It seems like common tire choices surround Pirelli P-Zero, Bridgestone Potenza, and Michelin Pilot Super Sport for my 997.1 turbo. When I got my car back in Feb, it had Bridgestone on them, needed new fronts, so stuck with Bridgestone to keep set same. This is garage kept, low mileage pleasure occasional weekend driver that am using for more aggressive stuff now. Have had 1 track day so far and intend to do 2-3 per year. This prompts a few questions and am curious if there is consensus.
-what is best tire for normal driving?


-what is best tire for road course?
-what about top speed at TexasMile?
-do we need to maintain set or mix match brands?
-do these tires require normal spin balance or road force balance?

 

If your road miles are limited and you're not spending too much time in the rain, I'd suggest Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2's. Sticky enough to be more focused on your DE days.

That said, MPSS stand up reasonably well to fun use, and with only 2-3 events per year you'd easily get two years out of them. Mine have seen 6 track days and 11,000 miles total in the last 18 months, and they should last another couple of track days/months. They've definitely heat cycled a few too many times and they go off pretty quickly now, but not enough to discard them. I have a set of MPSC2 ready to go on for the summer.

 

It's almost better to use 2 of wheels ,because the track & airstrip tires that work best like the Mpsc on track & Toyo 888 on airstrips will wear out very quickly with regular street driving ,I've heard as little as 2000 miles for some of the R compound tires.

 

Normal street driving - Michelin PSS is terrific. Quiet, great cold grip, good warm grip, terrific in the rain too.

Track/Drag/Airstrip - if you are looking for one tire to do it all, then nothing can touch the R888.

 

I agree with above.

One note: I had the Toyos on my Gallardo and they were indeed grippy, but noisy as they aged and they do age fast! Also, they do not give you the best lateral handling due to softer tire wall compared to the MPSS or stock BS tires.

Hope this helps

Thanks,
E-Gear

 

I recommend two sets of wheels. One for the track - 18" are probably best - and one set for street. A good set of tires for the track possibly R888. Tires for the street - Michelin probably best, but don't overlook Hankook which is an excellent street tire at a great price point. I would avoid Pirelli. I've been disappointed in Pirelli more than once.

 

MPSS are a great all around tire, especially for the street.

Next i would get Bridge or Hankooks

Dont mix and match tires if you are going to do track and mile events. I wouldnt do it in the 911tt at all due to the AWD.

Will the car physically drive? Yes
Will you notice? Maybe, maybe not.
Would i do it? No

I have done it in the past on other cars...sometimes out of necessity sometimes because RWD cars like DR or wear out rears fast. But i wouldnt on the 911.

If your fronts are still good just buy one more set of rears and then you will prolly need all 4 or replace all 4 and keep the front 2 you have now as spares. Or just sell them.

 

MPSC2 wear surprising well on the street...what a great tire.

 

If you think R888s are good I would suggest NT-01s a much better tire that will grip until they cord

 

Kwiksilver; why are 18" better for track compared to stock 19" wheels?

 

1. better selection of R compound tires
2. wider tire sidewall for smoother ride/ somewhat better handling
3. lighter weight/ less unsprung weight
4. less costly
There have been some debates over 18" vs 19" for the track. If you do a google search on the subject you can see all of the pros and cons, but if you are near a track check out what the race cars are running. Most prefer 17" or 18"

 

For your use I'd also go with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2. Its a fantastic tyre from experience on both road and track. Best all round tyre out there at the moment IMO.

 

MPSS is my fave street tire right now but has been unavailable in our sizes for around a year, unless that changed recently. FWIW I will most likely go to the MPSC2 next time I need rubber.

 

I do believe things are better now. I just bought a set of rears for my 997.2 TT from Tire Rack.

 

Would you all recommend to run the Toyo R888's to the track or would you say to swap at the track if you are gonna run that tire?

I use MPSS on my 20" street set-up and i am very happy with them.

I recently put some MPSS on my track wheels because i don't trailer the car to the track and was worried that the R888's would wear out super quick driving on the highway to the events. I figured that the MPSS would be fine for awhile until i can see how often i will be tracking the car.

Curious what y'alls opinion is on that