colnago
Per
Kent 
, I am adding more fuel/info to the fire regarding tire classifications. While looking for new tires for my "real life" car, Bridgestone Pole Position S-02s, I noticed the
"N2" designation next to the tire description. Being that the S-02s are among the "stickiest" street tires on the market, it would contradict "my" original thoughts about the tire classification if they are rated at "N2". Again, here is what Tire Rack has to say about the "Real Life" tire notation of the "Nx":
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=26
Production tires that have passed all of the tests and received the engineering department's release can be branded with an N-specification. The N-specification brandings include: N-0 (N-zero), N-1, N-2, N-3 or N-4. These markings on a tire's sidewall clearly identify them as approved by Porsche for their vehicles. The N-0 marking is assigned to the first approved version of a tire design. As that design is refined externally or internally, the later significant evolutions will result in a new generation of the tire to be branded with N-1, N-2, N-3, etc., in succession. When a completely new tire design is approved, it receives the N-0 branding and the succession begins again.
Question now is what was PD thinking in regards to the rating system? Just because tires "come with the car from the factory", that tire is going to differ from car to car. A blanket "N2" tires are unrealistic, or "N3" are only for Supercars, wouldn't apply from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Based on the Porsche system, an "N3" could just be a "stickier" version of an "N2" Pole Position. I guess all that matters is that N3s are obviously "softer" than N1s...but now at least I know where the "N" came from and what it means.
I don't think GT4 is using this "Porsche system" to classify N-tires. Your first post in this thread seems to be correct. On Bridgestone's website, there are six categories of tires they sell: Performance, Touring, Passenger, Winter, Light/Medium Truck, and Specialty. I believe that N1 tires are in the passenger category, N2 tires are in the touring category, and N3 tires are in the performance category (truck, winter, and specialty tires aren't in the game). Your Pole Position tires are listed under the category of "performance", so those tires would be N3 tires in GT4.
However, with the N2 designation next to the description, it could be possible that in real life, N1 Pole Position tires could be the lowest quality of Pole Position tires, and your N2's could be a step up, as well with N3's and N4's. This system could just merely be a grading system for each category of tires.
For example, let's say that Porsche is making a Carrera. They know they are going to use Bridgestone Pole Position tires. However, when Bridgestone is making the tire, they are required to use Porsche's tire grading system. Porsche requires the quality to be no less than N3. Bridgestone is making the tire, and once the quality reaches N2, they give Porsche the tire, they reject it because the quality isn't up to par with a Carrera. So Bridgestone makes the tire quality N3, they submit it, and Porsche puts the high quality tire on their Carrera.
However, this is with Porsche, your link doesn't say if Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, BMW, and the other companies uses this system, and Porsche isn't even in the game. So I would say that this grading system isn't in the game.
I think that the only way we know what category of tires cars come with is to go on the company's website, look at the tire specs for the vehicle that's in the game, look up the tire on the internet, and classify that tire as an Economy (Passenger) tire, Comfort (Touring) tire, or Road (Performance).
As a few examples, a Toyota MR2 Spyder would have N2 tires, a Ford GT would have N3 tires, and a cheapie car would have N1 tires.
Duck7892
