40YRW8

Well here's the story. My car is light, at 2983 lbs. and I am at 473 RWHP on a fairly conservative tune (and dyno). Since I have done almost all my planned mods, I have been looking for traction rather than horsepower since that is the current limiting factor in accelleration right now. As it was, from a rolling start in first gear, when the tach got to about 4000 RPM the tires would break loose and go up in smoke. I replaced the Goodyears with Michelin PS-2's (345X30X19) and traction was really good for about a year. As the rubber aged, grip diminished until my solid hook up went away. I kept the PS-2's until they wore out 3 years later. I went with PS Cups (345's also) knowing that they would wear out quickly but I was hoping that the would maintain the hook better and would actually wear out before they went away. Well, they have been on the car for just over a year and the bad news is that some of the bite has gone away and I am spinning at around 4500 RPM. The good news is that since I have been very kind to them, they are showing very little wear at 11,000 miles. I don't track or drag the car and performance runs on the street have been few and far between. Also, I have never tried heating the Cups to see how they will bite hot but I have to admit that when they were new, I was really, really impressed with the tire. And I haven't had one issue in the rain.
Gary

Bill Dearborn

They are not a drag racing tire. Their best operating tread temp is probably the same as other R compound tires which is in the 190 to 220 degree range. Normal driving on a highway in mid 80s ambient temps will get the tread temp to about 130 after a few miles. You don't want to spin them too much so smoking the tires may not be the best thing to do. You could try some tire softener and try and regain some grip that way but I don't know if it works for all rubber compounds.

Bill

Zee0hSix

Good to here since I just had my local shop order in a set for me. The OEM tires were toast at 10k miles.

tarmactrr

Sounds like you'd be better off with a Drag radial like the Nitto if you're looking for straight line traction and decent wear.

LFZ

Or Michelin Supersports is probably a better fit for you since it doesn't seem that you care about having a runflat. However, I'm not sure why you're running cup tires if you don't track, and you're having traction issues, yet you are "kind" to the car with few and far performance runs.. It doesn't make sense???

skxf430

11k on Sport Cups is like a record. I couldn't get more than 3k out of set with maybe 2 days of tracking. Went through a set with less than 1200 miles when the rears blistered on track.

GMuffley

3K on a set of tires is too expensive for my blood.

Zee0hSix

There is at least one other thread where most posters are claiming 20K to well over 30K miles on their Sport Cups.

Are you tracking your car in drifting events?

BEZ06

NO WAY!!! NEVER!!! NOT GONNA HAPPEN!!!

I've got a set of PS2 ZP's with almost 20,000, which includes more than 3,000 miles of hard track driving. I'll get another several thousand miles of street driving out of them.

It looks like I'll easily go more than 30,000 street miles on my current set of PS2 ZP tires that have done nothing but street driving.

But Sport Cups will NEVER last that long - especially if you track them.

The PSS or PS2 will have a pretty long life, but the PSC will never last as long.

Bob

Zee0hSix

My bad, posters are writing about Michelin cups, sports, sport cups, I thought they were all one in the same.

This is what I have on order....... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....6&autoModClar=

Did not even see the 'Cups' at Tire Rack but for the 99% street driving I do, these should be OK.

BEZ06

Aha - you have made a wise choice!!!

As I said above, I have almost 20,000 (which includes some 3,000 on the track). I may do a slight bit more track time on them, but will mostly only drive them on the street for another several thousand miles before they will be toast.

The PS2 ZP are outstanding tires on the street, and at the track they are much better than the stock Goodyears.

You'll like 'em!!!

Edited: I added a picture below of a rear PS2 ZP on my ZR1. It has a little more than 15,000 street miles. I'll probably get 30K out of this set.

Bob

AzDave47

The M Pilot Sport Cup tires are listed under the Streetable Track & Competition category, not with the other Max and UHP tires

40YRW8

Thanks, Bill. Ya, I pretty much knew that going in but, hey, if you never push the current trends, you're kinda stuck running with the pack (you race, you know where I am coming from). I wasn't looking for any kind of drag racing tire but I really enjoy a first gear blast when the tire stays hooked up. Ok, I have to admit that it gives a great demo to the passengers as well and I really enjoy showing off the capabilities of the car since the average guy (most performance guys included) have no clue what fast really means. All my other tires dead hooked (473 RWHP, 2600 ft.) until the rubber hardened and I was hoping the 80 tread wear would harden at about the same rate that it wore out and I wouldn't lose traction until about the same time it wore out. As a street tire, I actually really like the Cups on the rear and I think I will probably buy another set. I know the PSS has some great support but my personal guess is that traction is going to go away with normal age like pretty much everything else out there. Still too early to tell though, they haven't been around long enough.
Gary

AzDave47

Gary, I'm sure the PSC's have more grip than the PSS, which is a street tire. The PSS will also likely it will lose some of it's grip as it ages. For your needs, I think the PSC on the rear is the current best choice and they are still on sale at TR for $299 each which is hard to beat.

40YRW8

Dave, I was fooling around with the car today and just realized one advantage with the Cup tires. There is much less power oversteer on the street with this tire. I was pretty impressed. Sure wish they would wear out so I can justify new ones
Gary

AzDave47