Tyre recommendation 996 GT3

[mc968cs]

Cup 2 = an awesome road and track compromise. 
Note compromise is the key - good at both but best at neither road or track. 

[Shedpest]

9 hours ago, TrevMcRev said:

Ended up trying Bridgestone RE71RS last week based on reviews and comparisons with the above. Worth a look. Just did Winton on them in the dry and drove home in torrential rain. And survived both!

I ran RE71RS' as track tyres for the last year(3 track days and a training session)and they have held up well, last track I found there limit with a combination of warm track conditions, near end of life and more agresssive driving.

Still a good bang for buck option. 

[NAC911]

2 minutes ago, mc968cs said:

Cup 2 = an awesome road and track compromise. 
Note compromise is the key - good at both but best at neither road or track. 

Where do you see the 4s? 

I'm having a hard time deciding between them given i know how good the 4s is on heavy high powered cars, Cup 2's have been more track focused tyre that required warmup and has a much shorter life. 

 

[mc968cs]

I had the cup 2 on my bmw csl for 500km.  As road car tyre - they were pretty average when cold. Also average when wet.  Not bad, but average. Too average for me.  

Sold them and went 4s - they are awesome wet or dry. 10/10 on road.

So then pulled cup 2 off my gt3 and went 4s.  Used 4s on track a few times too, mainly when wet or a fun session, not for times.  For times on the GT3 used ao50 or trofeo R …or other rubber as mentioned above I guess. 

[Joz]

How many Ks are you guys getting out of a set of these tyres?

Im curious as which way to go , my driving is primarily SMT type stuff and say  track day a year I’d expect. 
Wondering if 4s is all I need or even to much?

[spiller]

Keep in mind that the new connect compound of cup 2 has a higher tread wear than the old cup 2. It’s now around 240 or there abouts. Supposedly similar wet performance and life to the 4S but better dry performance. I am yet to really give them a good shake and don’t drive my car in the rain at all really so it was a no brainer for me. The tyres will likely age out before they wear out.

[hugh]

35 minutes ago, Joz said:

Wondering if 4s is all I need or even to much?

Can never have too much in these cars. 

[NAC911]

It appears if you want the Cup2 connect or PS4s fronts you're limited to 225/40/18 only, neither come in a 235/40/18

The only options in 235 wide fronts are PS2 or PS4. 

That said for the 235 Cup 2 connects the Michelin site appears to have a typo listing primacy 4's on the Cup 2 list. 

 

 

[spiller]

2 hours ago, NAC911 said:

It appears if you want the Cup2 connect or PS4s fronts you're limited to 225/40/18 only, neither come in a 235/40/18

The only options in 235 wide fronts are PS2 or PS4. 

That said for the 235 Cup 2 connects the Michelin site appears to have a typo listing primacy 4's on the Cup 2 list. 

 

 

I have the connect in factory 996 GT3 sizes. 235/40r18 and 295/30r18. I ordered about 6 weeks ago and got the last set of 235 in Aus but more have come back into stock since then (and may have already been exhausted again).

[NAC911]

17 minutes ago, spiller said:

I have the connect in factory 996 GT3 sizes. 235/40r18 and 295/30r18. I ordered about 6 weeks ago and got the last set of 235 in Aus but more have come back into stock since then (and may have already been exhausted again).

Will need to enquire as i need new Rears.

I've currently got 295/30/18 PS2 on rear and 225 PS4 fronts, but want to run the same compound front and rear.

My Dilemma is finding a decent tyre that offers 295/30/18 R and 235/40/18 F.

I cant get that with PS4s's sadly, so its either PS2 or Cup 2 connects. PS4s is my preferred tyre but can only get 225 fronts.

 

My dilemma 

[spiller]

How are you using the car @NAC911 and what sort of kms do you do? 

[NAC911]

1 minute ago, spiller said:

How are you using the car @NAC911 and what sort of kms do you do? 

3-5000k's a year, maybe 1 track day, the rest is touring, cruises, enjoyment. 

[spiller]

3 minutes ago, NAC911 said:

3-5000k's a year, maybe 1 track day, the rest is touring, cruises, enjoyment. 

PS4 will do the job but I wouldn’t go PS2 over cup 2 (if those are your only choices). I will add that for me personally, in all the years of owning many different performance cars and buying lots of sets of tyres, I’ve not once ever regretted going with the more aggressive option. I can’t say the same for when I’ve gone the other direction though. I’ve heard of people getting 40,000 from a set of PS4. With the kms you are doing, the rubber will likely age out before it wears out (even on a rear heavy 911). 

[edgy]

13 hours ago, spiller said:

@edgy were yours the newer Cup 2 connect or the older version? I have just had a set of the connect fitted and an aggressive alignment dialed in to give them a run at The Bend in a couple of weeks. Not expecting amazing but hopefully a good fit for a couple of track days per year and the rest road use. If they last a couple of years for all of that I’ll be quite pleased. Couldn’t justify faffing around with the track wheels and a set of A050 for only two days per year, but the performance in a couple of weeks will be the judge of whether or not selling them (again 🥴) was a good decision. If I was going to go that route again I would do some Pirelli DH slicks. 

 

Good question, I should have noted this, they are the new Connect* version, I think for all intents & purposes you will be happy with them, but I have found them to be sensitive to pressure and very sensitive to temp, but when you do get the heat into the compound they stick, but unlike an A050 which is in the zone from lap 1-2 I found its more like lap 3 & onwards for the Cup 2's 

On the alignment, and I know we've discussed it at great lengths, I never really did dial out the entry understeer until last Sunday, we changed sway-bars from M-M to Soft front, Hard rear... the car bites & turns in better now, so my confidence is restored, but the tyres we're done by then... 

 

5 hours ago, mc968cs said:

Cup 2 = an awesome road and track compromise. 
Note compromise is the key - good at both but best at neither road or track. 

I think that is pretty accurate assessment, good at both, not great at either. 

5 hours ago, mc968cs said:

 they were pretty average when cold.

Found them to be very temp sensitive on track too! 

4 hours ago, spiller said:

Keep in mind that the new connect compound of cup 2 has a higher tread wear than the old cup 2. It’s now around 240 or there abouts. Supposedly similar wet performance and life to the 4S but better dry performance. I am yet to really give them a good shake and don’t drive my car in the rain at all really so it was a no brainer for me. The tyres will likely age out before they wear out.

Yes, tread wear is 240! 

I'll probably go PS 4S next as road only tyres, good enough for Gordon Murray, good enough for a hack like me! 😛 

4 hours ago, hugh said:

Can never have too much in these cars. 

Agree! 

4 hours ago, NAC911 said:

It appears if you want the Cup2 connect or PS4s fronts you're limited to 225/40/18 only, neither come in a 235/40/18

The only options in 235 wide fronts are PS2 or PS4. 

That said for the 235 Cup 2 connects the Michelin site appears to have a typo listing primacy 4's on the Cup 2 list. 

 

 

No, you can definitely get the 235/40/18 fronts, that is what I am running. 

[GT3MEZ]

^ agree with spiller's comments above.

Plenty of road cars over the years with up to 500kw+ atw, all with R-comp rubber. Never regretted it once. Sure I was cautious in the occasional deluge, or when first heading off when less than 5 degree c of a morning, PSC2's are vastly more forgiving than this, so really don't have a downside IMO. 

I have PS4S on my RS4 and PSC2 on the GT3 - will be putting PSC2 on the Audi when it is time to change.

[Peter John]

On 03/05/2022 at 21:50, TrevMcRev said:

Having just had to tyre shop in 996 GT3 sizes - availability right now is the limiting factor.

I've been happy with Dunlop Direzza Z3 and Yoko AD08R in the past, but none available in these sizes, nor the A052. 

Ended up trying Bridgestone RE71RS last week based on reviews and comparisons with the above. Worth a look. Just did Winton on them in the dry and drove home in torrential rain. And survived both!

Are you selling?