GoatAutomotive
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Austin, TX
Dual-purpose street and track tire discussion. Taking a slightly different approach, so please step in and let's talk about your fat rubbers.
BACKGROUND - "what had happened was..."
...I managed to burn up an $1100 set of Michelin PS4S tires in just ~13k miles. Rotated them every 5k miles. HAD to. Enjoyed every hard corner of them.
They're currently at ~4/32" all around, and can limp along another 4-5k miles if I had to. Just no more track days left in them. Unacceptable.
(ed. - I get a $390 credit back due to Michelin's 30k mileage warranty, so that definitely helps...)
I have no complaints on these tires. Period. I am just open to considering other competitors for about the same cost. Hence this thread.
VEHICLE - Car is a 3100lb Mk7 GTI SE, DSG, stock IS20 snail, managed by EQT software on 93-pump, and enhanced my own selection of hardware...
When I was only driving the car on the Texas streets, and doing fast car club drives every 4-6 weeks, my answer would be "another set of PS4S tires, please".
Hands down. Zero thought required. But I got back into HPDEs this year, and that tends to change your psychology a bit...
10 years ago, when I was racing almost every weekend, you ran...
...Bridgestone RE-11s/RE-71s if you wanted the fastest times and good longevity, but didn't mind the heavy, stiff sidewalls and increased road noise.
...The Michelin PSS if you wanted BMW levels of grip, but near-luxury car road manners.
...The Direzza Star Spec Z1/2 if you wanted the RE-11 performance for ~40% lower cost.
...Sumitomos if you were poor and didn't mind coming in last place at every event.
But Now in 2023, the market is saturated with strong offerings from Falken, Hankook, Continental and others.
I noticed (in the 2022 TireRack track test comparison) that every tire, on the same car, same brakes, same drivers...was within ~1-1.5 seconds of its closest rival, on a 1:47 course. Talk about a close race!
Here is a screenshot of the completed data for those runs/tests:
I believe this info (and a discussion) is relevant for those of us who are serious about tire performance, who do not have as much issue with cold or wet performance, or who can't afford to run two sets of "shoes" on our escape hatches throughout the year.
And every tire shown above is still for sale and popular a year later, so there you have it.
Top of my shopping list right meow:
-Michelin PS4S (again, I would sleep with these in my bed at night if I could)
-Hankook Ventus R-S4 (thank you, Monkey!)
-Yoko Advan A052
-Falken RT660
Video below of the tire reviews, for those interested/shopping and wanting real-world testing in a controlled setting
(you can watch it while you eat or have a work break):
Readyyyy...DISCUSS!
BACKGROUND - "what had happened was..."
...I managed to burn up an $1100 set of Michelin PS4S tires in just ~13k miles. Rotated them every 5k miles. HAD to. Enjoyed every hard corner of them.
They're currently at ~4/32" all around, and can limp along another 4-5k miles if I had to. Just no more track days left in them. Unacceptable.
(ed. - I get a $390 credit back due to Michelin's 30k mileage warranty, so that definitely helps...)
I have no complaints on these tires. Period. I am just open to considering other competitors for about the same cost. Hence this thread.
VEHICLE - Car is a 3100lb Mk7 GTI SE, DSG, stock IS20 snail, managed by EQT software on 93-pump, and enhanced my own selection of hardware...
When I was only driving the car on the Texas streets, and doing fast car club drives every 4-6 weeks, my answer would be "another set of PS4S tires, please".
Hands down. Zero thought required. But I got back into HPDEs this year, and that tends to change your psychology a bit...
10 years ago, when I was racing almost every weekend, you ran...
...Bridgestone RE-11s/RE-71s if you wanted the fastest times and good longevity, but didn't mind the heavy, stiff sidewalls and increased road noise.
...The Michelin PSS if you wanted BMW levels of grip, but near-luxury car road manners.
...The Direzza Star Spec Z1/2 if you wanted the RE-11 performance for ~40% lower cost.
...Sumitomos if you were poor and didn't mind coming in last place at every event.
But Now in 2023, the market is saturated with strong offerings from Falken, Hankook, Continental and others.
I noticed (in the 2022 TireRack track test comparison) that every tire, on the same car, same brakes, same drivers...was within ~1-1.5 seconds of its closest rival, on a 1:47 course. Talk about a close race!
Here is a screenshot of the completed data for those runs/tests:
I believe this info (and a discussion) is relevant for those of us who are serious about tire performance, who do not have as much issue with cold or wet performance, or who can't afford to run two sets of "shoes" on our escape hatches throughout the year.
And every tire shown above is still for sale and popular a year later, so there you have it.
My question for the faster drivers and track hounds on here, is:
What tire do you favor/prefer that can last at least 10k miles of combined spirited street/boring highway duty, and still cut some consistent laps on a DE track day?
What tire do you favor/prefer that can last at least 10k miles of combined spirited street/boring highway duty, and still cut some consistent laps on a DE track day?
Top of my shopping list right meow:
-Michelin PS4S (again, I would sleep with these in my bed at night if I could)
-Hankook Ventus R-S4 (thank you, Monkey!)
-Yoko Advan A052
-Falken RT660
Video below of the tire reviews, for those interested/shopping and wanting real-world testing in a controlled setting
(you can watch it while you eat or have a work break):
Readyyyy...DISCUSS!
