vette ruminator

I have a set of Pilot Sport Cups that I drive to the track with. The fronts are done but the rears are fine. I only have a few track days left and I may be using a totally different setup next spring, so 2 new MPSCs for $760 from Tire Rack plus mount/ship/tax = $800 for 3 track days is killin' me. I have some scrub MPSC fronts but they're looking pretty sorry, too.

Has anyone used different front/rear setup with success? How about Toyo Proxes R888 295/30/18 (stock rims) with my 1/2 used OEM sized MPSC rears? $400 for the set of new fronts is a lot more palatable. The tires have to be streetable to the track; can't use Hoosiers this time around and I would like to use up the rear MPSCs as they still have bite and tread left in them.

Thanks for the input.

PeOR

I have not tried to use different brands of tires but am thinking this would probably be comparable driving with heat cycled tires rear and brand new front.

With R888 you get an excellent grip already from start where the MPSC needs some heat. As long as you are aware of that difference, why not try?

PeO.

AU N EGL

Not a good idea to mix tire brands.

the MPSC have much more grip then the R888. You will feel like you are understeeting all the time.

CHJ In Virginia

I would never recommend a mix and match on tire type. Different compounds with different grip can cause very squirly handling. I can understand the financial situation being at the end of the season. Give it a try but be very careful before going all out on the combination.

Dirty Howie

Sell your CUPS and buy a set of something else used ........


DH

longdaddy

fresh 888 + cups with some heat cycles might actually work out OK until 888s harden up.

on the other hand, you are saving $400 by taking a risk that you will have 3 un-fun days where your energy will go into fighting the car instead of enjoying it.

i did a few DEs with front tires having significantly less grip. it's not fun and not very educational -you just slow down a lot for the corners you know you can take fast.

it's actually more fun to drive with rears having less traction - adrenaline boost in almost every corner

froggy47

I have mixed a6 & 710 with zero issues. I think it all depends on how close/far the grip differs on a given car and I don't think you can REALLY tell until you try it.

argonaut

I've mixed NT01s with Hoosier Koni cups with 555s of varying age, etc. I've owned the Vette 2 years and have never had a matched set on it. Guess I don't know what I'm missing...

bobmoore2

If you have lots more grip in back than the front, then the car will understeer. That's more controllable, but less fun.

If you have lots more grip in front than the back, then the car will tend to snap oversteer. This can be very dangerous. The one time I tried this (Kumho V710s in front, and Toyo RA-1s in back), I ended up spinning and hitting a tire wall. I would not recommend this combination!

I do not know how the MPSCs compare to the R888s. You make the call...

Joe_Knesek

If professional teams didn't have tire deals, were actually paying for their tires & had access to anything they wanted, I promise you they would mix sets. This is a common practice in some forms of racing such as karting & motocross.

I see nothing wrong with mixing tire brands or compounds as long as you understand their traits & impact. I have a rear wide body kit on my car & run softer compound fronts which corrected understeer & knocked 1.2 seconds off my lap times.

bobmoore2

That's one way to correct understeer caused by narrower front tires.

vette ruminator

I would think that new 888s would have good grip (especially compared to used up MPSCs); the rear MPSCs still have grip but are not new... I would have guessed understeer from brand new fronts would be less of an issue than oversteer from new fronts and 1/2 used rears. I appreciate everyone's comments and different points of view on this one...

vette ruminator

redtopz

I would go for it. I had a set of Dunlop slicks that I bought used (scrubs) for a weekend at Reno/Fernley raceway. I ended up cording the front tires halfway through the first day and didn't have any spares. A porsche driver told me he just removed a set of nitto nt01's and they were in a dumpster at a Reno tire store. So I went to the store had them pull them out of the recycle dumpster and mount them on my car. Made it through the rest of the weekend with no issues. I had to adjust my driving a bit as the slicks gained grip during the session and the heat cycled nittos lost grip, but no big deal. Your 888 and sport cups will be much more compatible than my example. You can also compensate with tire pressures during the day to balance things out.