Replacing rear tyres on a 981 Boxster Spyder - Advice sought

[paul08]

Right gents, some advice please:


The rears on my 981 Spyder will soon need replacing. They are currently Pirelli P Zero 265/35 ZR20 (95Y). Oh, and I live in Chester

a) The P Zero was the only N rated tyre for the 981 Spyder when new and the only one listed in the handbook. Are there now other tyres that are either homologated for my car or available in N rating that I should be considering?

b) The car has the Porsche Extended Warranty: are there any issues to be born in mind if moving away from the Pirellis? e.g to Michelins

c) Where can I get the best price for supply and fitting, particularlu with respect to them not damaging the rims when fitting the tyres

d) And finally, do any of the OPCs do some sort of price match? And, if so, will they only fit the Pirellis?

Many thanks

 

[Wollemi]

The Porsche warranty will require the same tyres to be fitted all round, so if you are only replacing the rears you will have to stay with Pirelli- unfortunately.

if you change all four then I believe that the Michelin PS4S is now available in an N rated version in sizes for 20” wheels and they will be very much better than the Pirellis. Warranty does require that tyres are N rated.

It‘s worth asking your OPC if they will give you a good deal, they might well price match if you‘ve been a good customer. They should be happy to fit any N rated tyre in your size.

 

[paul08]

The Porsche warranty will require the same tyres to be fitted all round, so if you are only replacing the rears you will have to stay with Pirelli- unfortunately.

if you change all four then I believe that the Michelin PS4S is now available in an N rated version in sizes for 20” wheels and they will be very much better than the Pirellis. Warranty does require that tyres are N rated.

It‘s worth asking your OPC if they will give you a good deal, they might well price match if you‘ve been a good customer. They should be happy to fit any N rated tyre in your size.

I must check with them whether there would be an issue if, with the original P Zero N0's on the front, I wished to put the newer N1's on the back

 

[Wollemi]

I'm afraid to tell you that they normally insist on the same N number are around.

your front tyres must be fairly worn now, on my car, admittedly a 987 The front and rear wear at much the same rate. Of course you have got more power going through your rear tyres much I’m surprised it makes that much difference.

 

[MrDemon]

don't buy P zero's !!!

 

[Dylan1]

Michelin PS4 not available N rated on rears I’m afraid
I’ve just bought a set N rated fronts but not N rated rears so stuff the OPC warranty??

 

[Wollemi]

Michelin PS4 not available N rated on rears I’m afraid
I’ve just bought a set N rated fronts but not N rated rears so stuff the OPC warranty??

Hope you actually bought PS4S and not PS4, which is a very different and inferior tyre

 

[Dylan1]

Michelin PS4 not available N rated on rears I’m afraid
I’ve just bought a set N rated fronts but not N rated rears so stuff the OPC warranty??

Hope you actually bought PS4S and not PS4, which is a very different and inferior tyre

Sorry for absence of detail !!
yes they’re PS4S

 

[Gorsh]

I'm concerned about my rear tyres - I have recently noticed that apart from the edge the outside third of both rear tyres is worn smooth, the tyre tread isn't as deep that side on P Zero's but last time I looked at them before my recent 2000 mile trip to Belgium and Germany there was visible tread across the tyres, now they seem much more worn. The car is almost 4 years old and has only completed a total of 9400 miles with about 5500 miles of that being driven by me since I bought the car last July. The fronts have plenty of tread left and are wearing pretty evenly, the car steers straight and up until now I thought it handled well. One other thing is that PTV is fitted, I'm not sure if it brakes one rear wheel on corners all the time, or just when cornering very hard - it is noticeable that there is no sign of a hint of understeer on my car, it always turns in well so I expect that is with the help of the PTV. If the PTV is always braking a rear wheel I wonder how much that causes premature tyre wear, as I think 9400 miles from rear tyres is very poor - does anyone agree, or is that reasonable?
https://i.imgur.com/36ePXya.jpg

 

[Motorhead]

Gordon,

I’d be inclined to get the geometry checked - it looks as though you’ve got excess toe-in - and the tyres are barely legal.

It’s not unusual for the rear tyres to wear much faster than the fronts. The fronts on my 987.2 CS were good for 18k miles whereas I got through two sets of rears in that time, although that’s including track days. I’m running Pirelli P-Zeros, which aren’t the best of tyres, and other makes possibly could give better wear.

Although PTV could be a factor, I’d expect that it would cause more brake pad/disc wear than tyre wear, but you never know.

Jeff

 

[Gorsh]

Gordon,

I’d be inclined to get the geometry checked - it looks as though you’ve got excess toe-in - and the tyres are barely legal.

It’s not unusual for the rear tyres to wear much faster than the fronts. The fronts on my 987.2 CS were good for 18k miles whereas I got through two sets of rears in that time, although that’s including track days. I’m running Pirelli P-Zeros, which aren’t the best of tyres, and other makes possibly could give better wear.

Although PTV could be a factor, I’d expect that it would cause more brake pad/disc wear than tyre wear, but you never know.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, I was surprised to see how much they had worn on my Euro trip of 2000 miles, and yes I think they look dodgy too, but the tread depth on the edge is still OK as is the remaining 60% approx, the P Zeros tread is noticeably shallower on that part of the tyre so I'm not sure if they would be considered legal or not - but in any case I don't fancy trusting them any more so they will be changed!

 

[Gorsh]

Michelin PS4 not available N rated on rears I’m afraid
I’ve just bought a set N rated fronts but not N rated rears so stuff the OPC warranty??

I'm thinking of trying PS4S tyres on my BGTS Dylan, and they are available N rated in my sizes (235/35 ZR20 Y, and 265/35 ZR20 Y) - I thought the Spyder had the same tyres? Blackcircles is where I found them available, and I have heard of others fitting them so I'm sure they are out there.

 

[Dylan1]

Michelin PS4 not available N rated on rears I’m afraid
I’ve just bought a set N rated fronts but not N rated rears so stuff the OPC warranty??

I'm thinking of trying PS4S tyres on my BGTS Dylan, and they are available N rated in my sizes (235/35 ZR20 Y, and 265/35 ZR20 Y) - I thought the Spyder had the same tyres? Blackcircles is where I found them available, and I have heard of others fitting them so I'm sure they are out there.

Trust me they aren’t out there for the 991
i have a friend in the trade and he tried everything!,

 

[Gorsh]

Trust me they aren’t out there for the 991
i have a friend in the trade and he tried everything!,

Ah - right! I thought you were talking about 981 models (as the thread is about 981 Spyder).

 

[Wollemi]

....... I think 9400 miles from rear tyres is very poor - does anyone agree, or is that reasonable?

I think that’s very reasonable, from a Spyder with 385bhp. I only get about 8.5k miles from a full set of PS2s on my 987.2 with only 310bhp.

Additionally, the fronts have always worn at the same rate as the rears, and I do get the geometry done at once a year.

I do about 5 track days a year