My track nights were all under dry conditions this season. Although I've driven and tested my car on wet pavement after rain and still have no complaints. I live 25 min east of Portland and picked these tires specifically because of the reviews concerning performance on wet pavement, not to mention that I'd read the V2's were significantly improved over the originals which is true in my experience. If I was going to race in the rain I'd buy rain tires but I don't plan racing under those conditions. That said we do get unexpected rain here and I'd take these tires on a wet track without hesitation. Obviously if there is standing water or if it is pouring traction sucks regardless. All my tire purchases since we moved from Bend have focused on wet traction b/c of the climate here.

RedStallion27 said:

Thanks for the suggestions. Conti ECS02 seems like a great option for my needs.

Any thoughts on the Firestone Indy 500 or the Falken FK510? They also look to have good rain performance and are significantly less expensive.

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I've run the Firestone. It's not a bad bang/buck, but it's not a great tire. Here is a subjective review.

Medium grip, reasonable ride, noisy as hell (squealing when sliding and tread noise), reasonable manners in the rain

You're not going to set any track records with the tire, but it's also very progressive in its breakaway characteristics, so you're unlikely to get caught out by it, either. It's a relatively soft sidewall and the breakaway/sliding/recover transitions are all kind of mushed together. This makes it easy to drive. Ultimate grip is well off a 200TW tire, but it's not awful. It's a better overall tire than the Pirelli my car came on. I didn't experience any drop in grip in cooler weather, but I don't live in the cold. I did take a trip over the Grapevine in cold/rain/ice conditions when they were pretty much used up and even then they didn't kill me. Wear was about 17k miles total, I believe.

They're a completely acceptable, "I'm going to take these out and burn them up." tire if you're not worried about lap time.

TeeLew said:

I've run the Firestone. It's not a bad bang/buck, but it's not a great tire. Here is a subjective review.

Medium grip, reasonable ride, noisy as hell (squealing when sliding and tread noise), reasonable manners in the rain

You're not going to set any track records with the tire, but it's also very progressive in its breakaway characteristics, so you're unlikely to get caught out by it, either. It's a relatively soft sidewall and the breakaway/sliding/recover transitions are all kind of mushed together. This makes it easy to drive. Ultimate grip is well off a 200TW tire, but it's not awful. It's a better overall tire than the Pirelli my car came on. I didn't experience any drop in grip in cooler weather, but I don't live in the cold. I did take a trip over the Grapevine in cold/rain/ice conditions when they were pretty much used up and even then they didn't kill me. Wear was about 17k miles total, I believe.

They're a completely acceptable, "I'm going to take these out and burn them up." tire if you're not worried about lap time.

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Are you talking about the 10 year old Indy500 V1?

Or the newly released Indy500 V2?

Rodpwnz said:

Are you talking about the 10 year old Indy500 V1?

Or the newly released Indy500 V2?

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Definitely the earlier one. I didn't even know there was a V2.

Stan Whitney started this off with a great choice and if you check out the recent Grassroots Motorsports they will suggest the Conti Extreme Sport 02. I have them on my wife's Porsche Macan S, my son has them on his Probe GT ( custom build 95 ), and I have some Porsches and Mustang friends I have recommended them to as they do well on track for HPDEs. In answering the question some mentioned about how often a driver is on track in the rain, many may agree it is not super common in some parts of the Country, but much more important is the OP said he drives to the track and honestly the Conti is killer in the rain --- driving back and forth seems to be when I always ran in the rain. In the Midwest it can be common to run into a little rain on a weekend and the Conti is hands above almost all other tires in this Class. I prefer a 200 TWR tire on my track car, but then I have a trailer and I am more concerned with Time Trials or Autocrosses. For just HPDEs or track events, and especially for those driving there , ES02 is a solid tire to view.

Another comment is they also have a nice ride and are quieter than many high performance rubber.