I have been an avid reader of posts and responses on this forum for the past 12 months. From considering my purchase, to taking the plunge and throughout my first 9 months of ownership. It has been an extremely helpful resource so far and I am sure that will continue.
As a brief background, I bought the car in January (2019). At the time is was just over 12 months old and with 2,750 miles on the clock. It is my first Porsche and is modestly specified as that was my only route into the brand from an affordability point of view. Plus to their credit, Porsche Cardiff gave me an unbelievable deal!
The time has now come to change the rear tyres. It is currently running the stock Pirelli's. Similar to other comments I have seen on the forum, it is not my preferred tyre of choice and I have had great experiences with the Michelin Pilot Sport range. However, finding alternatives is proving very difficult.
Out of habit my first port of call was to search the national groups (Kwik Fit, Halfords, ATS, National etc.) but surprising to me none stock 265/45/18's in the ordinary course. Local branches are required to source tyres independently. As you can imagine, this has proven difficult and if and when quotes have been returned, expensive! I have never used sites such as Blackcircles and Motokiki but both returned options for Pirelli, Michelin PS and Goodyear EF1A's, the latter 2 I would much prefer.
Porsche Cardiff have quoted me for 2 new Pirelli's, not too dissimilar to the price on the comparison sites. On asking for alternative options I was told Michelin no longer produce front or tyres for my required size and as Porsche do not hold stock over 12 months it is not something they could help with. Goodyear have stopped producing tyres for the front but still produce rear tyres. As above, the Goodyear's would be my preferred choice and are slightly cheaper than the Pirelli's.
However, as I have Pirelli's on the front Porsche Cardiff will not allow me to have Goodyear's on the rear. It is the first time I have come across that response from any tyre provider. I understand the logic behind tyre mixing but slightly shocked that Porsche would refuse to supply tyres on the basis that the brands differ between both axles. The only option would be to change all 4 tyres (the fronts not due for at least another 5k) and there is no manufacturer that still supplies both front and rears?!
It has left me a little stumped as it seems I am left with the choice of replacing the Pirelli's like for like via Porsche or using Blackcirlces (which I am slightly hesitant of) and potentially running into the same problem further down the line.
It would be interesting to hear of any other similar experiences and/or views.
