just got an invite for an online meeting with Michelin..

for their new Pilot Super Sport. Does anyone have any questions they would like answered? BTW I am going to ask if they are going to offer them in the Boxster standard sizes. I believe they originally were not going to make them in our sizes. At least '01 sizes

No questions, but I'd like to have a drink with the guys who engineered them. Best tires I've ever owned by a mile. They ride well, have amazing responses, grip like crazy, dispense with rain, and don't wear.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

Could not find any in stock (Tire Rack, Costco etc) and none were scheduled in Michelin production. Finally found a set at a dealer... ouch $$$$.
Maybe they were waiting for the switch over to the new tires.

Since Michelin says on their website and also emailed me personally saying that that they have never manufactured it in that size.

I just checked in my garage,
I must have the only set they ever manufactured.
I have Pilot Sports 255 40 17s and they came from the dealer
I don't think you spoke with anyone.

Michelin made or makes various "Pilot" iterations that are or were available as 255-40-17s. The following three were or are available as N spec: Pilot SX Mxx3, Pilot Sport (Rib*,) Pilot Sport 2 (commonly called the PS2.) The Pilot Sport (no other designation) might've been available in the 255-40-17 size, but it definitely was never N spec and has an aggressive, V patterned tread, very different from the other Pilots.

Any Mxx3s still available are pretty much museum pieces at this point: the date code of the tires that are on the rear of my former Boxster is 2005 or 2006.

Whether Michelin will make the Pilot Super Sport in that size remains to be seen, but I doubt it as the application goes too many years back.

*The word "Rib" doesn't appear on the sidewall, but is called that on the Tire Rack site.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2012 01:13AM by Laz. (view changes)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2012 01:46AM by Laz. (view changes)

I might need to go back and correct this, but to the best of my knowledge, this is what or was available concerning Michelin Pilot fitments for 2001 Boxsters; 205/50-17 and 255/40-17 sizes:

The Pilot SX Mxx3 was N spec but hasn't been manufactured in at least 5 years, probably more. I no longer have my 2001, but the sidewall date code might've gone back further. Some NOS might be laying around, but I had trouble getting them something like 4 years ago.
The replacement is the Pilot Sport, called the "Pilot Sport Rib" by Tire Rack, and is N spec.
There is a Pilot Sport with an aggressive V-tread that is very different from the N spec tire and the other summer only Pilots.
The Pilot Sport A/S (all season) isn't N spec. Tread looks a lot like the previous mention.
The PS2 can be N spec.

It'd be terrific if Michelin N specs the Pilot Super Sport, which I think makes a lot of sense, but to me it's likely only for recent/current fitments.

By the way, Tire Rack lists N spec tires that would fit the new Boxster and Boxster S, namely the "Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT" (18 inch) and the "Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2" (19 inch. )



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2012 11:08AM by Laz. (view changes)

Loved the Ribs but when I bought for my 17" '01S about a year ago they were discontinued.

At the time there were two versions of the Pilot Sports with no common name differentiation but only the SKU differing the N-spec from the non-N-spec.

Michelin uses the Pilot Sports in marketing to cast a halo effect around lots of different tires.

Best tires I've ever had as well.....18" on '01 986 S....just switched a few months back and they are as close to the perfect tire as I can imagine. Amazing that a tire without an "N" rating even works on a Boxster... :-) I am curious, however, what specifically they would envision changing (tread compound, sidewall, etc.) for an N-rated version and when this is slated (if ever). I'm sure they'd be more $$, and tough to beat the current model...

Or something like that... hysteresis, maybe.

They do seem to be very versatile tires, though; perhaps not so scary when the temps are low.

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

I'm running 17" ps2's on a 2002 base. I had to go with the S size front ( less stagger) because they didn't make the size i needed when i bought them. I think they do now (in the ps2) but will need new tires soon.

and I will post their answers.