PS2 or Super Sports

[Stefan Wilczak]

My 997 C2S Gen1 is getting to the point where it will soon need new tires (all four) and currently it is on Michelin Pilot Sports 2 - N rated.

I am limiting my choice to PS2s again or Michelin Super Sports. Anyone out there with experience of switching from PS2s to Super Sports - please let me have your view.

To try and limit this discussion I don't care Super Sports are not N rated - I don't have a Porsche Warranty. Also I am not interested in any other brand/choice of tyre - call me narrow minded by all means!

Thanks in advance

Stefan

 

[garymarsh]

Hi Stefan
having both driven your car & also Instructed you in it at Castle Combe & Bedford GT, I would think a good general purpose high performance tyre will be the best solution.
I recommend that you give the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 serious consideration. It ought to offer you good value for money in terms of mileage. With the Autumn not far away, good wet weather performance should be a consideration & this tyre is highly rated in wet conditions. On a dry Track Day a proficient driver will still be able to extract excellent performance from the tyre.
I wish Porsche would stop scaring people with it's N Rating. I understand peoples concerns about Warranty & Insurance issues which may be raised by a non- N Rated tyre but Michelin do not make a bad tyre. The key issue for you is to satisfy yourself that the tyre you choose has the correct speed rating & load rating.
I hope this helps.
All the best
Gary Marsh
ARDS Instructor & MSA Coach

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

Hi Gary
Thanks for the instant reply - you've broadened my search then! So who's fault is it that it needs new tyres!?[]

I've had a quick search and they don't seem to do the Sport 3 in a 235/35/19 size for the front and 295/30/19 for the rear - unless you know otherwise? A 40 profile seems to exist for the front but that's the nearest.

Do you have a preference between the other two?

Stefan

 

[markiii]

if your not worried by N rating get the Supersports

 

[geoff lane]

Stefan
I know this probably stating the obvious but I would take Gary's advice its what he does for a living and he must know Michelin tyres as well as anyone.

Geoff

 

[tscaptain]

- call me narrow minded by all means

You're narrow minded.....[]

 

[lowndes]

If the tyres Gary recommends prove not to be available MPSS may be worth considering. Until very recently I had them on my GT3 and found them surprisingly good during monsoon conditions on this years SW Tour.

However a recent puncture has meant I am replacing all four tyres. If MPSS were N rated they would be my first choice. However because I want a further 2 years warranty I am bowing to Porsches dictat and going N rated.

 

[garymarsh]

Hi Stefan
I am on the move a lot over the next few days so it's not so easy to reply. I was unsure what size wheels you have on your Gen 1 997?
From memory if you had 18" wheels the sizes would be Front 235 40 R18, Rear 265 40 R18. But as you have now stated 19" wheels I think you would normally run the lower profile tyres, Front 235 35 R19 & Rear 295 30 R19
There is a Michelin configurator which will help you check the correct tyre sizes for your car. Hopefully the link below will work but if not you can Google it. Please get expert advice from Michelin to double check what is correct for your car.
http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/car-tyres#type=type_2&brand=porsche&range=911%20type%20997&model=911%20carrera%20s&engine=3.8%20l%20355&year=2004%20-%202012&selectedFilter=winter

If the Pilot Sport 3 is not available in your size at a distributor you can always contact Michelin direct to clarify things re availability. Mark Higginson is a really good Guy & should be able to at least "point you in the right direction"

TCRE Marketing
Michelin Tyre Public Limited Company
Campbell Road
Stoke-on-Trent
ST4 4EY
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 (0) 1782 402711
Mobile: +44 (0) 7968 307539
email: mark.higginson@uk.michelin.com

If you are unable to get Pilot Sport 3, Pilot Sport 2 or Pilot Super Sports are your next best options either way in the Michelin product range.
If you fancy treating yourself to a really fast set of "Hot Laps" on Track, I believe the Pilot Sport Cup 2 is now available with an N0 Rating. The Pilot Sport Cup 2 is a brilliant high performance tyre & now has much better wet weather performance than the frankly "scary" (in the wet) original Pilot Sport Cup. The Pilot Sport Cup 2 is designed as a dual compound tyre with outright performance being the number one priority. Although it comes with a much more generous tread depth than the original Pilot Sport Cup it will wear out much faster than the Pilot Sport 3.

Good luck.

Gary Marsh
ARDS Instructor & MSA Coach

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

Hi Gary

Thanks for the really comprehensive reply - really helpful as always. Thank you to all who have replied as well, good viewpoint.

Sport 3s don't seem to be available in 19" at the right size/profile on the Michelin configurator. I am leaning to Super Sports at the moment in my narrow minded way! Chris Franklin (Centre Gravity) suggested I get these instead of PS2s when he set up the suspension on my car a year ago. They were a bit newer then so just looking for the latest intelligence.

Stefan

 

[geoff lane]

" I would take Gary's advice its what he does for a living and he must know Michelin tyres as well as anyone."

I think Gary's last post just validates my opinion above, also I have to agree with Gary's comments on the Pilot sport cup 2 which were on my GT3 they were so much better as a all round performance tyre than the original cups with good wet weather grip.

Geoff

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

Hi Geoff

The PS3 does not come in the right sizes for either front or back in 19" and as the car is a road car for 95%+ of its life, the Cups are too track focused and I need a reasonable amount of wear out of them.

So PS2 or Super Sports is the question we have rolled back to - any opinion?

Two definite for Super Sports - markiii and lowndes

Stefan

 

[lowndes]

Stefan
A bit more background on MPSS. The MPSS tyres were on the car when I bought it in February this year, as was an oven fresh new Porsche Worldwide warranty[8|]. Date stamp on the tyres indicated manufacture in mid 2011, so by no means new. Tread depths were even across the tyre at around 5mm as measured by Chris at CG where it went for suspension set up immediately after I bought it. I then did 5k miles including two track days, a hill climb and two trips to Europe, not to mention the biblical events of the 2015 SW Tour. The tyre inspired great confidence in all situations, always nicely predictable and no alarming moments.
As is reported elsewhere I picked up a puncture recently and had to decide what to do about replacing the other tyres. Part of that decision involved cross axle tread difference and on checking I found 4mm all round on three remaining tyres. QED wear of 1mm per 5k miles is pretty acceptable, albeit the suspension set up is spot on factory thanks to Chris.

That having been said, I wanted a further 2 years warranty which OPC have now added on to the end of the remaining portion of the current warranty. The price for that was fitting Cup 2. In some ways I was happy enough to try the Cup 2 because when this set wear out I may be less concerned about warranty and can then chose my preferred tyre having had experience of both.

Nick

 

[bobfair]

In my view the Cup 2 tyre is a much better tyre than the original Cup and give you much more confidence in the wet. However still not as good in the wet as a quality all round road tyre on the road. Cup 2 will last much longer on track than a road tyre especially if road tyre has a lot of tread on it

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

Hi Nick

Thank you for posting your experience - much appreciated - MPSS it will be. I recon I have one track day left on the PS2s so Castle Combe in October then a new set of tyres for the winter - perfect!

Bobfair - thank you for your comment as well - one day maybe - MPSS for the winter and Cup 2s for the summer!

Stefan

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

Hi All

A quick update. I have a set of MPSS on the car now - 150 miles down and they are a lovely drive on the road so far - the car feels a lot less harsh and they are a lot quieter than the PS2s. I know new tyres are always less harsh than worn (and all of that) but when the PS2s were new I don't remember them being as quiet as these. The feel is very similar to the PS2s but it is clear they need a few hundred miles more to scrub in.

I will post again when they have a track day under them!

Also, I hear a rumour from my local ATS Euromaster tyre shop that MPSS are going to get an 'N' rating - anyone know if this is true?