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Tyre recommendations for 987 Cayman S

Craiglm68

New member
Hi all, I tried the Search function that supposedly is now fixed, but turned up 0 responses, so at the risk of sounding like a stuck record....here goes.

To keep it simple, I'm looking to go with Michelin....just not entirely sure about the difference between the various models, and which one has superseded what!

Pilot Sport's seem to get a great rap, Pilot Sport 2's as well, and I get the impression the Pilot Sport 4's are the upgrade to 1 of/both of these.

Driving repertoire is primarily on the roads (spirited at times), with a couple of track days each year.

Cheers
Craig
 
No doubt our tyre expert will be along soon to set you straight ....You will get different views from owners but my experience is Michelins as a brand offer that bit more overall. I have MPS2 on my 987 Spyder but on the 981 Spyder it was shod with Pirellis PZ which I think are not as good in the wet why they fitted them no idea as the GT4 got Michelins , and they do not have a good rim protectors .Heard on several forums the new MPS4 is the one to go with but are not available in all the sizes ,as it will be a few years hopefully before I need any who knows what is the best to buy .

 
you were wrong about the PS4 sorry to say that's a replacement for the PS3 ;-)

MPSS was a replacement for the PS2 and now the PS4S has replaced the MPSS.

PS4S is the current king of normal tyres.

 
See I told you the expert will be along soon to tell us !! cannot keep up with all these codes

 
As I've posted elsewhere, I have the PS4Ss (note that the Pilot Sport 4S is not the same as the Pilot Sport 4) on my 987.1S and they are absolutely amazing. I will definitely be sticking with these going forward. Mine aren't N-rated because I put them on about 7 months ago before the N-rated tyres were released.

Have done one *extremely* wet track day at Donnington (https://youtu.be/WYMKy_4RqIc and https://youtu.be/UA2E30ktQ98 [:)]) on them and was really really impressed with the wet performance, making them an excellent all-round tyre in my opinion.

 
I have the GY F1 assymetrics all round.

Whilst they may not be as good as the seemingly fabled MPS4S for outright (legal road tyre) track performance I have found them to be excellent as a daily driver in wet and dry. Great road surface contact feedback (it feels like I can feel every thing they touch right up into the steering wheel), very confident grip, with progressive ‘slip’ break away in the wet / muddy road surface (I hit some a few months back on a sweeping left hand bend thanks to sloppy farmers not caring what their tractors drop on the roads round me and the back end broke away slightly and gradually but felt very correctable and came back in line).

I drove them at Oulton Park a few weeks back on a cold and damp (but drying out) track (5-6 laps at a time, did about 30 laps total) and they never felt lacking in grip, nor did they wear heavily.

My my only criticism is they are utterly useless on snow/ice as I could not even get out of our estate back in Jan / Feb and the car sat on the drive during both weeks of heavy snow fall.

I use either oponeo or mytyres online (whichever is cheapest at the time) and a full set on 19s is circa £560, then my local fitting Centre charge me about £60 for balance and fitting.

No doubt, if I was tracking every weekend, or perhaps every month at least I’d go for the MPS4S, but for the 3-4 track days I have planned this year and the 6000-7000 road miles I think the GY are perfect, and 20-25% cheaper than the Michelin.

Id say if youre really needing the full performance charactistics of the MPS4S over the GY on the road then you are most likely driving way too fast..... 😉🏎🏎🏎

 
If you are tracking every week end you buy a cup2, not a road tyre.

the PS4s is a road tyre and far better and safer in the wet than the Goodyear’s.

ps4s last longer than the goodyears so the 20% you save you loose in miles And performance.

making the PS4s cheaper over all :) so the better and safer buy.

i like good years don’t get me wrong ran a set on my R, and as you say more rear end fun (as less grip) but they go off at 3mm where PS4s keep the performance right down to the limit. But wet weather performance is night and day with the PS4s, you say the good years were running poor on snow, I have run 2 cars all though winter on the PS4s it’s been outstanding in the snow.

I got pissed off last winter and it was a mild one with the F1 with lack of rear end traction.

 
Dependent on whether you have a warranty or your insurer insists quite possibly without telling you that you must use N rated tyres, Michelin PS2 are good but as D says I have heard great things of the PS4, few say much about the Goodyears although I used to be a Goodyear fan things changed over the years so current offerings...

Are PS4's now N rated?

 
Buddy said:
Dependent on whether you have a warranty or your insurer insists quite possibly without telling you that you must use N rated tyres, Michelin PS2 are good but as D says I have heard great things of the PS4, few say much about the Goodyears although I used to be a Goodyear fan things changed over the years so current offerings...

Are PS4's now N rated?

just a few pointers

insurance people don’t care about N spec, as long as they are the right size.

2nd don’t confuse PS4 with PS4S, these 2 quotes might confuse people.

 
Windy_Miller said:
I have the GY F1 assymetrics all round.

Whilst they may not be as good as the seemingly fabled MPS4S for outright (legal road tyre) track performance I have found them to be excellent as a daily driver in wet and dry. Great road surface contact feedback (it feels like I can feel every thing they touch right up into the steering wheel), very confident grip, with progressive ‘slip’ break away in the wet / muddy road surface (I hit some a few months back on a sweeping left hand bend thanks to sloppy farmers not caring what their tractors drop on the roads round me and the back end broke away slightly and gradually but felt very correctable and came back in line).

I drove them at Oulton Park a few weeks back on a cold and damp (but drying out) track (5-6 laps at a time, did about 30 laps total) and they never felt lacking in grip, nor did they wear heavily.

My my only criticism is they are utterly useless on snow/ice as I could not even get out of our estate back in Jan / Feb and the car sat on the drive during both weeks of heavy snow fall.

I use either oponeo or mytyres online (whichever is cheapest at the time) and a full set on 19s is circa £560, then my local fitting Centre charge me about £60 for balance and fitting.

No doubt, if I was tracking every weekend, or perhaps every month at least I’d go for the MPS4S, but for the 3-4 track days I have planned this year and the 6000-7000 road miles I think the GY are perfect, and 20-25% cheaper than the Michelin.

Id say if youre really needing the full performance charactistics of the MPS4S over the GY on the road then you are most likely driving way too fast..... 😉🏎🏎🏎
I have a set of Goodyear Asymmetric 2 on my Boxster S which was previously shod with Asymmetric 1 tyres. The difference between the tyres and this is where N rating comes into play is the diameter of the tyres. They were both 18" tyres but the later tyre was slightly larger than the earlier tyres from Goodyear. This caused the tyre to slightly rub on the inner arch when the car was on full lock but the ironic thing was that it was always the front right tyre which rubbed.

I spoke to Goodyear about this issue and the engineer from their technical department informed me it was all about tolerances of build this is why N rated tyres are more expensive and promoted by Porsche it's all about the tolerances/control of build. My Cayman runs on N rated tyres and I shall probable stick with that rating.

Ray

 
MrDemon said:
If you are tracking every week end you buy a cup2, not a road tyre.

the PS4s is a road tyre and far better and safer in the wet than the Goodyear’s.

ps4s last longer than the goodyears so the 20% you save you loose in miles And performance.

making the PS4s cheaper over all :) so the better and safer buy.

i like good years don’t get me wrong ran a set on my R, and as you say more rear end fun (as less grip) but they go off at 3mm where PS4s keep the performance right down to the limit. But wet weather performance is night and day with the PS4s, you say the good years were running poor on snow, I have run 2 cars all though winter on the PS4s it’s been outstanding in the snow.

I got ****ed off last winter and it was a mild one with the F1 with lack of rear end traction.

i agree with your point re cup 2s (if I was tracking very regularly and not using on road). my point being though, that as a daily road driver (with only 3/4 track days a year - and I’m no track ‘pilot’) the GYs seem a perfectly good ‘all round’ performance tyre at 20-25% less than MPS4S.

If i was tracking every month (ie 10+ events a year (and was a faster track driver 😉)) and still using as a daily road driver, then I would probably move to the MPS4S.

I was not aware that the GY wear quicker than the MPS4S, nor that the GY become less capable below 3mm, so yes your point about the Michelin’s being a better value proposition in the long term would make sense.

Once these GYs have run out then I think I’ll give the MPS4S a try just to see if they are as much the ‘dogs danglies’ as everyone reckons they are. I’d be happy just to be able to make it off the estate in snow for starters.... 😁

cheers

Jason

 
Hi Craig,

I can only comment on my experience having owned a Boxster, Cayman S and now a 911 Gen 2 C2S, I have tried P Zero's, Bridge stones on the Boxster and Cayman but found the Bridgestones on the Cayman S to be very noisey, having now changed to Continental I am really please and will certainly buy again these tyres again when the times comes, I would suggest you also have a look at the DB ratings for all the tyres as it very interesting to see the difference in road noise.

Good luck with you choice,

regards

Pete

 
Craig,

Regarding tyre choice for your 987 Cayman S.

Going by what you posed as your original question, without any reservations whatsoever I would recommend you fit Michelin PS4S tyres. I am assuming your CS has 19" wheels.

Michelin do not make the PS4S in the N-rated version for 19" wheels. Currently the N-rated version is only available in 20" sizes. The tyre was primarily destined only for the 718 Boxster/Cayman at launch, but was delayed 12 months for further testing by Porsche and Michelin. The final N-rated result is an astonishingly capable road/track tyre for your Porsche.

The sidewall construction of the N-rated version of the PS4S differs from the non-rated, insofar as the rim protection ridge is much more pronounced giving a "chunkier" look to the tyre. The sidewalls of the N-rated tyre are also stiffer and provide superb steering feel. My recent track test at Knockhill demonstrated a wet road performance as the best I have ever experienced of any tyre over 10 years of Porsche ownership. They are also quieter on the road than the Pirelli P-Zero N1.

Michelin recommend the PS4S for drivers who use their performance car for 80% road touring, 20% track days.

You will pay a premium in price for the Michelin PS4S, but the all-round performance of the tyre is well worth the extra.

Best of luck with your choice.

Brian

 
Cheers Brian, thanks for the detail there, I whole heartily agree (unfortunately my CS is on 18" (at least re accessing the PS4S's).

 
No one seems to have mentioned Continentals so far and I feel I must give them a shout. I replaced the PZeros that came on my car after only c. 10k miles as I thought they were rubbish. The Continental Sport Contact 6 won the EVO magazine 2016 tyre test and I certainly found them a great improvement, both for road and sprint/hillclimb use. The only small problem is they are not available in N spec so would not be acceptable if you are trying to arrange a Porsche warranty. I have not yet tried and Michelins so may have a go for them next time.

 
Steve Lyle said:
No one seems to have mentioned Continentals so far and I feel I must give them a shout. I replaced the PZeros that came on my car after only c. 10k miles as I thought they were rubbish. The Continental Sport Contact 6 won the EVO magazine 2016 tyre test and I certainly found them a great improvement, both for road and sprint/hillclimb use. The only small problem is they are not available in N spec so would not be acceptable if you are trying to arrange a Porsche warranty. I have not yet tried and Michelins so may have a go for them next time.

they might be ok, as you notice EVO DO NOT test PS4S vs Continental Sport 6, as the EVO tests are Continental bias and sponsored , I had a set did not like them , don't trust the tests so would never buy them. any thing is better than a P zero so, I guess Continental would feel great over those shitty tyres.

As they are not N spec there is zero reason to choose them over a PS4S imo.

 
This may have been discussed elsewhere already, but seems a pertinent question to ask in this thread.

Are the MPS4S N rated in a 19” size yet?

im not intending to open up the endless ‘to fit N rated, or not to fit N rated’ debate, just seeking to confirm N rated availability (or not).

Having looked on Michelins own website they appear not to be.

 
Windy_Miller said:
Are the MPS4S N rated in a 19” size yet?

no and there never will be as they only get tested on new cars. (I doubt they even get tested on new cars really) but you know what I mean, if a P zero can pass an N spec rating then a £60 ditch finder can.

 

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