C5 Hardtop

I need some help choosing tires. The Supercar run flats are not as grippy as I'd like and I want to replace them, but don't know which ones will be the best for the track.

Out of the list from the link, which are the top 3 for track use?


The list from Tirerack is here (2 pages)

Thanks!

C5 Hardtop

ok, so I can get more hits, please help me choose a tire by picking one instead of three. The idea for three of them was so hopefully I could get one from the list where the rears would be under $450 a piece.

90Z51

The problem is that none of those tires are really intended for track use, they are all street tires. That being said, I'd probably pick either the Bridgestone RE050A or the Michelin PS2.

C5 Hardtop

Cool, thanks!

The reasoning for that list is that its not feesible for me to buy and transport track tires so I need to use whats available that fits what rims I have on my car (stock 08).

Joel

TommyBoy72

FWIW I was able to pull consistent 1G+ on the Ecsta SPT on a stock 993 C4S with just shocks and alignment. They were very consistent and didn't seem to overheat during an autox school (it was my demo car for the event). If you don't need the absolute fastest street tire, it would be worth considering and you could buy two sets for the price of one set of PS2s. Also look at alternate sizes, I'm not sure what fits a C6 but there are more performance tires than that I assume.

Davinss

What about the kuhmo ecxta mx or the falken axenis r615 (not sold through tire rack)? They are both good track tires and not expensive...

AU N EGL

I ran my first 10 DEs on Mich PS tires. Lots of the One Lap guys use the Mich PS2. Good combo tire

Many guys like the NITTO tires too.

There is no IDEAL street DD AND track tire. You make do with what you have.

avizandum

This is a bit dated but interesting: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/..._tread_feature

FWIW I run DDs at AX events and when my F1s wear out I'm going to look hard at the Yokohamas. They have the same tread pattern as the PS2s with a 180 wear rating.

Get an alignment and run with what you have - they'll wear out!

Miaugi

I'm also looking for new tires. Currently I have two sets of wheels, my street set and my track set, problem is I don't want to trailer my track set so I need tires I can drive to the track and then run on.

I'm seriously considering the PS2's as I've heard good things about them and I'm told Spring Mountain cars use them as well. I just wish I could find them at a better price.

freefall

PS2's are great tires. I run the kdw2's around town - they do great and handle the wet without issue and wear well. I haven't tried them on the track though.

Ojustracing

For dry tracks the BFG KD were awsome. Things stick like glue. I never had the chance to drive them on track in wet. We did run Bridgestones this yr during One Lap. But again I didnt drive on track in the wet. When they were worn out at the end of the event driving in rain was not much fun.........

John

ccj

C5 Hardtop.

Why not a 2nd set of wheels for track days? I swap wheel/tires and brake pads at home before the event and then drive down to Pacific or even Portland on those tires.

A set of Nitto R2's or NT-01, Toyo RA1 or R888 would net you plenty of track time + the drive time to and from the track.

From the posts, it looks like your dricing a C6 now, but if I misunderstood I have some really clean chrome replica C56 Z wheels that need a new home (they were my track wheels).

C5 Hardtop

Yep, got a C6 now.

I'm driving to Thunderhill in Northern California and don't want to drive on track tires for 1200+ miles. The risk of getting a flat would go up big time.

Thanks though

gkull

My question would be: are you limited to using such small width of tires on your rims? Adding 20-30 mm of width really adds to corning "G" potential

C5 Hardtop

I'm not sure what the limits are. Discount Tires' computer said I could go 10mm bigger, so a 295 in back and 255 up front w/out causing problems. However, that did not open up any options for better tires for both front and rear. The limit would be whatever would throw off the PCM so the diameter would need to be the same I guess.

steel_3d

You just missed the 500 dollar travel rewards promotion thing on the ps2's. But then again, I don't know yet if it's usable at all or complete bull****. Otherwise, yes, they are expensive as all hell. But there are not many good alternatives. Kumho MX's, BFG KD's, falken rt-615's don't come in our rear size.

A few things I noticed about the ps2's (just had them installed yesterday).

1) The sidewall is extremely thin and soft. You can easily compress it by hand. We'll see if it feels different in turn-in response compared to the f1's. Ride is obviously softer, not that I needed that.

2) The sidewall doesn't sit as nice and square with the rim as the f1's. Would almost say it looks ****ty. The sidewall curves in towards the tread. I think could have definitely gone at least 10 or 20mm wider. But the cost goes up as well, and not sure how good of an idea it is with such a soft sidewall (anyone?). The oversizes are available for the front, but nothing quite right for the back. Look on Michelin's site for diameters. I did measure the width of the actual tread though, and it looked to me the same as the supercars: 9.5" front, 11" rear.

3) The water drainage grooves on the front tires are HUGE, makes me feel like I'm losing out on some grip. Probably not a bad idea in rainy climates though.

Having said all that, I couldn't find another option. Hankook has a few choices that can work (s1 evo and v12 evo) but their treadwear is too high so they're probably not sticky enough. But their r-s2 works well according to my friend. I've heard the Nitto Invo sucks, good thing I didn't get that. People have mixed opinions about the re050a, I dunno if I'd go for it. The kdw's are ok, but apparently not in the same category as ps2. Everything else is in the same price range as ps2.

That's all I know. I'll go to the track next friday, maybe I'll have some impressions of the ps2's compared to the supercars.

C5 Hardtop

Thanks for that Steel, I look forward to your report.

Miaugi

....me too! Steel 3D...how about some pics if possible?

steel_3d

Ps2 Pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.ma...33824017227298

http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.ma...33868471543090

http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.ma...33928578178386

http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.ma...33981507030818

Buffy

The PS2s are very nice, and probably the closest thing there is to an all-around street / track tire. The only real downside is the cost.

A take-off set of stock wheels won't set you back that much, and some DOT-Rs or racing rubber on them will save your street tires for the street and keep your track tires from being used up on the way to the grocery store. In my experience tires that do well for one don't usually do well for the other - as I say, the PS2 is the best all-around tire I've used, and its worth it to me to run them on the street in the summer.

Personally, I don't think increasing tire size much without corresponding suspension modifications will gain you as much as good sticky tires. Remember when you start changing offsets and track you're changing your effective spring and damper rates.