other tires
10-18-2012, 01:36 PM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
other tires
what other brands have you all tried besides michelin, pirelli, bridgestone, the big boys, and what are impressions of lesser known/used brands?
10-18-2012, 05:36 PM
#2
Racer
Lots of posts elsewhere on this but I have always had great luck with Conti Sport DW's. Quiet, inexpensive (relative to Michelin) and grippy. especially in the wet...
10-18-2012, 05:45 PM
#3
Instructor
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Elmhurst, IL
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I've had the bridgestone S-04 pole position on my rear. I'm satisfied w performance, comfort etc, but the stupid things are overall narrower than other 295 section tires. I removed the tire and flopped it on the inner rim to sit on, as I always do, and it landed on metal, not rubber! Won't be buying again.
Good to hear your opinion on the Conti's. I'm prob going with those next as I drive a lot of miles and burn about 2 sets of rears annually...
Good to hear your opinion on the Conti's. I'm prob going with those next as I drive a lot of miles and burn about 2 sets of rears annually...
10-19-2012, 12:04 AM
#5
Burning Brakes
I tried the Sumitomo HTR ZIII (or something like that). May be an OK tire for street only, but my C2S is 50/50 street and track, and the Sumi's sucked out loud on the track.
I'm currently running Pirelli Corsa's and they are way expensive but the best non-R compound tire I've found.
I'm currently running Pirelli Corsa's and they are way expensive but the best non-R compound tire I've found.
10-19-2012, 02:01 AM
#7
Poseur
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
From my comments on the 996 forum:
As a long time Porsche owner/driver I have watched the evolution of tire technology for Porsche. Few other auto manufacturers seem to expend the amount of energy on tire design and their impact upon the handling of their cars.
Since we have always purchased Porsches for their superior handling capabilities we have to depend upon Porsche to work closely with the the tire manufacturers to extract the most they can out of their tire designs and for Porsche, to design the optimal suspensions to exploit those tires. Today, with the most advanced technologies available to these companies, we have grown to expect this from them. Porsche has even pursued advanced brake technology (e.g., PCCBs) to exploit that part of these cars to improve the cars fully.
Over the years I have watched owners wrestle with the decision of which tires to buy. We have the whole range of owners. Weekend racers, to daily drivers. Most daily drivers will complain about the relatively short life of their tires, while the racers will brag about the handling the best tires are providing them on today's Porsches. Several years ago when I brought my 06 S back from Germany I took a friend of mine out for a run on my local race track. He's been racing since the early 1960s, everything from 356s to 928s, to Ferraris, Lambos, Maseratis--you name it. (It helps to be wealthy). He owns about 5 race cars today, ranging from GT1 Mazdas, to E-Type Jaguars. With all of the track time he has under his belt (he was in the SCCA finals a couple of years ago for E Production) I was surprised after our little local run to hear him tell me that he was amazed at the handling of the 997S--which I was running at about 7/10s at the time. He said it out handled many of his race cars--on race tires!
Why this long story? It's because tires are extremely important to extracting the performance potential of the Porsche, that we need to give great care to the selection of the tires for these cars. But there is always going to be a trade off. How much can we afford to pay for tires? For those of us who like to drive these things, we can easily spend a small fortune on tires in a given year!
In the past when my Porsches were not at the peak of their capability (as today's cars are) I would evolve away from the factory recommendations. I started on Michelins, migrated to Pirelli CN36 Cinturatos, ran on Pirelli P7s until I got a little smarter (and switched to Yokohama A008s!) But with the more current cars like the 996, 997 and now 991, I am sticking closer to the factory on tire choices. My 06 997S came with Bridgestones and I have stuck to them ever since. (Why change a proven thing?) With 911 tire wear at roughly 2:1 (rears to fronts) when you decide upon a tire you are committed to them for some time. Therefore, it's important to be sure that you find a tire that works and if not, shop around. This forum is extremely useful because you can interact with others on the 996 and 997 forums and find out which tire types are best.
Now back to N rated tires. I believe Porsche is the only manufacturer to develop a unique specification for tires for their cars. This says a lot about Porsche's understanding about the synergistic relationship to the design of their cars and the design of tires, today.
As our cars enter the used market many buyers of these things, who would have never considered buying one new because of the cost, are faced with the ordeal of buying tires for these performance animals. It's not the same decision for those who can drop $1500-$1800 for a set of 4 tires for their relatively new Porsche--than for those who got their Porsche with many miles or years on them. We might be more inclined to ration out our tire money in a more frugal manner. After all, the price of a set of high end rubber, e.g., Michelins, Pirelli, even Bridgestone, is a good chunk of change next to the used price of our cars.
Just don't sell your car short. Today's Porsches, which I include from the 996 through to the 991, are the most incredible handling Porsches that have ever come out of Bad Württenberg. But, you may not be doing yourself a favor if you decide to economize on your tires. You will sacrifice handling for that. Remember, in the grand scheme of things, a set of tires can breath new life into an otherwise dull car!
Of course, this is simply my personal opinion. Your experience will differ. I have nearly 350,000 miles in Porsches (mostly 911s) since 1974. About 70,000 miles of that are in my current ride, an 06 S Cabriolet, which I picked up at Zuffenhausen with 7 kilometers on the gauge.
As a long time Porsche owner/driver I have watched the evolution of tire technology for Porsche. Few other auto manufacturers seem to expend the amount of energy on tire design and their impact upon the handling of their cars.
Since we have always purchased Porsches for their superior handling capabilities we have to depend upon Porsche to work closely with the the tire manufacturers to extract the most they can out of their tire designs and for Porsche, to design the optimal suspensions to exploit those tires. Today, with the most advanced technologies available to these companies, we have grown to expect this from them. Porsche has even pursued advanced brake technology (e.g., PCCBs) to exploit that part of these cars to improve the cars fully.
Over the years I have watched owners wrestle with the decision of which tires to buy. We have the whole range of owners. Weekend racers, to daily drivers. Most daily drivers will complain about the relatively short life of their tires, while the racers will brag about the handling the best tires are providing them on today's Porsches. Several years ago when I brought my 06 S back from Germany I took a friend of mine out for a run on my local race track. He's been racing since the early 1960s, everything from 356s to 928s, to Ferraris, Lambos, Maseratis--you name it. (It helps to be wealthy). He owns about 5 race cars today, ranging from GT1 Mazdas, to E-Type Jaguars. With all of the track time he has under his belt (he was in the SCCA finals a couple of years ago for E Production) I was surprised after our little local run to hear him tell me that he was amazed at the handling of the 997S--which I was running at about 7/10s at the time. He said it out handled many of his race cars--on race tires!
Why this long story? It's because tires are extremely important to extracting the performance potential of the Porsche, that we need to give great care to the selection of the tires for these cars. But there is always going to be a trade off. How much can we afford to pay for tires? For those of us who like to drive these things, we can easily spend a small fortune on tires in a given year!
In the past when my Porsches were not at the peak of their capability (as today's cars are) I would evolve away from the factory recommendations. I started on Michelins, migrated to Pirelli CN36 Cinturatos, ran on Pirelli P7s until I got a little smarter (and switched to Yokohama A008s!) But with the more current cars like the 996, 997 and now 991, I am sticking closer to the factory on tire choices. My 06 997S came with Bridgestones and I have stuck to them ever since. (Why change a proven thing?) With 911 tire wear at roughly 2:1 (rears to fronts) when you decide upon a tire you are committed to them for some time. Therefore, it's important to be sure that you find a tire that works and if not, shop around. This forum is extremely useful because you can interact with others on the 996 and 997 forums and find out which tire types are best.
Now back to N rated tires. I believe Porsche is the only manufacturer to develop a unique specification for tires for their cars. This says a lot about Porsche's understanding about the synergistic relationship to the design of their cars and the design of tires, today.
As our cars enter the used market many buyers of these things, who would have never considered buying one new because of the cost, are faced with the ordeal of buying tires for these performance animals. It's not the same decision for those who can drop $1500-$1800 for a set of 4 tires for their relatively new Porsche--than for those who got their Porsche with many miles or years on them. We might be more inclined to ration out our tire money in a more frugal manner. After all, the price of a set of high end rubber, e.g., Michelins, Pirelli, even Bridgestone, is a good chunk of change next to the used price of our cars.
Just don't sell your car short. Today's Porsches, which I include from the 996 through to the 991, are the most incredible handling Porsches that have ever come out of Bad Württenberg. But, you may not be doing yourself a favor if you decide to economize on your tires. You will sacrifice handling for that. Remember, in the grand scheme of things, a set of tires can breath new life into an otherwise dull car!
Of course, this is simply my personal opinion. Your experience will differ. I have nearly 350,000 miles in Porsches (mostly 911s) since 1974. About 70,000 miles of that are in my current ride, an 06 S Cabriolet, which I picked up at Zuffenhausen with 7 kilometers on the gauge.
Last edited by Edgy01; 10-19-2012 at 12:24 PM.
Trending Topics
10-19-2012, 10:26 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
for 18" rims in 8"/10" i am sold on z1 star spec dunlops and will always use them until they exist.
they are cheap and they outperform any competition including PS2 and new MPSS.
in 19" best would be pirelli, budget options are re11 and conti dw.
they are cheap and they outperform any competition including PS2 and new MPSS.
in 19" best would be pirelli, budget options are re11 and conti dw.
10-19-2012, 10:36 AM
#10
Drifting
I had z1's on my prior M3... they were way grippy. I have Pirelli's on my 19's now but was considering MPSS next. Curious about the reasons for Pirelli's being top of the list. I believe you track a lot... are these the best for track use? TIA
10-19-2012, 09:33 PM
#11
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
10-19-2012, 10:32 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Oh boy... another one? 
It's like saying, what's a good car? Too many variants.
Personally, I would NEVER go cheap on tires, specially on a Porsche 911. WHY would you go cheap on a 100K+ car is just beyond any logic. N-rated, or top Michelin/Bridgestone/Pirelli tires would be the only ones I'd use on the car.
Now, what do you use the tires for? Daily, Tracking, bad weather, etc...? Depending on the usage, one or another tire maybe recommended. From personal experience, smaller companies may produce a good one-dimensional tire (great on the track, great in snow, good wear, etc), and some other tires may suit your special need... BUT only a few companies can produce a tire with a great balance of handling, wear, ride, rain, track, etc... and Porsche does the testing *for you* hence I trust what they come up with on their cars.
It's like saying, what's a good car? Too many variants.Personally, I would NEVER go cheap on tires, specially on a Porsche 911. WHY would you go cheap on a 100K+ car is just beyond any logic. N-rated, or top Michelin/Bridgestone/Pirelli tires would be the only ones I'd use on the car.
Now, what do you use the tires for? Daily, Tracking, bad weather, etc...? Depending on the usage, one or another tire maybe recommended. From personal experience, smaller companies may produce a good one-dimensional tire (great on the track, great in snow, good wear, etc), and some other tires may suit your special need... BUT only a few companies can produce a tire with a great balance of handling, wear, ride, rain, track, etc... and Porsche does the testing *for you* hence I trust what they come up with on their cars.
10-20-2012, 09:48 AM
#13
Racer
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: NYC
Posts: 274
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I had my first tire change on my car a couple weeks ago. Went to Wheel Enhancement and got 4 new MPSS. The car came with Pirelli P-Zeros Rossos. They were so loud and performance was mediocre to say the least. I will not be going back to Pirellis ( I was at one point considering the new P-zeros). I absolutely love the MPSS, that side wall, especially in the rear is a little bit funky looking but they are just so damn good!
