Need new tires for my GTS

[udm86]

So, it is time to replace the original OEM Cup 2's. Let me preface this by saying I barely track the car. I mostly do local rallies, spirited street driving, and road trips. I try to never drive it in the rain.

Are the OEM spec Cup 2's the best option? Is the newish Michelin 4S a better tire in relation to traction? According to their website, the 4S is #1 in dry traction in their line up. That just seems hard to believe over a track focused Cup 2 tire. Also, are there other brands I should consider?

Appreciate any feedback you guys can give me. Thanks!

[Jbrown7403]

I can definitely vouch for the Michelin 4s. I don’t track my car but the dry and wet traction is great. I never worry in the rain. Also a very quiet highway tire and good looking! Other folks have commented that the 4s tends to be a bit wider then same size tires.

[ClubsportJunkie]

Originally Posted by Jbrown7403

I can definitely vouch for the Michelin 4s. I don’t track my car but the dry and wet traction is great. I never worry in the rain. Also a very quiet highway tire and good looking! Other folks have commented that the 4s tends to be a bit wider then same size tires.

+1 I just switched my Cup 2's to 4s' and it's been great for the same reasons. 265/35R19 fronts and 295/30R20 rears. Save the Cup 2's for the track.

[bioman]

How’s the balance with a slightly wider rear tire?

[Leftkeylife]

PS4S are a fantastic street tire. They are not a track tire though.

Keep the PSC2 for track, or possibly try the Dunlop Sport Maxx Race 2 which are said to be even better and last longer than the PSC2. I have them right now, but have not yet tried them on track. Caveat, my car is of the Porsche variety.

[FormulaMMM]

We are pretty limited in OE size options. For street use, it's either Cup 2 or PS4S. Conti ExtremeContact Sport would be an outlier choice, wouldn't take over either Michelin option. (Dunlops aren't available.)

The PS4S is not #1 over Cup 2 in dry traction. Michelin means in the PS4S tire category.

With wet traction not a concern, PS4S would offer some improvement in comfort characteristics. And you'd lose some handling sharpness vs Cup 2.

Assume you haven't adjusted the dampers from street settings? If you went PS4S some damper tinkering would probably be recommendable, to better sync. (Could be a fun process.)

But if you've been happy with them, OE Cup 2 are likely the best option for what you describe.

[Leftkeylife]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

We are pretty limited in OE size options. For street use, it's either Cup 2 or PS4S. Conti ExtremeContact Sport would be an outlier choice, wouldn't take over either Michelin option. (Dunlops aren't available.)

The PS4S is not #1 over Cup 2 in dry traction. Michelin means in the PS4S tire category.

With wet traction not a concern, PS4S would offer some improvement in comfort characteristics. And you'd lose some handling sharpness vs Cup 2.

Assume you haven't adjusted the dampers from street settings? If you went PS4S some damper tinkering would probably be recommendable, to better sync. (Could be a fun process.)

But if you've been happy with them, OE Cup 2 are likely the best option for what you describe.

Do you guys have CUP R’s available in your sizes?

[Gomeler]

Originally Posted by Leftkeylife

Do you guys have CUP R’s available in your sizes?

Cup 2 R comes in GT3 RS sizing, 20" front, 21" rear.

[Leftkeylife]

Originally Posted by Gomeler

Cup 2 R comes in GT3 RS sizing, 20" front, 21" rear.

They make a few more sizes and figured they were going to add more and that they may make 19s also rather than just 20/21”.

[Darth One]

I concur with others on here that PS4S is the right tire for a non-track car.

The only thing that surprised me when I changed over is that the 4S seems to have a thinner sidewall profile than a PSC2 of the exact same size. Kinda annoyed me because my fender gap looks bigger now

[16m4gts]

My GTS had PS4S already on when I purchased it. Don't track, but daily it and avoid the rain. With the Carbahn tune it's silly trying to get the power down and have been wondering about switching to Cup 2s (or if I should stick with the 4S) when it comes time.

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by 16m4gts

My GTS had PS4S already on when I purchased it. Don't track, but daily it and avoid the rain. With the Carbahn tune it's silly trying to get the power down and have been wondering about switching to Cup 2s (or if I should stick with the 4S) when it comes time.

Cup 2 wouldn't hurt your cause, but it's challenging enough to put the power down in stock form on the street. tc intervention is constant in 1st, 2nd, and into 3rd. Adding a tune just means more of that, unless you're running tc off and 3rd gear + highway pulls or something...

[RevNev]

Originally Posted by 16m4gts

My GTS had PS4S already on when I purchased it. Don't track, but daily it and avoid the rain. With the Carbahn tune it's silly trying to get the power down and have been wondering about switching to Cup 2s (or if I should stick with the 4S) when it comes time.

315/30 19 Cup 2's , the OEM rear tyre from GT350R Mustang provides much better power down than a 285/30 20. Obviously it takes a 19 x11.5 rear wheel but the traction's massively improved on the road and track

[BMW9]

Originally Posted by Leftkeylife

Do you guys have CUP R’s available in your sizes?

The michellin PSCup R tire is basically a qualifying tire. It has massive grip, but It was designed by Michelin to get one good Nurburgring lap to satisfy the magazine specs and then it's grip falls off rapidly and doesn't last as long as as the Cup2 tires. I would not Recommend that tire unless you have something to prove or if you have unlimited funds and a crew to change tires for you during your track days. That's what the manufacturers do when they want to set record lap times.

[Lienrocs]

Non star spec cup 2's are the way to go. I would swap out the wheel/tire package entirely if you're performance oriented. If DD duties are the priority then star spec cup 2's of 4S' are enough.

[h_bakken]

Just got my GTS 5100 miles on the clock.

Previous owner got a flat and replaced the Cup 2 with Super Sport, they are nearly brand new.

I was originally going to have them changed back to Cup 2 (car going in Friday to diagnose water injection system failure, under warranty).

Car driven only on weekends, I do plan on doing a track day at some point but not sure when.

I'll never drive this car in the rain.

Thoughts on leaving the Super on vs switch to Cup 2?

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by h_bakken

Just got my GTS 5100 miles on the clock.

Previous owner got a flat and replaced the Cup 2 with Super Sport, they are nearly brand new.

I was originally going to have them changed back to Cup 2 (car going in Friday to diagnose water injection system failure, under warranty).

Car driven only on weekends, I do plan on doing a track day at some point but not sure when.

I'll never drive this car in the rain.

Thoughts on leaving the Super on vs switch to Cup 2?

What's your seat of the pants sense? If car is enjoyable and reasonably hooked up with PSS, I'd leave as is until you run through them. But you might wait until you have full power to make that judgment.

PSS will also be ok for novice/intermediate pace track day.

Is the GTS better synced with Cup 2? No question. For that matter, on track it's even better with Supercar 3R, Trofeo R, that level of dedicated track tire. But for street drives and weekend purposes while you're getting to know the car, and if you're having fun with it as is, I'd keep running the PSS, with full power caveat above

[h_bakken]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

What's your seat of the pants sense? If car is enjoyable and reasonably hooked up with PSS, I'd leave as is until you run through them. But you might wait until you have full power to make that judgment.

PSS will also be ok for novice/intermediate pace track day.

Is the GTS better synced with Cup 2? No question. For that matter, on track it's even better with Supercar 3R, Trofeo R, that level of dedicated track tire. But for street drives and weekend purposes while you're getting to know the car, and if you're having fun with it as is, I'd keep running the PSS, with full power caveat above

Thanks for the above!

Actually just decided to order the cup 2 and have them put on.

I've driven the car twice and even in the warm Texas fall sun on good pavement, traction control was kicking in through third in MDM / Sport Plus and obviously not at full power with the water injection system down.

I also did maybe half a dozen runs to red line in second gear with traction control off to make sure the water injection system was not working, and the car was very squirrelly, even on clean concrete.

I bought this car to drive and have fun, she won't be a garage queen (any more!).

Might as well get her set up the way the engineers intended.

Maybe I'll be able to get someone to buy the super sports since they're almost new.

And I'll be ready for the track when the time comes.

Thanks again for your response though, I appreciate it.

[4play]

Originally Posted by h_bakken

Just got my GTS 5100 miles on the clock.

Previous owner got a flat and replaced the Cup 2 with Super Sport, they are nearly brand new.

I was originally going to have them changed back to Cup 2 (car going in Friday to diagnose water injection system failure, under warranty).

Car driven only on weekends, I do plan on doing a track day at some point but not sure when.

I'll never drive this car in the rain.

Thoughts on leaving the Super on vs switch to Cup 2?

Mine is running on Pilot Sport 4S. On various vehicles, I've had Cup 2, Super Sport, and Sport 4S.

There is a negligible difference between the 3 on the street. Even doing canyons/mountain runs, it is difficult to get enough heat into the Cup 2s to get them up to operating temp. Below operating temp, the Cup 2s produce effectively the same grip as the PSS or PS4S, with the downside of wearing 4-5x faster.

I think PSS or PS4S are fine. Even for a track day, they will work, you just need to do an easy lap every 3-4 laps to avoid overheating them. They get greasy when pushed hard for 5+ laps and sliding the tires around is how you wear them out quickly.

If you plan on tracking a lot, get a separate set of wider wheels with track tires (Nittos, Hoosiers, etc).

Just my $0.02.

[h_bakken]

Originally Posted by 4play

Mine is running on Pilot Sport 4S. On various vehicles, I've had Cup 2, Super Sport, and Sport 4S.

There is a negligible difference between the 3 on the street. Even doing canyons/mountain runs, it is difficult to get enough heat into the Cup 2s to get them up to operating temp. Below operating temp, the Cup 2s produce effectively the same grip as the PSS or PS4S, with the downside of wearing 4-5x faster.

I think PSS or PS4S are fine. Even for a track day, they will work, you just need to do an easy lap every 3-4 laps to avoid overheating them. They get greasy when pushed hard for 5+ laps and that's how you wear them out quickly.

If you plan on tracking a lot, get a separate set of wider wheels with track tires (Nittos, Hoosiers, etc).

Just my $0.02.

This makes a lot of sense and I do appreciate the reply.

I think I'm gonna stick with my decision to change out since I already ordered the tires from BMW parts.

Maybe it's foolish money spent, Even now I'm second-guessing but oh well.

I am thinking I won't track enough to justify getting a second set of wheels, but I guess you never know.

Anybody interested in a barely used set of super sports

[Andehlu]

MP4ss for sure!

[h_bakken]

Originally Posted by Andehlu

MP4ss for sure!

Sorry they are the old Super Sport, not 4s