jscott82

Long time reader but first time post to this forum....

I have a bit a dilemma: For the past year I have been building/preparing for my first PCA clubrace in Nov. Plan was to have two sets of track rims/tires with R6's and one more set with Street/Rain/backup Pilot Sport Cups. I have the new set of PSC ready to go and was ready to pull the trigger on the rims and R6s UNTIL: my last test session (three weeks ago) when I broke the 3rd gear shift fork, necessitating a full tranny rebuild. After a long list of "while you are in there" my budget is completely shot....

So how bad would it be to show up at my first race with only one set of PSC's?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

CWay27

Sport cups are excellent but not really in the same league as R6. If you intend to use R6 for dry, I would highly suggest picking another tire than a sport cup for rain. Out of the usual suspect in the R-compound league (RA-1, R-888, Sport cup, NT-01), the sport cup must be the worst tire to run in the rain, even light rain.

Gary R.

On a car heavy enough to get them hot PSC's seem to work quite well. It's your first race, just run what you have. If it rains just run enough laps (think it's one under green) to get the race to count if the car feels like it's going to fly off the track. When you can swing it, buy a set of Hoosier Wets and put them on a cheap set of wheels. They will last you for years if you are good about only running them wet and there really is no comparison. When the PSC's wear out move to R6's, as I would guess most of your competition will be on them.

vbcracer

New PSCs will probably last all weekend with no problem but if it rains stay in the paddock, that's what I do. I don't buy rain tires.

dmoffitt

Pretty much what he said On a side note, I've had no problems keeping up with cars on R6s with my MPSCs but thats DE aka not a real good comparison I guess

Mark in Baltimore

Fresh MPSC's are not that bad of a tire and can give R6's a run for the money in lap times, provided your car is heavy enough and that you drive the car hard enough to heat up the tires. One slight problem in colder weather is that MPSC's take a lap or two to get really grippy, whereas the R6's get sticky in a few corners. I'd suggest braking-accelerating-braking on the double yellow out lap to get any tire good and hot.

Additionally, one set of MPSC's will definitely last you all weekend. One of their greatest strengths is their longevity. I used a set of MPSC's in practice for last weekend's Summit Point race that had over 30 heat cycles on them and turned some respectable lap times on them. These are the same tires that I used in practice for the NJMP race, as well as practice for last year's Summit, Putnam, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta races. These tires owe me nothing and are now relegated to street duty.

mooty

when new R6 is slightly better than cups.
when old, cups are as good as R6
cup is NOT a good rain tire, drizzle is fine, but rain.. no. and if you hit a running stream or pot of water, you will have a ride of your life. RA1 is very competent and most likely faster than cup and even R6 when wet.

haven't tried hoosier wets yet.

earlyapex

Concentrate more on finishing your first race than on what tire to bring. Have fun. Keep your car in one piece.

38D

As others have said, MPSCs are great if you get them hot...I actually liked them better on my old turbo, and was decent in my class vs everyone else on R6s. In the rain, they are definitely not as good as the R6s.

Veloce Raptor

Exactly.

Mooty, Hoosier wets are amazing. Truly amazing.

roberga

you can have someone groove the MSC for additional traction in the rain. Up here in the Pacific Northwet we run in the rain as much as any place. Hoosier wet are great, R-6 a no go, MSC fine, Corsa's a little better.

jscott82

Thanks all for the advice... The overall sentiment is what I expected and where my head is at as well... Just getting used to wheel to wheel for the first time out will be plenty... I was/am just concerned about being a rolling chicane... I've driven both tires on different cars and have been pleased with both (even the MPCS in the rain) and knew the MPSC are slighly slower, just was not sure HOW much....

Thanks Again
Jeff

good hands

I just did my first race and used RA1's . I was tempted to go the r6 route but figured I wasn't going to win anything so why bother. As it turned out it was a good choice for me. I had fun, was competitive enough, and learned so much. The MPSC are comparable to the RA1's and with all the traffic around you making your head spin you will probably spend the weekend getting used to things and trying to get out of people's way.

NaroEscape

Jeff, you will not be a rolling chicane. you run respectable lap times with the PSC's and as was said above, you just need to get the hang of racing first. Look at it this way...you ain't going to win this one, so why spend the extra money? I'm running used slicks because I have no competition at this race....no sense is wasting the money...

Sure we'll all harass you for running the PSC's, but we all harass each other anyway about everything, so what different does it make? Just go out, learn and have fun.

Plus, since we cut into your budget by insisting on a garage for the race ....

DrJupeman

I had class wins and podiums on MPSCs, they are good tires!