Some updates on my second track day with the Continental ExtremeContact Force. I took them to Sonoma, and I think my opinions on them have changed. Compared to my PB, I was roughly 2 seconds off pace (best that day was 1:56 vs PB of 1:54 with NT01's). The tire has noticeably less grip than the NT01's, which I initially forgave since the steering feel was leagues better than the Nitto's and the ECF seemed to handle heat well at Thunderhill 5 mile the weekend before. While I was there, the only real complaint I had with them was that the tires did not like to be as "overdriven" as the NT01's; the breakaway characteristics, while still very manageable, weren't quite as friendly as the Nitto's.
However, Sonoma, being a more technical track, was not quite as forgiving to the ECF's. Keeping my hot tire PSI's around 33-34 with peak temps that day around 67-70F, I noticed that after 3-4 hard laps, the tires began to fall off quite a lot faster than the NT01's would have as they started to heat soak. Interestingly enough, while they still had decent lateral grip, their longitudinal grip fell off noticeably more in comparison, something I found out with a near brown pants moment at T11 when ABS kicked in. Dialing it back in the next sessions and driving around 8.5/10 pace, the tires were much happier, but my lap times fell down to 1:58-1:59 pace. After that incident, I also had much less confidence in the braking zones and started braking much earlier, worried that I would start to overdrive the tires yet again.
I'm not sure I'd recommend these as a dedicated track tire anymore, given this. However, if I was in a situation where I was forced to have 1 set of tires to do double duty for BOTH street & track, these would probably still remain at the top of my list. Their street manners are absolutely amazing for a 200TW in regards to comfort, "fun to drive-ness", and quietness.
@67GTA I think I remember you tested these out at Buttonwillow. Do you have any comments on how they were that differ from my experience? Perhaps I might be overdriving them, as that was not their intended design. Or perhaps I may be underpressured. I'm also undercambered at -2.6, I'll be dialing them up to -3.2 later next week.