RAudi Driver

Those tires are in great condition. Looks like they’ve never even see a track day

cgfen

I see NOTHING that absolutely indicates replacement.
but
you also said
"I don't want to ruin my first track event at Laguna Seca so I'm highly considering to replace them with NT01 (I loved these tires on my 987 Cayman when I tracked them back in the day)."

This scenario is a gut check IMO, so follow the path that makes your gut feel best.

I would run what ya have and not introduce new variables,
Just eyeball them between run sessions.
Chris (above) and I are aligned.

ranger22

Honestly those look pretty fresh for their age. You're prob ok to run what you have.

ngng

if you haven't driven in 10 years i would 100% not run nt01s or cups. street tires and call it a day. your tires look fine, but they are close to timing out. fine on the street probably don't have much grip on track

rotaz

Cool thanks all for your input. I’ll prob just run on these I’m not trying to go for lap records lol. I need to learn this car very different driving from the Cayman mid engine.

Gonna take it easy for sure.

The week after I’ll be at Sonoma for a day so hope they last at least 2 track days.

I’ll report back in.

911rox

They look good to go rotaz. They'll offer more traction than you need to learn the car. I spent the first 3 years of track days on street tyres like supersports to limit traction and learn my car.
Just reassess after your first track day. If you get excessive wear you can always replace for Sonoma.

Have a great day out on track, stay safe

rotaz

thanks will do!

ChrisF

Agree with all the comments above saying those are fine. I'd check the tires after every session just to be safe (good practice anyway).

Unless you are driving in advanced and turning fast lap times, you might get 2 days out of those but I'd have a replacement set handy just to be safe.

As far as which replacement set, if you are using the car primarily for track and care very little about noise or potential for encountering water getting to/from the track, the NT01's are fine. If you want to drive on the streets too, I'd stay with Cup 2's. They are the best compromise I've found for a sticky all around tire.

Good luck and enjoy the car.

rotaz

One more question, what PSI do you guys start on cold tires (front and rear) and what PSI do you shoot to be at?

ngng

totally depends on the tire. street tires will generlaly run higher psi than track tires. if you are pushing the car you can expect 5-6psi of increase with regular air. work backwards from there.

rotaz

Sorry for not clarifying, for Cup 2. I know it’s going to differ due to course, weather, etc but was looking for baseline so I can start from there then adjust to get my target PSI?

ngng

i would probably target 30-32 hot. check the sidewall and see if it's rolling over.

Jake951

I'm running Cup 2's on my GT3 at the track, so here is my $.02. The primary use of my car is on the track but I drive the car to the track so I need a tire that can be street driven, including in the rain. I've used NT01's and they're also good track tires but terrible street tires. The Nitto's can be treacherous in the rain once they start to wear and they are unbearably noisy on long drives on the street/highway. The good thing about the Nitto's is that they last a long time and can be run down to the cords. On the track, the lifetime of the Cup 2's is limited by heat cycles, not treadwear. They are at their best on day 1 on the track and start going downhill from there. By 15 heat cycles, they are falling off quite a bit. I've nursed them to 25 heat cycles, but they are pretty greasy by then. For hot pressures, I target 32 psi F and 35 psi R.

rotaz

Very informative, thank you for your feedback. I don’t think my cup2 has seen any track days at all so not sure how I would count heat cycles with that said.

what would an indication be on when replace them? Would change them when cording is visible?

I just bought a pair of RE71R so looking forward to trying these out as soon as these tires are gone.

Jake951

Street driving does not normally accumulate heat cycles. You have to get the tires very hot, as you would on the track, to heat cycle them. On the street that's not possible.

Certainly if the tires are corded, they need to be replaced ASAP. However, as I said, on the track the Cup 2's reach a heat cycle limit before the tread is gone. However, that's a judgment call based on how you perceive the grip level of the tire and your track driving skill level. I've never seen them cord except when there is a wheel alignment problem or maybe they are underinflated. On the track, you have to get the tires up to temperature before you start pushing them. A couple warmup laps will generally do that.