Dry/Wet Weather Performance of Pilot Sport PS2 vs. RE960AS

[c_potato]

Hi guys. I live in the Pacific Northwest and use the 997S to get to and from work (~ 50% highway, 50% city driving), and for some moderately-spirited weekend fun when dry (no tracking). I don't plan on driving it in the snow, which does not happen much where I live. Instead, we get a lot of rain. So I'm trying to decide whether to get a non-approved all-season tire (RE960AS) or an approved summer tire (PS2) and just drive much more carefully in the rain. I currently have PS2s that I will have to replace soon, but just got the car and haven't had a chance to test them through our "wet season" (which is pretty much all-year long except for a brief period in the summer).

The trouble I'm having is that I've searched the threads here and elsewhere (and read websites like tirerack.com, etc.), but I can't seem to find a direct comparison of "Ultra High Performance All-Season" vs. a "Max Performance Summer" tires. I'm trying to understand, for example, how a 9.0 "wet performance" rating in one category would compare to another. I'm assuming the ratings differ across categories of tires on a relative basis? I'd love to see cross-category comparisons so I can see how much I'm sacrificing in each category.

Bottom line is that I'd sacrifice some dry-weather performance for improved wet-weather performance. Will the RE960AS be significantly better than the PS2s in wet weather/resistance to hydroplaning? If so, will they then be significantly worse than the PS2s in dry weather handling? I'm not pushing the car to it's limits by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't want to end up with a car that doesn't handle like a "Porsche", because of the all-season tires, for the occasional times on dry pavement that I want it to.

Any thoughts?

[frafoss]

Hi guys. I live in the Pacific Northwest and use the 997S to get to and from work (~ 50% highway, 50% city driving), and for some moderately-spirited weekend fun when dry (no tracking). I don't plan on driving it in the snow, which does not happen much where I live. Instead, we get a lot of rain. So I'm trying to decide whether to get a non-approved all-season tire (RE960AS) or an approved summer tire (PS2) and just drive much more carefully in the rain. I currently have PS2s that I will have to replace soon, but just got the car and haven't had a chance to test them through our "wet season" (which is pretty much all-year long except for a brief period in the summer).

The trouble I'm having is that I've searched the threads here and elsewhere (and read websites like tirerack.com, etc.), but I can't seem to find a direct comparison of "Ultra High Performance All-Season" vs. a "Max Performance Summer" tires. I'm trying to understand, for example, how a 9.0 "wet performance" rating in one category would compare to another. I'm assuming the ratings differ across categories of tires on a relative basis? I'd love to see cross-category comparisons so I can see how much I'm sacrificing in each category.

Bottom line is that I'd sacrifice some dry-weather performance for improved wet-weather performance. Will the RE960AS be significantly better than the PS2s in wet weather/resistance to hydroplaning? If so, will they then be significantly worse than the PS2s in dry weather handling? I'm not pushing the car to it's limits by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't want to end up with a car that doesn't handle like a "Porsche", because of the all-season tires, for the occasional times on dry pavement that I want it to.

Any thoughts?

I don't know the performance of the RE960AS, but I guess this is a Bridgestone tyre. Anyway, unless the the PS2 are worn down the wet performance of the PS2 is excellent. The traction and grip is far better than most people ever will know. In Norway we got a lot of rain and too and I have alse tested the PS2 at Nurburgring when raining with speeds above 200 km/h without problems with hydroplaning.

For your use and condition you should be very satiisfied with the Michelins.

[sclemmons]

PS2's are great in the wet in my experience. I am on my third set on the BMW and first set on the Porsche. No complaints.

Hi guys. I live in the Pacific Northwest and use the 997S to get to and from work (~ 50% highway, 50% city driving), and for some moderately-spirited weekend fun when dry (no tracking). I don't plan on driving it in the snow, which does not happen much where I live. Instead, we get a lot of rain. So I'm trying to decide whether to get a non-approved all-season tire (RE960AS) or an approved summer tire (PS2) and just drive much more carefully in the rain. I currently have PS2s that I will have to replace soon, but just got the car and haven't had a chance to test them through our "wet season" (which is pretty much all-year long except for a brief period in the summer).

The trouble I'm having is that I've searched the threads here and elsewhere (and read websites like tirerack.com, etc.), but I can't seem to find a direct comparison of "Ultra High Performance All-Season" vs. a "Max Performance Summer" tires. I'm trying to understand, for example, how a 9.0 "wet performance" rating in one category would compare to another. I'm assuming the ratings differ across categories of tires on a relative basis? I'd love to see cross-category comparisons so I can see how much I'm sacrificing in each category.

Bottom line is that I'd sacrifice some dry-weather performance for improved wet-weather performance. Will the RE960AS be significantly better than the PS2s in wet weather/resistance to hydroplaning? If so, will they then be significantly worse than the PS2s in dry weather handling? I'm not pushing the car to it's limits by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't want to end up with a car that doesn't handle like a "Porsche", because of the all-season tires, for the occasional times on dry pavement that I want it to.

Any thoughts?

I don't know the performance of the RE960AS, but I guess this is a Bridgestone tyre. Anyway, unless the the PS2 are worn down the wet performance of the PS2 is excellent. The traction and grip is far better than most people ever will know. In Norway we got a lot of rain and too and I have alse tested the PS2 at Nurburgring when raining with speeds above 200 km/h without problems with hydroplaning.

For your use and condition you should be very satiisfied with the Michelins.

[dndodd]

Hi guys. I live in the Pacific Northwest and use the 997S to get to and from work (~ 50% highway, 50% city driving), and for some moderately-spirited weekend fun when dry (no tracking). I don't plan on driving it in the snow, which does not happen much where I live. Instead, we get a lot of rain. So I'm trying to decide whether to get a non-approved all-season tire (RE960AS) or an approved summer tire (PS2) and just drive much more carefully in the rain. I currently have PS2s that I will have to replace soon, but just got the car and haven't had a chance to test them through our "wet season" (which is pretty much all-year long except for a brief period in the summer).

The trouble I'm having is that I've searched the threads here and elsewhere (and read websites like tirerack.com, etc.), but I can't seem to find a direct comparison of "Ultra High Performance All-Season" vs. a "Max Performance Summer" tires. I'm trying to understand, for example, how a 9.0 "wet performance" rating in one category would compare to another. I'm assuming the ratings differ across categories of tires on a relative basis? I'd love to see cross-category comparisons so I can see how much I'm sacrificing in each category.

Bottom line is that I'd sacrifice some dry-weather performance for improved wet-weather performance. Will the RE960AS be significantly better than the PS2s in wet weather/resistance to hydroplaning? If so, will they then be significantly worse than the PS2s in dry weather handling? I'm not pushing the car to it's limits by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't want to end up with a car that doesn't handle like a "Porsche", because of the all-season tires, for the occasional times on dry pavement that I want it to.

Any thoughts?

I have the 960's on my A3 and they work great. ps2's on the 911 and they work great.

That being said I remember reading a similar thread where somebody tried the 960's on their 911 and had them immediately removed due to poor handling so I would avoid them on the 911.

[c_potato]

Thanks guys. That's pretty much unanimous on the PS2s. I'll stick with them.

Just a quick follow-up...my dealer is saying I should get snow tires for the winter. Would you recommend snows or all-seasons if I'm not going to be actually driving in much snow? I'm wondering what would give better cold weather, wet/dry performance.

[tomnash]

Thanks guys. That's pretty much unanimous on the PS2s. I'll stick with them.

Just a quick follow-up...my dealer is saying I should get snow tires for the winter. Would you recommend snows or all-seasons if I'm not going to be actually driving in much snow? I'm wondering what would give better cold weather, wet/dry performance.

You don't say where you live ... Summer tires are dangerous in snow. Having said that, the question is how cold does it get where you will be driving? Below about 35 degrees F the soft rubber in summer tires has significantly reduced traction. This is not like snow, which is just plain dangerous on summer tires, with some care you can get away with driving occasionally at around or a bit below freezing on summer tires. If you don't do much snow but have frequent sub freezing driving days, go for the all weathers.

For what it's worth, I live in the San Francisco Bay area and stick with summers all year around. I got very worried when I needed to drive back from LA through the Grapevine on I5 just after it had been opened after some winter storms. Although it was cold and there was some snow left on the side of the road, the road was clear and the driving was just fine on the summer tires.