Bridgestone RE-050, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 or Pirelli P Zero

[masraum]

I am going to get new tires for the boxster soon, 235 35 19 and 265 35 19.

Of these three tires, which has the best grip

Pirelli P Zero

Bridgestone RE-050

Michelin Pilot Sport PS2

The car's currently running the Bridgestones. I've been driving on them for a year. They are dated 2012. I'm a huge fan of Bridgestone tires, but not these. I have not been impressed with their level of grip.

I'm thinking Michelins.

What has your experience been.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I've never liked Pirelli and they typically finish mid-pack in comparison tests. The Michelins are great tires but super pricey. I like the RE050A but they are way overpriced due to the pointless N rating. Personally I think the best balance of performance and price are the Potenza S04, which should be available in a matched set for your Boxster S. I've put a bunch of them on a variety of cars and always been happy, and their Tire Rack survey results are very high.

[Tobra]

Bridgestone RE11 or RE71R will be plenty grippy

[Pazuzu]

Pilot Super Sport. Cheaper and sticky-er than the PS2, they are actually sticky to the touch (not R compound sticky, but damned sticky compared to street tires). They are far better than the Conti DW that they replaced.

[Nostril Cheese]

i've always used Bridgestone. Good tires.

[cstreit]

P zero is obnoxiously loud. Replaced ours mid life on the GTI it was so bad.

[ckelly78z]

I guess i'm biased, I work for Bridgestone. I would go with the RE-11 for an all out performance tire that you can drive to the track. It has good rain performance and sticks really well without having to warm up first. There might be other tires out there that outperform it, but they can't handle the wet surfaces or hard corners with cold tires.

Speaking of "cold", none of the super sticky tires have much grip at, or near freezing temperatures, so it's mostly a 3 season tire.

[onewhippedpuppy]

RE11 or Pilot Super Sport are also both very good tires.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Bridgestone RE11 or RE71R will be plenty grippy

I haven't tried the 71s yet.

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

I guess i'm biased, I work for Bridgestone. I would go with the RE-11 for an all out performance tire that you can drive to the track. It has good rain performance and sticks really well without having to warm up first. There might be other tires out there that outperform it, but they can't handle the wet surfaces or hard corners with cold tires.

Speaking of "cold", none of the super sticky tires have much grip at, or near freezing temperatures, so it's mostly a 3 season tire.

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

RE11 or Pilot Super Sport are also both very good tires.

I do really love the RE11s. I've had several sets and the grip is phenomenal and the ride is pretty nice too for a performance tire.

[Tobra]

Talked to a guy with 71's on his BRZ when I was autocrossing last month. He said they were better than the 11's for grip, but a little noisier. Probably what I go with when I get wheels and tires. Toyo makes a pretty darn good tire in that class too.

Just leave the car in the garage if a blue norther blows through.

[silverc4s]

Pilot Super Sport

[JavaBrewer]

My DD (freeway mostly) 996 has PS2 with about 15K miles on them and they are very noisy on the highway. Almost to the point of drowning out the stereo. Rears are down to 20% life and fronts are easily 50% or more.

[David]

I've used the Michelin and Pirelli and my choice is the Michelin. I've been temped to try the Bridgestone though.

[Cajundaddy]

Max dry grip= RE71R

Road manners similar to PS2 at 50% price:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+S-04+Pole+Position&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=635YR9S04PPXL&tab=Sizes

[Deschodt]

It's pretty rare you'll find someone who can cogently compare 3 different tires, hardly anyone runs them back to back on their car for an accurate answer. Some of it is very personal too... It's pretty common people will recommend the one they bought because it seems fine ;-)

I've ran all 3 but on different cars over a few years... I'm pretty much swimming with the tide on this... Pirelli last because they got loud as they wore. Bridgestone 2nd because they've been great, Michelin 1 because they are exceptional in my book. But if price is an issue, bridgestones are very good. Tires is the one spot where I don't mind paying for quality, one foot saved on hard braking, one successful collision avoidance can mean a substantial savings on my end !!

[stealthn]

My Pilots are the loudest tires I have ever used...

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Talked to a guy with 71's on his BRZ when I was autocrossing last month. He said they were better than the 11's for grip, but a little noisier. Probably what I go with when I get wheels and tires. Toyo makes a pretty darn good tire in that class too.

Just leave the car in the garage if a blue norther blows through.

I ran several sets of Toyo T1S and T1R on some of my old miata and really liked them. Really good dry grip and phenomenal wet grip with a very comfortable ride. The turn in isn't immediate because of soft sidewalls, but once you get used to it, it's not a big deal. I'm not sure that I'd want to run them on the Boxster.

I REALLY love the RE11.

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

Max dry grip= RE71R

Road manners similar to PS2 at 50% price:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+S-04+Pole+Position&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=635YR9S04PPXL&tab=Sizes

The RE71, I assume is sort of a replacement, but it doesn't look like it'd be as friendly in lots of rain/standing water which as a daily driver in Houston, I am likely to run into at times.

I think that if I went with anything else, I'd probably go with the RE11 for a good balance of grip and wet weather driveability. those RE71 look like they'd hydroplane pretty easily.

[Jeff Alton]

I am not a Michelin tire fan, think over priced for average or above performance. However, I am a HUGE fan of the Michelin Pilot Supersport. Best street performance tire on the market. Not a fan at all of the Michelin PS2


Cheers

[Jeff Alton]

Originally Posted by cstreit

P zero is obnoxiously loud. Replaced ours mid life on the GTI it was so bad.

Did the exact same thing with our 2012 GTI. Couldn't take it any more.

Cheers

[onewhippedpuppy]

I ran into heavy rain several times in my '88 911 that had RE11s on it, I never felt the tires squirm or hydroplane. Except for their short life, they are exceptional tires.