Porsche had some news today, and it didn’t have anything to do with their latest cars—it was about their old cars, and tires for their old cars, specifically.
Josh Barrett had the details for Total 911:
More than just a marketing ploy to extract more money from your wallet […] the N-rating process ensures that each approved [tire] features a construction tough enough to withstand the Porsche 911’s unique forces, with each specific 911 model coming with its own list of N-rated boots.
Approved [tires] are not just for the latest line of Zuffenhausen sports car […] Every year, after extensive testing, Porsche announces new N-rated rubber for its multitude of classic sports cars too, with 32 new tyre recommendations making the recently released 2016 summer list.
Before reading his post, I hadn’t heard of N-rated tires. Turns Out™, N-rated tires are all about Porsche.
Here’s some info I found at TireRack:
Porsche designs and manufacturers some of the highest performance vehicles in the world. Because of the integral role that tires play in vehicle performance, Porsche has integrated tire development throughout their process of vehicle development. To be an Original Equipment tire provider on a Porsche vehicle or be approved by Porsche for the replacement market requires the joint product development efforts of the tire engineers working alongside the Porsche vehicle engineers.
Production tires that have passed all of the tests and received the engineering department’s release can be branded with an N-specification.
I’ve always known that sports car manufacturers typically choose the `current hotness` tire for their latest models (e.g., Michelin Pilot Sport → Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 → Michelin Pilot Super Sport, etc.). But I had no idea that Porsche certifies specific tires for their cars, only after having co-developed them.
Here’s a screenshot from one of three PDFs released today, showing suggested tires for my favorite generation of 911, the 964:
