997.1 GT3 Tyres

[drneilinoz]

What's the feeling with the best road / track Michelins for a 997.1 GT3 Clubsport? Mostly a road driver, but will want to track it a few times a year. Car currently has old Pilot Cups on. Replace with new Pilot Cup 2's, or are Michelin Super Sports a good option if not wanting to chase 10ths of seconds on the track?

[arcamalpha]

I'd say either of those. The Cup2s are quite stuff so they are precise and grip is impressive. They won't overheat on track so easily either.

The SuperSports are a better road tyre - more compliant, better in the wet etc. I've not driven them on track but they won't cope with so many quick laps like a Cup will.

I was going to swap to SuperSports when my last set of Cups ran out. However, I was curious about the Cup2s and have been very impressed by them. They don't have anything like the same weaknesses as the Cups.

[drneilinoz]

Within reason and not drifting, how many track days and road miles are Pilot Cup 2's good for? I know they wear better than the previous Cup and have +-1mm extra tread.

[arcamalpha]

I'm still on my first set so too early to tell. However, after 1 track day and about 1000 road miles they still look almost new in terms of tread depth.

[Cunno]

Just finished off my first set of cup 2s. 6000miles including 9 track days. My car is rose jointed so do get less wear than most, but still a good return.

[braddo]

Cunno said:

... 6000miles including 9 track days...

To me that seems outstanding. I hope my current tyres are much less durable than that so that I get a set of Cup 2s!

Is there a consensus on how many track days it takes a GT3 to rip through a set of road tyes (e.g. PS2, P Zero)? I thought it might be in the region of 4-5 track days.

[slodge]

Just did 2 full days at Spa plus drove there and back on new Cups 2s (996.2 GT3 on Ohlins and Black Series bushes). They looked pretty box fresh yesterday, so either I wasn't trying hard enough or they are a cracking tyre! (Probably both.) Ended up running them with a lower PSI on track though than Michelin recommend, just felt better and more stable with a bit more out. Once pressures sorted had mega traction round corners like Pouhon AND significantly quieter on the motorway than R888s - positively ate up the tarmac on the smooth autoroute.

Cheers

Slodge

[DiscoColin]

braddo said:

Cunno said:

... 6000miles including 9 track days...

To me that seems outstanding. I hope my current tyres are much less durable than that so that I get a set of Cup 2s!

Is there a consensus on how many track days it takes a GT3 to rip through a set of road tyes (e.g. PS2, P Zero)? I thought it might be in the region of 4-5 track days.

I used to run PS2s on a 996 GT3 a while back. The answer is actually sensitive to geo, driving style and plain opinion. On a car with something close to factory geo the car will do bad things to the sidewalls in only a few track days. Also, by the time that they are half worn from track activity the heat cycles will already degrade the performance to a point where you want to bin them long before they are out of tread (which I did a few times before moving on to Cups). If you could get a consensus it will almost certainly be a number a lot lower than we are finding with the Cup2 (Jon's numbers are broadly consistent with what I and others are seeing).

If you weren't tracking at all then the Supersport should give you greater longevity with similar cold performance, but if they will go to track temperature the Cup2 is the optimal choice. Due to the improvement in longevity and wet weather performance, IMHO the 2 also buries any case for putting the older Cup/Cup+ on a car - even if they were heavily discounted. As a tyre for any GT3, the PS2 is thoroughly obsolete though.