My take on Best Tires for 355 (and 360?)

Welcome back to the age-old tire topic! I have a 98 355 F1 Spider with 17.5K miles and believe I've read all the Ferrari chat posts on tires.

I currently have stock Pzero Rosso Direzionale and PZero Rosso Asimmetrico on my car. The fronts, 225/40/18 are the original tires and have about 25% tread left -- casual + highway driving only. The rears, 265/40/18 were replaced at 10Kmiles in 2002 and have 45-50% tread on them. According to customer reviews and performance tests put together by Tire Rack, these tires don't do very well. Customers complain the rears are only good for 8-10K miles. The Pzero Rosso Direzionale gets a measly score of 4.0 on "tread wear" (out of 10) and the Assimmetrico gets 5.1.

I was initially tempted to replace the Pirelli's by Bridgestone Potenza SO3's which I have on my BMW M5. But, as far as I can tell, the evidence comes down squarely, and strongly in favor of Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s. On almost every dilmension -- dry traction, wet traction, hydor resistenace, corning stability, steering response, ride comfort, and noise, THEY OUTPERFORM THE PIRELLI'S -- according to third party reports summarized by Tire Rack. And, they score 7.4 on treadware! As far as cost is concerned, they are in the same ballpart.

So I ordered them. Informed and advised by experience on this board, I'm putting 295/35/18 on the back, with the expectation they fit fine, no adjustments necessary. If anybody disagrees, please let me know.

On the front, I'm sticking with 225/40/18 as that seems to work with the larger rears. If anybody disagrees, OR IF A LARGER SIZE can be fitted, like 235/40/18, w/o any adjustments (eg., like spacers) please let me know.

Needless to say, they arn't cheap up here in Canuck land. Looks like I'll be paying about $2,350 Cdn (divided by exchange 1.23Cdn = $1US) or, $1900 US, which includes all taxes, mounting, balancing, etc. I think that's about $400 less than were I living in the US and got them from Tire rack and arrange for installation.

Hope this proves useful to someone. Cheers, Paul

 

A couple of questions - why are you replacing your tires if they still have tread left on them?
Second, I just checked tirerack and the tires are $208 front and $306 rear which works out to about $1050 American. So something is wrong with your math or you are paying some sort of weird import duty.
The only other tires I see that they claim match are BF Goodrich Gforce TA which are only slightly cheaper front but a lot cheaper rear.

 

$1,050, mounting, balancing, tax, shipping, etc. Don't see how that adds up $900 but you get the idea.

 

I just bought the Michelin PS2 for my F355. I can't say that I'm proud of the purchase considering the USGP fiasco. But, supporting Ferrari F1 can go only so far when the best tire for me (road noise, comfort & grip combo) is a Michelin tire. Sorry Ferrari Spa. I really wanted to buy the Bridgestones & support your sponsers but I can't buy your Shell oil either because it's impossible to find!

 

Just checked Tire Rack again, and the prices they quote for Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s (and the PS2s, not regular PSs, are the true performer) are:

295X35X18 = $377US each X 2 = $754
225X40X18 = $208US each X 2 = $416
Add shipping $50, no tax, + $100 for mounting/balancing
Total = $US 1,320 X 1.23 Cdn exchange rate = $1623 Canadian

Our, not so good equivalent Canadian source is Tire Trends

295s = $595 X 2 = $1190 Canadian
225s = $391 X 2 = $782 Canadian
Add $40 for shipping, taxes included, $125 for mounting/balancing
Total = $2012 Canadian.

My numbers were off somewhat, yes, but the difference is around $400 Canadian to get them up here.

The motivation to replace the Pirelli's now stems from the relatively low, remaning tread on the fronts. We've had some heavy duty car accidents in the family and in two cases, worn tires were involved, so I've become a tad paradoid about it. My take is if I replace the fronts, might as well do the full monty, and install what I want.

Cheers, Paul

 

Paul, I too had s03's on my BMW and though I liked them, they got very poor mileage and were not so good during the 2nd half of their life. I have ps2's on my pcar and love them. We have wet roads in places in the forest a lot even if no rain and its great to have a tire that is so adept in the wet that you really don't have to think about the transitions unless its standing water. Great tires and super handling. They replaced the R compound cup tires on that car and I felt no let down in grip at all, though I have not tracked them yet.

 

I have S02's and S03's on all my BMWs and Ferrari. Though I love the tire, my next one will be a PS2, its just a newier more modern design.

 

I don't see how Tirerack's survey results can be relevant since wear is very much model specific (geometry, suspension, torque, etc ...). The 355 has a lot of rear camber (I was told they understeer like Smart cars otherwise) so if you push in corner exits, you're bound to find the inner part of the rear thread slick well before the rest of the tire is worn.
On performance cars, I've stuck with the OEM mounts the car was developed with/for.

 

In a related tire issue.....as I am also considering new rubber for my 355...

For normal driving, very little time over 120 mph, and very little if any track time, just normal "sprited driving......

could I get by with a "W" rated tire (168 mph), vs. a "Y" rated tire (186 mph)?

I don't cotton much to the "prestige" of one brand over the other just because of the name on the side wall, so I was looking at the Firestone Firehawk in the 225/40 & 295/35 18" sizes. The construction and materials are basically the high end Bridgestones with a slightly less speed rating, but the cost is VERY atractive. $125 for the 225 and $183 for the 295. That's $616 for all four corners.

Ratings looked pretty good all around by the users of high performance vehicles. For the price they look like a bargain and as such, may be worth the experiment.

JD

 

JD - I know what you mean and I agree. I think if you really need performance, then a track set (wheels and tires) is the way to go. That way, you wear those out and use the street set for normal (spirited) driving. I'm doing that with my Lotus but I haven't bought a set of track rims yet (I don't care about looks - just want something that will fit but haven't found a set yet). Anyway, where did you see the Firehawks? Is this through a local place you went to? I think the price certainly seems reasonable. And isn't Firestone owned by Bridgestone anyway?

scott

 

Just down the pike at your local Tire Rack

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Firehawk+Wide+Oval&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=935WR8FHW&fromCompare1=yes&place=12

 

JDs point has a lot of merit because it acknowledges a lot of us don't need top performance tires because we're not driving in the top performance band, plus it acknowledges one of the most important realities in life -- the budget constraint. If the Firehawk fit the bill, and satisfy your needs for spirited driving, but not racing, then I'd get them. And perhaps, as we learn more about this 'second tier' of tires, we'll be able to agree on a best pick among them.

Having said the above, I'm still intent on getting the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s. It's true, as one reply noted, that the Tire Track survey reports that rank the PS2s over the Pirrellis arn't specific to Ferrari cars alone, but revierw a cross section of very satisfied customers. At the same time, however, its fair to say that a cross section of car owners were also not very satisfied with the Pirelli's.

I'm intent on getting the PS2s for two reasons. One, the 355 is my 'baby' as anyone can tell from the amount of idiot buffing I do. So, she gets the best tires I can find. Second, my spirited driving has taken me into near death territory on a few occasions, and when I'm there, I don't ever want to think I may have skimped on my tires. When I had a Porsche Carrera and went off a curved road, backwards, at 70 mph, I had the best tires you could buy, and we made it -- though one can never be sure the tires were the saving grace. I have the Bridgestone SO3s on my relatively heavy M5 which lurches around but never breaks the pavement. On my 355 with the 265 Pirelli's on the back, I've lost traction when I didn't expect it and lament the poor tire wear. Recently I was chased by a cop who I knew would fine me for not having a front licence plate on -- NO JUSTICE THERE! -- and in such instances, I want the best rubber money can buy as I scream through alley ways. Lost the cop btw.

Cheers, P.

 

I am also looking at new wheels and tires for my 355 and on Tirerack I notice that for Pirelli in the OE tire size the best configuartion seems to be the PZeroAsimmetrico Direzionale for the Front and the PZero Asimettrico System for the rear any comments on how common it is to have different patterns front and rear?

 

Yokohama AD07 Neova are one of the best tires on the market, check if it comes in your sizes. You will not regret it.

 

JD,

I wouldn't risk it as the tires are the most important part on the car, IMO.... a tire will biuld up excessive heat if you go any distance at speed. You don't want to be thinking about them while your driving. I'm not suggesting you purchase "presitge", just play it safe. I don't drive fast normally in mine, either. But, if I drop it, the last thing I want to worry about is a tire problem.

Michelins are a good choice.

 

I never seen different tread patterns on a production vehicle. Besides the pattern, the construction of the tire may also be different. Either could cause strange handling behaviors.

Michael

 

that's why I asked about the speed rating. The manufactures follow this rating and they state the the safe MPH that their tires are good for, hence my inquiry about the 168 mph, vs the 186 mph. Even driving for distance at 120 (which I never do anywhere on the street or highway....maybe only 110 max for breif moments) I am still within a very good margin of safety. Overkill is good, but is too much overkill superfluous and why pay for it? On the track that is a different issue, but any tire, operated within it's specification, is a safe tire.

JD

 

Simple, I have had two blowouts on Goodyear Eagles in my old vette. It's not an experience I want for any of you...........or me again.

 

that can happen with ANY tire.

JD

 

Advised by posts on FerrariChat that my 355 would accomodate 295/35/18's on the rear, I stood by nervously today as the installers slipped this seemingly gargantuan tire on the rims, then on my car. Confirmation: It Fits! with lots of room to spare. Took the car for a spin along my favorite hair raising road and 'tempt me to death' curve and the Pilot Sport PS2s gripped like hell. It felt as if the 355s frame would bend before those tires would let loose.

 

What about extra rims for track? Anyone have recommendations for a cheap set of rims? And what about street/track tires? That is, track tires that "happen" to be street legal. I don't need Hoosiers but Falken makes some good tires that are good for the track (but have terrible wear ratings and wouldn't be good for street).

Scott