18" Street Tire Choices

[Latitude48]

So, the old 17" tires on the wheels that were on my son's 951 (which is now mine) are way past their lifetime as they were produced circa 2009. The 951 is in the shop now for some updates and they told me they won't drive it with those old tires... so I'm trying to decide between Max Performance All Season (Conti DWS06+), or Max Performance Summer (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S). I have the older DWS06 in 235/35-19 on my modified A4 and like them a lot.

I don't really need to drive the 951 during the cold months, but might want to on an enjoyable day, and even if it's dry and sunny, but cold, the summer tires aren't recommended as I think they can sustain damage from the cold.

It typically doesn't get that cold here in the Seattle area... well, except for last year when we saw 10 degrees, brr... so I'm kinda leaning towards the Contis. Since I have multiple sets of new 18" wheels, I suppose I could get the DWS now and something next summer if I want more performance.

Thoughts appreciated.

[Spencan]

I really like my Continental Extreme Contact Sports. I have had them for about 3 1/2 years now with no complaints. I have 235s and 275s on my 18" OZ Vela IIs.

[ROB III]

I have the Michelin's based on previous experience with them on various cars and I used to work with their engineering group in a previous life with an OEM and respected the Michelin philosophy. I have 225/40-18 on the front and 265/35-18 on the rear on RH Alurads. Tire Rack has some comparison info for Michelin, Continental, and others on their website should you be interested. The tires I took off the car were Bridgestone Pole Positions and noticed a ride quality improvement, but the Bridgestones were run flat which tend to be pretty stiff.

[Latitude48]

I have the Michelin's based on previous experience with them on various cars and I used to work with their engineering group in a previous life with an OEM and respected the Michelin philosophy. I have 225/40-18 on the front and 265/35-18 on the rear on RH Alurads. Tire Rack has some comparison info for Michelin, Continental, and others on their website should you be interested. The tires I took off the car were Bridgestone Pole Positions and noticed a ride quality improvement, but the Bridgestones were run flat which tend to be pretty stiff.

Thanks for the info. I've purchased all my tires from Tirerack. I currently have Michelin Pilot Super Sport in the same sizes on my S2 and really like them. But I'm thinking of getting All-Season and Michelin does not make the AS4 in the 265/35-18 size, so if I want to go with an All-Season tire I think the Contis are the best choice based on previous experience on my A4 and Civic Si. I've had Bridgestone tires in the past and didn't particularly like them.

[Tom]

The last Bridgestone tires I had on my 944 were annoyingly loud on the freeway. It's been a decade, so maybe that's no longer an issue, but at the time it was a common complaint. Tirerack has good prices and makes life easy, but you need to pay attention to the date stamps on the tires they send. For infrequently driven cars, where the tires can age-out before wearing out, getting a tire that's 2 or 3 years old eats into the useful life.... The last set of tires I got from them were very fresh, but I did get a set that was a couple years old in the past (but it was for my daily driver, so didn't matter as much since I'd wear them out in 3 or 4 years anyway.)

[JerVegas]

I'm a diehard Michelin PSS fan, but I recently bought a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 for my 951, and I'm amazed how good they are.

Jer

[Latitude48]

Well, I decided to go with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. I just couldn't see putting all-season tires on my beautiful new wheels since I have two other cars to drive when the weather turns too cold for summer tires.

[stitch2k1]

I really like my Continental Extreme Contact Sports. I have had them for about 3 1/2 years now with no complaints. I have 235s and 275s on my 18" OZ Vela IIs.

What splitter is that? I love the canards even though it's somewhat goofy looking. Lol

[Spencan]

DIY splitter that I made out of ABS and color matched the paint. Here’s an updated picture, I did some more massaging of it. I really like the 993 GT2 canards and that’s what I’m going for.

[crackership]

I've been using the BF Goodrich G-Force Sport Comp 2 tires on my 951 for years.. mostly because they were the only tires I could find in the sizes I wanted for my 16" Fuchs, but I've liked them enough that I'm considering them for my new wheels also. They're never really amazing but they're always really good (except in the snow - but I try pretty hard not to drive the car in the snow) They behave in the rain and cool weather and, being in Western WA, that's pretty important. They also have a bit of bulge to the sidewall which I dig, both because of the aesthetics and the little bit of wheel protection it provides.

The BFGs get an extra point for having an absurd amount of syllables in their name. Nine. Nine syllables in the name of a tire.. that's got to be some kind of record..

I'm definitely curious about other options though. I've been eyeing the Indy 500 since they came out. I just worry they'll never get warm enough here..