Help me pick wheels/tires

[gunsmoker]

I have decided to buy a second set of wheels and I need your opinion on what will perform better. This is my DD and I do a couple of track days and 2-3 autox events per year. When I got the car, it came with MPSS and 513m wheels. I then was naive enough to replace the MPSS with MPS A/S 3+, buying into Michelin's statement that these were better than competitor summer tires. The net effect was that I could beat only a Crown Vic in the autox events.

So I'm looking for a set of tires that will wipe that shame off and help put me in the middle of the autox pack while retaining daily-driving capability in terms of reasonable comfort and road noise.

I have narrowed my choices to the following, but if you have other ideas, let me know.

1. Goodyear Eagle Supercar 3 UTOQ 220, 255/40/R18 front, 275/40/R18 rear, with Apex SM-10 wheels. This keeps the weight roughly equal to stock, but with stickier tires. Reviews indicate a 20k miles is not unheard of, but hydroplaning can be an issue.

2. Goodyear Eagle Supercar 3 UTOQ 220, 265/35/R19 front, 285/35/R19 rear with 437m wheels. This adds about 16lb of weight to my 18" stock, but gets me slightly wider tires than option 1. Is it worth it - probably not. This is also the most expensive combo.

3. Michelin Pilot Super Sport UTOQ 300, 265/40/R18 front, 295/35/R18 rear with Apex SM-10 wheels. This is roughly the same weight as stock, but with a much better contact patch. It's also the middle option from a price stand-point. I like this size the best, but I'm not sure it will give me comparable performance with option 1 and I wonder if the highway road noise will increase noticeably. I'd think that the A/S tires I have now may be noisier due to more biting edges - does that make sense?

I'm leaning towards option 3. What do you think?

[pikkagtr]

If you are only driving them in the summer , dry weather and or autox
The Sport 4s is a much better tire
I actually run year round here in California
Dry only upgrade to the Cup2 option

[stealthm4f8x]

PS4S are basically PSS but superior in every way you can think. Better for performance, tread life, rain etc

[Bunnny]

I've had both PS4's and Super sports. I love the super sports in the back and PS4's on the front, because the PS4's have a hair better grip, and the rear just performs better with the supersports (felt more control when I compared both). I highly recommend this set up.

[gunsmoker]

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I'm aware that MPS4S is the improved successor to MPSS, however, they do not exist for 18" rims in relevant sizes.

If I go with 19", I'd go with Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3 because they are softer than MPS4S and probably have a better grip. I'd expect them to perform between Cup2 and MPS4S. Cup2 is too much on the racing side than the street driving side for my taste - think wear, hydroplaning, cost.

The added weight is the problem with the 19" wheels and tires for me.

[gunsmoker]

Originally Posted by Bunnny

I've had both PS4's and Super sports. I love the super sports in the back and PS4's on the front, because the PS4's have a hair better grip, and the rear just performs better with the supersports (felt more control when I compared both). I highly recommend this set up.

Yeah, I might consider a mixed setup. I also looked at going 19" in the back and 18" on the front, but I could not find a size for the rears where the sidewall would be almost identical to the front tires.

[Ejones4541]

Seems like I've seen answers to posts like this in the wheel and tire section...maybe I imaging things.

[JagR2611]

Originally Posted by stealthm4f8x

PS4S are basically PSS but superior in every way you can think. Better for performance, tread life, rain etc

My 2018 F80 has roughly 5k on the clock and I was running Michelin Pilot Super Sports (OEM) on my 666m. I switched wheels and am currently on their replacements, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S. I agree with all the other comments but would add noise level to the 4 S advantages list. I don't know if others have noticed but I find the cabin to be quieter.

[uncle ben]

I’ve been thinking of summer tires too. But i ran into a problem. I love the look of meaty tires on 18’s. So my ideal setup was apex sm10 275/35/18, 305/35/18. But i could only find race rubber for the rear size. (Toyo r888r) So it was too much for the street. I’d be picking up stones and pebbles and blasting my paint.

I really wanted to run a 305 rear, so the best option i came across was a richland forge 19x10, 19x11 wheel, with 265/35/19 and 305/30/19 tires. Probably ps4’s or sport cup 2, but with those sizes your tire choices really open up.

[nicknaz]

Hi OP, my electric car uses ps4s tires and it’s nice for a commuting tire that’s a little bit sporty. I don’t recommend it for sports since the grip is low compared to other street tires like re71r

Another tire that got mentioned is cup2. I have an old 911 that uses that tire, and it’s fine for commuting, even in the rain, but the drawback of that tire is it doesn’t have as much grip compared to other R tire, especially for the cost.

I think a nice street tire that will do better in autox is RE71R.

Since you said you have or will get multiple sets of wheels, you should get an R tire like toyo RR for dry competition and also re71r for wet competition and commuting

As for wheels, if you are still shopping how about Titan 7

Edit: i think you should pass on PSS tires. I posted my thoughts on PSS a couple of years back when I first got f80, and I won’t clog up your thread by repeating them