The prices are great and they look like they have good grip, but the rear spec's seem off? The 305/30-19 seems too narrow and it carries an SL rating.

The 235/35-19 seems fine. Any experience or comments?



specs:
305/30-19 - 98W SL - 1653lbs - 10.5 to 11.5 rim width, 12.2" section width - 11.1" tread width?

 

More importantly it's only a 98W when all other N spec tires for a 305/30/19 are 102Y. Not to mention they are heavy when compared to a PZero or Mich PS2.

Dave

 

heavy yes, (only 1lb in the 305, but 6lbs in the 235) but cheaper and more grip, I'd be willing to take on the weight. Is the load really an issue though?

 

My Pirelli's weigh in at 29lbs vs. the 32lbs for the RE-11's, PS2's also weigh in at 20lbs. More important than the load issue is the fact that the speed ratings are also lower. W vs. Y...I would pass.

I would rather get some Nitto Invo's they are inexpensive and have pretty good grip for a great price and you get the same load and speed ratings as the N spec tires.

Dave

 

I don't get it. When some one owns a 'performance' car and paid a pretty good buck for it and then wants to put on non-conforming tires it sort of defeats the whole idea of owning the car in the first place. I too look for ways to reduce cost but not at the expense of performance and safety.

Just my $.02 worth . . . no offense intended!

 

none taken, i don't put in crappy gas or spring for whatever oil is on sale to save money. But road grip in southern nevada sucks. I want the most grip I can get without going to R-Compound (wife won't let me). Ran DOT R-Compound on a B5 S4 and with the AWD it was fine on the days it does pour rain here and what little grip you had is gone, but she drives the 997 C2S a ton and doesn't want to make the jump to R-Compounds.

So the low price is the bonus, not the motivating factor. The real thing is they have a higher test rating on dry grip performance then the PS2 or PZero, and can handle rain, so given that they aren't in spec, I'm curious if anyone tried them.

It seemed from over in the Wheels & Tire forum that TireRack says no issue and someone else tried them and reported good results.

 

One of the members here (zoomzoommo) put a set of RE-11's on his 997 and posted both good feedback and a video of his car in action. The speed rating point is a non-issue. You won't be getting anywhere near the maximum rated speed in North America... TireRack post over on Bimmerfest and I've seen some posts from them recommending the RE-11. My local tire dealer also recommended them to me. I'd have no qualms fitting a set of these to my 997 and may well do so when my P-Zero's need replacing.

 

How is it a non-conforming tire? It's a "Extreme Performance Summer Tire" on TireRack with 180 tread rating.

Seriously I should introduce to you Boxster owners with Kumho or all-season tires ...

 

Non conforming in that the speed and load rating are lower than the N spec tires that came on the car.

Dave

 

these tires are monsters on the AutoX circuit. They are designer to fit into street touring class with a few other R-comps, that aren't really r-comps...if you get my meaning. (they have wear ratings that are just an eyelash above R-comp rules) They fit in with the dunlop direzza star spec and the new Yokes. I imagine that they would be able to handle anything you throw at them. I don't know about daily driver info, but pick up a copy of Grassroots motorsports mag from this month, they test all of the street touring tires. Hope this helps.

 

The speed rating only comes into play if you exceed 180+...how often do you ever get to do that in the USA?

 

I wouldn't read into N spec too much, since nobody have a clear explaination of the exact differences between the exact same tire with and without N printed on them.

Lay off the Porsche koolaid guys!

 

+1...as long as the load rating is the same run the tire.

 

I agree, as long as the load ratings are the same I wouldn't worry about it. It's just the RE11's load ratings are lower than the other "N" spec tires.

There are other tires out there that do match the load rating of the OEM tires such as the Nitto's that I mentioned.


Dave