Best Tires for Your Porsche – Detailed Buyer’s Guide

Photo courtesy of Michelin

Did you know that tires significantly impact your car’s performance? While the answer seems obvious, most people have no idea which tire to pick thanks to the endless options. Before purchasing tires for your Porsche or other sports car, check out our detailed tire guide to find the best tires for your application.

Which tire types are available for my Porsche?

Max Performance Summer Tires

For year around, warm climates

For drivers with performance street driving in mind, max performance summer tires are an obvious first choice. Among street tires, max performance summer tires offer the best combination of dry and wet grip and precise steering response. However, there are some downsides. Because max performance summer tires use softer rubber compounds and stiffer construction, they will wear out more quickly and ride more harshly than other types of tires. Additionally, summer tires offer inadequate grip in near freezing temperatures.

Winter Tires

For harsh winter driving

If you will be driving in heavy snow and ice, winter tires are critical for your safety even if your car is equipped with all-wheel drive drive. Winter tires use special rubber compounds that maintain high levels of grip in the cold and special tread patterns designed to clear away water and snow. However, these special features are also what make winter tires unsuitable for warm weather conditions. As temperatures go up, winter tires become too soft and can overheat under heavy load.

Note: If you plan to run winter tires, we recommend that you have another set of wheels and tires to use when temperatures warm up.

All-Season Tires

For climates with mild winters (light snow)

For drivers who want a performance oriented tire that they can use year around, ultra high performance all-season tires are the answer. All season tires use special rubber compounds that offer acceptable levels of grip and steering response in both warm and cold temperatures. This makes all-season tires suitable in dry, wet, and light snow conditions. In addition, all-season tires offer excellent ride comfort and tread life compared to summer and winter tire. However, being the jack-of-all-trades, all-season tires cannot match the performance of summer and winter tires in their respective climates.

Best tires for your Porsche

If you’ve made it this far, you probably know which tire category is right for you. Now, let’s help you pick the right tire. To simplify the tire buying process, we’ve used ratings and reviews from www.tirerack.com to identify the best tires in each class for your Porsche or other sports car.

Note: You won’t find any budget tires on our recommendation list. While we understand many car owners are budget conscious, higher end tires can actually be cheaper because many offer treadwear and road hazard warranties. Additionally, because tires last for several years, you don’t want to pick a bad tire that will leave you with a suboptimal driving experience.

Max Performance Summer Tire

Best in-class: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S  

Pros:

• Best in-class dry and wet performance
• Sharp steering response and tire feedback
• Excellent ride quality and tread life for its class

Cons:

• Expensive

TireRack.com Ratings:

• Dry Performance: 9.6 – Excellent
• Wet Performance: 9.2 – Excellent
• Winter/Snow Performance: N/A
• Comfort Performance: 9.0 – Excellent
• Treadwear: 8.4 – Good

Treadwear Warranty: 6 Years / 30,000 Miles  (half mileage if front and rear tire sizes are different)

Best value tire: Continental ExtremeContact Sport

Pros:

• Excellent dry and wet performance, steering feel, and comfort
• More affordable tire option
• 1 year road hazard warranty included

Cons:

• Less performance and refinement than the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S

TireRack.com Ratings:

• Dry Performance: 9.1 – Excellent
• Wet Performance: 9.0 – Excellent
• Winter/Snow Performance: N/A
• Comfort Performance: 8.7 – Excellent
• Treadwear: 7.8 – Good

Treadwear Warranty: 6 Years / 30,000 Miles  (half mileage if front and rear tire sizes are different)

Ultra high performance all-season tires

Best in-class: Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 

Pros:

• Excellent dry and wet performance
• Great balance of driving feel, performance, and ride comfort
• Long tire life

Cons:

• Average snow and ice performance
• Expensive

TireRack.com Ratings:

• Wet Performance: 9.6 – Excellent
• Dry Performance: 9.2 – Excellent
• Winter/Snow Performance: 7.0 – Good
• Comfort Performance: 8.9 – Good
• Treadwear: 8.1 – Good

Treadwear Warranty: 6 Years / 45,000 Miles (half mileage if front and rear tire sizes are different) 

Best value tire: Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06

Pros:

• Excellent wet performance with improved water evacuation
• Good performance in dry and light snow conditions
• Great ride quality
• 1 year road hazard warranty included

Cons:

• Slower steering response compared to best-in-class
• Increased body roll compared to best-in-class due to softer sidewalls

TireRack.com Ratings:

• Wet Performance: 9.0 – Excellent
• Dry Performance: 9.0 – Excellent
• Winter/Snow Performance: 7.7 – Good
• Comfort Performance: 8.5 – Good
• Treadwear: 7.9 – Good

Treadwear Warranty: 6 Years / 50,000 Miles (half mileage if front and rear tire sizes are different)

Winter tires

Best in-class: Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4

Pros:

• Best in class combination of dry, wet, snow, and ice traction
• Sporty feel and responsive steering
• Comfortable and quiet

Cons:

• Expensive
• Limited sizes offered may required new wheels

TireRack.com Ratings:

• Dry Performance: 8.9 – Excellent
• Wet Performance: 9.3 – Excellent
• Winter/Snow Performance: 8.7 – Excellent
• Comfort Performance: 9.0 – Excellent
• Treadwear: 9.0 – Excellent

Treadwear Warranty: 6 Years / 30,000 Miles  (half mileage if front and rear tire sizes are different)

Runner Up: Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3

Pros:

• Excellent driving characteristics on wet and snow covered roads
• Dynamic balanced handling, precise steering, and short braking distances

Cons:

• Slightly trails the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 in dry, wet, snow, and ice traction
• Noiser than the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4
• Still an expensive tire
• No treadwear warranty

TireRack.com Ratings:

• Wet Performance: 9.1 – Excellent
• Dry Performance: 8.8 – Excellent
• Winter/Snow Performance: 8.6 – Excellent
• Comfort Performance: 8.5 – Good
• Treadwear: 8.1 – Good

Treadwear Warranty: None

Our mission at eCarGuides

Here at eCarGuides, our goal is to help car owners make the best decisions possible when it comes to maintaining their vehicles. Find a highly-rated Porsche mechanic near you and detailed DIY guides for your Porsche.