It’s New Tyre Time Again… 718 GT4

[TrevorHill]

Eighteen months and seven thousand miles later I need new rears. I know the stock answer is Michelin Pilot Sport 4S but I have never been a huge fan. Pretty decent in the dry, iffy in the wet and as I don’t drive particularly drive hard or use the car that often, I am slightly disappointed in the longevity of the Michelins.
I prefer to have the same brand all round and I fitted new fronts last summer but what other brands are other people using and what is their real world experience? The car will never see a track, but will get the occasional spirited drive on a mountain road.
I’m hearing good reports about the new Continentals and I have always been a fan of Dunlops on my other cars…..

[Discombobulate]

Continental Sport 7 is a very good tyre BUT it has a firmer sidewall than the PS4S. Good for some aspects if you are pushing it, but not great for ride quality (which, as you know, is firm in a GT4 anyway).
Also they don't seem to look as wide as the PS4S for some reason (size for size) with some people saying they look a bit stretched. Perhaps it's the PS4S rim protector that makes them look different.

[Vsix and Vtec]

Back in my Honda days, the Type R lads always came down to one of two tyres, the PS4 (you've already ruled these out) or the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. Perhaps these are more to your liking?

[Schuey_911]

Vsix and Vtec said:

Back in my Honda days, the Type R lads always came down to one of two tyres, the PS4 (you've already ruled these out) or the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. Perhaps these are more to your liking?

On my 992 GTS I have the factory fitted Good Year Eagle F1 Asymmetric and on my 981 Cayman I have Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Happy with both sets of tyres. Different cars with different power and torque, so can't really do a like for like comparison. But overall would recommend either.

[jeebsy]

Discombobulate said:

Continental Sport 7 is a very good tyre BUT it has a firmer sidewall than the PS4S. Good for some aspects if you are pushing it, but not great for ride quality (which, as you know, is firm in a GT4 anyway).
Also they don't seem to look as wide as the PS4S for some reason (size for size) with some people saying they look a bit stretched. Perhaps it's the PS4S rim protector that makes them look different.

i've got Conti Sport Contact 7 on my GTS and really rate them.

[Tommie38]

TrevorHill said:

Eighteen months and seven thousand miles later I need new rears. I know the stock answer is Michelin Pilot Sport 4S but I have never been a huge fan. Pretty decent in the dry, iffy in the wet and as I don’t drive particularly drive hard or use the car that often, I am slightly disappointed in the longevity of the Michelins.
I prefer to have the same brand all round and I fitted new fronts last summer but what other brands are other people using and what is their real world experience? The car will never see a track, but will get the occasional spirited drive on a mountain road.
I’m hearing good reports about the new Continentals and I have always been a fan of Dunlops on my other cars…..

Where do you live and do you drive it in the winter?

PS4S good tyre but one criticism is that it has a softer sidewall so isn’t as responsive as some other tyres.

[athomp04]

You can’t go wrong with Continentals a great tire and well priced

[ChrisW.]

The only reason I didn't try Contisport 7's as wets on my 991.2 GT3RS was that I couldn't get them N rated ... two choices of N rating for the rear but no front. Hence I fitted PS4S ... but now I understand that N rating is no longer required.

The reviews on the Continentals have been very good and the PS4S is now quite an old tyre. Replaced by the PSS5 ??

[TrevorHill]

athomp04 said:

You can’t go wrong with Continentals a great tire and well priced

I’m leaning towards the Continentals, but I don’t like having different brands on either axle. There is only about 3k miles on the fronts. (PS4S) I’ll have a chat with my local supplier, he’s very competitive on pricing and I’ve been using him for over thirty years.
I may just wait until the fronts need replacing and change all four to Continentals.

[Schuey_911]

ChrisW. said:

but now I understand that N rating is no longer required.

Is this official? Where has that been communicated?

[ChrisW.]

I read it on here so it must be true ... that's why I say "I understand" ... ask your OPC ??

[andygo]

ChrisW. said:

The only reason I didn't try Contisport 7's as wets on my 991.2 GT3RS was that I couldn't get them N rated ... two choices of N rating for the rear but no front. Hence I fitted PS4S ... but now I understand that N rating is no longer required.

The reviews on the Continentals have been very good and the PS4S is now quite an old tyre. Replaced by the PSS5 ??

I have read that the Conti 7's are not very durable hence making them an expensive overall option in practice.

I'd like to try them, but not if they only last 1/2 the mileage. They might grip better from new, but if they wear significantly faster than the PS4S's then that initial advantage in the wet will be less pronounced as the tread depth - important in clearing water- will reduce more quickly to a less effective depth. If you get my drift..

I understand the PSS5 is not aimed at the enthusiastic driver market, but am probably wrong?

The N rating is not now a requirement for the Porsche warranty, but they do have a different construction and rubber compound I read somewhere. They also seem to as cheap or cheaper than standard PS4S's whenever I have purchased them.

[hooch500]

Not the same car but Conti 7's lasted about 2000 miles on the back of my old M2, as opposed to nearly double on Michi 4S's. Im surprised you dont get on with the Michelins especially as you state you're not a hard driver, they are very progressive when pushed hard and have good grip all round. The Contis are superb in the wet but the wear for me was brutal. I tried a few others as well, but for all around talent and wear 4S hard to beat. Maybe the 5S though doesn't seem to be much availability.

Edited by hooch500 on Thursday 6th March 12:25

[DJMC]

I went off Contis at 5's. 2's and 3's were excellent and lasted 25k miles or so but 5's wore out in under 10k.
GY F1 A2's split all round both front sidewalls. Goodbye to Goodyear.
Pirelli PZero N0's cracked in tread and sidewall. No more of those.
On PS4S currently and although stiffer sidewall than the previous F1 A2s they've given me no issues whatsoever and are down to 4.5-5mm at 18k.
If you don't drive hard there's something wrong with your car to wear yours out in 7k.

Edited by DJMC on Sunday 9th March 22:39

[CanAm]

DJMC said:

I went off Contis at 5's. 2's and 3's were excellent and lasted 25k miles or so but 5's wore out in under 10k.
GY F1 A2's split all round both front sidewalls. Goodbye to Goodyear.
Pirelli PZero N0's cracked in tread and sidewall. No more of those.
On PS4S currently and although stiffer sidewall than the previous F1 A2s they've given me no issues whatsoever and are down to 4.5-5mm at 18k.
If you don't drive hard there's something wrong with your car to wear yours out in 7k.

Edited by DJMC on Sunday 9th March 22:39

Interesting. My 'previously enjoyed' base model Cayman 2.9 came on Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s which developed large bulges in the sidewall in one front and one rear. I posted about it on PH but there were no comments.

I shall be keeping a very close eye on them.

[Koln-RS]

CanAm said:

Interesting. My 'previously enjoyed' base model Cayman 2.9 came on Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s which developed large bulges in the sidewall in one front and one rear. I posted about it on PH but there were no comments.

Unfortunately, that’s normally caused by sidewall bruising from potholes

[CanAm]

Koln-RS said:

CanAm said:

Interesting. My 'previously enjoyed' base model Cayman 2.9 came on Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5s which developed large bulges in the sidewall in one front and one rear. I posted about it on PH but there were no comments.

Unfortunately, that’s normally caused by sidewall bruising from potholes

Thanks for your reply. The Cayman has covered far less mileage in my hands than all of the other cars in my long driving history and is the only one to have ever suffered this problem; plus I am even more careful to avoid potholes while driving it.
Though where I live the roads are far worse these days than ever before.

[TrevorHill]

DJMC said:

On PS4S currently and although stiffer sidewall than the previous F1 A2s they've given me no issues whatsoever and are down to 4.5-5mm at 18k.
If you don't drive hard there's something wrong with your car to wear yours out in 7k.

Edited by DJMC on Sunday 9th March 22:39

I got 8k from the last set of rears and I expect to get 15/16k from the fronts. I’m at 2mm on the current rears. I find it incredible that anyone is getting 18k on a set of PS4S and still on 5mm. I’d expect that on my Moms Micra, not on a Porsche or any performance car for that matter.

[jcosh]

On my 991.2 GTS I fitted a full set of PS4S's as the internet said they are way better than the Pirelli PZero's. I had two previous sets of the Pzero's with no complaints. Good in the wet, the the dry and lasted well enough.

The PS4S's were frankly terrible. Softer side walls led to a very high wear rate (two Euro trips) with the rears showing through to the carcass after just over 4000 miles and the fronts going the same way. Never again, will I have those tyres. I think I'll go back to the PZero's unless I can find something better for spirted road / driving tours.

[cseven]

that looks like more negative camber required for the PS4's as opposed to tyres at fault?

Stated as a question as I'm clueless on these things! Interesting the Pirelli's didn't exhibit this.