"One thing is completely unambiguous: The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are a miracle. We had a flock of Cayman GT4s on hand, wearing previous-generation versions of the same tire, and they behaved like you'd expect an extreme high-performance summer tire to on a wet, cold track. The next-gen tires on the RS might as well have been race-only rain slicks for all the effortless traction they provided. Both Donohue and Hurley Haywood concurred that the tires were perhaps the biggest difference between the two cars, and a few white-knuckle moments in the GT4 proved the point. That tires such as these are street-legal is a major accomplishment. On the RS, they're a treat."

I don't understand this. Aside from size, don't the RS and GT4 (and GT3) have the same tires?

 

RS comes with N1 spec MPSC2s which are the latest generation, GT4/GT3 are a generation older.

http://www.michelinman.com/US/en/tir...ort-cup-2.html

Not sure what the difference is, but they're flagged that way by Michelin now.

 

Thanks, didn't realize N1 is already out. Guess/hope it should just be a matter of time until N1 comes out for GT3 and GT4.

 

Fascinating. So they have changed the compound of the tyre? No one mentioned this before. Wonder if the whole range will revamp. The prices of the new gen tyre are scary!!

 

Tire rack.com still list the N0 tire for 991 GT3RS. I wonder if the whole range is being revamped to N1? I hope this isn't an excuse to hike prices as with the strong USD these are starting to become non viable track consumerables for me at $3000 uSD landed and taxed a set in New Zealand (based on pricing from US Michelin site which I presume is more expensive than tire rack.com). Issue of course is the USD has appreciated 16% already this year against our local dollar...

 

Those prices seem to be MSRP, and Tire Rack prices seem to be substantially lower. So it's not quite as bad as it seems, but yes, the SC2 tires are expensive (comparable to slicks), and they don't last long if the car is driven hard.

My experience after about 5K track miles in the GT3 is that it's a somewhat expensive car to track, largely due to the cost of the tires and brake pads. Fluid changes are also expensive, and many track guys will do them much more often than recommended by Porsche.

 

I'd second that. Unfortunately like the cars themselves everything down under is about 30-40% more than in the good old US of A!

Currently according to my spreadsheet it costs $1400 USD to run my 991 GT3 for a full track day (90 mins on track). That's removing first year running costs (lower because car comes with new brakes, pads and tyres). $400 USD of this day cosy is attributed to the tyres (assumes 5 track days max and 1500-2000 miles touring between tracks). The rest are discs/pads/fluids/maintenance/insurance and fuel amortised over 10 track days a season given my experienced wear. Our trades are shorter with more elevation and tighter than many USA so I'd imagine pad/rotor wear a little heavier here. Please note - tyres in this estimate at $2200 usd...

My 993 in track spec costs $780 a 90 min track day to run in comparison based on same costs.

Fuel here is 50% ++ more per litre than USA.

 

Yep - same price as high end slicks now.

I was told Michelin is also taking the fight to Pirelli with some alternative slicks for the 458 Challenge etc by someone who was making fun of my Cayman with Ferrari badges on the rubber... Hopefully it means good things for the MPSC2.

 

Be thankful you're not paying for support and transport on top of that...

 

$500-$600 a day and a dollar per mile to and from the track..

 

Again, from the review: "We had a flock of Cayman GT4s on hand, wearing previous-generation versions of the same tire, and they behaved like you'd expect an extreme high-performance summer tire to on a wet, cold track. The next-gen tires on the RS might as well have been race-only rain slicks for all the effortless traction they provided. Both Donohue and Hurley Haywood concurred that the tires were perhaps the biggest difference between the two cars, and a few white-knuckle moments in the GT4 proved the point."

Because the comparisons so far between the GT3 and RS have not been apples to apples on tires, some portion of the better grip and lap time of the RS is likely due to the tires, so the gap between the cars will be smaller when the GT3 gets the N1 tires. If N1 tires cost about the same as the N0, last at least as long, and provide better grip, that will be a real positive for the GT3. From the review, seems that the N1 are particularly better in the rain than the N0.

 

This explains a lot.
Great stuff! I'm sticking with these tires.
Hopefully available soon in GT4 sizes as well.

 

Wow, stuff is a lot cheaper in FL.

 

Same with Accumoto from WI. You do have to buy a proper car. They park mine behind the dumpster.

And Accumoto is top notch. 1 mechanic per car, photographer, coach and massage chair.
I drive a cheap POS slowly but at a luxury level :-)

Buy a Eclass and join the low level, high level.
We're at a dozen or so cars now but more friends joining as fast has he can build the Eclass cars.

Make nice street cars too.
http://jalopnik.com/this-shop-in-wis...26q%3DAccumoto

 

Want aircooled 911 for the street. New Spec Cayman class is most intriguing racing class for me at the moment if/when I give up the Cup addiction.