Ubermensch

Thunder, I'm with you on the winter tires in the winter, but I'm surprised by your comments on the C4 at the track in the rain. In my limited experience, my C4 seems to perform far better than C2's out on the track during the rain. Granted, with different drivers it's nearly impossible to separate the impact of the driver from the vehicle in these situations. I'm sure a better driver than me in a C2 would leave me in his/her puddles, but I would think the same driver in both vehicles would turn quicker times in the C4.

tcc

+10!

MiamiC70

Hankook V12's excellent in the wet and trust me I know wet living in Miami. We have been getting what is best described as biblical rain for weeks now.

vange_c4s

simply my $0.02.

ps2, n3, tires are quite expensive, but i have used them on a few cars with very good results

for winter it is 240 snowsports, n3

factory psi too

Dharn55

My car had Pzeros on it when I bought it 12 years ago. As I remember they were pretty good in the dry, not so good in the rain, and totally useless in the cold or snow (of course this is the case with most of the high performance tires). I replaced them at about 10,000 miles as the became horribly loud when worn. Went to PS2's which were wonderful in the dry and the rain, and actually much better than the Pzeros in the cold (I run winter tires thought).

I thought the PS2's were the best until I got the PSS recently. Better in both the dry and the rain, also less expensive and longer lasting. Not N rated but that really doesn't matter to me.

madclubman

+1

I replaced the PS2's on my C4S with the Sumi HTRIII's. I rarely drive in the rain, but the couple of times I've been caught in it, they performed much better than the PS2's. In normal dry weather they perform as well, if not better. They do "flat spot" easily, as I don't drive my car everyday. Plus, they're certainly an affordable option compared to some of the expensive brands, out there.
A good tire for our cars, IMO.

EDoyle

I got caught in the rain today in NY with some Sumi HTR3s on my C2 and was surprised at how well they held up even with only 4/32 left. Average speed was 75mph highway driving though, no twisties.

soverystout

The Hankooks have been a great tire for me also. We (DE/PA/NJ) have been getting some wild wet weather here also.

I am very happy with the hankooks as a DD tire.

Ericginpa

+2 on the hankooks. I run two sets year round in Pa. haven't had any complaints.

BruceP

In this particular case, your tires still had mold release material on them, which is the next best thing to oil on wet pavement. I wouldn't go near highway speeds in the rain on brand new tires until they had at least 500 miles on them.

perryinva

Went from Sumi IIs to N3 PS2s, bought & installed at Costco. No comparison. Can't comment on the Sumi IIIs. IIs were scary in the rain. Since my car is not a DD & I only put on maybe 4k-5k a year, the $1400 for PS2s isn't as unpalatable. I only had 18k or so on the Sumi's, they were hard as a rock after 5 years, though still had 50% + tread, they were loud and flat spotted in minutes. Never had a smooth ride, and PSM used to kick in all the time when powering out of a corner, wet or dry. The N3 PS2s are like a wet dream in comparison. The Porsche indie that did my alignment said that if I don't track 20-25k is easy to get out of the new PS2s. We'll see. I had P-zeros on my '03 Passat and hated them, so I avoid them now.

skiracer

With great reluctance and following advice from my tire guy, I installed Michelin all-season tires for summer (still run Dunlop M3's for winter) and couldn't be happier. Much quieter, superior wet weather traction and no noticeable loss of traction on dry roads. It's a C4 that doesn't see track time. YMMV...

steepsnow

I have C4. It is rock solid in rain. Last Saturday, we had some rain (not too heavy) at the track and I ran on Hoosier R6's just to feel it out and was able to keep it on the track and pass lots of people in RWD cars. ...leaving PSM "On," however it did not kick in too often.

Have you checked Tire Pressures?
Also, what about tire pressures regarding your experience at the track?
...they can have a huge impact on understeer, grip, etc.
Also,the alignment play a big part for both understeer and traction.

Regarding tires, I still have a set of Goodyear F1 GS D3 (R.I.P.)...an amazing rain tire and fine for the street. The best part was the sizing 245/35/18 fronts and 285/30/18 rears.

For the C4, this sizing keeps the diameter ratio very close to the 225/40/18 and 265/35/18 (important for drive-train longevity and ABS, PSM, etc), but a slightly smaller diameter. Thus, slightly better acceleration (somewhat like having smaller gears) with a sacrifice at top-speed. That is an easy decision since I rarely hit top-speed (last time was a couple years ago on Hwy 50 in north-central Nevada - or maybe not).

Most importantly, for the C4, with those sizes, the fronts are wider than stock, thus adding some grip to the fronts, which helps correct understeer. This is also a good reason not to go to 295's in the rear on a C4.


The good news is that Hankook V12s mentioned above do come in those sizes (as per Tire Rack). Wile I have not used the Hankooks, the size is "right."

SEMA Guy

It is definitely not you. My Boxster S came with P Zeros on it. Quite possibly the worst tire I ever drove on in the rain. I now have Michelin Pilot Sports PS2s on both my 911s which I like much better on wet or dry pavement.

DrScientist

for you guys who say youre running Pilot super sports, what sizes are your running in rear? they don't seem to manufacture the 285/30/18 oem size. are you running different wheels in the back?