OverBudget

OK, so 6,200 miles and the rear's were ready for new rubber. I spoke to Tire Rack, as well as America's Tire (Discount Tire), and Les Schwab.

They all basically said two things:

1. Any tire in the size for the car that is performance is not going to wear well (given the torque of the car, the softness of the performance tire, and the rear suspension setup).
2. Any all season type tire is going to make the car handle like crap with summer performance tires on the front and all season winter type tires on the rear.

So, my thought was, if I am going to be buying rear tires every 6,000 miles, I'd rather just buy the cheapest performance type tire possible, as long as it isn't a radical departure if performance or road noise. Tire Rack recommended a Sumitomo Tire (HTR Z III XL) and I upgraded to 265/35/18's (even though I read that 275's might fit).

I got them for $155 each. We'll see. If they are junk, I'll be through them in 3-4 months (faster if I decided to turn off traction control).

nrgy

That might be a wise decision. I opted for the Bridgestone RE050A PP when I changed to 19" wheels, but if they wear as fast as yours did, next time around I may try a cheaper alternative.

prg

Please let us know how they fit and what you think of the performance of the tires. Id like to put some wider rubber on the rear.

mthis

i can tell you 1st hand that 275/35/18 will fit with no ploblem no rubing no b.s.

i also will tell you that for 230 each you can get mickey toms and dont have to worrie about traction. yes people say they are bad in the rain that bull i was driving in the snow with them with no problem i thing they are beter then the stocks and the 275 that i had in my car.

good luck with that ever you do

paulGT3

I can tell you from experience the Bridgestone RE050A PP is a long wear tire (relatively for 500hp cars like ours) and on the Porsche it was not that great of a performance tire. It did outlast any other performance tire
I have used.

prg

Was this on the stock 18" wheel or a wider aftermarket wheel?

Thanks
Patrick

RM-6302

I had this tire on my e92, only they were 19's. The Sumitomo tires,HTR Z III XL, measure narrower than most others. Check the Tirerack specs page and compare the width with any other Max performance tire. The 275 will fit fine. It is as wide as most other 265 tires. That's my 2 cents.

mthis

stock 18

paulGT3

I am going to look at Toyo R888 if I can find them. Depends on the wear of the fronts. In my opinion for a performance tire that wore well on the street the Michilen PS2s were the best value for my performance dollar.
Best wear for performance. My last Porsche came with the PSCup tires and that was basically a R compound and lasted less than 4000 miles.
I want to try the Toyos because of some Porsche reports I have heard on how good and inexpenisve these were. I havent looked yet though