Porsche tyres ?

[M A C]

I need two new front tyres for my 996. I bought a new radiator from Design 911 yesterday and that had a section for tyres. I have been led to believe I could only put N2 tyres on but they didn’t have any N2 . They W And Y and some others but no N2.
My question is can I put W or Y rated tyres instead of the much more expensive N2?

[Orangecurry]

Stand by for the arguments.

N-rating is a Porsche thing that has no relation to the Speed rating, i.e. W and Y.

It has no relevance to your insurance either.

As long as you match tyres on an axle, that's the most important thing.

If you mismatch tyres front to rear, then you may experience different handling characteristics from if you have a matching set.

[Orangecurry]

I would only ever buy tyres from a tyre specialist.

Your call on whether to use one of the many established delivery-only ones on the internet, and then get them fitted locally by a garage - mine charge about 15 GBP per wheel..... or go to your local tyre-specialist.

If you have 18" wheels, the front size of 225/40/18 on a 996 is a very common tyre on many cars, and is therefore 'cheap'.

Look on Oponeo or tyreleader or maybe Camskill to get an idea of online delivered-only prices, and take it from there.

Good luck.

[M A C]

Hi
I wasn’t actually going to buy off the internet, it was just getting an idea of price as I was on their site.
I would only buy from a supplier who supplied and fitted the tyres. I have a couple of decent local tyres suppliers here , it’s just in the past I have put on the N2 tyres and was much more expensive. I didn’t know if I could put on none N2 tyres

[RDMcG]

I think it depends on the age of the car also. I do not use N2 on my older car which is out of warranty but I do use them in the warranty period.

[Orangecurry]

What tyres do you have on the back, and how soon do they need replacing?

Do you have 18s or 17s?

[996Targa]

The list of Porsche approved tyres for the 996 is this. Hope you can read it.

[Orangecurry]

....but in the interests of accuracy, you do not need to fit any of these tyres.

Most of them are very old in design, and very poor compared to a large choice of modern tyres.

[996Targa]

This might be better.

[Orangecurry]

M A C said:

I need two new front tyres for my 996.

I have been led to believe I could only put N2 tyres on.

OK as this sort of thing annoys me slightly, let's be really really really clear about this.

Whoever said that to you is either simply telling a lie, or through ignorance, passing-on lies.

Legally, from an MOT and insurance perspective, you need the correct load index, size within a certain range, and speed rating for every road-going vehicle.

N-rating has no bearing on any of the above.

As our Canadian friend has said above, Porsche can demand you buy N-rated tyres if you want a Porsche Warranty. Which tells you all you need to know about the Porsche business-model today.

[Orangecurry]

996Targa said:

This might be better.

Apologies Mr Targa, as this is not aimed at you specifically, but let's do a critique of those tyres.

Bridgestone S02-A - even when it was released in 1990-something, the -A was poor in comparison to the very good though slightly track-oriented S02. Bridgestone 20 years-on make much better tyres.

Contisport2 - poor in the cold/wet even from new, Continental are now on version 6 of this tyre.

Michelin PS2 - an excellent tyre, which stood the test of time - but now even this has been bettered by the PS4

Pirelli Rosso - a truely awful awful tyre, that was 'adequate' in the dry/hot conditions of central europe until slightly worn down, and then it was awful in the dry. It had a red label on it, so it sold well.

Edited by Orangecurry on Wednesday 20th May 11:47

[M A C]

Orangecurry said:

What tyres do you have on the back, and how soon do they need replacing?

Do you have 18s or 17s?

They are 18s . The back are ok but but now that I’m not going to use N2 I will get a price for front and back tyres.
Thanks for your help

[M A C]

Orangecurry said:

What tyres do you have on the back, and how soon do they need replacing?

Do you have 18s or 17s?

They are 18s . The back are ok but but now that I’m not going to use N2 I will get a price for front and back tyres.
Thanks for your help

[Orangecurry]

No problem.

The rears are probably 265/35/18 - much more expensive than the fronts.

If there is nothing wrong with your current ones, there is no need to replace them.

Just be aware that you may experience better grip on the front if you fit quality new fronts.

If you just pootle around then you will probably not even notice.

I would recommend Michelin PS4 if you want to spend the money, Goodyear F1 Asym 5 are supposed to be good and are a just-released design, Hankook (which are I believe factory fit on Mercedes?) Ventus S1 Evo3 again just-released design.

Look at Jon's excellent website for impartial and excellent collation of all the industry testing and news.

https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Goodyear-Eag...

ETA

Guide price on those three exact tyres - do not accept earlier versions of any of these tyres!

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
265/35 R18 97 Y
£ 129

Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 K127
265/35 R18 97 Y
£ 110

Michelin Pilot Sport 4
265/35 R18 97 Y
£166

Edited by Orangecurry on Wednesday 20th May 12:53