My original PS2's were getting old...only 11k miles so the tread was still okay, but the tires were getting hard and some were showing signs of cracking along the side walls. In the best interest of safety it was time for new tires. Cool...

The two I targeted were the Bridgestone RE-11 and the Yokohama AD08. Both have a great rep, with the RE-11 being more reviewed on the 997 from what I could find on the forums. The RE-11 is no doubt a great tire, although its one of the heaviest you can buy. Plenty of reviews give it high praise for insane levels of grip, predictability, and even lower road noise. I ran Bridgestone RE01-R's on my Lotus in the past, and they were great for the street but not so good on the track. Eventually I sold those tires and replaced them with Toyo R888 which is really apples and oranges. Before that I also ran the Yokohama A048 which were similar to the R888's but, tended to get slick faster, could get heat cycled out easily, and didnt last as long overall vs. the R888. Need-less to say I am picky about tires, and you should be too...its the only thing physically connecting you and your car to the road.

After reading reviews and researching for a couple of weeks, the Yokohama AD08 is what I decided to buy...I had them shipped to the dealer and while the car was there decided to get an alignment and oil change. The tires were balanced with road-force balancing.

Here are the specs on the alignment:

BEFORE:

Left Front -.6 , Toe .00

Right Front -.4, Toe .10

Left Rear -1.6, Toe .21

Right Rear -.1.6, Toe .16

AFTER:

Left Front -1.0, Toe .02

Right Front -1.0, Toe .02

Left Rear -1.5, Toe .12

Right Rear -1.5 Toe .12

They also made slight adjustments to "steer ahead" and "thrust angle", both are now set at .00 degrees.

When I got the car back last Thursday I noticed a night and day difference in how the steering felt. Much better than before. The combo of the tires and the alignment has improved my turn in and steering feel dramatically. The car feels tighter and more responsive to even small inputs. I also noticed right away the AD08's had less road noise and felt smoother, yet more communicative.

Today I took them out for another spirited drive to further break them in and wow, these tires are great. I set the cold pressures at 39 rear and 34 front. Grip so far is excellent...they are very sticky and inspire confidence...much more so then my PS2's. The turn in is very crisp and immediate. They also look amazing and are priced to not break the bank.

I havent been to the track yet to test them there but when I do I will post my findings. As for now, I believe these tires will be an excellent choice for a street car with occasional trips to the track. This is going to be a hard tire to beat, the price/performance ratio is excellent and it appears Yokohama has a winner on there hands here.

Keep in mind for those interested, as of now the Yokohama AD08 is not a Porsche "N" rated tire. I dont know if it will ever be, but I wouldnt let that deter you.

So in summary, two thumbs way up for the tires...And dont forget to get an alignment! These two things can make a world of a difference to an already amazing car. Good luck, and thanks for reading.

-Matt

 

thanks for the review matt! I was looking at those tires and you made up my mind for me. I also appreciate the alignment specs. I understand that the 911 chassis is very sensitive to alignment.

 

Glad to help....you will love the tires.

Also I forgot to mention specifically in the review that I gave the dealer the alignment specs I wanted them to use. I dont know what they would have done if a person just drops off a car and said "do an alignment, please".

I researched those specs as a good street / occasional track alignment. I think if you want more neg. camber up front you will need GT3 lower control arms or some other modification.

 

Matt,

Those alignment you chose are quite specific. Would you mind elaborating on why you chose those settings? TIA

 

First off I wanted to max out the neg. camber on the front wheels...and from what Ive read -1 is about as far as a stock car will let you go before having to do modifications such as the GT3 lower control arms.

Secondly, it is often advised to keep the maximum difference in camber between the front and rear wheels between .5 to 1 at most...so since the front max neg. camber is around -1 the rear should be set around -1.5 or -2 at most...I prefered -1.5 for the rear.

Incorrect toe settings can eat tires and dull sensitivity. Most people suggest very little toe in the front tires. Most sport spec alignments I have seen suggest front toe between 0 and .04. The rear is usually kept between .08-.14.

All of these numbers I found searching various Porsche forums and they appear to be a good place to start. I do know my car feels much better now, so I am happy.

Here is a good link that details what the alignment specs do....http://www.ozebiz.com.au/racetech/theory/align.html

 

your yokos are great tires, nevertheless I saw 997.2 pdk c4s car on recent auto-x on re11`s and that car was doing pretty crazy things with tires holding up very well.
would be interesting to see same class driver on yokos, but no cigar.

 

Thanks for the link. Very interesting reading and something I did not fully understand before reading it. So if I'm looking for reasonable tire wear and decent handling on my C4S are the stock settings what I need or are there settings you might suggest that will help my car handle better on the street without ignoring the fact that PS2's cost a small fortune to replace ?

 

Matt, thanks for the post.
I've had my car into the dealer twice this spring trying to get alignment specs similar to yours and they got front camber to -0.4 the first time and then -0.5 the second try. They said that is the best they could do. They got the rears to -1.5.

I've read on this forum and Rennlist that -0.8 or maybe -1.0 is the best we can get up front on a stock 997S. I'd be happy with that.

Anybody know why my dealer tech is having trouble getting past -0.5 front camber?

 

I think you would do well with the same specs I used. You will have better handling and your tires should last a good long time depending on how hard you drive them.

I will say PS2s will never be on my car again as long as I own it. In my opinion the price isnt justifiable against other offerings that have better performance and cost less.

 

nice review. AD08's have been sitting in my garage for a few weeks now. Just waiting to burn through what's left of my P-Zeros before I try them out.

 

Thanks for your post. I'm going with your settings next time I go in. May I ask how much they charge for that? It's a must for me, so I just want to be able to manage my expectations...

 

I think it varies from place to place....Here at Porsche North Houston they charged me $337.50 for just the alignment which I thought was kind of high, but I have nothing to compare it with.

Good luck!

 

what sizes your ad08 ?

 

WOW that alignment cost is double what I pay! Good specs for a street driven 997S though.

 

I went with the stock C2S tires sizes....235/35-19 front and 295/30-19 rear.

Mdrums - Yikes, I figured that alignment was high...live and learn.