[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by VincentVega

I'd love to know how much better 1 tire is from the next on the street. auto-x or a de, sure. But on the street? I dont think so. Nothing at all wrong with the N spec's, they are great tire, but they surely arent a requirement.

I don't know what HD bought, when I looked up a 2005 997S on Tire Rack the Potenza options are the N-rated RE050A and S04. Tire Rack does a great job doing testing to compare tires both on the street and track, apples to apples with the same car, same sizes, etc. The last test they did with the RE050A was in 2004 (that's an OLD tire design) where it finished 3rd to the Goodyear Eagle F1 and Michelin Pilot PS2. The last test of the S04 was in 2013, where it finished 2nd to the Pilot Super Sport. In the max performance summer category surveys the S04 is 2nd to the Pilot Super Sport, while the RE050A is 20th. So in this case, most data seems to indicate that the S04 may be a better tire.