996 front tyres

[M A C]

I’m sure this will have been asked before but for some reason I can’t search for old posts.
My 996 carrera needs two new front tyres. To be honest I don’t use it much. In past have always had an N2 type tyre .
My question is does it need to be N2 or can a reasonable price normal tyre be used?
It has 225/40 ZR18 on at the moment but it has scrubbed the inside tread of both
Thanks

[barryrs]

I thought the “N” rating just meant they had been tested and approved by Porsche.

My 996 is a low use weekend car so I have the correct specification tyres but they aren’t “N” rated.

[MrC986]

The manufacturer rated tyres are clearly optimised/developed for the car. However, I understand that many premium brand tyres are probably just as good for 99% of daily driving (& better priced) - the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 vs a Porsche rated Michelin is an example. Some tyre manufacturers may struggle with certain tyre sizes.

One of the magazine tyre tests is an illustration of alternative options you might have.

[Orangecurry]

M A C said:

My 996 carrera needs two new front tyres. To be honest I don’t use it much. In past have always had an N2 type tyre .
My question is does it need to be N2 or can a reasonable price normal tyre be used?
It has 225/40 ZR18 on at the moment but it has scrubbed the inside tread of both
Thanks

The thing is, ideally you would match to the rears. But by the sounds of it, they are old, and so I wouldn't. If you don't use the car much, I doubt you go mad, so in your situation I would fit any quality tyre. As that size is common, it is cheap. Michelin PS4 or Goodyear Asym 5 or Conti Premium 6, all really cheap in that size - 74 to 82 ish GBP plus fitting..

Ideally you should fit a decent set and drive it

[Orangecurry]

Must resist urge to post

MrC986 said:

The manufacturer rated tyres are clearly optimised/developed for the car.

Well certainly not 'clearly', and I would say 'not' in this particular case. The 996 quite often shared it's tyre sizes with the 986 and 993, and all three are very different dynamically.

[TEKNOPUG]

The "N" rating just seems to be manufacturer tie in with Porsche to force you to buy premium tyres for warranty. As said, they aren't vehicle specific.

[deckster]

Every tyre fitter I've asked has refused to fit anything other than N-rated tyres to my 996. I'm sure there are some that don't care and it's entirely possible that they just make more money if they sell the official tyres - but the additional cost is normally pretty small and who am I to gainsay the experts.

[Orangecurry]

deckster said:

Every tyre fitter I've asked has refused to fit anything other than N-rated tyres to my 996.

They are wrongly concerned about liability.

deckster said:

I'm sure there are some that don't care

Ah - these are the ones that know there is no liability; I would call them more knowledgeable

It's a shame that N-rating has become so stupid - some tyres are clearly different, N and non-N, and by 'clear' I mean visually, as per some of the MPSCup tyres, but a normal road tyre on a 996, IMO you should fit the best modern tyre available, that suits your requirements.

[Scrump]

I have PS4 tyres on my 996, they are not available in 996 sizes with N rating. I had to sign a disclaimer from the tyre fitters that I knew they were not N rated.
I find them better tyres than the PS2 which are available with N rating.

[deckster]

Orangecurry said:

deckster said:

Every tyre fitter I've asked has refused to fit anything other than N-rated tyres to my 996.

They are wrongly concerned about liability.

No doubt! And it probably wouldn't be hard to find somebody local that will fit anything I ask them to.

But then I am excessively lazy and it's just easier to keep going to the place I've been using for years that's 5 minutes' walk away

[Orangecurry]

Excellent reason.

[AlasdairB10]

Just my two p having had a 996 C2 for a while - now sold. I found tire choice made quite a difference. Don't worry about N rating. You only need it if you are getting or have a Porsche warranty- which I assume you aren't.

Mine came off Contis which were on when I got it and onto non N PS2s which were perfect for the car. It was fine in rain and on track. Porsche used to service it and it was on their classic register and they couldn't have given a monkeys about the lack of N rating.

If you've got a friendly tire shop perhaps buy the tires yourself online and have the shop fit them.

[Smollet]

My tyres will need replacing this year due to being 8yo and I’m going to fit Yoko Advan sport V105

[puss]

Happened to see this thread and thought I would pass on some info I came across elsewhere that may help
It was being said that different makes of tyres can vary enormously in the actual diameter and therefore the gearing even when comparing identical 'sizes'. Whilst normally not a major issue, if you have a 4wd Porsche it can be significant as the relative difference in gearing between front and rear if mixing brands can destroy the centre diff (or whatever Porsche call their equivalent)