tiresome tyre questions - but they are important!

[softinthehead]

yes, yes, i know its boring, but they are the only thing connecting us to the road and where else can one find such a collection of wisdom and experience? I'm currently running p zero assimetricos on standard 17" alloys on my 968 cab. Ive noticed a fair amount of wheelspin under hard (straight line) acceleration this winter, and had the back start to step out a couple of times - fun, but only when its on my terms. the rears need replacing, and the fronts are sort of ok but i would be prepared to swap them for consistency. I'd rather do all four, plus geometry, in one go, that swap 2 tyres and have to redo geometry 3 months later when new fronts needed. I dont do any track days and I want a tyre that gives me good grip all weather. Since its either raining, muddy, frozen or all three for over 6 months of the year, I'm prepared to sacrifice the last ounce of in-the-dry performance for safe all-round all-year grip. are there any obvious alternatives to the p-zeros? Ive heard good things about michelin pilots but am open to suggestions.
cheers in advance

[Paul968]

I've had Toyos on my 968 for 2 years, and I find them great in the damp and wet. I think Goodyear F1 GS-D3s are similar and have heard good things about them in the wet. Either won't be the best on track and you might lose a bit of the sharp response that other more focussed tyres give, but like you I think that the trade off is worth it.

[softinthehead]

thanks 4 that. any thoughts on michelin pilot sports?

[ripton]

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=242812&f=23&h=0

might also explain your wheels spinning up

chris

[softinthehead]

yeah i remember that thread. used it as an excuse not to change my tyres! but now the rears really are too worn so no more excuses for me, i'm afraid

[porsche4life]

Good article in GT Purely porsche on winter tyres, best acknowledgement i have read in this country that we don't take tyres seriously in winter.

Michelin Alpin's

[johnny senna]

I read the article in GTPP on the Michelin Alpins. They sound very good, but what's the catch? They cost the same as normal Michelins. They are said to grip far better in cold conditions (and the wet I think they were saying) and yet they were supposed to be fine in warmer weather as well (of EQUAL performance in warm dry weather in fact).

So what's the catch? Do they wear out more quickly or something? ALL tyres are about comprimise IMHO. We have had the same debate many times on track tyres on this forum before.

Thinking laterally for a moment, couldn't you use the Michelin Alpin on a cold northern sprint race event if it was raining? Would they be better than a Cup over just one lap in these conditions?

[Don]

softinthehead said:

thanks 4 that. any thoughts on michelin pilot sports?

I use these and prefer them to the Pirellis. Good tyre. Hard wearing. Good in the wet. Good in the dry. Decent on track. The only downside is that they are £££ expensive...

[mikeg996]

Is it worth putting stuff like this into the FAQs?

[polarexpress]

I have used winter Michelins like the Alpins on my previous cars in Canada where winters were down to -35. In such conditions, studless tyres like the Alpins are ABSOLUTELY INVALUABLE. They do an amzing job over snow/ice/etc where you can take curved motorway ramps safely, etc etc.

However, these winter tyres wear out at a phenomenal rate when used on just asphalt with no snow. They squirm a lot more because of their soft compound and design (the squirm allows them to grip better)

PZero Assis are the stickiest non-track tyre they make... but they are summer tyres with a compound that takes ages to build up ANY heat in them at this time of year. So no surprise you have no traction... spinning them up only grinds away the tread, so perhaps it's best to go easy with the loud pedal...

[porsche4life]

JS - I did giggle at the claim that are great in summer as well.

No - you are supposed to keep two sets and change them over in Spring.

[cyberface]

I have Pirelli Snowsport winter tyres on my 993 at the moment, and yes they're great in British winter, even just cold and wet rather than snow or ice. They have very deep tread compared with sport-type summer rubber, and cut through standing water like it's not there (which is great as 911s on summer tyres aquaplane somewhat at speed!). Great traction in greasy cold conditions as well.

The deep tread and the compound gives a lot of squirming in hard cornering, you can feel the tread blocks moving around. For this reason I'd not bother trying to run them all year round, they'd destroy themselves at high temps. FWIW I swap back over to summer tyres in April.

[johnny senna]

porsche4life said:

JS - I did giggle at the claim that are great in summer as well. No - you are supposed to keep two sets and change them over in Spring.

Yes, that's what I thought too. To good to be true I reckon.