scorcherjf

Looking ahead to next season I'm contemplating my tire choices for my track setup. This season I ran 245/35/19 F & 305/30/19 R Michelin Cup 2 N0 and was quite happy with them. They lasted quite a bit longer than I had expected. Overall grip was quite good but not as sticky as I was lead to believe (about as sticky as my RS3 v2 street tires but much more consistent in terms of heat cycling). I was looking at Tirerack's website and was wondering if this was due to the tires being N-spec N0? The price difference between the Cup 2 N-spec set and the non-Nspec set is quite significant. I've also read elsewhere (vette guys) that the non N-spec tire is stickier. Should I be running the non-Nspec tire next season? The specs look the same except for the load rating on the 305/30/19 tire which reads 1874lbs on the N0 Cup 2 but 1653lbs for the non-N0 Cup 2.

I have run R888's before with 315's on the rear which are also only rated at ~1600lbs and didn't have any problems with those.

Lastly, another choice that's available to us now is the RE71R which didn't have the proper rear sizing until recently. Does anyone have experience with both this tire and the cup 2 for comparison?

I need to stick to 180+ treadwear tires for classing purposes so no trofeo's or NT01/R888s.

golfnutintib

in gt4 application re71 has same grip as cup 2, last even longer, 2/3 cost - winner!

ExMB

Some people in the past had good reports with Nitto NT01s

scorcherjf

I've heard good things about the RE71R's but a few others who run them (E46 M3's) say they wear quite quickly and the grip isn't consistent after a few heat cycles. I've seen one start chunking after only 6 track days. Not sure how they fare on 911's though.
I've run NT01's before (as well as R888). Great tire, last a long time, about the same grip as the Cup 2 I find. I just don't want to run them anymore due to classing restrictions (I need 180TW or higher).

dgm8138

I have had great experience with re71rs. They are are a 'peaky' tire and have similar grip level to a NT01. If you liked the Dunlop z1 or Z2, you will like the re71r. And they do lose a bit of grip through a session (especially if you drive on the 'down slope' of the mu slip curve), but it's a manageable and predictable loss of grip. For me, they get faster after a few heat cycles and wearing the tread down a bit. They also wear most quickly when they are new. So I may try shaving my next set. I have seen no chunking after ten track days, but tread is practically no longer existent.

scorcherjf

Thanks for the input. Are they heat cycled out or still have grip despite no tread left?

dgm8138

I'd say they were still gripping despite no tread left. An instructor drove my car at my last event and compared the grip level similar to NT-01s.