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4 hours ago, edgy said:

Bumping this older thread, as I have been talking recently about tyres. 

I have been running the Yoko A050's on an 18" wheel for a number of years now, but with the always improving tyre technology, I am wondering if anyone can comment on how these A050's would stack up to the latest Cup 2 or Trofeo R? 

I am going put some fresh rubber on the 19" street wheels of my 7.1, so I am curious if anyone knows just how close the comparison is, or if there is still a disparity? The local GT4 & 991 + crowd are running some impressive numbers these days, but I am not sure how much of this is attributed to aero and where applicable driver aids... so its hard to know if the tyres they run are a help or a hindrance (if they could get a 20" A050 for arguments sake) 

 

Still a big gap. The Yokos  are a real race tyre with stiffer sidewalks and warm up way quicker and have a bigger operating range and far better cycle capability than cup2. Z221 are even faster but with a narrower temp range. Dunlop DZ03G are fighting back against Yoko and I will be trying their latest in a few months. Putting R rubber on a road tyre construction just makes a track capable road tyre not a race tyre. 

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14 hours ago, Redracn said:

Still a big gap. The Yokos  are a real race tyre with stiffer sidewalks and warm up way quicker and have a bigger operating range and far better cycle capability than cup2. Z221 are even faster but with a narrower temp range. Dunlop DZ03G are fighting back against Yoko and I will be trying their latest in a few months. Putting R rubber on a road tyre construction just makes a track capable road tyre not a race tyre. 

Makes sense, so I guess the question is; is it worth spending up on Cup 2s or Trofeos for street tyres? My thoughts were to have the car cable of turning out solid laps in its full street trim (on the 19" wheels)... or do you think its best to just relinquish this concept, get a "good" road tyre and keep the $$ saved towards the A050's? 

I have not been disappointed with the A050's mind you, I love them, and actually had the current set pre-scrubbed by Gordon Leven motorsport... didn't improve times or grip, but by god were they consistent! The only time they'd go "off" was when the club decided on 15 minute sessions last year (Porsche vs BMW) at the GP circuit, and they were old by that point anyway. 

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I'm liking this thread as I grapple with street tyres for my GT3.  Car already has a set of A050s on original 2 piece wheels for track use, been considering some street tyres to go on another set of 18" rims (6.2 GT3 lookalikes).  Looks like there aren't any cost effective shorter life, lesser brand tyres available in the 225/40 and 285/30 sizes (or close to these), so will consider whether I just put PS2s or Cup2s on.

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1 hour ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

I'm liking this thread as I grapple with street tyres for my GT3.  Car already has a set of A050s on original 2 piece wheels for track use, been considering some street tyres to go on another set of 18" rims (6.2 GT3 lookalikes).  Looks like there aren't any cost effective shorter life, lesser brand tyres available in the 225/40 and 285/30 sizes (or close to these), so will consider whether I just put PS2s or Cup2s on.

Honestly, on an 18" wheel... I still think the AD08 R by Yokohama is the best tyre for the money, for your intended use, the last set I bought for my 996 GT3 was about $1300~ for all four. 

Cups will be north of $2k 

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22 minutes ago, LeeM said:

 @TwoHeadsTas

Nangkangs an option for you if they have the right size? I've had these AR1's on my 15inch rims and they're great on the road. Probably the most cost effective R compound tyre around 

http://nankangtyres.com.au/tyre/ar-1/

Lee, these look pretty much the equivalent of the A050's I've already got.  I was more looking at something that had a bit more of a tread pattern that could handle a bit of wet road.  They do a 225/40, but not a 285/30, only a 295/30 and it would be a matter of whether those could squeeze on a 10" rim safely.  However, at around a grand for a set they could certainly be an option!!

 

28 minutes ago, edgy said:

Honestly, on an 18" wheel... I still think the AD08 R by Yokohama is the best tyre for the money, for your intended use, the last set I bought for my 996 GT3 was about $1300~ for all four. 

Cups will be north of $2k 

Kurt, starting to think along these lines.......  

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@edgy Cup 2 is crap in wet, only grip once hot. I would rule them out as an all rounder.

I have been interested to watch the  input before I made s comment. 

Based on what I have seen, stick with Yoki’s.

@edgy Cup 2 is crap in wet, only grip once hot. I would rule them out as an all rounder.

I have been interested to watch the  input before I made s comment. 

Based on what I have seen, stick with Yoki’s.

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29 minutes ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

Lee, these look pretty much the equivalent of the A050's I've already got.  I was more looking at something that had a bit more of a tread pattern that could handle a bit of wet road.  They do a 225/40, but not a 285/30, only a 295/30 and it would be a matter of whether those could squeeze on a 10" rim safely.  However, at around a grand for a set they could certainly be an option!!

 Maybe the Nangkang NS2R tyres would suit.  I know some a raving about them (I was very happy with the AR1's). And sorry, I'm unsure which size you're after. 18's I imagine? 

 http://nankangtyres.com.au/tyre/ns-2/

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1 hour ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

Lee, these look pretty much the equivalent of the A050's I've already got.  I was more looking at something that had a bit more of a tread pattern that could handle a bit of wet road.  They do a 225/40, but not a 285/30, only a 295/30 and it would be a matter of whether those could squeeze on a 10" rim safely.  However, at around a grand for a set they could certainly be an option!!

 

Kurt, starting to think along these lines.......  

 

Yes, the AD08 R is the right balance in my opinion, its often referred to as an S compound, and I don't like driving on the road with R compounds, they are too fucking noisy in a car that is already hard enough to hear yourself think in... in the last season I ran sprint events, I had PR tech do my track support, they would bring my wheels to each meeting and put them on the car, take them back off, clean and balance them upon return, all ready for the next event... it gave them a bit more life too, since Wakefield park is circa 400km return journey for me! Much more pleasant driving that distance on road tyres. 

If they made the AD08-R in the correct rear size for the 19" on the 997, I'd probably be buying them, alas they don't. 

 

1 hour ago, Jason A said:

 

@edgy Cup 2 is crap in wet, only grip once hot. I would rule them out as an all rounder.

I have been interested to watch the  input before I made s comment. 

Based on what I have seen, stick with Yoki’s.

Any thoughts on Trofeo R ? 

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58 minutes ago, LeeM said:

 Maybe the Nangkang NS2R tyres would suit.  I know some a raving about them (I was very happy with the AR1's). And sorry, I'm unsure which size you're after. 18's I imagine? 

 http://nankangtyres.com.au/tyre/ns-2/

Yes 18's.  They've got rears, but no fronts...

That seems to be the  challenge with Porsche tyre sizes generally......

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1 hour ago, LeeM said:

 Maybe the Nangkang NS2R tyres would suit.  I know some a raving about them (I was very happy with the AR1's). And sorry, I'm unsure which size you're after. 18's I imagine? 

 http://nankangtyres.com.au/tyre/ns-2/

Have run the Nankang AR1 on a couple of hillclimbs (80 treadwear) but tyre is about 2kg a tyre heavier than A050 and I find the grip is not up to the same level. Ok maybe for short sprints as they seem to wear alright for the price but don't perform as well. 2 cents worth ! Am using Pirelli P Zero for the road.

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I've run both Yoko and MPSC2 FWIW and have them on seperate cars at present.

The cup 2s are great for an all rounder you can drive on the road, have low(ish) road noise and punt around at the track with good levels of grip (well above a road tyre).  They don't hang on and have the total grip level of a dedicated R spec but they are about 85-90% of the way there.

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 @9fan Nice one. I'm told the AR1 need a while to warm up, so that makes sense they may lack the grip for hillclimbs. I've only used them in the hills and found they transformed my SC, but I've not tried any other R comp's to compare them to. 

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1. Yokohama AD0R or 050 are sensational tyres. Progressive and very predictable. 

2. Pirelli I find are highly overrated, never lived up to the hype for me. 

3. Michelin I find better than an equivalent Pirelli.

4. Refer to point 1. 

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12 hours ago, hugh said:

1. Yokohama AD0R or 050 are sensational tyres. Progressive and very predictable. 

2. Pirelli I find are highly overrated, never lived up to the hype for me. 

3. Michelin I find better than an equivalent Pirelli.

4. Refer to point 1. 

Would have gone Michelin for roadies but not in the specific size I wanted . Happy with the Pirelli's especially in the wet I encountered, will see how they go over summer. Will be tracking them (standard road class) this weekend.

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Dry track - Ran the M135 with AR1 on the front, A050 on the rear with good grip in the rear but Nankangs sliding a bit much on the turns. Only 2 runs maybe lowering the pressure a bit might help but will go to A050 on the front next time. Then swapped for the (road Class) to the Pirelli's with the 220 treadwear, the ABS was kicking in a lot under braking out on the track but they held up well for a road tyre. Came in second in the road class to a car on Pilot Sport Cup 2 - need I say more !

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6 minutes ago, edgy said:

Ordered some Cup 2’s today, will know whether it was a good move or not soon enough... they weren’t terrible on $$ nor cheap... Trofeo R’s a lot harder to obtain. 

I'm tending towards AD08s, just about to send email to my tyreman about them actually......

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On 28/08/2019 at 21:58, edgy said:

Ordered some Cup 2’s today, will know whether it was a good move or not soon enough... they weren’t terrible on $$ nor cheap... Trofeo R’s a lot harder to obtain. 

Let me know how you go with road grip. A 245 40 18 shows at $349 . Don't think they would be much good in the wet, I am told you need a bit of heat in them before they start performing.

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I just street drive on A050s now and don't drive my car in the wet, maybe more a commentary on how much I actually drive my car on the street than how appropriate the tyre is though.

For anyone with appropriate sized wheels, there exists a more street-oriented Advan A052 tyre which uses a similar compound to A050 with a more road-friendly tread pattern that is quieter and works better in the wet (looks similar(ish) to the tread pattern on a Cup 2 tyre). 

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  • 4 months later...
4 hours ago, 1q2w3e4r said:

I have 245/40/18 and 295/30/18 on a set of 18" 996 turbo twists. 

ok cool, currently the options for 19" are minimal so I am thinking of going down to 18" and hoping some other brave soul has run Yokohama 050 however it does look like 295 is the max they make which is mildly disappointing

NT01 seem to go out to 315 but are they just wider not necessarily better?  

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My experience is A050 every day over NT01.  The Rennlist guys used to rave about NT01s so I got a set for my GT2 but didn’t rate them.  Fitzy told me A050 are THE tyre run by all the fastest cars at PCV events. 

i run A050 (265/18 all round) on my Mazda track car, awesome tyres.  Like all R specs they are sensitive to pressures.  I run them at 28 psi hot (typically means 22-23 psi cold) but if I get it wrong and  by the end of a session, hot pressures get up to 30 or more it’s immediately noticeable, slipping and sliding and locking up brakes. Being 1230kg, same size tyre all round and pretty much 50/50 weight distribution means what I do won’t apply to a Porsche with more weight, more rear bias and larger rear tyres.  

No point choosing best tyre but then losing performance through wrong pressures.  Don’t turn up at the track with 35 psi as per a road car 🤔.

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