Hi All,
Ran the Evo at Limerock this past Friday and Saturday. As you are aware, I had some problems with the SSR with spacer wheel combination so I mounted a set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cups shaved to 4/32's size 255/40/17 on the stock wheels and torqued them to 100 ft/lbs. After the first session, the torque held so uneven wheel torque was eliminated as a possible source of judder. Turned the rotors and had them aggressively cross-hatched. Switched pads to Ferrodo DS-3000 and did my now usual careful bedding in. Well, the short version is I went two full track days with only the slightest hint of judder on corners that require less than full braking. No judder at all under full braking. This is a record for me. Following the bed-in, the rotors were evenly grooved and appeared cleaner than in the past. The Michelins are not quite as sticky as real race tires and I had them set at 24 front and 26 rear cold psi to try and combat the cars understeer. I have a good track alignment but this is almost irrelevant on the stock suspension as there is so much body roll cornering. Mid-corner and corner-exit understeer is pronounced. Will be bringing a set of spare stock springs to the National this week and have them tested for rate. Hopefully I can report the true spring rates next week. Without traffic, consistent low 1:03's are the average at this track. I ran one hot lap in the high 02's but was so frightened I would not care to duplicate that effort again without suspension changes. Photos are available at www.tracktimephotos.com. Go to the Gallery and click on the SCDA June 28 Limerock event. Click on the Instructor Group. Thats all for now.
Cheers,

 

Could you elaborate on this please? I had heard good things about this tire, something along the lines of it being as quick (or nearly so) as a Hoosier in the dry, unmatched in the wet, and the tread life of a Victoracer. I had thought about trying it for autocross, but got the feeling it takes a little while to come up to temp.

By "real race tires" do you mean non-DOT tires, i.e., slicks, or do you mean something like the Hoosier R3S03?

JW

 

Compared to a Hoosier R3S03 the Michelin has a little less grip and a softer sidewall. They seem to need a couple of laps to come up to temp. They do, however, wear like iron. Will easily outlast a Victoracer.
Cheers,

 

Interesting. I've heard the Sport Cups are brilliant. Given that the Hoosiers heat cycle themselves to death after a weekend, I'd think the Michelins might be a great alternative, despite the fact they are so expensive.

 

Bill, keep these updates coming! You're providing MUCH appreciated and needed field reviews under some pretty intense conditions. Thanks!

Thomas Dorris

 

I've had some experience with the Pilot Cups with auto-x on a different car that I co-drove and I can say that they are fair. Definitely not as grippy as Hoosiers and probably similar to victoracers. Treadlife in an auto-x car was fair but the person whose car it was on drove them on the street some too. A few auto-x's and about 1000 miles on the street and they were corded. For the $, Victoracers are hard to beat and if you want the ultimate in competitiveness, Hoosier is still the best. I'm not sure the Michelins are worth the $. Just my 2c.

 

The Michelin is a brilliant DE tire. I have heard of them going 40-50 heat cycles when not used on the street. That's why I put them on the Evo, given the cars propensity for eating front tires. They would not be competitive at the National level, where often several cars occupy a tenth of a second gap.
Cheers,

 

I use the Toyos for the same reason. They are the most consistent longest lasting tire I've used. Love to try the Michelins, but they have no 14" sizes.