[Lord_Galva]

Not just your 968's brand of tire but any tire brand you get on a consistent basis.

Because you like the price, performance, reliability, or you just like the salesperson. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

My current fav's are Kumho and Bridgestone. Although I'm still flip flopping around.

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[PorscheDude]

Check the comparisons on tirerack. All the data is there.

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[Lord_Galva]

<!--quoteo(post=76555:date=Jul 31 2009, 11:42 AM:name=PorscheDude)-->QUOTE (PorscheDude @ Jul 31 2009, 11:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Check the comparisons on tirerack. All the data is there.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I know that.
I want personal experience.

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[PorscheDude]

The data collected there is personal experiance with reviews posted by Joe Shmoe.
I think you'll get better information from a larger pool of people.
This is a narrow group to get unbiased information from.

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[Anchorman]

So I'm going to offer my biased opinion (is there really such a thing as an "unbiased opinion"?)

I LOVE my Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires. Amazing grip in dry AND WET. Purchased with wheels from Wheel Enhancement.

   

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[sbdrivingdotcom]

I did all the research and the current best DRY performing tire is the Sumitomo HTRZ III. Since I don't drive in the rain, I went for this tire and the best part about it is that I paid $500 for all 4 including mounting and balancing. They are a steal. Drove home on PCH from LA and really enjoyed the them. They seem even a tad bit quieter than my Michelins, with good grip. Looking forward to testing them out a bit more tomorrow on Flash's fun run. Honestly, I did a lot of research and you really can't be the tire at nearly any price.

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[Johannvb]

I like Bridgestone and Continental. Currently running Continental Sportontact3 all round on the 968. I like them, but next time I am puting on Bridgestone's Potenza S-03 Pole Position...they just look cooler.

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[PhilG968]

I just purchased Sumitomo HTRZ III for my 968, probably have more than 5,000 miles on them.
Very impressed, I was a Yokohama fan for a long time.
I'm staying with Sumitomo HTRZ III, they are impressive.

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[Fox944]

I'm a huge fan of Michelin Tires. last 3 sets of tires i purchased have been Michelin's.

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[flash]

i don't think you can have a "favorite brand" of tire for all cars anymore - there are way too many new models coming out every year, and they are far too use specific - heck, in the last few months alone, i have seen 3 different new tires that have come out that i might use on the 968 alone, let alone considering anything for the bmw or the denali

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[Cloud9...68]

I had a set of Kumho Ecsta's when I first bought the car, and they were HORRIBLE. I switched from these to Goodyear F1 GS-D3's, and found them to be a huge improvement over the Kumho's. When the Goodyears wore out (thanks to a heavy track habit), I went went Sumitomo HTRZIIIs. Unbelievable. They were as big an improvement over the Goodyear's as the Goodyears were over the Kumho's. They knocked at least a second off my lap time, at a track where a 40 sec lap is about where I had been running (huge percentage improvement, in other words). At a much cheaper price, too. It's not very often that I'm this passionate about a product, but I really think buying anything else amounts to throwing your money away.

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[ds968]

I used to think all inexpensive tires undoubtedly use substandard materials and mfg processes, are plagued by lack of quality control and prone to disaster, but we've seen even Michelins can have defects - recent sidewall bubble post duly noted - so I'm not so sure anymore inexpensive equals "poorly made or sub-performing " . I would still probably not touch anything made in China ( knowingly.. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img] ) but otherwise I'm pretty open to testing new tires.

I think manufactures have closed the gap amongst them in terms of research, engineering, and production technology so I really wonder if any given brand is necessarily better than another , with respect to the same
level of tire ( max perf. summer for example )

Sooo many enticing choices though are not necessarily a good thing; difficult decisions which one to get [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I do think the Tire Rack customer reviews are very helpful so I pick based on my own preferences hierarchy:
dry conditions handling, tire weight, noise level and tread design, in that order.. with the rest of the factors being of little importance. Regardless of mfg, for the 968 I will stay within the top three best rated, for the other cars noise level becomes no 1, with tread wear in the 2nd spot and dry/wet handling in 3rd..

On the 968 I have Ultrac Sessanta by Vredestein ( and I do miss my former PS2 , as well as the Yokohama S1Z I had previous to that which I think is the best tire ever, I have driven on any car ) , on the MBZ I have Michelin Energy ( and I really miss the Yokohamas DBS I had before ) on the SUV we have Yokohama Geolanders which
look and feel brand new after nearly 40k miles on them, but I hate their look, and my son drives his Altima on some obscure Michelins whose name does not immediately come to mind.. I drove his car and they are incredibly quiet and very responsive.

Next tire for the 968 to be tested is going to be either the Advan Neova , Sumitomo HTRZ, or the Bridgestone RE050A,
whichever is lighter !

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[sbdrivingdotcom]

One of the main differences in pricing between the major brands (Michelin, Goodyear, etc.) is marketing. Blimps, television ads, billboards, etc. are expensive and are costs that are paid for by the customer. This is one reason why Sumitomo can offer such an extraordinary tire at such a phenomenal price. I have to agree with Cloud in that spending money on any other tires is throwing your money away. I almost got the Advan Neovas but the extra money just wasn't worth it for performance that wasn't better.

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[ds968]

Then again, if Michelin PS2s are good enough to be the OE on a Veyron, they should be good enough for my 968

Of course, one would have to trade in an entire 968 in concours condition for just a set of those

$ 17,000... add wheels, and it's $ 50,000 . I wonder if Tire Rack has them in stock [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

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[stewhatch]

Recently read a tire test in a car mag that escapes me right now. They tested the Sumitomo HTRZIII, Nanking (?), Bridgestone RE050, Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, Yokohama S Drive, Kuhmo Ecsta SPT, Hankook Ventus, Toyo, Continental Contisport 3, Pirelli P Zero, and I can't remember if Goodyear or BF Goodrich tires were tested. I could have left one or two out. They ran an autocross and other tests using a Subie IIRC and tested wet / dry / braking etc. they used the Michelin PS2's as the benchmark for the comparison. The Kuhmo's were among the top performers until things got wet, then they seemed to fail badly. There were a slew of handling and braking comparisons - I wish I remembered more specifics -and the Dunlops actually came up as the clear winner, even besting the Michelins. They were top two in dry and top in the wet. I was surprised - always thought the Michelins were the better tire. Mind you this was a subjective test and personal opinion and "feel' would prevail over any published scores. I wonder if the final results would change if a different car was used to test?

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[PorscheDude]

I do have pilots at the moment.
Probably me second favorite after the SO2's.

I had some P Zeros and I thought they were the worst ever.
Lots of tramlining with them.

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[ds968]

I remember the Dunlops being the best handling tire on my 944.. and since I put a q

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[ds968]

I remember the Dunlops ( can't recall the type though.. "SP" or something.. ) being the best handling tire on my 944.. as well as durable and quiet to top it all. And I put a quarter million + miles on that car, so I went trough a lot of tires and never using the same brand, it's just that those stuck in my memory as being heads and shoulders above the rest. Not sure why I never considered Dunlops for the 968 [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif[/img]

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[stewhatch]

<!--quoteo(post=76582:date=Jul 31 2009, 07:46 PM:name=ds968)-->QUOTE (ds968 @ Jul 31 2009, 07:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I remember the Dunlops ( can't recall the type though.. "SP" or something.. ) being the best handling tire on my 944.. as well as durable and quiet to top it all. And I put a quarter million + miles on that car, so I went trough a lot of tires and never using the same brand, it's just that those stuck in my memory as being heads and shoulders above the rest. Not sure why I never considered Dunlops for the 968 [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif[/img]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm currently running Dunlop SP8000 Sports and I'm quite happy with them. They certainly are durable. I'm dying for these to wear out so I can try some different rubber, but that may take a while.

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[Cloud9...68]

<!--quoteo(post=76573:date=Jul 31 2009, 07:11 PM:name=stewhatch)-->QUOTE (stewhatch @ Jul 31 2009, 07:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Recently read a tire test in a car mag that escapes me right now. They tested the Sumitomo HTRZIII, Nanking (?), Bridgestone RE050, Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec, Yokohama S Drive, Kuhmo Ecsta SPT, Hankook Ventus, Toyo, Continental Contisport 3, Pirelli P Zero, and I can't remember if Goodyear or BF Goodrich tires were tested. I could have left one or two out. They ran an autocross and other tests using a Subie IIRC and tested wet / dry / braking etc. they used the Michelin PS2's as the benchmark for the comparison. The Kuhmo's were among the top performers until things got wet, then they seemed to fail badly. There were a slew of handling and braking comparisons - I wish I remembered more specifics -and the Dunlops actually came up as the clear winner, even besting the Michelins. They were top two in dry and top in the wet. I was surprised - always thought the Michelins were the better tire. Mind you this was a subjective test and personal opinion and "feel' would prevail over any published scores. I wonder if the final results would change if a different car was used to test?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That was Car & Driver, and unfortunately they didn't include the Sumi HTRZIII's in their test. To DS968's point about Chinese tires, they did include a tire called Ling Long (never heard of them before), and they finished dead last in every category, usually by a wide margin, so I would stay away from Chinese tires for a few years. But eventually, I'm sure they'll be competitive.

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