"N" tire rating - necessary or not?
07-31-2005, 08:11 PM
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"N" tire rating - necessary or not?
I'm about to purchase. Strong sentiment in my last post for the Michelin PS2s. However, I'm not sure about the necessity/advisability of having "N" rated tires and would welcome some info.
07-31-2005, 11:09 PM
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I had same dilema last year. I called and spoke to Tire Rack and thene even called a Michellin product devlopment guy and was told the were the same and not to worry about it. If you do a search under my name for maybe May of last year, I think I posted here exactly what I was told by Michellin. Been a while so I forgot.
It's all in the head.
08-02-2005, 08:18 PM
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About two years ago, I did some research on whether "N" rating was marketing or real for my 911 driving. The "N" rating threads remind me of the Mobil 1 0-40 Mobil, or 15x50 debate. No, 100% clear answer, as it really depends...
I read Tire Racks site first to get more educated about tires. Called Tire Rack and the sales person said that " "N" rated tires for Porsche's is baloney. I have SO-3s to replace your SO-2's and can ship today". I asked what car he drove and he said a VW Bettle. I decided I needed to do more research.
Later spoke with some Porsche experts I have confidence with and known for years. What I learned was the "N" designation means that the tire manufacturer made a specific set of changes and/or improvements that were recommended by Porsche. Meaning, Porsche did the testing, and the "N" designated tire addresses the issues Porsche testing found. However, it is unknown what these changes are to become/get certified for "N" rating. Porsche / tire manufactures seem to keep that as proprietary (no surprise) information. So I don't know what was found to be objectionable, and what improvements were made. I suspect the Porsche testing includes hot temperatures, cold (meaning some cold winter temperatures in Germany), dry, etc as part of the "N" approval. So I think part of "N" rating means the tire approved is universal for various weather conditions and how that matches against the 911/986 engineering designs.
Conclusion for me was to purchase "N" rated tires for this street driven Porsche BTW, I use 0-40W Mobil 1 if that is any validation of my thinking.
I read Tire Racks site first to get more educated about tires. Called Tire Rack and the sales person said that " "N" rated tires for Porsche's is baloney. I have SO-3s to replace your SO-2's and can ship today". I asked what car he drove and he said a VW Bettle. I decided I needed to do more research.
Later spoke with some Porsche experts I have confidence with and known for years. What I learned was the "N" designation means that the tire manufacturer made a specific set of changes and/or improvements that were recommended by Porsche. Meaning, Porsche did the testing, and the "N" designated tire addresses the issues Porsche testing found. However, it is unknown what these changes are to become/get certified for "N" rating. Porsche / tire manufactures seem to keep that as proprietary (no surprise) information. So I don't know what was found to be objectionable, and what improvements were made. I suspect the Porsche testing includes hot temperatures, cold (meaning some cold winter temperatures in Germany), dry, etc as part of the "N" approval. So I think part of "N" rating means the tire approved is universal for various weather conditions and how that matches against the 911/986 engineering designs.
Conclusion for me was to purchase "N" rated tires for this street driven Porsche BTW, I use 0-40W Mobil 1 if that is any validation of my thinking.
08-02-2005, 10:30 PM
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Apparently, it depends on who you talk to at Tire Rack. The person I spoke to gave me the same information as mo got from his Porsche expert friends. The one thing most people seem to agree with is that there are better tires out there than the P Zeros I'm replacing. Appreciate the input.
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08-03-2005, 12:36 AM
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Lots of debate and opinions. Here's mine: Among my N-rated PZero Assims, N-rated ContiSports and non-N-rated S-03s, RE750s, Dunlop SSRs, the non-N-rated were superior in most regards. IMHO, the ContiSports convinced me to not put too much faith in the N ratings since these were, by far, the worst performance tires I've had on any car. With that said, some very highly respected members like the Contis, so YMMV...
08-03-2005, 02:07 AM
#9
N tires are tested and approved by Porsche. They are likely the same as non N tires. Sometimes N tires have less tread depth, softer rubber, or a different load capacity. You can check this on the tire's spec sheet. A couple of years ago a Pirelli rep told me that one of their N tires had an extra tread belt to prevent tread crowning at very high speeds. It seems like the tire reps tell you to use a N tire for liability reasons, but off the record they say it makes little difference.
08-03-2005, 09:21 PM
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When I spoke with Michelin it sounded more as if there was a contract thing with Porsche about who was to supply OE tires. I am just speculating, but perhaps the PS2s did not get to a price level that Porsche wanted and they never got the nod for OE on the Turbo.
I spoke with someone at Tire Rack who said something inconsistent with what they have written on their web site about N desgination. I then spoke with service manager and asked if N was really necessary and he put my PS2s on for me.
Like I said, I am on my third non-N rated PS2 set on two different 996 TTs. I have put 24,000 miles on my 2004 TT cabriolet and drive it very very hard. In all I have had 3 996TTs and have used P Zeros and S02, Conti and Ribs before. I have also used the plain old Pilot Sorts on many cars. The P-Zeros were my least favorite. Some tires you might not be able to tell much of a difference between (such as Pilot Sports and PS2s) under normal driving in dry conditions. I definitely could tell a difference between P-Zeros and PS2s in both handling and noise. Made a big difference.
All of these non-rated tires that are good enough for a Lambo or Ferrari are surely good enough for a Porsche. But still, but what you are comfy with and I doubt most of us have the skills necessary to appreciate the miniscule advantage on tire has over another. Noise, however, is a big issue with P-Zero.
I spoke with someone at Tire Rack who said something inconsistent with what they have written on their web site about N desgination. I then spoke with service manager and asked if N was really necessary and he put my PS2s on for me.
Like I said, I am on my third non-N rated PS2 set on two different 996 TTs. I have put 24,000 miles on my 2004 TT cabriolet and drive it very very hard. In all I have had 3 996TTs and have used P Zeros and S02, Conti and Ribs before. I have also used the plain old Pilot Sorts on many cars. The P-Zeros were my least favorite. Some tires you might not be able to tell much of a difference between (such as Pilot Sports and PS2s) under normal driving in dry conditions. I definitely could tell a difference between P-Zeros and PS2s in both handling and noise. Made a big difference.
All of these non-rated tires that are good enough for a Lambo or Ferrari are surely good enough for a Porsche. But still, but what you are comfy with and I doubt most of us have the skills necessary to appreciate the miniscule advantage on tire has over another. Noise, however, is a big issue with P-Zero.
