DE Tire suggestions ?

Hi gurus, First off - thanks for all the great input over the last 2 years. In that time, I've managed to start driving AutoX and did my first DE at Watkins Glen - amazing !! BTW - I have a 2002 996 C4 Cab. So, my question: I've been driving stock Pirelli P Zero's and they've worked fine (considering I'm a newbie), but the one annoying item was that they were squealing through many of the turns at WGI. My instructor said "That's what street tires do". Is there a tire that is a step up ? I'm not looking to go to a racing tire, but I'd like something that I can use as a daily driver and yet will perform well for on the track and AutoX and, ideally won't be squealing through the turns. Thanks for your thoughts ! Ward PS - Yes, the C4 is a tank and has huge understeer - I may be asking you about sway bars in a future post

I will be buying AD08R as my track/street tire. I am on 17" wheels and going 225/255. ( but may go with the ZII Star Spec) I am driving an 02 C2 with PSS10 with stock front sway and bigger rear sway set at very stiff. I am looking for neutral to slight oversteer state. First track day will be end of April, so I have no comments on the setup or tires. (Tires will be purchased in a few weeks). This is my 15th year of track driving but first time in this car

Squealing doesn't hurt anything!

When you have street tires, the grooves and blocking patterns will "sing." If you want a tire that is a street tire and great in the wet, and decent on the track, think about Michelin Pilot Super Sports Michelin Pilot Sports or Cups are an upgrade, for sure, but the wet traction compromise makes them a bit dangerous for street/track applications as the speeds increase. Perhaps Nitto NT01 (IIRC) but they may not be so good in the wet, I've never used them but they are very popular, seems that available sizing is an issue. It is always trade-offs until you head to R compound tires. Then you need extra wheels and "gear" to change them up, and the trade-offs are stickiness vs. expense for new. GL

Bridgestone RE-11

In all honesty, probably any of the Extreme Summer Tires on Tirerack will fit what you want to do. Each tire may be slightly better than another tire in a certain area and one driver may prefer a tire where another driver doesn't like that same tire. These tires are inexpensive enough that you can switch them out yearly (and they may wear out yearly or sooner, anyway). http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=197 My issue with any "track" tire is wet. There will be a time, when the trackday is dry, but have to come home in the wet. This SUCKS on tires without or low tread. So, buy according to your needs.

I changed out my Pilot sports with about 50% of the tread left because they had awful wet traction. I mean dangerous, at least for me. (Strictly street use.).

The cups are what we use for DE's. Keep in mind these are dry weather only, so if it rains you can still do just fine with the PZero's.

Depending on the OP's DE experience is where the answer is. If you have DE'd for a few years just stick to street tires and learn how your car reacts when you throw it around.....almost like driving in snow but a lot faster. Like another said any Summer performance tire will do. I used Sumitomo's because they were / are cheap to replace. If you do R888's or some other track tire you are in for whole new level of fast.....and you will want to look at upgrading other things 1st before going to a super sticky tire like suspension, brakes and a deeper oil pan or an X51 baffle pan.

Sneaky Pete is correct. A move to R compounds is not merely a change in tires. The increased grip affects braking power and cornering g forces. Stock 996s are not spec'd out for those and you are far better off making those changes before switching to R compounds.

I've used NT01s for 4 years, great DE tire you can run to cords without much drop off in grip. Not sure if they sell a tire size for your rim but I used 235/40 315/30 combo. Good for 4 seconds a lap at HMS vs streets. Experience really should dictate what compound is complimentary for you. How many track days so far? Run group? Different tracks? Feedback from streets is high, r comps less so, purple crack well.. They'll let go without warning. The. Nittos have been tough to get the last 4-5 months so I'm running ado8r now, great dual purpose with 180 wear rating. Sticks in rain too which for my area is important. Plus I don't need to swap wheels for event now. Nitto was useless in rain, too risky on greasy streets to use daily. I'll post my track experience with the yokos in a few weeks. Search 996 gt3 de tire, plenty of discussions on that subforum. Get yourself a proper alignment and sways and you'll sort out the push. Warning, Slippery slope buying suspension LCAs drop links etc. lose your receipts

I just did a track day at Sonoma (aka Sears Point) yesterday with NASA in my new-to-me 03 996 NB. It came with 19" wheels and shot to hell P Zero Rossos, so first thing I did was find a set of 18" Carrera II lightweights and some new hoops. After researching here for best Street tire that will be good for occassional HPDEs, I ended up going with Dunlop Direzza Star Spec 2 tires. All I can say is - Wow. I haven't driven a car with anything as sticky as these. My previous Porsche was an 88 3.2 911 with 16" wheels, and very limited street tire choices. This new set up takes it to a whole new level. Unfortunately I can't compare these Star Specs to anything else, because they're the only ones I've tried on this car, and I am still "bonding" with my new ride - so not pushing it or the tires to their limits just yet. Would be interested to hear any opinions from those who have tracked both these tires and the PSSs.

Tshort has it right. Moved from MPSS to Direzzas and have been pretty happy. They're not as sticky as something with a 100 or even 180 treadwear rating, but very solid on track and reports of excessive road noise are overblown imo. (996.2 C2)

Thanks everyone for the great feedback ! As I'm still new to DE, I won't be looking at any R tires, but I plan on reviewing some of the other tires as my current set has about 6000 miles on them.

Michelin PSC

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A few years ago I attended an Audi DE and the instructors told is over and over again that "a squealing tire is a happy tire".

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Couldn't agree more. When I did my DE years ago in a '73 BMW 2002 I was told a squealing tire meant they were singing. I think a squealing tire is a talking tire. You learn a lot from listening to them.