Michelin Pilot Sport Cups

I just bought my third set of Hoosier track tires in the last year. Is anyone using the above and what are your impressions whether on the street or the track? I'm soon to be in the market for street tires as well. I'm particularly interested in how they might compare to the Hoosiers with regard to grip on the one hand versus lasting ability on the other. Are they a good compromise or a bad compromise? I drive an 01 C4 with 17 inch wheels and do a lot of de, as you might imagine. In the words of a fellow driver "I don't want to be in the tire business." It might also be nice to be able to drive to the track and run on the track with the same tires. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike

This topic has been addressed several times on the racing board. The consensus among the Club Racers seems to be that Hoosiers are worth at least a second a lap over the Sport Cups, assuming both are properly set up and the same driver. The plus side for the Sport Cups is that they last at least twice as long as the Hoosiers, which are generally done after 16-20 heat cycles. For doing DEs where a second a lap is no big deal, the Sport Cups are a very cost effective choice versus the Hoosiers. As for a street tires, the Sport Cups are supposed to be only decent in the rain when new but after they've had some track time people have complained about them aquaplaning pretty easily. You can probably get away with driving them to the track, I know people that do, but I wouldn't get them as your only tire. You'll still need something for daily driving. Karl

I'm a DE instructor for the central Tx regions Maverick, Lone Star and Hill Country, and it quite frankly appears you're wasting your money. In the DE environment, Hoosiers are way over the top overkill, and actually mask some bad driving habits that tires with less grip would reveal. They let you get away with mistakes that would normally have you in a spin. Add to that, the fact that the Hoosiers cost a bundle, and last essentially one weekend perhaps two. You're not Club Racing, so there's absolutely no reason to have race tires particularly if you drive them on the street. Hoosiers are DOT rated in the loosest sense of the word, hit a pothole and see what happens and heaven help you if you got caught out in the wet. Even the Pilot Sport Cups are a bit spendy for my liking, and still overkill for DE's IMO. For DE's my recommendation, and what I run on my 99 C2, are the Kumho V700's, either Victoracer's or Ecsta's. They are priced right, grip wonderfully, slide predictably, last a good long time, allow for very good instruction at the limits of adhesion, and are still very streetable. I guess to answer your question specifically, the Hoosiers are a lousy compromise for anything other than Club Racing.

Hey Mike, hope all is well. Last year I kept Hoosiers on one set of wheels and Cups on another and frequently switched between the two mid-event. I actually used both at Sebring in Feb when we met. I was deciding which to use for clubracing this year. There is no question that the Hoosiers are slightly faster but for DE I think you will be much happier with Cups. They last forever and really stay consistant. If you get some, make sure and hook up with someone that has run them for awhile to help you with air pressure. They need to run at much lower pressures than your Hoosiers. They also seem to like less camber which is good since it's in short supply on a 996. Good luck. Jim

I was as fast this year on the Michelins as I was the year before on the Hoosiers. But the Michelins where fastest at the middle of the race where the Hoosiers are fastest in the begining. For DE's I would go with the MPSC as they have a lot more longevity. Stay away from the Kuhmo Ecsta (new ones) they heat up too quickly and are not very consistent. Cheaper, yes but not a better value IMO. There are some new Hoosiers coming out this summer and I will be very interested in seeing how they compare. They are supposed to be faster, last longer, need less negative camber, etc compared to the old Hoosiers.

Thanks all for the input. I don't run the Hoosiers on the street. What pressures do you run for the Michelins? I start out the Hoosiers cold at 34 all around and then keep them at 40 when hot. Thanks again, Mike

Mike, 40 psi for Hoosiers hot on a 996 is marginal. I ran my fronts around 42 hot and the rears around 44. For a heavy rear-engine car like the 996, those are the pressures suggested by Hoosier. Karl

Mike, As I recall you want to run the Cups about 10 lbs less. I think the optimal hot temps were around 32-34.

Thanks again! Mike

My cups are basically gone. This week will be my last event on them and I am probably going to switch back to Hoosiers. It was nice to be able to street drive them, but they do not seem as good as the hoosiers. Here are my gripes... first they take forever to warm up, second, you have to drive them quite hard to erally get them hot enough to stick better than the hoosiers and third, although when at full temp, they stick better than the hoosiers laterally, they are alot weaker lonigtudinally. They do wear well and very even and are very predictable and progressive. I'm going to go back to the hoosiers and see how they feel, after that who knows.