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While receiving my 2018 6spd Manual GT3 Euro Delivery on Monday November 6th, I asked my Porsche instructor the same question.

There were 2 North America GT3's receiving Euro Delivery Monday, one with Dunlops and one with Michelin. I asked the Porsche instructor his opinion of the tires and their differences.

He said, that it is really track dependent, and he's experienced Michelin Cup 2's that wore quicker than the Dunlops and he's had the Dunlops wear quicker than the Michelins. That it is all purely track dependent.

He did state, that he felt on certain tracks the Dunlops could be a tenth or two quicker, but the Michelin's seem to handle the multiple laps, and extreme tire temperatures better.

He said if you want the 'ultimate lap time'... the Pirelli Trofeo R's are the ticket.

After speaking with him at length, it became clear, you can't go wrong with either OEM tire, and that they may suit someone's driving style or local circuit better than one other.

My car came with Michelin. And the GT3 Track cars were on Michelin's. But he said that it all depends on tire availability... the Dunlops they can get in 1 day... the Michelin's take 2 weeks + from order to delivery.

Once we get some people driving these cars it will be interesting to see what people get for mileage out of both sets. I'd call 'grip' a wash/course dependent.

Best Regards,
Dave

Joemat

Dunlop Race 2’s ..... 9/22 completion - 10/16 dealer arrival

Petevb

Actually they do that all the time. Though the differences are generally small they can be substantial depending on what Porsche gets, because it’s beyond their control:

Porsche allows tire suppliers to compete for the business. Typically they will invite prototype tire submissions from a range of manufactures, then hold a drive-off evaluating all aspects of performance- noise, grip, wear, etc. The top two submissions that exceed the performance benchmarks are chosen for volume, with the winning tire getting a larger share of the production run. The winner also sets the performance benchmarks for the next test, so all the manufactures know what they’re aiming for.

Michelin seemed to get significantly ahead with their technology re performance vs wear, which is why the Pilot Super Sport was the dominant summer tire for so long. However Porsche can’t give that technology to other manufactures, they don’t even know what it is. All they can do is sit back and wait for the others to catch up. Which they are.

CAlexio

Wow, interesting insight into this otherwise opaque world, thanks

Yargk

+1 Thanks Pete for the info.

farisad

michelins here and i have to say they are super

meaker

I'm hoping my car comes with Michelins. I personally think they are a better looking tire.

robmypro

After putting 10,000 miles on each set on my .1 i tend to agree. The Dunlops seem to get up to temp faster on the street, where the Cup 2’s take much longer. That might be an advantage at the track, but most of my driving is on the street. Both sets lasted about the same miles.

mrhamamg

Oct build here and it came with Michelins

Friend of mine not on rlist has a Sep build with Michelins as well

Jimmy-D

Mine has Michelins and really do not care. I street drive my car so if I had Dunlops probably preferred because I have heard a little better in rain/cold. Heard the Michelins take a little longer to heat up

IrishAndy

Marketing plays a huge part in this. Michelin is always ready with marketing info and tag lines about their latest generation tires. Porsche picks it up and runs with it, as do many of the journos.

The impression given is that the Michelins are somehow the 'real deal' and the Dunlops are also-rans.

I was disappointed to get Dunlops on my GT4, but I genuinely loved the tires. Good to hear from those that have been able to perform comparisons.

C2Spin

Dunlop’s on mine. Sep 18 build date and Nov 4 Dealer Delivery. Ok by me as I have a set of track wheels that I’ll put Michelin’s on.

manitou202

Dunlops on mine. 9/28 completion.

Hmet

Dunlop on my GT3.
However i can testify that i had an issue with my other 991.1 C4s with the OEM Pirelli Pzeros that i switched from after 1000 Km. I changed to Michelin Cup. The Michelins are much much better and you can tell the difference specially in breaking and overall traction.
Dunlop seem to be ok so far. would be interested to try the Michelin on the GT3

ChrisF

These threads seem to come up with every new release. Seems some feel cheated if they don't receive MPSC2's on their cars. Seems silly to me.

- on the street, I can't imagine anyone could tell the difference without driving in a manner that would get you arrested.

- on track, very few people here could exploit any difference in ultimate lap times on either tires

- If after buying at $150K car you feel like one set of tires is that much better, spend $2k and swap them out. I'm sure you'd find a willing buyer in the classifieds for a slightly discounted set of take off's.

Personally, I think they are both excellent tires. My RS came with a set of Dunlops which I proceeded to wear out in a few track days then went to MPSC2's.