Longer Wearing Durable Tires for 911?

[Adidas]

Anyone with recommendations for durable tires for 911's. My late model 911 has factory larger rims and tires on the rear than on the front . Probably didn't get more than 25k miles on the Continental tires that are on the car now that need replacing even with side to side rotation. Anyone found a durable longer lasting tire for their later model 911? Thanks

[teenerted1]

the higher the treadwear number the harder the compound and the longer the tire life
YRMV

[big911fan]

Be careful about depending solely on tread wear numbers. My understanding is that there is no industry or government standard about what exactly they mean. They are relative to only the tires produced by that manufacturer and only mean something in relation to other tires by that manufacturer.

For instance, you can't necessarily compare a tread wear rating of 320 on a Continental tire to a 320 rating on a Yokohama or Bridgestone.

I recommend starting with the tire evaluations and technical assistance from a place like Tire Rack to get some better basis of comparison or talk to someone who actually has the tire you're looking for. Also keep in mind that Tire Rack uses BMW's (I believe) as a tire test mule. A Porsche will not deliver the same results because of it's rear weight bias. Pelicans are your best source of info.

If you got 25K from a set of tires you did well, my friend. I've never gotten that much on a set.

[Grady Clay]

Adidas,

There are something important about high tire wear performance and longevity with a 911:

THEY ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE usually.

You need to decide what you want to use your 911 for:
Perfect low emissions and low fuel consumption.
High performance, compromising other factors.
The choice is yours.

Some have complying original engines.
Many of us choose 911s that encompass both – a compromise.
Some have spare engines to exchange to comply with regulations.

Your decision.

Tires have the same issues:

Choices are about grip, rain/snow adhesion, track performance, temperature characteristics and lot more.
You can search forever and not find consensus on this.


Providing your requirements, you can find good advice here.

Best,
Grady

[Sitparan]

25k is great for a 911. I'd be happy with that.

However I am curious if anyone actually gets more on a regular basis.

[faverymi]

50k on michelin pilot mxv4 (something like that) 17 inch

On commuting boxster, spirited driving no track time, no tickets

[ben parrish]

I would LOVE 25k...I average about 10 on the rear and 17-20 on the front.

[porsche8777]

25K is high mileage on a 911.

[McLovin]

You must be a very gentle driver.

I've never gotten 25K miles on the rear of ANY of my cars (Porsche or non-Porsche) in 30 years of driving. I'd love to get that many miles.

[Flat Six]

FWIW, we should also keep in mind that it's a good idea to replace tires every five years anyway. For me, a 'weekend' car that gets drvien 100 miles a week = 5,200 a year = 26,000 in five years.

+1, Grady.

I run performance (Bridgestone RE760, 205-55-16 / 225-50-16) but not super-soft/super-sticky tires. As I'm sure most on this forum do, I also regularly monitor tire pressure and have my alignment set just where I want it. In my case I fully expect to see 25K miles out of these tires.

But consistently driving 9/10ths to 10/10ths on UHP summer tires with all the camber you can manage will be a totally different story.

Your preferences and intentions will dictate much of what you should expect from your tire choice.

Just my $.02

Dale

[MattKellett]

I have 25,250 miles on my Avon 550's and the rears need replacing as they have just hit the wear bars, but they probably should have been replaced a couple of thousand ago.

With fairly mixed driving, commuting and spirited driving in the hills, I'm happy with the amount of miles I got from this set.

The worst car I had was my E39 BMW 528i with sport package. That thing ate tries every 15-17k, with mostly commute driving.

[Chris Morse]

Having crossed that magical boundary, (60 years), I am inclined to spend the extra $ for extra grip, partially for better cornering, more precise steering response, but also for slightly shorter stopping distances.

I am happy to trade a bit of money for a slightly enhanced braking and cornering, just because it gives me a bit higher probability of avoiding an acident.

An insurance company did a study of New York taxi cab accidents. A lot of acidents were just minor collisions which could have been avoided if the driver had just gotten on the brakes a fraction of a second sooner. One fo their recommendations was that all drivers be required to "cover the brake" at intersections. This gave them that partial second to decrease the drivers reaction time. The result was a dramatic reduction in accidents. (I am also willing to agree that the company's effort to involve the drivers also made them more aware of the accident issue and that this was undoubtedly a significant cause of some of the reduced colisions).

I think it is reasonable to imply that you are better able to avoid an accident if you are covering the brake but also if you have better stopping ability.

Tires are the final major factor in stopping distances or accident avoidant evasive maneuvers, (right there after having the driver pay attention).

SO, given that medical repairs are always less than 100% perfect and hopeing never, ever, to hurt a child running out into the street, I opt to spend the $ to replace my tires more frequently than maximum high mileage tires.

Money will buy you more grip and it has a significant safety advantage.

Better tires are also more fun.

And if you only drive the car a bit, why waste $ tossing the tires because they are rock hard after 5-10 years when you could have worn out a nice sticky set and had a significant safety advantage???

Pumped toyota work truck with vr tires.
308 ferrari tour & track car with dunlop direzzionales
74 911 with dunlop direzzionales.

with malice aforethought,
i remain,
chris

[Joe Bob]

Buy cheaper tires.....geez 25K on any car with RR drive is good. Buy Kumhos or another chineese brand......

[Adidas]

Thanks for all the input. Basically she is driven daily but NO track time or spirited driving this puppy. I found out along time ago that Porsches and long hair are a cops easiest ticket (I got a speeding ticket for 57 in a 55 zone). So I cut my hair and slowed down just enough to let the teen agers with the 110 hp rice burners who want to race me light to light get the tickets now. My money is now spent on this car rather than lawyers and tickets. Thanks all.

[DanielDudley]

MXVs or Pilot Exaultos.

[db_cooper]

Happy with Yokohama Avids. Great street tire wet or dry. Nice feel and handling. Very slow wearing too. I have 7"/8" 15s. That may make a difference too.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Adidas

(I got a speeding ticket for 57 in a 55 zone)

That's called the Porsche Tax.

The best wearing tire may be the least fun and the least sticky.

[efhughes3]

You gotta be kidding, complaining about 25K tire on a 911? Buy a Honda Civic.

I got 3K on my last set of rears...

[Nine17]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Buy Kumhos or another chineese brand......

Kumhos are Korean.

I'm very happy with mine. They were $74 front and $79 rear (each).

[turbochad]

Originally Posted by efhughes3

You gotta be kidding, complaining about 25K tire on a 911? Buy a Honda Civic.

I got 3K on my last set of rears...

Ed,
it is amazing your tires last that long
Chad