How many people use a "track" tire such as the Pilot Sport Cups on their cars as a daily driver?

Is there a noticeable performance difference between the Pilot Sports and the Cups?

What is the difference in life expectancy due to the softer compound with average street driving (ya ya depends on the driver etc etc but just want a ballpark figure)

What are the other downsides? More prone to get a flat tire? More damage to the rim if you do get a flat?

 

i ran Corsas daily on my last GT2. slightly stiffer feel. if it rains where you live i'd run Corsas and NOT Cups. Corsas get by in alkl but deep water, Cups do not.

don't know on mileage: that set of Corsas had at least another 2000 in them after 2500 miles including 3 track days. i never got more than 5000 from regular pilot sports in the rear

 

I would not run Sport Cups as dailys, not the best in the rain and on streets they are a stiffer ride.

 

I ran the Cups daily for a few months...Not too bad, but I definetly noticed the stiffer ride.

If you live in a fairly dry climate, have twisties to play with everyday, don't mind rock chips all over your rear bumper...By all means...go for it!

 

These two tires are designed for completely different applications. The
Sport Cup's compound is designed to stick at around 200 deg F. It will
never get that hot on the street, and the grip will be disappointing. So, although the Sport Cup will give slightly quicker response and better
feel due to the lack of tread, it doesn't really make sense to give up wet
traction and probably some tread life to run a Michelin Sport Cup on the
street. These tires are not even recommended for AX because they take so
long to heat up and stick.

The Pilot Sport is probably the best street tire you can buy right now and
also does pretty well at the track or AX. When pushed hard on the track
though, it will ultimately overheat, loose grip, and wear quicker than the
Sport Cup.

Both tires are steel belted radials with a similar construction and there
will be little difference in susceptibility to flats.

If you want something stickier than the Pilot Sport on the street, can drive
around puddles, and don't mind buying tires every few months, look for a
Toyo RA1 in your size. Hoosier also make some very sticky DOT legal
competition tires that stick well when cold but they are pretty much slicks
with a tread-wear rating of 40 or less.

 

Forget Hoosiers for the street. They are so thin that very minor
road debris can puncture them, and they are so soft that
you could wear them out in a matter of months. Hoosier is
coming out with a new DOT design, the AS04.RS04, which
might be marginally safer/longerlasting on the street, but
they aren't available in a matched diameter set for our car yet.

 

I just checked out the ToyosRA1. Unfortunately their only tires
are 275s and 225s, and the diameters are just about a half-inch
different, so they wouldn't suit the 996tt.
Joe

 

(short of track use) they are able to push their Turbos hard enough on the street to warrant R compound tires.

I run Pilot Sport Cups on the track, but on the street? Not a good choice--they are expensive (the only tires that cost more would be the Pirelli Corsa's); for a track tire they give decent wear but compared to true street tires like the Pilot Sports, they don't last any time at all; the few times I've driven back and forth to the track on the Cups, I found them noisy and rough riding as others have said; whoever you get to do the tire mounting has to be good and patient because the Cups can be a bear to mount because they're stiffer than street tires of comparable size; I have never driven in the rain on them, but you will lose a considerable amount of wet traction.

If you're experiencing unacceptable performance on the street running normal street tires--I run Pirellis on the street--you may want to play with your tire pressures some. I drove on street tires both on the street and the track for a long, long time and only went to R compounds when I was out driving the street tires by a wide margin--the understeer was almost unbearable by the time I switched.

I've never experienced anything close to that in street driving, which is why I'm always amazed by people who out drive the street tires on the street.

My only complaint with the Pirelli P Zero street tires is they don't seem to stay in balance very long, and I may try some other tires when I need my next set of street rubber. But they have loads of grip in the dry for anything I'm going to do on the street and also for occaisional track weekends, and good rain performance.

 

Use PSC's daily.. great stuff. Not the best in the rain, I'm sure pilot sports are better in that regard, but otherwise they are way grippier than stock p zeros and seem to last just as long.

 

I have the Pilot Sport Cups on my car. Interestingly I'd say they were quieter than the Pirelli's that came on the car! I don't find the ride unacceptable and really enjoy the handling response. I have driven them in Autocross and found them to handle very well although I'm still not done experimenting with tire pressures.

I thought the Pirelli's got very noisy towards the end of their life.

As far as "out driving" the Pirelli's, not a chance. They stuck plenty well and handled just fine. I put the Sport Cups on because I liked the look (heresy!) and with the limited miles I put on the car I was willing to compromise life for handling.

When I wear these out I think I'll go to 235's on the front but not necessarily "stick" (pardon the pun) with the Sport Cups.