Dharn55

Finally bit the bullet and bought a set of the new Michelin Pilot Super Sports, had them installed last Tuesday. I bought them through Costco as the Price installed (about $1,170) was basically the same as several of the local shops and Tirerack with shipping and local install, but Costco included a road hazard warranty and nitrogen fill which would have been another $150-$200 with the other sources ( they also include free rotation but that doesn't do much good on a 996 with staggered sizes). I have to go back for another balancing as I have a slight shimmy between 75 and 90.

I only have about 150 miles so far but my initial impression are very good. They are much quieter than the PS2's I took off last fall, but the rears of those were almost bald, and quieter than the Dunlop Snows that came off (again pretty much worn out). Had one rain so far and they seem great in the wet.

They were not available in an N rating, but then neither are the Hankooks, Bridgestones or Sumitomo's that I also considered. The new Super Sports are significantly less than a set of PS2's and are supposed to corner better and last longer.

Looking forward to having the new tires for the summer and will post my impressions as time goes on.

B r i a n

I didn't think Costco carried the correct sizes for a 996 - did you special order through your local COSTCO?
Nothing comes up on the COSTCO Website for me.

Ubermensch

I made exactly the same switch a few weeks ago. I sucked it up and paid a little extra to support a local shop, but the service I get there is worth the extra money. So far I have the same conclusions. I'll be running these at the track as well so we'll see how they hold up.

S.

Dennis C

Glad you're enjoying them. I wish they had been an option for me with a wide-body car. I just put on a new set of PS2s, and they are awesome. I love them. I've heard the Super Sports are even better...

SWK6Cup

Doug:
I will be interested to hear how much you like them. I just had a full set installed about a week ago and haven't had much driving time on them yet.....but that will change shortly.

No HTwo O

This is why I'll NEVER have tires installed at Costco on my Porsches. How does this "save" you any money when you have to return to get the job done correctly?

I'll be at Loeber Thursday for a set of PS2's going on the Boxster. This will be the last set of PS2's I purchase. Next set in about 2 years will most likely be the new Super Sports. The PS2's have been excellent to me.

I just wish the Super Sports came in the right sizes (295/30/18 and 235/40/18) for my Turbo.

Hal

FWIW, Discount Tire ran a special a couple of months ago in conjunction with a Michelin rebate. Out the door was right at $900.00.

I have about 500 - 600 miles on them and so far they are great. So much so that I will not consider low tier tires for this car in the future.

Detoxx

Unfortunately they don't make it in the 18" sized rim either, 225/40/18 and 285/30/18. Hopefully when my PS2's wear out (just replaced) they will.

RF5BPilot

- What sizes did you get?

- I assume you trusted that their tire changing machine would not harm the wheels.

- Please continue to post how your experience with them goes. These seem to be a viable replacement for the PS2's. Not sure why they're not N rated.

Thanks.

cuttinsod

I have about 6000 miles and 5 track days on mine...and am very impressed with the ride quality, performance and durability...they are showing only minimal wear....highly recommend them.

Dharn55

My local Costco does not stock any Super Sports, but special ordered them. I ordered them on a Monday and they had them the next day. With my 2000 the OEM sizes are 225/40-18 on the front and 265/35-18 on the rear and the Super Sports are available in those sizes. If they were available in the 285/30-18 I might have gone with those, but at this time they only come in 285/35-18

As for buying from Costco versus the dealer this was a no brainer for me. If the dealer would have been willing to get the Super Sports (no N rating so they may not have been willing to do so) they probably would have been $400+ more expensive based on my experience, and that would not have included road hazard or nitrogen. Loeber is particularly uncompetitive, every time I call them for a price on parts they are typically 10%-20% higher than the the "list price" in PET. If one wants to pay them a premium for old technology tires that is not a problem with me but seems rather silly. I was running PS2's before the new Super Sports, but why buy the old technology tire for more money?

My car has not been to the dealer since it came off the factory warranty. Even with the extended warranty that I bought through the dealer I used an indy that was much more cost effective. When I used to take the car to the dealer and had a problem with a tire I ended up having to go to a tire shop to have the problem solved anyway. I will stop by Costco for lunch later this week and have them check the balance. Might be a simple re balance or a problem with the tire or it might be the wheel, I will have to see. But my experiencing with P Zeros and PS2's is that they often need some additional balancing.

Hurdigurdiman

Doug is there an advantage in having tires filled with Nitogen as against air?

82_930

Nitrogen is less volatile than oxygen. When the tires get warm, the nitrogen gas does not expand the same way oxygen does.

Dharn55

I just did a quick Google search on nitrogen in tires and the primary benefits seem to be that it does not migrate through rubber as easily and if pure has less moisture in it compared to just air. I saw some tire shops charging as much as $7.50 per tire for nitrogen. Costco uses only nitrogen. The tech there laughed at the high charges for nitrogen noting that the air we breath is 78% nitrogen.

1way2rock

265/35/18 and 285/30/18
What would be the difference in driving be?? Advantages and Disadvantages