Re: Try some Sumi's

I'm willing to trade off some performance for not having to be concerned about driving when the temperature drops below 40 degrees and these have gotten good reviews on TireRack. Not sure about how they would be on a Boxster.

Regards, Maurice.

... absolutely hated them, but then again my temps never drop below 50 for a couple of days.
It's a BIG tradeoff in performance.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

I have Sumitomo's on the rear for over a year..based on their price performance I love them.

Mind you, I don't have the driving skills of Pedro to fully put any tire to a real test.

Carlos: I don't have those skills either, but the Sumitomo HTR Z III is a "summer only" tire, "... it is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice" , according to the manufacturer.

If I don't find anything acceptable, I may bite the bullet and get them because I already have 17" all season rims and tires...They just don't look as nice as my Cayman S 18" rims.

I'm open to suggestions for other "all-season" performance tires...

Regards, Maurice.

I'm probably going to with the BS 970 Pole Position tires in a month or so, based on test results and recommendations from TR (from a salesperson).

Having said that, if you compare the test they did on the Kumho 4X and the 970 (not head to head,, but using the same track and 328i coupe), the Kumho tested out well in the slalom, dry braking and lap time compared to the 970. What did look strange was that despite having better dry performance than the 970, the Kumho pulled .1G less than the 970 on thew skid pad--that's a lots--so it made me wonder how accurate these tests were.

Finally, the TR 4X reviews by purchasers were all pretty good, saying that the performance was way better than expected; the 4X was substantially less expensive than the 970 also.

Mike: Thanks for the input. The Bridgestone RE970AS Pole Position were the other tires I was considering. They seem to have gotten slightly better reviews overall, but are more expensive and I don't know if there is enough of a difference to justify the cost..

I'll give TR a call and see if I can get some more info on the two choices.

Regards, Maurice.

to reviews written by people with entirely different types of cars. The TR reviews are Honda Civics and a Saab 9-5. A big step up for them may be a huge step down for a Boxster.

That can help minimize reviews complaining about ride quality or noise, which have to be secondary tire attributes for Porsche drivers as differentiated from those with Lincolns, et al.

Exactly, that will give you the info you need from other owners of cars like yours. Unfortunately, the 4X is a fairly new tire with no Porsche owner reviews and not many sporty car owners, making this a bit of a crap shoot.The 970 OTOH, has a lot of reviews some of which are from Boxster owners.
What I did notice about both tires is that the sizes seemed to be a bit limited--for Boxsters anyway.
There was a Kumho 4X 255/40/17 size listed ---which a lot of 986 owners need --but no 265/40/18--which 987 owners need. The 970 has both 18" sizes for the 987 but not the rear for a 986.

about 40 degrees. At near freezing I'd avoid any sharp maneuvers or taking a curve too fast!

That's why I put my car away for the winter

Hope all is well - we need to get together for a drive.

Regards,

Ed

Hi, Maurice. I'm in exactly the same boat. Tired of keeping my car in the garage when the temperature dips. Tire Rack used to sell some very highly rated Sumitomos -- I think the fronts were only like $112 -- but now they only have the summer version. The last time I looked, there wasn't much on Tire Rack to choose from. As I recall, some Contis there looked like the best bet.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm still looking.

Regards, Maurice.