[flash]

it came time to replace the tires on the SL550. when we bought the car, i made the dealer put a new set of tires on it. unfortunately i did not have a choice in tire, and they put on continental sport contact 3s. these were probably the worst tire i have ever had. i've had a few sets of contis, and hated them all. they have always worn well, but have been noisy, and no wet traction. dry traction was only "ok". the sport contact 3s were the worst ones of any i had tried.



in deciding what to put on the car, my primary concern was wet traction. the car is tail happy, and with the 5.5 liter V8 there was plenty of torque to spin whatever was back there. i searched everything i could find, and for a high performance tire, the pilot super sport did the best in all tests.



when i put them on the car, the guy at the tire shop commented that they were "the best tire money could buy". i chalked it up to salesmanship.



when i left the shop, i could immediately tell the difference. you can always tell a difference, as typically you go from a harder older rubber to a new softer one. but this was a lot more than that. the noise level had changed so much, that instead of the constant drone in the rear, any noise i now heard was from the front. the ride was smoother, and the car didn't dance around on bumps as much.



wet traction is indeed better. i haven't really had a chance to push the car much, but the onramps i've taken it on are no longer filled with the sound and feel of tires at the edge of their grip. i haven't been able to shake the back loose yet in the dry.



so far, these tires are worth every penny. if they made them in the sizes i have on the blue 968, i'd probably go with these next time around.

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[ds968]

Not surprised at all, since its predecessor was also the best tire money could buy, so they just perfected it with the new model

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[Kim]

I bought a set for the 911 - haven't put them on yet but i will in the spring. They were available in the rear size 305-30x19. Surprised you couldn't get a size for your 968. They were also far less expensive than anything else that I could get, but, and not that I care, they are not N-spec.

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[flash]

yup - they do not make it in a 285-30-18, and i don't have the room for anything else. additionally i could not maintain the outside diameter with anything else.



i see this reference all the time, with some people clinging to it like it's important. N spec means nothing other than porsche tested them and they meet their specs. there is no change in the tire, nor is an N spec tire any better just because it has that on it, than any other tire that does not. it's just like a UL listing or a TUV listing. it just means they underwent specific tests to determine compliance with some specification. that "seal of approval" may mean something to some people, but you may actually be getting something less than what you could by limiting yourself to that.



less expensive??? are you sure it's the super sport? they are the most expensive pure street tire out there here in the states.

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[ds968]

There is a Michelin mfg plant in Nova Scotia .. that might explain the low price ( assuming the super sport is one of the models produced there )

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[Kim]

They only make truck tires there.



Set of 4 tires, with all taxes and installation/balancing included, was $2097. That was about $1000 less than the Michelin Pilot Sport (P/S2 or something like it) that I also priced. A set of the same tires for my Cayman, with "only" 265/35 x 19, on the rear, was $2700.

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[flash]

weird. it's the reverse here. well, good on ya. you got a better tire for less money.

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[Kim]

supposedly they have a better treadwear rating (ie longer life). Main reason hat I bought them. Tires every 12,000 km is no fun at that price.

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[Mark]

I've been running these on my Audi since April 2011 (except winter tires are on now) and they are fantastic street tires

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