Best Tyres for the Porsche 986 Boxster S

I bought these tyres for my cheap, "rolling project" 986 Boxter S because the car had two new PHI tyres on the rear when I bought it, the fronts that came were completely knackered, I couldn't decide if I wanted to change the wheels and go for a different size so I bought a matching pair for the front. Cheap to buy, I was mildly impressed with the handling performance of the car even with the dangerously old, perished, cracked and half bald mid tier fronts that came on the car, coupled with the new PHI rears. I thought that the rear had decent grip so the fronts should be OK. To be honest, I thought that anything would be better than what it had and at circa £40 a tyre, I could take it on the chin if I later decided to change the wheels. I basically, just wanted to get the car on the road to enjoy it in the summer months and I would change them out at a later date. I mean, how bad can a tyre be?

Marketed as a "Budget, dry weather, performance tyre". Well, there is one word that I can use to describe them. DANGEROUS!

First thing I noticed was the weight of them and how "floppy" the rubber was. I've used rubber bands that feel more robust than these tyres. You can comfortably carry them with your little finger and I honestly think that you could turn them inside out without too much effort.

Fitted to the car, I will admit that in the height of summer when the road surface is well into the 40 degrees, the tyres performed OK. That being said, there is little to no feedback from the front axle but you can train your brain to over ride the uncertainty and blindly trust that you will have the grip. Its a concerning feeling but the grip seems to be there in most situations (if its a very hot day). The low speed feel of the tyres is poor, steering feels spongy when negotiating a parking space for example. You can sense the tyres side walls squishing and moving about as if you had a bouncy castle wrapped around your wheels.

Cooler weather is where these tyres become utterly perilous! I got the car out early this year and went for a blast yesterday. 12-15 degrees out but dry and sunny. We went for a blast down some epic B roads that I know well and I have driven down them in haste many times. These tyres almost killed us. The braking performance is absolutely shocking. We had just been through a twisty section, we'd been driving spiritedly for about 20-30 minutes so the tyres should have had plenty of temperature in them. The final long straight down to a tight right hander, I felt confident in the cars ability so I pushed it a little more than I normally would be nothing crazy. I hard braked, in a straight line, while rev matching down shifts, prior to the corner which resulted in a sudden and total loss of traction on the front axle. Thankfully there was a tarmac farm drive ahead so I had somewhere to run off. I could not believe the distance that it took to bring the car to a stop. I was just a passenger at that point. Cadence braking brought nothing to the party, it was like hitting black ice. Now this car has just had an MOT, a 4 wheel hunter alignment, all of the bushes and suspension components checked over and tyre pressures exactly as specified by Porsche. The only thing that could have caused this is the tyres.

Its not the first time that this has happened either. Last year, in the height of summer I was about to miss a turning and thought, "its ok, I can scrub enough speed off and make the turn", there was nothing behind so I hit the brakes hard. The front axle lost grip and we slid straight passed the turning. At the time, I thought I was just being over ambitious but now I think that these tyres are just outright dangerous.

I've never driven the car in the wet so I can't comment on wet weather performance but if this is anything to go by, I can only imagine that they are lethal. I honestly don't know how they are allowed to be sold in the UK. They literally cant perform their primary function.

Do not buy these tyres if you value your life. Certainly, do not buy these tyres if there is even the slightest chance of having to drive in the cold or wet.
I will be removing them and throwing them in the bin before this car turns another wheel.

Not a really sticky tire but that should be obvious by the tread wear number! Have these on the front of a Boxster S…can’t really get a handle on why the hate re: grip..if you want big grip,spend some money…and quit whining about the rubber..

Absolutely lethal on wet or damp roads. Mine left go exiting a roundabout. Was applying a good bit of power but not anything like the reaction I got. Almost did a full 360. Not an aggressive driver. Not 20 years old either. Years of experience in powerful cars. 50+. They are being removed from my Boxster S tomorrow. Replaced with Michelin instead. Did a road trip in November put up 4756km travelling from Roscoff to SAN Sebastian Spain on dry roads. No issues. Back in Ireland in damp or wet roads, lethal.

Grip, tracking, handling & feedback superb. Wear acceptable given exceptional performance. Some (premature?) perishing visible from age, but handling not noticeably affected. Mechanic advised typical of PZeros. Persuaded to try Toyos (front & rear) which regretfully NOT in same league. Will switch back ASAP.

Had 225 40 18 and 265 35 18 fitted on my 986 Boxster. It's early days but very impressed with feedback and grip in both wet and dry.
Steering was getting twitchy on the old tyres and new ones were always going to improve things but I can feel whats going on and turn in is precise with great grip. Road noise is acceptable, too early to say about wear but my overall impression is of a great tyre with bags of grip. Drove the car to where I work on an old airfield where the perimeter track serves as a good, safe test of corner grip, threw the Boxster at the down hill bend and it held my chosen line and even when i applied (deliberately !) some ham fisted power it just gripped and accelerated through.
Very happy I chose Michelin PS4

The only issue that i have had is with the wear rate 4500 miles

I have just purchased a 2003 Porsche Boxster with 4 New Nankang Tyres. Just finished reading all the comments here and I am at a loss as to these tyres being good or bad. The car has a fair bit of get up and go and to date, one month, it has not been in the wet. The little I know about tyres doesn't help me at all as to them being the "Bees Knees" of tyres. They are on the car, appear to satisfy my needs, I am a gentle driver, so I will keep them and use their on coming history as a guide line for the next set I will have to purchase.

These tyres were on car when I bought it, old school Boxster - no traction control etc.
They grip well, let you know when they're going to let go and are great fun, comort not a strong point (35 series profile) what do you expect.
Limited tyre choice for Porsche (N series) but for me they're grat and I enjoy them.
Can't comment on wear - only 5k into car, expect 10-15k from rear and 25k from front based on wear when bought to when had to replace.

Bought a 986 Boxster S with these already fitted - took a note of current wear (7mm front & 2mm rear) and then used the car. 5mths and nearly 6k miles of normal use later, wear update - front 6mm & 1.8mm rear, so they're hard wearing. There's plenty of grip when tyres are up to temperature but they're rubbish cold.

I think the problem with reviews is the wide variation of cars these tyres might be fitted to. It is hardly surprising that some cars can not generate the heat these tyres need to work. Be honest, pirelli do know what they are doing, cold they tend rub along the top of the road rather than dig deep and bond to it, on several porches i tested them on they are warm to the touch with in 3 miles or so and and offer absolutely huge reserves of deep grip. A fraction squidgy on turn in(being picky) but really fluid and brilliant on exit.On uk roads it will be struggle to ever use all this tyre has to offer,when hot they are sublime, A great buy, but be realistic with yourself the nero may be a better option. All that said they dissolved off my car in less than 6000 which means I may park my cash elsewhere.
If they were a bit cheaper and I would have no quible at all going back for another set.