It's tire time soon and I see that Pilot Sport Cup 2s are not available in stock 19" sizes. I experienced those at PEC recently and I really like those tires! And we won't see rain for > 6 months now.
I thought about upgrading to 20" wheels (carrera S III maybe) but they are a) tripling my tire budget b) slightly heavier c) probably less confortable than 19s (I kinda like 19 on my potholed bay area roads).

The front 19s OEM size exist in Sport cup 2 at 235/40/19 but rear size is 285/35/19 does not - I see there is a 295/35/19, 1cm wider... Should fit right ? God knows there is ample room in my rear fenders on 19s ;-) Has anyone run those or are you all on 20s for Sport cup 2s ?

 

run 295/35/19's.......... or even 305/35/19's both should fit fine.

 

Admittedly, my SC2 experience is in another platform (Shelby GT350R), but here’s my experience.

Next-level grip in warm and dry weather which is no surprise. What was a surprise is how quickly the grip degraded. On the same track day I’d lose several tenths every subsequent lap. While anecdotal, I’ve heard Matt Farrah claim the same (Evora GT I think?).

IMO, SC2s are too good unless you’re truly an exceptional, near pro-level driver. SC2s mask mistakes and make you think you’re doing better than you really are. The number of times my instructor said, “tires saved you” made me regret replacing SC2s with SC2s.

I also corded SC2s so fast it was comical. It’d be better in a lightweight 911 than a 3550lb GT350R, by not by much (GT350R runs 295/315 stock, though I ran Porsche-spec 295/325). I budgeted $800/day for tires alone; I averaged 2 track days and 1000 street miles per set, give it take a smidge.

I will HPDE my 911. I can’t fathom any reason to ever buy SC2s for it.

 

Cup 2 is the only way to go. IMO. They're good in the rain too, contrary to what seems like everyone else says. They're not bad in the rain/wet at all. At all.

Snow/ice/30 degree weather is a different story though. If you're in the 55+ range, you're fine.

 

Heck no, way too many rocks flying at the car with those.. been there, done that, glad they’re gone.

 

Grab bag of experiences, but here's mine:

There is "grip," which is measurable (skidpad, acceleration, decel, ultimate lap times, etc) and then there is confidence & feel (some tires that grip very well don't inspire confidence, and some tires that don't offer as much ultimate grip offer more confidence to explore what grip they do have).

Way back in 2013~, when I first sampled the MPSC2 on a 918 prototype around a rainy race track (talk about intimidation…), the Cup 2 inspired huge and unexpected confidence—just a couple of turns in. As the track dried, they were even better. I knew a lot of it was the car, with next-level PSM/PTM, but I could also tell a lot of it was the tire. That's held true on every car I've tested with them. They offer a lot of grip, but also a lot of confidence. I haven't seen them get greasy so long as they don't go over 35 psi hot on track, and my PS4S get greasy after a few laps no matter what I do.

Also saw great wear on my GT4, with 13,500 miles from a set that were used hard with two track days thrown in. Maybe more like 1.5, but there were many, many spirited miles on that set. They were better than most summer tires in the rain once hot, but of course not great in standing water—particularly as they wore down. They were worse in a freak snowstorm on the way down the Donner Pass just before they had to be replaced.

I've thought about running them on my base Carrera, as even the 370hp engine offers enough torque that it can overwhelm the rears in some conditions, but my sense is that more tire will demand more spring and more damper. Could be wrong about that, but it's something to consider. I'd say this holds doubly true for a 991.1 base car without PASM—as they are a rare case of being slightly underdamped IMO. YMMV!

 

Run Cup 2 on my Carrera T for 2 sets and over 5000 miles. Love them. With the camber in these cars on the rear, the Cup 2 actually wears better than the soft inner of the MP4s. They are also fine in the rain and operating temps aren't an issue as I am in South Florida.

 

You are saying they grab ahold of rocks and fling them up at the car more (worse) than other tires?
I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to stone chips and this would be a consideration for me.

 

Stickier tires generally have a tendency to fling more rocks. Lol.

If anyone wants to read up on the Cup2s, here's an interesting article on them: https://motoiq.com/not-all-michelin-...ated-the-same/

 

^ Wondered about that, as I was disappointed that my 991.2's rear PS4S wore out as quickly as my my GT4's MPSC2. Suspect the latter would agree with and leverage Sport PASM. If I redo my suspension, I may have to make a switch…but I'd want a second set of wheels around with all-seasons in that case.

To the OP: Forgot to mention that I agree 100% with your preference for 19s for Marin County back roads. Would have preferred them myself, but for wanting PCCB.

 

Impressive read.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Since I have you on the line Pete, what suspension would you recommend on a Marinite 991.1 base ? ;-) I'm definitely getting the Cup2, my car doesn't mind stone chips. I have CN36s on an older 911 and that grabs and spits gravel like it's got a speech impediment...

 

yep, hated it, made me cringe too often.

 

I will second this, but I overlooked it.

Especially on my street when everyones had their landscaping done and the road is full of sand/twigs/stones and other debris. My wheel wells sounded like they were getting sandblasted.

Solution: PPF the rear wheel well edges that are painted.

 

Similar experience with my T and cup 2's.