlier tyres wore so fast as some said the compounds may have been changed but a plus on the larger tyres now is that I can now get a set of Michelins for around £800 whereas when I first bought 19" they could be as much as £1400 a set against Bridgestones then at around £900 it just shows that the move of many manufacturers to larger wheels has reduced the costs on such sizes.

 

[MrDemon]

The PS2 is a very old tyre, 16 years old infact, a lot has happened in tyre tech the last 15 years.

Great tyre back In the olden days, I must have ran 10 + sets of them easy

The good years are also an old tyre as the N spec is the old v2 of the tyre, so again a poor choice.

some times you just have to bite the Bullet and go non N spec imo. I always have.

I have ran non N spec MPSS for the last 5 years and just switched to non N spec PS4S it's an amazing tyre.

 

[Contraband]

Are there insurance implications for running a tyre that was not approved for a Porsche??

 

[ralphmusic]

I checked with Mannings some years ago and it was not a problem nor was fitting non-Porsche battery or windscreen wipers.

 

[Brian_Innes]

I wouldn't think so Archie. Insurance company call centres don't know what N rated tyres are.

In any case, what about those used Porsches on the market for sale with non N rated tyres?

It's just an OPC thing.

Mr D, interesting to hear your comments on the PS4S tyre. I'm torn between choosing the Cup 2's or PS4S for my 982 CS. Still undecided.......

Brian

 

[ralphmusic]

I'm torn between choosing the Cup 2's or PS4S for my 982 CS. Still undecided.......

Brian

I have two sets of wheels, one with Cup2 the other with MPSS. Dry track v wet.

 

[Lancerlot]

Insurance companies won't worry about the tyres provided they are legal, but fitting non N rated tyres may give rise to invalidating the Porsche extended warranty (if applicable).

But why invest a large sum acquiring a high performance sports car, then look to skimp on its tyres - the only components in direct contact with the road surface and the most important?

Bite the bullet - purchase a new set of boots! []

Regards,

[font="comic sans ms,sans-serif"]Clive.[/font]

 

[Buddy]

Keith,

You probably still have some of the original warranty left on your car and if extending will need to stay on N rated tyres so the choice is yours, you don't do track driving so ultimate tyre performance isn't an issue and a tyre with good wear rates is if the tyres are fretting on the edges they are wearing and unless the rubber is perished not a problem.

Just because the OPC recommend to change them now isn't an issue, you can ignore them and as long as they are in legal condition not a problem, below 3mm the water clearing will begin to suffer so motorways in the wet ... you will find the PS2 are a good tyre for your type of usage. Don't buy them from the OPC, either Black Circles or Event Tyres will save you a substantial amount of the hard earned.

 

[MrDemon]

I wouldn't think so Archie. Insurance company call centres don't know what N rated tyres are.

In any case, what about those used Porsches on the market for sale with non N rated tyres?

It's just an OPC thing.

Mr D, interesting to hear your comments on the PS4S tyre. I'm torn between choosing the Cup 2's or PS4S for my 982 CS. Still undecided.......

Brian

I would never go CUP 2 again on a road car (even if I did the odd trackday) the PS4S has been amazing so far, and if one does do a track day in the damp you are on the right tyre.

You may be a second slower on a fast lap in the sun, but who cares, I have 2 cars on CUP 2's and yes amazing tyre, but on my wales trip where it down poored it was scary.(although better than I thought it would be) wet and warm ok. wet and below 6oc not fun.

Also cup 2 is more noisy for road noise.

PS4S moves the game on over the MPSS in the cold and wet for sure, no idea about summer temps as we have not had any sun this year yet.

But the move from my Goodyears on the Cayman R have be have been nothing short of miraculous

And the best news for extended warranty people is N spec PS4S are coming in March ;-) well so they say !!!

 

[AndrewCS]

In an attempt to find cheaper tyres I went to 2 independant tyre specialists who pointed out cracking on the edge of the tread on all tyres.

Pirelli forest rally tyres are designed to sacrifice their tread blocks without affecting carcass integrity, hopefully the road tyres are too ! []

 

[Brian_Innes]

Mr D, that's very helpful information on the PS4S tyres. I must say my preference was to go for these as I had a high opinion of the previous MPSS tyres on my CR.

The fact that N rated versions of the PS4S are becoming available in March for my 718 20" sizes, makes the choice even more obvious.

As my 718 is under manufacturers warranty, it's probably advisable to stick with N rated.....for now anyway.

BTW, my previous CR had Cup 2's fitted for the long haul south to Anglesey last summer. The roads were streaming wet for many of the miles. Like you said David, I also thought the Cup 2's performed better than expected in the wet. In the warm, dry conditions they were fabulous track day tyres on my CR.

Also, I have an entry in for Anglesey again this year. The purpose is to compare the track performance of the 718 with my superb CR.

Brian