Porsche 911 Carrera (993)
Fresh rubber sees our ’90s 911 ready for another summer (and more) of driving adventures
THE 993 HAD BEEN STORED AWAY for a few months while the weather wasn’t so great, but with a new MOT needed I finally had an incentive to get back behind its wheel.
The flat-six fired up on the first attempt and I didn’t have to travel far before the car put a smile on my face again. The 993 represents everything I love about performance cars, being manual and rear-wheel drive, with great looks and the performance and soundtrack to match. I also appreciate a car that’s enjoyable even when driving short distances, and it definitely achieves that – to the point where journeys that are supposed to be short often turn into much longer ones…
A date with an MOT tester ensured things didn’t get out of hand on this occasion, and I’m pleased to say there were no problems acquiring a fresh certificate. One advisory, however, was that the semi-slick Yokohama A052 tyres were very close to the end of their life, especially the rears. So to ensure I was prepared for clocking up more miles over the coming months,
I started looking into a new set.
This time I wanted to go for something a little less extreme and more suitable for road driving in all weathers. The winner of last year’s evo tyre test (issue 304) was the new Bridgestone Potenza Sport, and after re-reading the article and being reminded of the Potenza’s table-topping results in our wet handling and aquaplaning tests, backed up with strong results in the dry disciplines too, I decided it should be just what I wanted for the 993.
I arranged to have a set fitted at Silverline 4x4 in Warwickshire, an official Bridgestone specialist with 35 years’ experience in fitting tyres to performance cars. This meant they had no issues fitting the tyres to my car’s split-rim wheels – which other companies have declined to deal with in the past – and then getting them perfectly balanced afterwards. I was eager to find out how the Bridgestones would perform on the 993, and on the drive home the car immediately felt different, with the ride noticeably more comfortable and accompanied by a marked reduction in road noise too, which made for a pleasant addition. Having since scrubbed them in over a few more miles, it’s clear that the steering feels slightly lighter than with my old tyres, while the front end is a little less aggressive on turn-in – both of which you’d expect when switching from a trackday-biased tyre to something more rounded. Crucially, the Potenzas still give great feedback through the steering – better than the old rubber, in fact, which is making it easier to judge grip levels.
A change for the better, then, and best of all I should now be able to enjoy the 993 in a wider range of conditions, which bodes well for more driving opportunities ahead.
‘This time I wanted something a little less extreme and more suitable for road driving in all weathers’
Date acquired April 2016 Total mileage 90,380 Mileage this month 151 Costs this month £45 (MOT), £598 (tyres) mpg this month 28.1