Tyre tread depth

[London987]

I have the tyres the car came with (2005 987s) and at the last MOT (nov 08) I was told there are 4mm of tread at least all round but some heavier wear on the inside fronts. The report also stated that there was a little bit of perishing.

Given I do a very low mileage a year (under 1,000 at the moment......I'm not proud) and the £1,250 OPC quote to change them do I need to bother yet? I thought minimum tyre tread was less than that?

thanks in advance!

 

[tommo1]

Porsche recomend you change at 3mm, the choice is yours

 

[tscaptain]

It's worth checking on the tyres when they were made rather than the car. I think five years is the max age for tyres and yours may well be very close to that on a 2005 car? I would change at 3mm but as said before tis your choice!
Also £1250 sounds a bit steep - what are you running?
Tyre wall decoder here
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/front_website/gallery_tyre.php?o=0&id=232104
Page 3 will show you where to find the date of manufacture

 

[London987]

I'll have to check the make of tyres but they are whatever the car left the factory on in May 2005. I don't want to ask the same old 'what's the best tyre' question again but roughly what should I be looking at for replacing them if I didn't use Porsche? I'm worried about the alloys, I have 19" 5 spoke starfish alloys and am worried about them being buggered up.

 

[tscaptain]

Ok Jamie, but just because the car left the factory in May 2005 doesn't mean that the tyres were made at the same time. Have a look at the decoder and see when yours were made. Not too familiar with 987 tyre sizes but I could get 997S tyres for that money. I'mure your Boxster colleagues will have plenty of good suggestions about what to get and where![]

 

[bryno]

There are a few issues here:

1) As others have said 3mm is the recommended lower limit, 1.6mm is the legal limit, you choose!
2) There are many tyre specialists who are well aware of the concerns of owners about their expensive wheels and will look after you.If in doubt when you get there and you don't know them ask them to take care!
3)I doubt yours are perished even if the car has been out in the sun all its 4 year life.
4) These guys will tell if your tyres are perished as well, many want to look after you and see you again.
5) Get hold of your PCGB regional people who will recomend tyre outlets near you where you will get good service at reasonable prices or look in Porsche Post.
6) Trawl the internet for prices they vary so much from tyre dealer to tyre dealer.
7) Check out on this forum what people are fitting on your type /model.
8) If you do your research once you know the tyre you want it is sometimes possible to have tyres delivered to you and get someone local to fit them for less than the price others charge all in.
9) Try, www.elitedirect.com, (rainham Essex) tyres@elitegarages.co.uk Kent Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Micheldever Tyres, Costco, but first try 5) above.

 

[tommo1]

Me again,
I also have 987 with 19" Carrera wheels, I changed all 4 tyres last year and made a move from Michelin to Bridgestone, having done about 8000 on the Bridgestone I would say I prefer them to the Michelin, they seem to be we wearing well and they are much quieter on the concrete MI/A1 link

 

[London987]

Thanks for the advice. I'm a great believer in having good tyres given it is the way the car meets the road....just trying to space out my expenditure - I have a major service on the cards and as we all know the four year one including all the other jobs isn't cheap! I'll check what I have at the moment - not sure on the sizes I am meant to look for for the 19" wheels so will have a quick search here (unless anyone knows off the top of their head)....if anyone can recommend a fitter around Swindon way I'd appreciate it. The dealer does sound pretty pricey.

 

[Black80XSA]

19s use 235/35/19 fronts and 263/35/19 rears. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 pattern, in N1 porsche rating

Continental no longer supply Sport Contact 2 model, now replaced by SportContact 3.

Bridgstones will be RE050 pattern

Pirelli P Zero might alsos be an option - not sure what model ?

You will need to check the most recent N ratings for Bridgestones, Contis and Pirelli with other owners here or your OPC.

 

[BoxsterJohn]

Have you tried Costco?

 

[tangoss]

I've very recently had my two fronts changed for the first time on my 2003 986 S so were 6 years old and they'd done 24000 miles. One was a little ragged round the outside which was caused on a trackday but they were pretty sound and looked brand new on the inside when taken off ! (I think the 986 manual states that tyres should be no older than 6 years)
Incidentally the rears had been changed last year at approx 22000...

I too was very worried about damage to the wheels (18" Seal Gray Carrera) but I found a local mobile tyre company who came to my home and replaced them (Michelin Pilot Sport N1's) for just less than £300 fitted/balanced with great care! The only problem was that in removing the old weights to re-balance some paint also came off but it was starting to flake anyway.

If you're only doing 1000 miles a year and you've got 4mm left I'd leave them for a bit, especially at that price! You might want to get the tracking checked (via an independant) though if you've got heavy wear on the inside....