GTS - A Few Questions
 

Hi everyone,

I purchased a '16 GTS a few months ago and I have a few questions related to this amazing car:

1. The tires on the car are Michelin Pilot Super Sports and they are amazing when temperatures are warm, but are hard, skippy and unsafe as the temperature drops as autumn approaches, even at temperatures of around 8 to 12 C. As I live in Toronto, I want to purchase new tires early next spring that will be able to take me into November without having to change them to my winters. Any suggestions?

2. On starting off from a stop, there is always this slight lag before the car accelerates, almost as if it was a manual transmission and I was releasing the clutch. I have never felt this with any other automatic transmission and I am wondering if this is normal.

3. Related to the lag in 2., what would be the best way to launch the car without having this time wasting lag?

Thanks

Rob

1. Super Sports are a great summer tire but don’t work well when the temperature drops below 8 degrees Celsius or so. I actually found they got too stiff and started skipping (called the acorn affect) below 12 degrees C here in Vancouver. I switched to Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus N-Spec tires (20” set up). These are Porsche rated and are so much more versatile and comfortable. You can run these almost all year, however I have winter and summer wheels as well so I mainly use them in spring and winter.

2. Lag is common on these cars. Get a Sprint Booster and the problem is gone.

Hope this helps!

Hi,

Yes, that was very helpful.

1. I also experience this skipping as well in colder temperatures, especially in slow turns, where the front end seems to skips sideways. I will buy the Pilot Sport AS for next seaon.

2. Does this Sprint Booster void the warranty and is it difficult to install?

Thanks again.

Acorn affect will be gone with tires rated for colder weather. I’ve run many brands over the years and Michelins are the best wearing tires for this car.

Sprint Booster is inexpensive and super easy to install. Search here and on Rennlist for more details. Few good YouTube videos too to help with install. It’s totally reversible and leaves no trace that it was installed so can simply remove before dealer service.

I have just installed Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's. Very good tire and may do what you are looking to do.

I also find the Super Sprts very hard, almost run flat hard, even in summer, so I am looking for a tire that gives great performance, a more comfortable ride, no skipping and can run even at colder temperatures, and I am looking forward to installing the Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus N-Spec next spring.

The AS+ N-spec is really no better, and arguably a tick worse than the newer AS4. It's an older design that's strictly for those that want a truly OEM tire. The AS4 is actually one performance rank higher than the N-spec, while the N-specs are significantly more expensive. I was open to both but ended up with the AS4

+1 on the pilot sport AS

i'm always in sport or sport+ to reduce the lag

Launch in Sport + with zero lag. Comfort or Sport launches in 2nd as you know.

Thanks for your responses.

Even in Sport Plus, there is still a little lag, but much less than in normal or sport modes (which launch in 2nd).

PDK transmission is basically an automatic manual transmission, in that there are clutches. The clutches do slip before fully engaging. See this article on Excellence magazine that explains.