cstreit

... where is the best place to get them Dan?

J richard

Are you running mid pack? Or just getting your feet wet with the car? As has been said the Michelins are the best, but unless your driving the car to the limit of the tire I'd get the yokohamas until you are squarely using all the tire. Unless money is no object you're just hc out expensive rubber...

smsarchitects

update from Frisby:
Pirellis now
$540 RR
$415 FF

Dan Jacobs

I get them from JD I don't know what they cost (I don't look)

cstreit

Nope, almost always on the pointy end of the grid. Just reset two class track records already in the car.

Money is ALWAYS an object, but if R6's are only lasting me 4 sessions they aren't really cost effective you know?

That said, I don't need those last few hundreths to stay in 1st place. A few tenths maybe. So I can compromise somewhat on longevity vs. grip. Once nationals come about though, every little bit counts!

J richard

Then I'd always have a set of michelins cocked and loaded, but I'd seriously give the yok's a try. They don't require any alignment changes from the blues, they are consistent and predictable and 30% less. If you can wup on the field without the extra cost, best of both...

cstreit

J Richard,

Thanks for the heads up. What sizes are optimal? Best sources?

I really appreciate all the input from people here. I'm starting construction of a weight box this weekend and re-balancing the car as a result... ...so I guess I've committed to dumping the R6's. It was really hard to go back to them after running slicks for so long. Good riddance I say.

Skypalace

Go slicks, a set with 10 cycles on them should be faster than DOT tires. The car is designed for them, spring rates, shocks, etc.... Try a set, you'll never go back... It takes a while to get used to, they're not quite as forgiving as DOT tires, you won't get as much advance notice when they're losing grip, and they're quickest when run with a little slip angle (which means run close to a thinner edge than DOT tires), but run below that edge, they're super easy to drive and still have tons of grip.

Re Michelin N1, there must be a difference between the various sizes. In Platinum (2010+ cars) with the larger tires, and the new N1's that came out last fall for Rennsport, I haven't seen either the grip or the tire life from the Michelins that I was expecting, tire life in the fronts was literally two sessions (one short qual and one race), and fronts were fully gone, both timewise and rubber. Across entire surface, not a setup issue. Saw same thing at Laguna and Cal Speedway. Others in class reported similar issues, so perhaps it's just something about that size of N1's, or we got unlucky with a particular batch of early tires ...

I loved the Michelin Blues (and the earlier Michelin Yellows) on my 996 Cup, so either something has changed, or the tires just don't work with the setup of thew new 997's as well.

I did some testing of the Hoosiers before they were released, they actually compared well to the Michelins, they just weren't quite as quick (maybe .5 sec a lap), and didn't feel quite as crisp esp. on initial turnin. Haven't run them since, and that was a while back, so current ones may be very different.

Pirellis (PDC and World Challenge are running same construction and compound) are pretty impressive compared to the Michelins, at least for me. Much less dropoff than the Michelins in a competitive 45-50 minute race. Ricky posted the contact info to get them.

I've run them as many as ten heat cycles, till they were as hard as rocks (literally - the Pirelli engineer thought he was hitting rocks when trying to get the pyrometer into the tires) and they still felt fine, and I was still running competitive times (in practice). Those particular tires sat in my shed over the winter, that must have been the secret :-)

Note that I'm gunning for a championship in a competitive series against some high-budget drivers, so I'm not able to run as many cycles as I used to in my earlier years of racing, when I drove to the track on my race tires, which I expected to last for 3 or 4 weekends. All my competitors did the same (except for the commuting part) so it worked out well.

The Yokohomas that IMSA is running seem to be quick tires, but I haven't tried them so can't speak first-hand.

al@cpt

30% less?

GT3 Techno

I had my first racing weekend of the season last week and it was also my first experience with the new Michelin sizes (25/64 front 30/68 rear). I had a similar problem. The rear tires are still fine after 4 heat cycles but the front melted after 2 and at the end of the second session the car was pushing so much, I almost had to stop the car at turn-in in slow corners. I tried lot of things (full soft sway bar front and full hard rear, more fuel in tank, less wing) with no real success. It looks like there is too much rear grip for the front. I guess they spec these tires for the AMLS teams that won't use it for more than 1 stint of an hour.

I will try the new World Challenge Pirelli for sure. What are the Pirelli sizes for World Challenge that match the Michelin 25/64 - 30/68 ?

Skypalace

The Pirelli sizes for the 2010+ cars are 275/645R18 front (versus 245/645R18 front for 996 and early 997), and 315/675R18 rears (versus 305/680R18's for earlier cars). I've run both the Michelins and Pirellis in the same weekend no problem, close enough that no ride height or setup changes needed.

You can go to the Pirelli GT3 Cup site at http://www.competentmotorsport.com and under the Regulations tab is 'Pirelli Tire Information' and this and other info is in there.

jrgordonsenior

I'd also try the 28/68 rears with the wider fronts....

GT3 Techno

Thanks ! This is very helpful.

GT3 Techno

We thought about doing that also but I changed the inside section of my 3 pieces BBS to fit the new rear size as my car is a 2009. No problem to fit the larger tires within the fenders this way.

jrgordonsenior

IMSA Cup runs 280/680's Yokes on 12"s in their 10' and later cups....