Is It A Terrible Idea To Run Semi-Slick Day Tyres All Year Round?
The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 is a mighty tyre. There’s a reason they’re the tyre of choice for cars like the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Mercedes-AMG GT R and the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 ZTK: not only are these semi-slick, track-friendly boots spectacularly grippy, they also help feedback and sharpen up the turn-in to each corner, mostly thanks to stiffer sidewalls.
However, these attributes are offset by a lot of downsides. A stiffer sidewall means a harsher ride, while the way the compound is tuned - combined with a reduction in tread - results in a big drop in wet grip. So, should you or should you not run a tyre like the Cup 2 all year round?
That’s what Tyre Reviews set out to do, using an E92 BMW M3 as a test subject with a set of Michelin PS4 S hoops used as a comparison point. And even with a modest amount of torque on offer from the car’s 4.0-litre, naturally-aspirated V8, driving in damp conditions on the Cup 2 takes a lot of concentration.
So it is a bad idea to run them all year round, then? Not necessarily - as Jonathan Benson explains here, a lot of it is going to be down to how you’re going to use your car, and what kind of driver you are. Plus, it also helps if you understand why a tyre like the Cup 2 behaves the way it does in cold and wet conditions - make sure you stick around for the ‘yeah, science!‘ portion of the video, and you’ll almost certainly learn something new about tyre design.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
The treadwear of the track tires might prove tiring..
Oh get a grip.
Of course it is. It’s already a stupid idea to run summer tires all year around, let alone semi slicks. If you don’t want do die, use winter tires in the winter.
I wouldn’t even use semi slicks on the public roads at all. Nobody will ever notice the advantage of semi slicks while daily driving, but the disadvantages will be more than obvious.
You’re right.
Not to sound like a “non-car guy” when I say this, driving on the road isn’t about performance. The idea is to be safe and comfortable, performance isn’t meant to be either of those and using tyres like these is a hazard. Get proper road tyres design for the road, and only use these kind of tyres when you intend to be racey.
If you live somewhere it very rarely snows, i would not recommend winter tires. I live in a place that gets snow in the winter, and use winter tires between November and March. Winter tires are much worse than summer tires in wet conditions, and if you live in a town or a place they are salting the roads, summer tires might be a better choice.
I’m running Yokohama Advan Neova AD08R on my rx8, but then again it’s only a weekend car
That’s wheel and tire porn material right there.
Definitely is one of the best all-round tyres at the market.
Rain/dry performance is the golden mean amongst Extreme Performance tyres.
But of course it’s not as grippy on dry as Cup2, R888 or Advan A052 track tyres… but still great all rounder
My car runs NS2R’S and there pretty good for ever day driving in the uk. Can deal with 370lbft in the rain and even frost conditions (because lsd bro), obviously you have to drive to the conditions of the road but not once have I thought ‘this is dangerous’
Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Mercedes-AMG GT R and the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 ZTK aren’t wearing the shown regular Cup 2s. All equiped with the ZP-Cup2 which is mainly a complete different tyre than the Cup2 and basically the closest you can get to slick with a e-mark.
In California, yep.
You would probably die here.
[DELETED]
Ps4 is just so good on the road I don’t really see the point. Had some toyo tr1 this year as well and it’s a fairly big ask breaking traction on them in the dry. Rather have the wet grip from a road focused performance tyre than the marginal gains of a semi slick in good weather.
I live in Vermont. It snows here. This isn’t a good idea.