guab

Fronts are original to the car, rears are 3 years old. Car has 11k on the ODO, but dry rot seems to be kicking in now. I think its time to justify replacing the garage doors with some insulated ones.

Here's a shot of the fronts. Replace? And if so, what with? My thought was Pzero's kinda suck, and that replacing them with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S would be fine in the OEM sizes.

I was against going for the Cup2's as I don't think they are appropriate for street usage, though I think they are standard on the 718 Spyder now (which seems like the wrong choice) !? I would imagine the CUP2's would take a while to heat up, and consequently have significant drawbacks to the type of driving I would normally do on the street.

For the PSS4S I think Discount was ~$1300 for the set of 4 installed (no certificates).

CaymanSinAR

You don't say how old the car is, so no idea how old the fronts are. If the fronts are 5 years old I'd replace them.

I put my money where my mouth is; if my car doesn't come with PS4Ss I pull the tires and install PS4Ss. That includes my Boxster GTS, GT4, 911, and GT3. In fact I just had PS4Ss put on my GT3 this morning (along with a set of RE-71s on 19" Forgelines for autocross and track days).

IMO there is no finer Summer street tire for a Porsche than the PS4S. The P Zeros, S007, and ExtremeContact Sports did not come close and I had zero regrets pulling them after fair trials.

guab

Sorry, Porsche only made the Spyder in my signature one model year, so didn't mention it. Fronts are 4.5 years old.

Thank you for your feedback!

Code

Replace, and PS4S is a solid choice.

9eight7

A tire's lifetime is typically 5 years from the manufactured date because it loses moisture over time reducing traction. PS4S is probably one of the best tires for the street when looking at cost and performance.

I would recommend changing all 4 at the same time so that you have the same level of grip/traction on all 4 corners.

guab

Thanks all, sounds like they need replacement. From my experience, my offroad tires have never lasted 5 years because they dry rot before that due to AZ climate.

Marine Blue

Heat cycling will definitely reduce tire life and I have to think the Arizona heat only makes it worse. Another vote for Michelins.

il pirata

In addition to all the other PS4S recommendations, they work in the snow in a pinch.

WenigerAberBeser

If you are just driving normally around town, your tires are probably ok. If you are taking B roads, autox or track, it’s worth replacing.

Cup2 or Dunlop’s equivalent SportMaxx are not bad choices if you are looking for higher performance tires. I had them on my GT3, they are definitely a streetable tires. However, they come with less tread wear (7/32 I believe), have higher road noise, and are useless in any type of water. I’ve never had an issue bringing them up to temp service in time.

the PS4S is probably all you (or most) will need and have great treadwear, cost less, and deliver good performance.

the GT4/Spyder makes sense to come with Cup2 because it fits within their tire hierarchy and will give them the edge when testing which will then be compared to the competition.

WenigerAberBeser

For the record, I’ve had the old SuperSports on my M4, Dunlop/Cup2 on my GT3 and PS4S on my Spyder. The PS4S are the Goldilocks tire for how I use them (mostly back roads and around town).

fineito

I have MSP-4Ss on my 2012 Mas QP5 GTS, 2012 Cayman R, and my 1996 Carrera 2. Oh, do you still want to hear my recommendation?

Yabo

Pzeros were gross, I replaced them with the PS4S and have been happy. I am continental on all the other cars (bmws, 944) and the PS4S have been comparable. They also performed pretty well in one track event I did, surprisingly so.

Seemed to me like the smart option, as it does based on all the replies here!

Kitc2246

COSTCO has PS4S. Then there's the "N" rating issue. I'd price an "N" set from Tire Rack as a baseline. What you have should be good for one HPDE weekend.

guab

Thanks everyone! I ended up going with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (in N spec) as recommended by most here. I suppose I never thought about allowing the car to rank better vs the competition as a motivator for Porsche to go with the Cup 2 this time around. Makes sense. I don't drive all that crazy -- occasional canyon here and there and that's about it.

Also, damn these things are quiet and soft. Huge change just around town. I think my previous tires were getting pretty hard because of the heat. If I lived in the canyons I probably would have gone cup2. I have run R888's before and they were sketchy in the occasional rain I would get stuck in.

Dave in Chicago

You are likely to be impressed with these tires. They do absolutely everything well. Quieter, more comfortable, more wet grip, more dry grip, etc. Yup, Michelin did some magic.