Best tire for daily driver/HPDE combo?
 

Was going to post in the tire forum, but it's tumbleweeds over there.:(

Taking delivery of a 991 CS soon, and have a 19" set of Forgelines for summer daily driver and HPDE duty. Will probably do 8-10 track events per season. Advanced group. Would pick Michelin Super Sports for DD use, because they're fantastic, but I know that they leave a bit to be desired on track--get greasy after 15min or so, can chunk.

Pilot Sport Cups are out because I hear they're miserable in the rain for DD use. Was thinking of Bridgestone RE11s or brand-new Yoko AD08Rs. Any thoughts on either of these for HPDE use, specifically with the 911 CS? Thanks!

Everybody says the Michelin Pilot Super Sport is the best combo tire. I have a set that I am putting on next week and will report back after taking it to the track in a few weeks. The stock Pirellis have been good, but not super sticky on track.

The Yokos are loud for DD in my experience, and I have never used the Bridgestone.

RE11s are terrific street tires. But it sounds like you are driving at a level where you would just chunk them up- as would be the case with any street tire under hard track use. With that much track use you might be better off going with a true track tire and accept the street compromises rather than the other way around. There are several good choices here but if it was me I'd read up but probably not order until I'd talked with a few guys at the next DE who actually have experience running the tires you're considering. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/comp.jsp

My wife has always accused me of having a "tire fetish". She is right, I learned early on that the right or wrong tire can greatly affect the soul of a car. I agree with chuck911, if you do 8-10 track events a year and are in the advanced HPDE group, you should consider a tire for the track. At your level you will chunk and degrade the street tires to the point you may not want to drive them. I'm considering a set of Continental ContiForceContact with a set of BBS CH-R rims for track use on my '13 C4S; but, am not familiar with these particular tires although I've liked the brand in the past. When my Pirelli P zero's go they will be replaced with Michelin super sports for the street. Last year my dealership offered a free track day for their customers (a track I had raced) and I felt restrained because I hadn't made the commitment to a track tire and didn't want to destroy a brand new set of Michelin's. For the track, I figure I spent well over 100 large for a special car, why not cough-up another 5% for a wheel and tire package that completes the experience.

Bruce

If you live somewhere warm, then it's hard to be Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Otherwise, there's no tire that'll do track days and winters... I'm compromising somewhat with Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season 3s on my S6, but then I'm not going to track it, either.

Thanks for the responses. I'm coming from a 2011 M3 sedan, where I was able to drive to the track on Michelin Super Sports, and then unload and change to dedicated track wheels with Nitto NT01s or Toyo Proxes RR R-comps.

I'm really looking forward to the agility and responsiveness (and 500 less pounds) of the 991 on the track. But I'm not willing to put on R-comps and tiptoe the car to the track, or trailer it. So I'm looking for that elusive, probably non-existent tire that can hold up to track use, and still be safe in wet conditions on the street. My impression is that the Pilot Sport Cup is not so safe on the highway in a rainstorm--is this the case?

I have a dedicated set of winter tires that I will put on the OEM wheels for cold weather use.

For the base 991 3.4, on 19 inch wheels the crappy OEM Goodyear's were just as good as the more expensive Yokahama AD08. The Michelin Super Sports were a hair better than both of those choices (on street and on track). Honestly, you are splitting hairs with the Michelin, Goodyear and Yokahama. They all work within a few tenths of one another, all we're good in the rain and they were all near the same comfort level.

A step up would be the Pirelli Pzero Cora's system tires or the Pirelli Trefeo's. My friend has the Trefeo's and they are better than the r888 in every way. No personal experience with these, but judging by my friends lap times the Trefeo's are worth the price.

Hankook RS3's. Were on close out through Tire Rack when I last ordered mine for the 2010 production dates. Just over $900 for a set of 4 19", and they love heat. (Had pressure spikes due to moisture from mounting, never got greasy even when over 40-45psi)

This is your worry? Don't worry! I drove Michelin Sport Cups (R compound) on track and all over the place. Over 1200 miles round trip to Parade in Boise. Over Cayuse Pass when there was still snow on the road. Around the Olympic peninsula in torrential rains. We did hydroplane a bit towards the end of that trip but only when a hail storm mixed with standing water in ruts on I-5. Even then only in the ruts- well that must have been 2" deep at least! Tried my best to hydroplane in some very hard rain but even up to 90 they were holding in there. No they were not very good in the snow, wheel spin was easy, but I never felt the slightest doubt or hesitation. I've seen plenty of crazy fast autocross runs done in horrendously wet conditions by guys on Hoosiers. So realize it is not the tire but the driver that is safe or unsafe. If you're truly Advanced run group material you should have no problems.

Now I'm not advocating Hoosiers on a daily driver. You will wear them out fast and they'll throw crazy amounts of rocks all over the place. If you're not careful you may cut a sidewall or damage the casing. Hoosiers are light because they have few belts, none of them steel. Pay attention to how many and what kind of ply and you should be fine driving R's to the track and back.

Super Sport is a great tire for this purpose.

They have good audible feedback and hold temp well also.