I got my GT350 back in April, and with my time consumed with my day job, it took a bit of time to get out and drive it much. It's primarily a track car for me - I was looking for an "arrive and drive" experience and now that I've done one track day, I think I've got it.
So what's with the tires? The GT350 comes with MPSS's. They're a great running-around tire (the "runners" in the title). They do everything well in warm weather, and they've got lots of grip for running through cones. But, if you want to go to the track, you'll need track tires, and if you want to drive in cool or cold weather, you'll need something appropriate for that, too.
My choice of track tires was a set of MPSC2's - the 305/315 combo (with the Ford spec fronts, not the Porsche spec fronts) mounted on OEM GT350 rims (10.5/11). These are the "dancing shoes" and two things really struck me about them. First, as you'd expect, the grip is amazing with the mag-ride suspension. But the surprising thing was that they're a smoother ride on the street than the MPSS's! It's like riding in a limousine compared to the Super Sports. This has to be the tire the mag ride was tuned for - smooth ride and massive grip. Too bad the ride height is so low...
Which brings me to the hip waders. I've just put together a set of Michelin Pilot AS/3's in 275/40x19 front and 285/40x19 rears mounted on OEM GT350 rims. The whole point of this set of "hip waders" is cold-weather performance, ride height and comfort. Unlike the performance tires, they produce a lot less road noise and they'll work down to the coldest temperature I'll ever face here in the Pacific Northwest. And, those sizes give me 0.3" more ride height than the stock MPSS's. I put them on for a test drive yesterday and I was so pleased with the way that these grocery-getter tires worked that I actually stopped in for a load of groceries on the way home.
So that's my tire plan for the GT350. The MPSS's will probably get the least use - the AS/3's are for long highway drives and the crummy weather from October to April, and the MPSC2's are for the high-speed days of summer.
Oh, and as for the "arrive and drive" thing? I rolled into the parking lot at TRMP last week, torqued the lug nuts, adjusted the tire pressures, set up my VBox Sport and headed out on the track. No fuss, no muss. And I turned one lap that day that was as fast as I've ever gone there. All in all, I was pretty pleased with the whole experience.
I'm doing another track day this week and I'm going to try a pair of 285/35x19 Trofeo R's on the front axle. Visually, the 305 Michelins and the 285 Pirelli's have virtually the same tread width. Tire rack says they differ by 1/2", but you'd never know by looking at them. It'll be interesting.
So what's with the tires? The GT350 comes with MPSS's. They're a great running-around tire (the "runners" in the title). They do everything well in warm weather, and they've got lots of grip for running through cones. But, if you want to go to the track, you'll need track tires, and if you want to drive in cool or cold weather, you'll need something appropriate for that, too.
My choice of track tires was a set of MPSC2's - the 305/315 combo (with the Ford spec fronts, not the Porsche spec fronts) mounted on OEM GT350 rims (10.5/11). These are the "dancing shoes" and two things really struck me about them. First, as you'd expect, the grip is amazing with the mag-ride suspension. But the surprising thing was that they're a smoother ride on the street than the MPSS's! It's like riding in a limousine compared to the Super Sports. This has to be the tire the mag ride was tuned for - smooth ride and massive grip. Too bad the ride height is so low...
Which brings me to the hip waders. I've just put together a set of Michelin Pilot AS/3's in 275/40x19 front and 285/40x19 rears mounted on OEM GT350 rims. The whole point of this set of "hip waders" is cold-weather performance, ride height and comfort. Unlike the performance tires, they produce a lot less road noise and they'll work down to the coldest temperature I'll ever face here in the Pacific Northwest. And, those sizes give me 0.3" more ride height than the stock MPSS's. I put them on for a test drive yesterday and I was so pleased with the way that these grocery-getter tires worked that I actually stopped in for a load of groceries on the way home.
So that's my tire plan for the GT350. The MPSS's will probably get the least use - the AS/3's are for long highway drives and the crummy weather from October to April, and the MPSC2's are for the high-speed days of summer.
Oh, and as for the "arrive and drive" thing? I rolled into the parking lot at TRMP last week, torqued the lug nuts, adjusted the tire pressures, set up my VBox Sport and headed out on the track. No fuss, no muss. And I turned one lap that day that was as fast as I've ever gone there. All in all, I was pretty pleased with the whole experience.
I'm doing another track day this week and I'm going to try a pair of 285/35x19 Trofeo R's on the front axle. Visually, the 305 Michelins and the 285 Pirelli's have virtually the same tread width. Tire rack says they differ by 1/2", but you'd never know by looking at them. It'll be interesting.
