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Tire Advice

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38
17
GA
Picked up 305/30/19 for a 10.5" factory gt350 wheel and a 325/30/19 for a 11" factory gt350 wheel. However, I'm starting to have doubts on the 325/30/19 on a 11" width wheel. The 325s would go in the rear.

Tire: Pilot Sport 4S

My question is being driven by safety over performance. I understand from my reading that handling has slightly dropped and may even produce more understeer. It at least has to be better than Nitto 555G2 which were reserved for as my wets which this is replacing those tires. Saving my 305/325 Pilot Cup 2s that I do know work on an 11/11.5 just fine.

Any thoughts on 325/30/19 on an 11" which is the lowest Michelin states it can fit. The question is will it clear the GT350 in all components.

From what I can tell, it appears to clear everything fine and actually better than my cup 2 set of wheels.
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Bill Pemberton

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Pretty sure you will be okay , but there will likely be some GT 350 owners pop in with their experiences. I know I had one past customer ( when I was selling at Woodhouse Ford ) who popped on a set of 325 Goodyear F1s on an 11 inch rim , but not sure what rims he was running ?
 
38
17
GA
I have a non R, I run the Pilot 4s on mine. Front 10.5" rim 305/30-19, rear 11" rim 325/30-19. No issues

What tire temps are you running and how long does it take you to get heat into them? Buddy says the Goodyear Supercar 3R takes him a solid 3 laps in the morning to get it up to temps. My strategy is to use these Pilot 4S in November to April.
 

Bill Pemberton

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I was pretty sure my young neighbor was running the sizes you were questioning , but was not 100% positive , so thanks 12coboss for popping in and settling the concern.
 

Bill Pemberton

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Definitely smart to go 4S for the cooler months ( better, but likely still not optimal depending on where you live ), just keep in mind virtually all high performance tires list a caveat to be cautious or not to even run under 40 degrees temp. The compounding is conducive for fast asphalt shenanigans and winter or cool weather is going to be hard to heat them up. I would touch base with Luke Pavlik at Tire Rack ( ext. 4362 ) to see what his advice is?

Note; Tire Rack link on this site.
 
What tire temps are you running and how long does it take you to get heat into them? Buddy says the Goodyear Supercar 3R takes him a solid 3 laps in the morning to get it up to temps. My strategy is to use these Pilot 4S in November to April.
These are my street tires I do not run them on the track. I have a spare set of wheels and run slicks on the track.
 
38
17
GA
These are my street tires I do not run them on the track. I have a spare set of wheels and run slicks on the track.
I have two set of wheels.

Signatures with Pilot Cup Tires
Factory with Pilot 4S

My strategy is to use the pilot cup or comparable comp tires in the dry and at the right temperatures. The Pilot 4S will be used on track when rain or during cold weather. Both get driven on the street. My setup is -3 on the front and -1.8 on the rear. The rear is likely the most I'd recommend on a 325. As the rear appears to have a half an inch of space before touching the strut mount bolts.
 

Bill Pemberton

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Frankly if the Cups are mainly for the track, I would store them most of the time and use the 4S for daily driving. The Cups don't wear as quickly as a Hoosier ( for instance ), but I would work to extend their life by simply using them for track time - imho .
 
38
17
GA
Frankly if the Cups are mainly for the track, I would store them most of the time and use the 4S for daily driving. The Cups don't wear as quickly as a Hoosier ( for instance ), but I would work to extend their life by simply using them for track time - imho .
I can understand that but when I say daily driving, I'm referring to weekend drives. I can go on 4 drives in the month before a track day. Granted, my weekend drives are normally for an hour+ as I explore the twisties. I do see your logic and maybe now that I have Pilot 4S instead of Nitto 555G2; I may just do that.
 

Bill Pemberton

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Not sure where you are in Georgia , but if you plan on weekend drives in the coming months I would definitely park the Cups in the garage till warm Spring days. From 08 till 2010 all the Viper ACRs came with Sport Cups and many switched to Cup 2 when they needed new rubber. I sold a ton of these machines and was active with track addicts and the Cups are quite quick when it is warm out, but even cool weather means it will take awhile to get them up to temp. The bigger concern, in much of Georgia, is the damp mornings or cool weather in the hills , etc. and this is where drivers can get big surprises. They are not recommended to drive when the temp is 40 degrees or below, and one often forgets about how cool the roadway can be. Had a guy destroy his ACR in late October North of Alpharetta, a decade ago, as the tires seemed to have no grip to him -- low 50s in the am and roadway was still cool. We ( referring to the Dealership I worked at Woodhouse Chrysler, Dodge , Jeep, Ram ) often switched out the tires for folks in wet States like Florida. This was at customer request and many high/extreme performance tires, today, will show very poor response in the rain or damp conditions.

Just advice , not just from reading or Tire Manufacturers recommendations , but from personal experiences primarily from a large amount of clients/customers in the past.

Yes , I am in Nebraska , but I had customers in Roswell, Augusta , Alpharetta, Atlanta, Peachtree City , Marrietta, Braselton, and more, and trips on the back roads of your State and up in the hills/mountains was often common, so trying to give fair advice for you based on good friends.
 
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38
17
GA
Not sure where you are in Georgia....
Out of curiosity, what do you use when it rains on track? Do you switch to wets? My logic was my wets could also be Pilot 4S. I know some use Pirelli Competition Wets https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/motorsport/all-tires/products-sheet/rain

For the record, I likely will not bother tracking the car if its pouring heavy for obvious reason but if the forecast shows a chance of rain I'm throwing on my wets "Pilot 4S" so that I can street drive the car to the track as I'm not fortunate enough yet to have a trailer. Phases, we'll get there. From there I will use best judgement to decide if it's worth learning new car controls while the track is damp and etc.
 
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Bill Pemberton

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Since it sounds like you are doing HPDE or other track events as opposed to wheel to wheel or Time Trials it sounds like you have things set up just fine. The 4S is a great tire for wet tracks and you have another quality rubber donut for dry days. Hang in there and do you happen to load your car with both tires when you wander to a road course? ( 1 in the trunk three in the back seat)
 

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No issues running those tires on the stock wheels. It's not ideal, but it's in no way dangerous. Michelin now makes a 315/30-19 PS4S that you could use in the future if you desired.
 

TMSBOSS

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No issues running those tires on the stock wheels. It's not ideal, but it's in no way dangerous. Michelin now makes a 315/30-19 PS4S that you could use in the future if you desired.
That's what I like about this site. Drivers/racers first. What ever it takes to help the other guy get to the track and enjoy the sport. Regardless of how it effects the bottom line. Every vender associated with this site that I have dealt with has the same attitude. Thanks Guys!!
 
38
17
GA
Since it sounds like you are doing HPDE or other track events as opposed to wheel to wheel or Time Trials it sounds like you have things set up just fine. The 4S is a great tire for wet tracks and you have another quality rubber donut for dry days. Hang in there and do you happen to load your car with both tires when you wander to a road course? ( 1 in the trunk three in the back seat)
I do not as I carry lots of massive bin of tools and gear including a canopy in the trunk. I look at the weather and I make a choice of which wheels/tire compound are going to be used the day of the event.
 

Bill Pemberton

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Just asking as I used to put three tires in the back seat ( with Tire Rack tire covers ) and one in the trunk and got a lot of other stuff in there also , but no canopy. Was wondering as it seems there are a few doing this and it makes the weather issue less of a concern, but sounds like you load more in your beast than I did in years past.
 

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