TripleM

IMO, MPSC is in the same league as the Corsa..
Plenty of grooves, R-compound, highly streetable, not noisy and work ok in the rain tho Corsa is slightly better in the wet department.

The R888 is more semi-slick IMO, rough wif big shoulder block..Extremely noisy. It's slightly harder core than the other two. Not quite streetably friendly.

Hoosier is probably a small notch above the R888. Almost like a full slick as far as thread goes. Definitely not a streetable type or at least, not street legal.

So, if u wanna bit more hardercore, Hoosier is a good choice..But if you want something u can comfortably drive up to the track circuit and back, MPSC n Corsa will be better choice.

BlackRain

I really like the Corsa's for the track, but the cost for 3 weekends led me to the 19" Hoosiers R6's that are heat cycled at TR at almost 1/2 the cost of the Pirelli's.

RonCT

Honestly, if you want "best overall value", get the PS2 and use it as your combo street / track tire. You get the same basic performance as the 19" Cup or Corsa, but you get 10/32 for less money than the 6/32 pseudo-R-comps. The best track-oriented value has to be the R888 because although you are getting less life than the PS2, you are getting more grip and they are considerably less expensive.

nat3970

Mooty, bought my GT3 used with new PS2's by mutual agreement with prior owner. I've now purchased 19 inch PS 2 Cups from Wheel Enhancement and plan to use them as my dedicated "dry weather track tire" mounted on Champion RS98 wheels. Just received them yesterday.

My question....are ALL 19 inch PS CUPS not "real" cups as you and Ron are describing or just the ones that come with the GT3 when new? Appreciate your clarifying this point....Thanks

C.J. Ichiban

from what I understand- the "real" cup tires only come in 18" sizes and smaller...so the guys with the 996GT3s on "real cups" will probably be just as fast or faster than guys driving on the mspc/ ps2 type tires in the 19" stock sizes.

it doesn't really even matter for me anymore, there are plenty of people at my local track who drive on R6s (or the new trend of full racing slicks from michelin) and aren't fast enough to even need them anyways...

RonCT

If you look at the Michelin info, you'll see some 19" real PSCups and some Porsche Approved (which will be the new design and compound). Then there's also some BMW approved tires - don't know anything about those. TR posted here at RL a while back and showed a 235 19" real cup next to the Porsche cup (one of the few sizes where there are 2 made) and you can see the design differences very clearly. I know one GT3 guy that runs the real 235 up front and the Porsche 305 on back and he likes it, but I personally don't like the idea of mixing compounds.

mooty

sorry, i dont know as i ditched all things 19".
what i do know is that the OEM width in 19" are NOT real cups. you can tell from tread depth and patterns.

nat3970

Mooty and Ron appreciate your feedback. I did some calling around today spoke with Wheel Enhacement followed by a call to Michelin. Took some doing but I was able to connect with couple of people at Michelin and one knowledgeable outsider. Michelin position is that the 19 was developed with Porsche and has slightly different compound than other "regular" Cup tires. The change in the compound was done to specifically match up to Proshe suspension setup and some accomodation for colder climate performance. Everyone I spoke with insists that in no way is the 19 Cup the same as a PS2 in either compound or performance. Cups have firmer sidewalls and overall softer tire that is designed to perform at its optimum at lower inflaction than PS2's....

At this point I don't know anymore what the full story is on the subject. I was holding off mounting the cups while I investigated but I think I'm going to go ahead and keep them. Mooty hit the nail on the head in that I'm just like the other guys at his local track....no matter what the real story is on these tires I'm unlikley to test the outer limits of ANY cup tire so I'll give them a try and see how it goes.

mooty

while i loathe the oem 19" cups, they aren't bad. just not very good. drive on them, you be fine. then compare them to toyo's, hoosiers, and ps2's and see what you like best.

i can turn same time using ps2 or the 19" "fake" cups.
but i am faster on toyos or "real" cups compared to "fake" cups.
but that doesn't mean much really. it depends on how you drive and what you feel.

dont get to bogged down with these tires. regardless of which you get, they wear out a lot faster than you think, so you will have ample opportunity to try them all ;-)

nat3970

Last couple of question for you (amazing you each exchange seems to prompt another one....) Re your point on wearing out faster than one thinks, how many track days on average should I expect to get out of a cup tire. I have 5 track days on my PS2's this season and they are still in very good shape. Realize this is dependent on # miles and how one drives, but just trying to get a general sense. Also do you find that its the miles/track days that is the determining factor or is it heat cycles?

mooty

real cups i get about 5 days at 160 miles per day, my cups still have slight tread, but not the same grip as when they were new

hoosiers: about 15 HC

toyo R888: 6 days. still got grooves but no grip.
toyo RA1: 7-8 days, good until cord, but never as gripping as r888 (when r888 is at their best)

nat3970

CJ thanks for the feedback and I stand corrected in that you're the one who made the good point re folks on track (myself included) who aren't really able to test limit of their cup tires.

BTW re "true" cups being coming primarily in 18 inch tires and below, while I was investigating the issue I was told that several tire manufacturers are working on new true "cup" product in 19 inch sizing and that we will start to see many new options starting next spring....

nat3970

Great info. Thanks !!!

C.J. Ichiban

it's all good. I've been told by my instructor that until I'm at a specific time at our local track that slicks won't do me any good other than losing weight in my wallet.

Of course, I'm about .5-1.5 seconds away from that time depending on how much gas my car has, which is still faster than most of them while they use slicks...

I've got completely different priorities than the other people on the track, and I haven't been running my RS as much since I got my MX-5 cup car- preparing for some club races this offseason

Kevinlpl

Forgive me if this was mentioned already , but you will find the lettering "NO" on the porsche designed Sport cup tires. Tire rack mentions it in their web pages. As it has been beat to death, the Porsche specced Cup tire is different in pattern and tread compound. They had to since they could not control when folks would drive their GT3s,rain, cold, freezing, etc. I have run the real Cup on my M3s for years and the cups on my GT3 do not compare. The "NO" Cup is a little better than the PS2 for the track because of a stiffer side wall and less tread depth (less tread squirm).

If you have them, run them and enjoy. When it comes to replacing them, you will have to make a compromise, and, as Mooty says, if you track alot, you will wear them out in a couple of weekends and then you can try something else.

The Nittos NT-01s are way better at the track than the "NO" cup tire. They are heavier though. Your first two sessions will feel squirrely, unless you get them shaved. Nittos are significantly cheaper than R888s, yet appear to be very similar except for the tread pattern. Nittos really changed the handling of the car. I am much more "confident" driving the 3 with the Nittos on. Confidence leads to a much more enjoyable day at the track for me.

I will try R888s next and then try Hoosiers and then some day slicks, just for Kicks!

Cheers,

The Shoe