clutchplate

Yeah, no. If you're driving over shrapnel on a regular basis you might want to consider a sturdier tire but the Cup 2's are hardly delicate.

Fred Wallis

Interesting comments to read. Very clear consensus. I realized Cup2s most likely need to be warm, but I did not realize it would be that dramatic for city driving. I want feel, all day long. I thought perhaps the Cup2 might bring me even more, now I realize that is not the direction to go. Tks to everyone.

Fred Wallis

A couple of weeks ago I put Michelin PS AS4s on my other car that was running PS4s. Not sure I sense a huge degradation in feel to be honest, these AS4s are really good. Once I put the PS4s on later it will likely be more obvious, but the AS4s are a VG tire if you want to drive in temps that the PS4s don't tread well with.

993TurboS

I have all three of those (Cup2, PS4, AS4) on three different Porsches right now, and if I could snap my finger and do it, I'd have all three have AS4. I can't tell the difference between the AS4 and PS4 aside from at temps below 60 when I can tell they are not AS4. I don't track these, and drive them year-around in the Northeast (dry roads only but any temp), and the AS4 has been great. I already bought a set for one of the other cars that I'll mount at the end of the summer after I burn up as much of the Cup2 as I can before tossing them.

Fred Wallis

Funny, I was just giving thought of sticking with these AS4. Saves two dealership visits of putting on PS4 in summer then back to AS4 near end of season. They look great, and I thought you would have some of that winter tire squish but I am not getting that yet. I am sure the PS4 would feel better than AS4, but no longer convinced it would be massively noticeable in city driving. (that is all I do with this car)

slilley

If you aren't tracking the car, I think the AS4 is the best choice. Check this video out too:

Big Swole

Did a drive 2 days ago....
About the Cup 2's....


I LOVED them!!! The second part of our day, we were able to carry a quicker pace and keep heat in them. There is DEFINITELY a difference in grip and feel.
Very sticky on the front end and a good bit more direct steering to them. Seems they pretty much got rid of the little bit of understeer my car had at a quick pace.
I know they will not be for every situation but for hot Summer (Low chance of rain drives) days, I will absolutely run the Cup 2's!

MrFunk

My good friend put 4S tires on his GT4 a few months ago - he'd been running Cup 2's on that car for the past few years. He went with 4S tires simply because he felt the Cup 2's were wearing too quickly and he was going through them too fast.
He had a chance to break the new 4S tires in now and got a few good drives in. His style is spirited country back roads driving.
He confirmed they are less precise than the Cup 2's, and "holding the line" in turns is more vague. Ultimate grip he said subjectively felt like 85% of the Cup 2's.
None of this is any surprise of course. He said he'll be going back to Cup 2's again which suit his driving style more.

Westcoast

I have 3 sets of tires and wheels for my Spyder, I drive it, more than most, that is why I have appropriate tires for the activity!

• OEM wheels, Bridgestone RE980AS UHP for road trips and October through April duties
• Forged One FF10's, Michelin Cup2's for track adventures
• Apex VS-5RS, Bridgestone Potenza Sport for summer driving May through September

Big Swole

Pretty much exactly how I feel. During the hot summer on the occasion that I want to really pick up the pace, that front end, grip and precise steering really helps if a corner tightens up on you if you’re not familiar with the area. Even though tires are extremely expensive, I’ve always said and told people that tires are cheap insurance for sidestepping a very expensive event or tragic event. Meaning always have good tires on your car and don’t cheap out. For spirited drives, especially on other cars that are not all wheel drive, the extra grip I think, would pay off. My turbo S can be driven quite aggressively, even with less sticky tires and is still very predictable, but other vehicles that may be 2 Wheel Dr. and have less grip in general, I think they would be a good choice if the driver is fast or even if he just thinks he’s fast and it might save that person an accident by having that extra front end or rear end grip.

BoxKing

In all honesty, if you're strictly running on the street, MPS4s are the way to go. The blend is the best of all things. Someone saying they need more grip to hold the line is laughable. I've tracked MPS4, still see many others with them on their cars over the past weekend at track, and though they could be running a better 200TW tire, their grip (and my past event) was more than adequate. You can't safely push the car hard enough on the street to exceed the limits of the MPS4. Now if its simply due to the way a tire feels on the road when it comes to feedback, and more direct turn in feel... well yes, the Cups will provide both.

I've been running these two tires elusively for the past 6 years - if not on track, MPS4s all day, all seasons. Cups will be thrashed after my next event, and Im happy to say that I will most likely never buy a set of them again as there're better alternatives for ~$500 less - Stock 20's for example AD09's (bc they're always in stock)

Big Swole

I too have three sets of wheels. One set has Continental extreme sport contacts. The original set has the Michelin PS4S, and then now my new set of sport classics has the Cup 2’s.

I will also swap them around for the appropriate time, temperature, and setting.

Big Swole

I pretty much agree with you except for the laughable part. Of course I cannot argue with the perception that on occasion, my driving may have been “unsafe“. But I have lost traction even in my turbo S but managed it just fine with PS4S.

I have also tracked the PS4S, chasing my friend with his GT two RS on cup 2’s. it’s not that I needed the cup 2’s to keep up, it would have just been nice and I would have felt much more confident in going quicker on the tire.

The reason for my post was to give my perception on what the cup 2’s were in the mountains. I never got anywhere near the limit of the tire once they were up to temperature, but the fact that they were that much much more positive in steering and grip just tell me that if you have the money that or equivalent of grip level tire, is not a bad choice for summer here in the south wind tire and road temperatures get scorching hot and you still would like to keep the pace quite spirited.

mwar99

There are two reasons I would feel the PS4's are the better mountain tire, even in the summer where the Cup 2 won't show it's issues in the cold. One - the PS4s are way less sensitive to the change in air pressure when they warm up. You don't need to air down so much at the start of your drive and if the pressures rise more than you expected the back end isn't loose because of tire pressures. The Cup 2's realistically need to be aired down quite a bit so their pressures don't get too high while driving spiritedly. Two - if it happens to rain the PS4's will provide much better grip. In my mind the PS4's (Haven't driven the 5S so I would expect those will probably be even better) are the mountain driving tire that make the most sense for 99% of people. I never was shy about driving Cup 2's in the rain, but the PS4's are so much better in that scenario.

BoxKing

Cup2s vs MPS4 on a dry track are far more confidence inspiring. I only ran the MPS4s back in April bc I was late to remember to swap to the Cups before the event, though it worked out for me with the weather that weekend being 35-40*... and my first ever event, so I was hardly consistent enough, or knowledgeable as to how much better the Cups are vs MPS4 (at track). I have had no problems on backroad drives keeping up with any of the fellas on the MPS4. I like the way they absorb the unevenness of the roads out this way, along with knowing there is less chance for me to get a puncture. I forgot how much stiffer the Cups are when I put them back on the car a few weeks ago. Its like driving on cinder-blocks vs MPS4, but I like the harsher ride feel they provide... and then I like the cushy feel of the 4s as well.