Tyre choices?!

[tscaptain]

Not from the tyres though! And not continuously....

 

[john crannis]

Hi Nick, Go for Michelin pilot super sport why! firstly the ride is so smooth together with low road noise and superb accurate steering. I changed to Michelin pilot super sport from badly worn Bridgestones with canvas showing on the inside rears at 8,000 miles on previous 997 GTs. I believe N rated tyres are more about tyre manufacturers production runs and availability.
John

 

[JCX]

I have MPSS (Michelin Pilot Super Sports) on my M135i and at 11k miles they were cracking visibly on the rear shoulders... i expect a 911 to put a lot more heat intop their rear tyres which may make this common (its well known for MPSS) cracking worse.

That said, per John above they are a delicious tyre that is very quiet, very sticky in the warm, and very smooth on the road. If i didnt have a Porsche warranty i may also switch to MPSS at the next change.

 

[tscaptain]

I believe N rated tyres are more about tyre manufacturers production runs and availability.
John

No so John. They are specifically designed to deal with the particular stresses and strains that a powerful rear engined car puts through the tyres and on to the road. Well , according to the man from Michelin who was guest speaker at our meeting the other night. He wasn't pushing Super sports over the N rated - quite the opposite actually.

 

[Stefan Wilczak]

Nick

I had Michelin 19" PS2 N rated which were virtually brand new on the car when I bought it, I thought they were great for road and the occasional track day. The only thing is they were a bit noisy and lumpy bumpy (technical term!) from cold - it really felt they needed warming up for a few miles. I have switched to non-N rated Michelin Super Sports - December if I remember. They are now scrubbed in and are significantly quieter, feel 'softer' and are more civilised - this is not the new tyre syndrome by the way and I am very pleased for road use. I have not done a track day yet, next month, so not sure what they will be like but if the reports that they are better than PS2s are true I will be delighted. By the way the PS2s lasted for 17,000 miles I'm expecting similar from the SSs

I stared a thread about PS2 vs Super Sports 6-9 months ago, some very positive comments about Super Sports. One person who influenced me to go for SSs was Chris Franklin at Centre Gravity - he virtually told me to put them on my car when he set up the geometry. I would take his advice on all things to do with the suspension on Porsches and everything that hangs off it!

One interesting thing about non-N rated tyres watch where you buy them and get them fitted. I bought the fronts from Black Circles and elected to have them fitted at my local ATS - when I turned up they refused to fit them because the current tyres on the car were N rated! If they had been non N rated on the car they would have fitted them - barking, company policy or conspiracy. So, I put the tyres in the back of the car, got a refund for the fitting from Black Circles and took them to my local Bathwick who fitted them along with the rears they supplied.

So far I am very pleased with my choice. Please post what you end up with.

 

[JCX]

I love MPSS as they are soft-feeling as you describe and nice and quiet too. Good grip. If only they were N rated I would have them as I prefer a softer-feeling setup.