C8 Corvette Tire Selection
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Nov 2022
Posts: 14
Likes: 2
C8 Corvette Tire Selection
Currently the OEM Michelin 4s tires on my Z51/Magneride corvette are about to reach the wear indicator at ~9000 miles, and i'm quite torn on what to replace them with. My gut says to go with the OEM 4s option, however i've been looking at the Cup 2's with a lot of interest due to the incredible steering feedback and lateral grip they provide.
We get literally 0 rain where I live, so picking the Cup 2's would not be an issue, but what i'm worried about is that i've heard the Cup2's are less grippy than the 4s in all non-track related circumstances, even in spirited driving because "The cup2's will never get up to temp".
If anyone has any insight on if this claim is true or not, it would be greatly appreciated, as it is the only thing keeping me from swapping to the Cup2's at the moment.
We get literally 0 rain where I live, so picking the Cup 2's would not be an issue, but what i'm worried about is that i've heard the Cup2's are less grippy than the 4s in all non-track related circumstances, even in spirited driving because "The cup2's will never get up to temp".
If anyone has any insight on if this claim is true or not, it would be greatly appreciated, as it is the only thing keeping me from swapping to the Cup2's at the moment.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 4,079
Likes: 2,414
From: Florida
Currently the OEM Michelin 4s tires on my Z51/Magneride corvette are about to reach the wear indicator at ~9000 miles, and i'm quite torn on what to replace them with. My gut says to go with the OEM 4s option, however i've been looking at the Cup 2's with a lot of interest due to the incredible steering feedback and lateral grip they provide.
We get literally 0 rain where I live, so picking the Cup 2's would not be an issue, but what i'm worried about is that i've heard the Cup2's are less grippy than the 4s in all non-track related circumstances, even in spirited driving because "The cup2's will never get up to temp".
If anyone has any insight on if this claim is true or not, it would be greatly appreciated, as it is the only thing keeping me from swapping to the Cup2's at the moment.
We get literally 0 rain where I live, so picking the Cup 2's would not be an issue, but what i'm worried about is that i've heard the Cup2's are less grippy than the 4s in all non-track related circumstances, even in spirited driving because "The cup2's will never get up to temp".
If anyone has any insight on if this claim is true or not, it would be greatly appreciated, as it is the only thing keeping me from swapping to the Cup2's at the moment.
Advanced
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 55
Likes: 11
From: Aiken SC
I am in the same boat and have driven both 4s and reg 180 TW SC2's on the street and track. The 180 TW SC2's really only excel on the street on dry warm days, but pick up rocks like crazy and are pretty sketch in cool rain.
I would really suggest looking at the new 240 TW Sport Cup 2 connect. I am not a big fan of the connect (option) but they don't cost much more and they are marketed as a extreme perf summer tire vs a streetable track tire. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...e&autoModClar=
Different compound on the sport cup 2 connect really seems to bridge the gap between 4s and the "old" SC2 nicely.
Also have to really look carefully at which of the "old" 180TW psc2 you get....N0, N1 (Porsche specific), M0 and M01 for Merc, Ferrari, Ford, and BMW Star spec are all different, some very different compounds and even tread depths and tread patterns. Some. front sizes that fit the Corvette like 265 bmw star spec are meant to be rear tires on BMW.....
I would really suggest looking at the new 240 TW Sport Cup 2 connect. I am not a big fan of the connect (option) but they don't cost much more and they are marketed as a extreme perf summer tire vs a streetable track tire. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...e&autoModClar=
Different compound on the sport cup 2 connect really seems to bridge the gap between 4s and the "old" SC2 nicely.
Also have to really look carefully at which of the "old" 180TW psc2 you get....N0, N1 (Porsche specific), M0 and M01 for Merc, Ferrari, Ford, and BMW Star spec are all different, some very different compounds and even tread depths and tread patterns. Some. front sizes that fit the Corvette like 265 bmw star spec are meant to be rear tires on BMW.....
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 842
Likes: 526
From: Colorado Springs
Ok. No C8 for me yet, but I have experience with CUP2 tires on my GT350R. The grip is outstanding, but be prepared to have rocks thrown everywhere. Also, plan on increased paint damage due to rocks chips. Personally, there is probably a better tire than the OEM ones, but there are downsides to running too sticky tires on the street.
