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Suggestions Needed for DD & Rain Race Tires

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I am in need of rain race tires for the track that will also be my daily driving tires on my stock LS 19" wheels. I do not do a lot of DD so highest importance is great race rain tires and 2nd importance is street legal, or barely street legal. There are those rare times when the track is slightly wet and my Conti takeoffs are a bad choice and thus I would like to have my DD tires as my back-up wet conditions tire. Any suggestions??
 
Michelin Pilot Super Sports. ;)

295/35/19
265/40/19

or probably better for mostly track use:

295/30/19
265/35/19
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
I agree on the Pilot Super Sports...I like the grip in the wet and cold.

If you go with these, I suggest testing higher pressures than you are used to...to control wear on the outside edges.
 
The Pilot's seem reasonably priced at about $1,300 for the set. I was looking at the Hoosier Radial Wet H2Os which got some great reviews, but unfortunately are not available in 19". Have you guys tracked the Pilots and if so, what kind of life did you get?
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
I think Smilieboy has run on them too.
https://trackmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=4047.0

Tire life looks really great so far...especially on the 295s on the rear for me. I've run only three track days on them but I'm guessing they'll go past 10 or 12 days for me. I have to figure out my settings for the 265 fronts to get the most life out of them. Next time out with them, I'll run 45 or 46 psi hot on the fronts. I'd probably be really happy with them if I was running 295 square on the GT. 295/30 are 11.5" and the 265/35 are only 10.0" wide at the tread, so it might be too much stagger.
 
I happened to be looking through the recent Consumer Report mag last night as was surprised to see they had rated the Michelin Pilot Super Sport. It is in the group they call "Ultra High Performance Summer Tires" and they gave the tire a score of 90, the highest of any tire they rated in any of the groups. The next closest rating was an 82. Clearly a great street tire and for that rare day that I need a wet track tire, they will probably do very well.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
Was meaning to post this in the other thread, but I figure it's more relevant here. Wear after 3 track days:

Left front:
8443931816_8d48205671.jpg

Right front:
8442841351_22a790459a.jpg

Right rear:
8443932216_bbd8064cc2.jpg

Left rear:
8442841681_15d75c8a46.jpg

Two days CCW and 1 day CW.
 
Grant - After 3 days those Pilots are looking pretty good. Looks like you might get another day of two from them. The longest I have ever gotten is 3 days and that was on a set of Nitto 555RIIs. I am typically running Conti takeoffs and happy if they last two days. Thankfully the track I am typically on, BIR, just resurfaced all the older sections last fall and hopefully that will reduce some of the wear.
 

zzyzx

Steve
299
0
Another vote for the PSS - which is known to be one of the best wet tires out there. I run 275/40F, 295/35R which is close as you can come to the stock rolling diameters and the least amount of change in rake with a marginal bump in contact patch over stock.
 
zzyzx said:
Another vote for the PSS - which is known to be one of the best wet tires out there. I run 275/40F, 295/35R which is close as you can come to the stock rolling diameters and the least amount of change in rake with a marginal bump in contact patch over stock.

Thanks for the size input. Where did you buy them? I am not seeing that size at TireRack and a couple of other sites I looked at.
 
I know this thread is old, but figured I should chime in. I have been doing a lot of reading, and have decided to buy Conti DWs since they offer a very nice bang for your buck as a MOSTLY DD tire. The PSS is definitely better, but is too expensive IMO as a DD tire for the amount of track time I will be seeing this year. I went with the DW over other tires like the V12 or INVO because I might make it to one or two track events, and all reports I have read say DWs are great for occasional track use. V12s chunk at the track, but seem to be great for a DD, especially in the rain.

Please keep in mind I am getting all this second hand, but from enough sources that I feel my conclusions are valid.
 
The Conti DWs look like a great high performance DD tire. It has received very good reviews and appears to be a solid choice. I can see why you decided to go with these.
 
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0
I noticed on Tire Rack that they now list a 285 35 19 tire for the Michelin PSS. I'd like to run that as a front tire in place of the 275 35 19. With the 295 35 19 for the rear the diameter would only be off by .2" (26.9" and 27.1"). However, I would think that 10mm of stagger even with 1" more rear rim width (10" and 11") would not be enough to keep the rear bar and not have too much oversteer. My concern is the rear sway bar clearance with wider wheels. The rear clearance with the stock 9.5" wheels is around 2.25" and would be around 3/4" with the 11" wheels (the backspace is about 8-1/16"). My guess is that should be enough with a 295 street tire, but if someone has any info to the contrary I'd like to hear from you. I would have to decide between a stock type adjustable rear bar like the Strano bar vs. the Whiteline bar which weighs a lot more but provides the clearance. I do have a Whiteline watts link to install which should help minimize the side to side axle movement. I could run the heavier Whiteline bars and if I want be able to run the same 11", 12"combo as the Vorshlag car, or run the lighter tubular bars, and run the 18 x 10.5 Enkei wheels. That's a tough choice.
 
I went with the 302S suspension and thus have a Ford Racing M-5490-A front and rear sway bars. I am also on Enkei PFO1s 9.5" and 10.5" and have been running Conti take offs 285/645/18 & 305/660/18. I made the suspension change late last fall thus have not tracked it yet, although there are others on the forum with this same set-up that have tracked it and have been very happy.
 
Hey John my preference is Conti slicks or Nitto r-comps, but I don't run DEs or time trials in the rain ;D IMHO you can only lose.....no fun and the probability of wrinkling the car goes through the roof. BIR is brutal in the rain if running the long course. The VHT on the drag strip turns into a sheet of ice, is crowned, and once the car loses traction it's just a matter of which side of the crown the car eventually slides down into the concrete wall :eek: I know a lot of guys like the "challenge" of driving on a wet track, but for me I'm doing this for fun and fun for me if "flat out" which you can't do in the rain. Just my $0.02!
 
I hear you Gary and I too would not run in the rain. A lot to lose and not much to gain. I did have an event last fall where it was not raining although the track was wet in the morning due to sleet the night before. On that day I went with my Nittos which worked well, although are now spent and I just have Conti slicks for the track. I am currently in need of a new pair of DD tires for my stock LS wheels and thought that since I am replacing these, I would go with tires that I could use on wet (not rain) mornings. Odds of using them for this situation is probably small.
 

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