Best Tire Currently Available for Mostly Track Use

[witz323]

I have a 2004 that is primarily used for road course events. My Sport Cups are more old than worn out, so I'd like a fresh set for next summer. I noticed that tire rack only has Super Sports available. I'm guessing these would be comparable to the PS2s, which I had before the Sport Cups. These would be ok, but I was looking for something closer to the Cup tire, but not a hoosier/full slick. Does anyone have any suggestions? Wheels are OEM gen 3, so I need a 345 19" rear and either a 275 or 295 18" front.

[Special Ed]

Call JonB at Partsrack he will point you in the right direction.

[witz323]

I have e-mailed with JonB and he has the Toyos (I'm assuming R888s), Pirelli Corsas, and Michelin SuperSports. He also has the Pirelli P-Zeros, but I have ruled these out as I am looking for more grip.

I drive the viper less than 1,000 miles/year. I typically drive to Road America, do 4-5 30 min sessions, then drive it home. I do this about twice a year, and maybe do 300 miles of local driving per summer.

Can anyone with some track experience on either the Toyos or Corsas please chime in? I'm coming off a set of sport cups, which I liked quite a bit.

[shnickerlaus]

The toto r888 are very sticky for a road legal tyre I'm not sure you can get much better, I've yet to try them on my viper but I had a set on a gt500 and they were great. Not a long tread life as they only come with 4/5 mm tread I think, but then as they are a soft compound you wouldn't use them over years as they harden up through time. With the little millage you are going to be doing I would say they should be fine for a year or two depending on how hard you push them in the track sessions. I got 2 track days and 6000 miles over 18 months out of them on the gt500 so they did alright.

Can't speak for the Pirelli tyre as I only ever had a set of corsa asymmetrical on a Mercedes A45 AMG, only used on road but they have very good grip maybe because the car had a 4wd system. I am using Michelin super sports on the acr at minute and finding that it runs out of grip right when you need it, I am thinking of getting the r888 but they don't make them in the uk. So I make do with super sports for road and Hoosier for track.

[rw99]

R888 or Corsa.

I actually prefer the Corsas to the old Cups. They provide more audible feedback and let go more predictably, for me. Run at 32-34 hot.


Rich

[darbgnik]

The Michelin Sport Cup 2 now comes in Viper sizes according to Tire Rack, I'm curious about them myself!

[Bill Pemberton]

VOA members can buy Pirelli Corsas for 1550 delivered to your door , so one good option and a tire that can be driven back and forth to the track and not bad in the rain. The new Sport Cup 2s are getting better reviews from my fellow track rats , and driving in the rain is slightly better , but still a concern. The R888 is not very good in the rain either, quite noisy , but likely decent on the track. Frankly only the Sport Cup 2 will be fairly close to a Hoosier R7, but as noted it is still not a great choice if concerned about rain ( even if light rain ). The Pirelli was designed for the car , understanding that it would be driven on the street, so for occasional track use and highway driving it makes the most sense , especially with the VOA negotiated price for members - so see joining has some benefits right off the bat, ha!!

[witz323]

I contacted a sales rep at Tire Rack named Steve today and he said the Sport Cup 2s are not available in viper sizes.

[darbgnik]

They are supposedly available in Gen 4 ACR sizes, which is what you'd choose for a track tire: 295/30R18 and 345/30R19. I'm actually thinking about them for my Gen 5. As an aside, the 295 Cup 2 has almost an inch wider tread than the Corsa, which is a big footprint difference.

I kill the front Corsa tires in 1 track day, these days, and generally they start to go off after 15 minutes into a session. They are really good dual purpose, if you're mostly street driving them. If you do more tracking than street, I'd try the cups. Even with the VOA deal, I go through a lot of Corsa's, so the value component goes down......

[witz323]

Tirerack only carries Hoosiers for the Gen 4 ACR. There are no Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires available for any Viper wheels. I called them a second time to verify.

[Bill Pemberton]

Fronts are fine, they only carry a 325 width for the rear , so that is the issue.

[witz323]

So back to the original post...what are the best AVAILABLE options for track tire that can also be street driven (very little). It sounds like either the R888s or the Corsas. Anyone else who can provide input on either of these? I would appreciate it.

[darbgnik]

Tirerack only carries Hoosiers for the Gen 4 ACR. There are no Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires available for any Viper wheels. I called them a second time to verify.

Well, WTF? Looks like Tire Rack corrected their size charts. I screen shot the size chart a few weeks ago and the 345/30R19 was on there, and now it's not! My bad apparently.

But it's still on the Michelin website, I just checked it. Might have to try another Michelin dealer?

[viper04blk]

I am not sure if this proves anything for your application........

I just tried my super sports at -2C (28F) and I had full traction (gen 3) thru the entire rpm at WOT. That is all that I need to be impressed by a tire.

[Rocket]

Super sports are more of a street tire with limited track use. Not as sticky as the old PS2's and no where near the track tire as the sport cup.

[Bill Pemberton]

Actually according to the two lead Engineers ( Heuschele and Winkler ) the Super Sports were quicker than the PS2s in the dry and much better in the rain. They also did not have the horrible groove of doom on the outside edge that occurred with those that autocrossed the PS2s. Bunch of the One Lap of America racers ran on the Super Sports. But, they are more of a street tire for limited track use as noted above.