I'm looking to buy a second set of track tires. I'm using Hoosier R3SO3's and am considering trying the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Competition Radials. Has anyone tried them on the track? How do they compare to the Hoosier's?

I heard they give up easy.



M

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread....ht=michelin+cup

Basically, the consensus on the 911 board is that these cars are not heavy enuff to heat them up. I have no experience with them, and of course, since you have 914-6, could have totally opposite results

The rennlist racing list had a discussion about these when they came out.

Consensus was, IIRC, pricey but will withstand many, many heat cycles. Very Good performance as well.
most users were 911 & 951 IIRC.

Thanks for the link Chris. I read enough good things that I might give them a try. Heat is not usually a problem at Willow Springs except for too much of it. I also may try 225/50/16 on the rear instead of my usual 245/45/16's.

i'd love to try them but i'm having trouble deciding on a tire size that will fit my wheels (7&8x15)
the search continues ...

I have also been thinking about trying them, maybe on my 15's (if 205/50's are available) when my Kumhos give up the ghost.

Have read the same reports about "similar" (not quite equal) performance to Hoosiers but much, much longer life. Makes the ~$30/tire extra cost seem worthwhile.

Anybody know how their weight compares to the Hoosiers though? That is clearly one reason the Hoosiers work so well. (No steel belts). Kumhos are heavy suckers.


Hey...nobody warned me beforehand that this track driving shit would result in having $3K in wheels/tires piled in the garage. But I guess we have it "easy" compared to the real widebody guys with their 18x12 wheels rubber.

Good point. I think the guy who posed the thread at Pelican lives in Michigan or Illinois, where it is hot, but not Willow Springs hot. Let us know how they work

I just went Go Kart racing, and they had a Indy 500 car there to touch and fondle. 400-40-15 rear Firestone Firehawks!

I have a semi tube 914 with a 2.8, weight just under 2K, and a pretty trick suspension set up. Home track is Summit Point, WV, with summer temps usually 95+.
Last year I ran 225's and 245's on 7 & 8 X16 Fuchs. Would consider myself lucky if I ever saw tire temps at 161 with hot tires at 34psi.
I talked to one of the Michelin guys that works for Michelin. His suggestion was to mount 225 and 245 on 8 & 9 X 16. His reasoning was to keep the sidewall as straight as possible and that would help keep the tred parallel to the track. Start at 30psi hot and work down. I settled on 28 hot.
I'm a de guy, last year I had 19 days with the usual 4 sessions a day. I could have used the tires this season without a problem.
Being a person that can't pass up an opportunity to spend money I bought another set of Cups and had them shaved and heat cycled and installed them on 8's and 9's.
Tires are wearing even better than last years with 14 track days on them.
Feed back from other drivers and my experience is they are slightly slower than Ho's. The good news is they do not go away and wear is excellent.
I'll buy them again (in 2 years ) or I have another itch to spend money.

Don; Thanks for the feedback. I'm running 205's and 245's on 7 & 8 X 16's. I agree that the 245 should be on a 9" rim. I mount them myself at my friends shop and it's a bear to get the 245 on my 8" rim. It has always bothered me that the sidewall has such a curve to it. I think my next set of Hoosiers will be 225 on the rear. I think I will give the Michelin's a try and use them as my main running set and save the second set of Hoosiers for timed runs.
Chris; I know the feelling. I have four sets of rims now. It seems like everytime I need something in the garage I have to move a set of wheels to get at it. I guess it's all part of the Ricky Racer lifestyle.

LOL, I have one set of Fuchs sitting here in my office. I didn't want to scare the wife by bringing home too much stuff at once. There is a fine art to "trickling" it into the garage a little at a time...

yeah, i know that feeling- when 4 boxes from PP and ebay showup- its like wtf is this? how much did this cost?

3 of the last 4 things I sold on Ebay that were 914 related, the buyer wanted me to ship to his office so his wife would not freak out!

I have the tires I buy from Tire Rack shipped to my mechanics shop. I think if my wife had to drag them in off the front porch I'd really hear about it.