yes....

 

So does this mean no " N rated " Michelin Pilot Super sports since they have not been tested by Porsche like the Michelin Pilot Sports were. I am replacing my rear tires and dealing with this question now. People were saying the PSS are very good tires just no " N rating ". Some were thinking they were going to be on the 991,s and N rated thus increasing the cost of the tires.

 

I saw some other cars at the track with Michelins, like a Cayman, and the wear at the track on the Michelins was terrible!! Meanwhile, I might be able to get a 4th track day from my Perillis. Are you guys that are loving the Michelins tracking them, or only commuting?

 

I do not believe Michelin has released any N rated Super Sports yet.

 

I spoke with a Porsche NA factory guy out of Atlanta that was here in IL for a track day about this topic.... Pirelli has a 3 year exclusive deal with Porsche on the S model's tires. The tires were co-developed... so Porsche had to give them some type of incentive (exclusivity) to avoid having to pay R&D for the tire development. He said don't expect anything other than the PZero's for a few years (in respects to a Porsche approved tire). He said that the major thing I'll see if I change out to the Pilot's will be brake wear in the rear of the car.

He asked me what I thought about the 991... and I complained about the tires... went through a set (front and rear) in a single track day.... That's what prompted the conversation.

P.S. He also said not to run 18" slicks on the track having the 20" OE wheels...... bad idea for a bunch of reasons... but he wouldn't get into details...

 

He told you not to run 18" slicks because 18" wheels will not fir on the car. The rear suspension members hit the inside of an 18" wheel.

 

You just saved me a lot of sweat and tears.

I have Carerra III style 18s from my 997 and I was wondering if I could use them on the 991. I was just going to throw them on and try.

Now I'll be throwing them on Ebay...

Gracias.

DRP

 

The PS2 Michelins wear a lot faster than the pilot super sports.

The super sports are one of those isolated examples of more costing less. All benefit no drawback.

They have better dry and wet grip than PS2
They cost less than PS2
- Here's the real savings for the 911 buyer - They wear much slower particularly on track (michelin's press materials site 50% slower wear rate on track).

My experience with the PSS on the 997.2 confirm this. Its a no brainer choice. A tad more expensive then most other options, but cheaper than its predecessor.

If these P Zeros were less than a set of Pilot Super Sports then I could see people buying them as replacements, but they're more expensive by a few hundred bucks for a set.

Last thing: This is a total editorial comment - In my experience, no tire brand offers a more refined, polished and precise turn in than a Michelin. It improves the steering. Other tires have more initial grip on turn in, which some may prefer, but Michelins, in my opinion, transition into a corner like a smooth motorcycle rider leaning over their bike. Can make the whole car feel more sophisticated. These Pirellis are a little reluctant to turn in - with excellent grip as they do. Anyway, just my 2 cents.


DRP

 

Would someone be so kind as to reply with the 991 specs for the Pilot Super Sports?

Thanks

 

Not sure what you mean by specs. Go to tirerack.com and enter your car's specification and the tire choices along with all specs will appear.

The Pilot Super Sports are slightly higher load rating in the front than the Pirellis 94 vs. 91. They could be marginally heavier, but that's not certain.

What is certain is that they are less expensive!

Also, there's link on the tirerack, or perhaps its on pca.org - so that once you are within the PCA tirerack site, a portion of your purchase gets donated to the PCA. At least that was the case in 2011. Worth checking into.

Regards,
DRP

 

See DRSpeed's comments and know also that I think the latest Porsche spec designation is N4.

ChuckJ

 

[QUOTE=ChuckJthe latest Porsche spec designation is N4.

ChuckJ[/QUOTE]

The "N" represents N rating...porsche approved the numberr that follows N1, N2 is the generation of that specific tire. So a 2011 Pirelli PZero newly introduced with have an N0 rating while a Michelin from 3 years ago could be an N4 rating (3 prior versions of the same michelin having been produced).

Still no N rating for the PSS. I believe some deal with Pirelli expires within a year or so - then the Super Sport will get an N rating I bet.

DRP

 

drspeed is right again, the N designation is not yet on the new 991 sized tires.

ChuckJ

 

Resurrecting this thread because, after almost a year of happy cornering, my OEM P-Zeroes are pretty threadbare, in particular the rears.

Attached is TireRack's comparison of the Michelin PSS, Pirelli P-Zero (non-N) and P-Zero N. (Data where only one tire differs are marked yellow and data where all three tires differ are marked green for easier parsing.)

Assuming the data TireRack gives for the tires isn't totally off, four things jump out at me right away:

1. Their Customer survey ratings are much higher for the PSS.
2. The PSS is designed for less thread wear (300 vs 220). Assuming thread wear is roughly proportional to grip, this means less grip for the PSS.
3. The non-N and N-spec P-Zeros actually differ significantly. In particular, the non-N-spec P-Zero has a much higher front load rating and weighs more in front and less in the back. Section and thread widths differ throughout.
4. There is no significant difference in price for a set of non-N-spec ($1,602) and N-spec ($1,640) P-Zeros.

Seeing that both the PSS and non-N P-Zero are sold for many vehicles, not just the 911, doesn't this support the N-spec-leaning camp? In particular, there doesn't seem to be an "N-spec markup", it seems P-Zeros are just more expensive.

 

I run 19" NB 997 Carrera classics with 888's on the track and its just awesome. The front offsets are pretty close the calipers but they do clear. The rears sit similar to the OEM 20"s against the fender. If they didn't hum so bad I'd have them on the car all the time.

Re MPSS, speaking from my 997T4S experience, it's a no brainer for replacements - they are so plush and grippy. Also, FWIW, I was in the Ferrari showroom on Park Ave this week and noticed most of the new models sported MPSS.