I'm sure this is somewhere on this site, however I don't have much luck with the search bar!
Anyway I was researching some new tires and wondering if anyone would like to chime in with what's the best choice these days.
Also any great deals - better than tire rack?

 

Of course, the best tire depends on what car you're driving. I'll assume that would be a 997 911S. If so, two tires are prevalent :
1.) Michelin Pilot Sport PS2: the defacto "officially" proper Porsche tire, N-spec, expensive, not the greatest in rain but all round excellent performance tire, some say tread life isn't greatest
2.) Michelin Super Sports: cheaper more recently developed tire, some say is superior to mpsps2, with better road handling in wet and longer tread life, not N-spec though which some say has justification. This tire has become very popular and was on back order..not sure if still true.

 

Thx I' have a 06c4s when I bought the car the dealer put Bridgestone potenza

 

Michelin Super Sports, there really isn't anything better out there. Discount tires will match tirerack's price, sometimes they are cheaper.

 

If you are in LA, I can hook you up.

 

I went with Bridgestone S04's. Just broke them in so don't have much feedback yet.

I was considering the Michelin Super Sport and they were available at Tirerack when I was shopping.

 

I have been running on PS2s since I can remember - M3s, M5, and now the 911. I cannot recall what my car had on it on the lot, but I had them swap them out to PS2s for delivery.

I have never not been happy with these tires. So much of the ride and feel of a car like this is the tires. I liken it to guitar strings; new strings feels like new guitar. I'd put the same tire back on the car it was designed and shipped with if possible.

I have not tired the Super Sports, but I have never felt the need to look for another tire. The last time I had something else delivered on an M3, they bugged me to death and I had the dealer swap them out as well. Of course that was years ago, so who knows.

 

after the 2014 Xmas trip from HOU - DAL, I am convinced MPSS are the best tires i ever driven with. From start to finish road condition was wet from heavy rain, ambient temperature was sub 50* F.

 

I would like to chime in with a question. Are the MPSS the best 'grip' tires. I don't care about longevity, I would rather replace them often as long as they grip the road well. My C4s seems very well stable at high speeds in curves, but I always have some concern. My previous sports cars were both Lotus esprits. Mid engine and really grabbed the road well -- but once I almost killed myself when I bought tires, the dealer did not know any better and the rubber compound was too hard. The difference in tire compounds grabbing the road was tremendous ! A woman at the dealership actually caught the error and told me about the compounds and of course they took the tires back and ordered me the right ones. So I worry about putting hard-compound tires on a rear-engine car.

 

I just bought a set of Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 in 235/35R19 and 305/30R19. I had great success with them on my Subaru BRZ and decided to get a set for the 911. I managed about 16k miles and a few auto-x events before the tires got to 4/32nds. I was worried they would be noisy with such wide rear tires on this car but I would say the noise level is about the same as they were with the older Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's. I've only had them on for 3 days but so far they are extremely eager to go around off ramps; I look forward to getting to the track and auto-x courses this year!

 

corey, keep us posted on the abilities of the potenzas !

 

Given the supply issues with the 305/30R19 rear MPSS, I don't think I'd buy them, even if they are the best tire out there. I'd want to be able to replace a matching pair if I need to, and with the Michelin that seems to be an issue.

Despite my experience with Bridgestones and "the morning shakes" (overnight flat-spotting) I would likely get the S04s. They offer 95% or more of the performance of the MPSS. ready availability, and excellent pricing traded off against lightly shorter treadlife than the MPSS. One big benefit with S04 is the very responsive turning, most consider it superior to the Michelins in that respect.

 

I went with the SO4's as well. Very good grip, but begins tell think the side wall rigidity is much less than the MPSS. I miss the MPSS and will get them next. But the SO4s are a good value.

 

MPSS are one of the best street gripping tires for our cars. To get better traction you will need to ensure your contact patch is optimized. For the 997's front negative camber is pretty mild with stock settings. Look to go closer to GT3 settings of -1.5 degrees for better cornering. But the front suspension has issues in its stock form going that high. Look into front camber plates for the tops of the struts or swapping to GT3 style split lower control arms.

To get even better grip step up to track tires like Michelin Cup 2 tires or the like. These tires have tremendous grip and will wear really fast. But they really need extreme negative camber to maximize the contact patch, upwards of -2.5 degrees or so. Warning though, using track tires designed for high negative camber with stock 997 alignment settings is not a good idea - you will be riding on the outside edges of the track tires.

So really the answer is not quite better gripping tires but improving the suspension. The 997 C4S is a great car setup more like a daily driver but works on the track. A GT3 is a great car too setup for the track but works on the street. A GT3 RS is a great car setup only for the track. You will get better cornering like the Lotus through suspension mods - more aggressive alignment settings, replacing rubber suspension bits with monoballs, stiffer sway bars, coilovers and so on. As you look at suspension differences from a C4S to GT3 to GT3 RS these are the things that change.

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I ended up with the re11s as well and so far so good