Cup 2 - how long do they last.... - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I hate the Cup 2 tyres on my 718 Spyder. Hard ride Lousy in the wet. But...they don't last long do they, so soon I can change them.... I wish. Mine have done 13k miles now, and according to Grok they should be all done between 10 and 12k miles. But they all have at least 4mm of tread remaining - Obviously I need to try much harder. How long do others' last? And if you have changed to PS4S how did you find them, by comparison?

8k miles and just under 4mm left so guess 10-12 is normal? I intend to finish them off at Silverstone this Monday and like you will then switch to ps4's.

Tony B2 said: I hate the Cup 2 tyres on my 718 Spyder. And if you have changed to PS4S how did you find them, by comparison? Upside: Better ride. Much better in standing water, and very wet conditions. Downside: Surprisingly similar noise wise. Depending on how quick you drive you may notice the predictable reduced grip / turn in etc. But I don't drive like I am on a track day so the PS4S offers all I need.

Did 13,500miles on Cup 2’s in my 718GT4. Plenty of tread left when I traded it in. I clearly wasn’t trying hard enough.

That is very much "how long is a piece of string?" On the road, can be a long way. Bet I could get at least 15k out of a set using only on the road, and only above 7 Celcius so the rubber doesn't get brittle. In the worst of my being too lazy/thick to let the tyres down during hot track days I managed to finish a set off in less than 2500 miles, which included 3 track days if I remember right, but might have only been 2. To be fair it was more down to the tread blocks getting really mis-shapen than being completely worn out, but they were well worn too. I'm much happier on PS4S's for road use. I'd recommend just getting them swapped over now if you're not enjoying them. We live once, and don't get to take anything left over with us. If there's enough tread left, maybe someone else could get a track day or 2 out of them if you sold them? Liam

cseven said: 8k miles and just under 4mm left so guess 10-12 is normal? I intend to finish them off at Silverstone this Monday and like you will then switch to ps4's. Cup2's come with a lot less tread depth than normal tyres. From memory around 6mm from new on a 992GT3 tyre sizes.

On the gt4 they come with 7.5mm and I imagine for the road you wouldn’t want to run them with less then 2mm.

It does rather depend on your point of view Personally I think they are knackered after one track day, a brand new set is worth about 1-2 seconds per lap on a decent length circuit. After that you might as well chuck them away. They only really do a couple of heat cycles at maximum grip. Why on earth you would have them on a car used only on the road is anybody’s guess. There are far superior tyres available for that job.

Good in the dry, been through a fair amount of sets as my go to ture for 50/50 mix of road n track, 6k miles really and toward the end of their life you wouldnt want to use them in the rain on road in any anger Now mainly road use for me and ive switched to the new conti sport contact 7s and they are 90% of the grip in dry conditions on road but straight from cold, you have to remember that cup 2s only really perform at 100% after some decent heat in them and its unlikely you’ll get to that all the time on road, or even rarely. So i’d say no to cup2s as a road tyre personally, not taken the conti 7s on track to see what they’re like or how they handle heat, not likely either tbh. Tried michelin 5s before the conti 7s and prefer the contis for fast road use, mainly forward traction as i have 800hp through rear 335s.

bigmowley said: It does rather depend on your point of view Personally I think they are knackered after one track day, a brand new set is worth about 1-2 seconds per lap on a decent length circuit. After that you might as well chuck them away. They only really do a couple of heat cycles at maximum grip. Why on earth you would have them on a table car used only on the road is anybody’s guess. There are far superior tyres available for that job. Yes, it amazes me how many tyre threads measure tyre life on tread depth. A few years ago, I was at Donington Park, where Michelin were testing control tyres for various ‘one make’ race series, which in some cases were ‘road’ tyres. Got chatting with some of their tech guys and also saw one of them a couple of weeks later at Silverstone, where Porsche were testing Cup cars in wet conditions. Interesting conversations about the effective life of tyres in racing - but more specifically in ‘road use’, where they are subject to infinitely greater variables. One technician said that, if money was no object, on something like a Porsche, the road tyres would be changed at each service. And, ‘press’ test cars are often changed more frequently to maintain optimum performance.

I loved 4S when I had them on an R8. My yaris came with them and I found them good too. Until I went to CS7 and back to the 4S I noticed how soft the sidewall is in comparison. The 4S will definitely help ride etc but I found them quite a lot softer so not sure I would want them on a GT car now. CS7 better option I think but dont last as long as the 4S and possibly not N rated.

Tony B2 said: I hate the Cup 2 tyres on my 718 Spyder. Mine have done 13k miles ... Then order a new set of tyres today. What's the point of ruining your enjoyment of a £80k car for the sake of a set of tyres? Simple - Conti 7s or PS4S. Both excellent. Former for slightly better performance, latter for keeping a Porsche warranty sweet.

I'd go Bridgestone Potenza Race- they are OE Huracan STO. Worth watching the Sutcliffe test.

Some great advice here, I remember my 1st caterham came with the standard Avons and thought I would wear them out and then get some sticky options. Realised 7's don't wear out the Avons....last for about 40k miles so switched after my 1st trackday and never looked back.

braddo said: Tony B2 said: I hate the Cup 2 tyres on my 718 Spyder. Mine have done 13k miles ... Then order a new set of tyres today. What's the point of ruining your enjoyment of a £80k car for the sake of a set of tyres? Simple - Conti 7s or PS4S. Both excellent. Former for slightly better performance, latter for keeping a Porsche warranty sweet. Well, I am definitely close to doing that, and I have always liked Michelin (I have *marked PSS tyres on my M3 and really rate them). I want to retain the Porsche warranty so that rules out the Contis (I think?). The key question for me is ride comfort (I have not tracked my Spyder and doubt that I ever will) as it is pretty much a given that wet grip will be much better with the PS4S option. I am not expecting limo comfort, just something rather more tolerable. Some of the roads close to me, which are unavoidable, are so grim that I have to grit my teeth when using them to get out to better and more enjoyable territory. Selling my Cup 2s is an intriguing thought, I suppose, given that they are all over 4mm, so ought to be some use to more track-focussed owners. After the weekend I will have a chat with my local OPC, to get some prices....

braddo said: Tony B2 said: I hate the Cup 2 tyres on my 718 Spyder. Mine have done 13k miles ... Then order a new set of tyres today. What's the point of ruining your enjoyment of a £80k car for the sake of a set of tyres? Simple - Conti 7s or PS4S. Both excellent. Former for slightly better performance, latter for keeping a Porsche warranty sweet. Well, I am definitely close to doing that, and I have always liked Michelin (I have *marked PSS tyres on my M3 and really rate them). I want to retain the Porsche warranty so that rules out the Contis (I think?). The key question for me is ride comfort (I have not tracked my Spyder and doubt that I ever will) as it is pretty much a given that wet grip will be much better with the PS4S option. I am not expecting limo comfort, just something rather more tolerable. Some of the roads close to me, which are unavoidable, are so grim that I have to grit my teeth when using them to get out to better and more enjoyable territory. Selling my Cup 2s is an intriguing thought, I suppose, given that they are all over 4mm, so ought to be some use to more track-focussed owners. After the weekend I will have a chat with my local OPC, to get some prices....

I did 8000 miles on Cup2s on my 718 Spyder and have just changed to PS4s. The old tyres were good for another 7000 ! I changed after a couple of squeaky bum moments in the wet . After 200 miles yesterday i would say there is a difference in turn in feel , maybe the increased tread depth has an effect here ? Apart from that, on the road, the ride comfort might be marginally better but otherwise for road use they are pretty similar. ive upped the pressures in the front tyres to see if that changes the feel.

I found the Cup 2's more comfy than the PS4S. Running them at the same pressure that is not the case, but, you can run the Cup 2 much lower pressures than the PS4S without them feeling like a squidgy mess due to the firmer sidewalls and the material they use on the outside edge. I ended up running them at 30psi front and 33psi rear (cold) where as the PS4S started to feel really horrible anything below 36f and 38r. Not sure what pressures you run them, but consider lowering them right down and see what you think. I found the PS4S more noisy too, the rears anyway. I should just say though, these were not the N rated PS4S, they were not available in the sizes I needed. I understand they are a very different compound to the non N rated version.

Running Non-N rated tyres won't void your warranty (it will be noted on the vehicle health check but it won't void anything). I've had a GT4 on Non-N PS4S for over 2 years and had a couple of warranty claims (including PADM failure) with no issues.

Tony B2 said: Well, I am definitely close to doing that, and I have always liked Michelin (I have *marked PSS tyres on my M3 and really rate them). I want to retain the Porsche warranty so that rules out the Contis (I think?). The key question for me is ride comfort (I have not tracked my Spyder and doubt that I ever will) as it is pretty much a given that wet grip will be much better with the PS4S option. I am not expecting limo comfort, just something rather more tolerable. Some of the roads close to me, which are unavoidable, are so grim that I have to grit my teeth when using them to get out to better and more enjoyable territory. Selling my Cup 2s is an intriguing thought, I suppose, given that they are all over 4mm, so ought to be some use to more track-focussed owners. After the weekend I will have a chat with my local OPC, to get some prices.... Tbh I'm not sure anyone sensible would (or should) be buying your used cup2s as I presume they are the original tyres so quite old by now even with tread as the tyres would drive like old tyres on track anyway and heat cycles are typically the major problem for the tyre. Since you're not tracking the car, ps4s isn't going to make a lot of difference for enjoyment in the dry and obviously it's a much bigger operating window if wet/cold. Fwiw, Contis definitely will not last as long as any equivalent michelin ime.

People worry like mad about how many miles they will last when the reality is they will have gone off and lost all their stickyness through age well before they are worn out from miles.

The answer may be ... not as long as you think ... I fitted a new set early in 2024 and used them for five or six track days ... the last one of the year was a good day. I then re-fitted my PS4S for winter and cold trackdays and general driving. They were great ... wet Anglesey / Oulton Park were great touching 1.2g in the wet and almost 1.3g lateral in the cold dry. Then I switched back to the Cup2's for spring Snetterton and Donington and I was really struggling despite them being only half worn. I checked everything, geo / tyre pressures / and asked around ... the date of the tyres was good and the shoulders were not badly worn. Max lateral g was 1.35g and the car just wasn't digging-in ... culminating in the perfect Donington day when because of faster cars I was moving off-line picking up marbles and a cascading problem. It was only Matt at Suspension Secrets who told me that he thought that PSCup2's deteriorated noticeably after four or five track days ... so with nothing else to check I fitted a new set and junked the still very legal "old" tyres ... The result at Cadwell Park last week ? Magic. So my experience is that if you don't spend what you need to once tyres start to show their age, you will simply waste what you spend on track days or question how "old" your pace is becoming ... ???

It might be worth defining what 'old' for tyres means as it can differ. Cup2s are past their best after the first track day. They are good for a couple more but definitely you are losing pace. They don't however feel 'tired' with little/uncertain grip until a fair bit more though and would work reasonably well as long as one is not chasing laptimes.... 'Old' can mean anything from after 1 track day all the way to probably something like 7-8 depending on what one's expectations are.

Old used to be after one qualifying and one one hour race at spa,they would drop time like no tomorrow. They deff harden off sat around through a winter,keep them in the house or a warm garage helps.

I suppose it's a question of intended use. On the road my "old" Cup2's would have been fine. That just isn't what I bought my GT3RS to do ... there are many better cars for my road use because my tinitus doesn't happily suffer loud cars for long journeys ... I'd be interested to read your estimation in the dry of the rate of deterioration of trackday Cup2's ... ?? It is far from the question of tread depth ...

ChrisW. said: <snip> It was only Matt at Suspension Secrets who told me that he thought that PSCup2's deteriorated noticeably after four or five track days ... so with nothing else to check I fitted a new set and junked the still very legal "old" tyres ... Well that at least gives me an excuse for Silverstone next week, or Anglesey the week after... My current set are 2 track days old, but Suspension Secrets swapped them side to side for me when they did the geo in March. I'll have to make a judgement after Silverstone on whether they are still fit for Anglesey. For whoever it was saying best to keep them somewhere warm over winter. Other way around. If you keep them somewhere cool and dark the chemicals that keep the rubber soft won't evaporate. It's the reason that heat cycles, and also direct sunlight, tend to end their lives early. Liam

LiamH66 said: ChrisW. said: <snip> It was only Matt at Suspension Secrets who told me that he thought that PSCup2's deteriorated noticeably after four or five track days ... so with nothing else to check I fitted a new set and junked the still very legal "old" tyres ... Well that at least gives me an excuse for Silverstone next week, or Anglesey the week after... My current set are 2 track days old, but Suspension Secrets swapped them side to side for me when they did the geo in March. I'll have to make a judgement after Silverstone on whether they are still fit for Anglesey. For whoever it was saying best to keep them somewhere warm over winter. Other way around. If you keep them somewhere cool and dark the chemicals that keep the rubber soft won't evaporate. It's the reason that heat cycles, and also direct sunlight, tend to end their lives early. Liam That contradicts what michelin used to say,avon/bmtr still say keep in the bedroom ,but away from sunlight on a15 sticky tyres.

Ed.Neumann said: I found the Cup 2's more comfy than the PS4S. Running them at the same pressure that is not the case, but, you can run the Cup 2 much lower pressures than the PS4S without them feeling like a squidgy mess due to the firmer sidewalls and the material they use on the outside edge. I ended up running them at 30psi front and 33psi rear (cold) where as the PS4S started to feel really horrible anything below 36f and 38r. Not sure what pressures you run them, but consider lowering them right down and see what you think. I found the PS4S more noisy too, the rears anyway. I should just say though, these were not the N rated PS4S, they were not available in the sizes I needed. I understand they are a very different compound to the non N rated version. At the moment (i.e. summer temperatures) I am setting the cold pressures to 27f/29r as this results in warm (running) pressures of 29f/32r, as per the handbook, after a few miles of normal driving. If I run them at any lower (cold) pressures then I get the red, low pressure warnings on the MFD

bigmowley said: It does rather depend on your point of view Personally I think they are knackered after one track day, a brand new set is worth about 1-2 seconds per lap on a decent length circuit. After that you might as well chuck them away. They only really do a couple of heat cycles at maximum grip. Why on earth you would have them on a car used only on the road is anybody s guess. There are far superior tyres available for that job. They are on the car because Porsche chose to build the car with them....not because they were specified when new.

isaldiri said: Tbh I'm not sure anyone sensible would (or should) be buying your used cup2s as I presume they are the original tyres so quite old by now even with tread as the tyres would drive like old tyres on track anyway and heat cycles are typically the major problem for the tyre. They have obviously not had a hard life - as well as even, and minimal tread wear, the shoulders look completely unworn (shiny smooth) and the mold "spikes" are all still there, with sidewalls also completely unmarked.

Tony B2 said: Ed.Neumann said: I found the Cup 2's more comfy than the PS4S. Running them at the same pressure that is not the case, but, you can run the Cup 2 much lower pressures than the PS4S without them feeling like a squidgy mess due to the firmer sidewalls and the material they use on the outside edge. I ended up running them at 30psi front and 33psi rear (cold) where as the PS4S started to feel really horrible anything below 36f and 38r. Not sure what pressures you run them, but consider lowering them right down and see what you think. I found the PS4S more noisy too, the rears anyway. I should just say though, these were not the N rated PS4S, they were not available in the sizes I needed. I understand they are a very different compound to the non N rated version. At the moment (i.e. summer temperatures) I am setting the cold pressures to 27f/29r as this results in warm (running) pressures of 29f/32r, as per the handbook, after a few miles of normal driving. If I run them at any lower (cold) pressures then I get the red, low pressure warnings on the MFD The handbook pressures are cold (20deg). Mine run at 33/35 warm on the road with factory settings cold.

I have just switched from cup 2's to ps4s in advance of a road trip and I'm staggered by the change tbh. Ride is the biggest change, my GT4 on a typical B road is massively improved...I'm quite shocked at the difference tbh. The tyres also just work from the off and provide confidence and feel....outright grip is less in perfect conditions but you get so much more feel at all speeds which for the road is perfect. I only do 1-2 trackdays a year these days, the car is mainly for road trips to Europe and if this is your use case just swap them now!

Tony B2 said: isaldiri said: Tbh I'm not sure anyone sensible would (or should) be buying your used cup2s as I presume they are the original tyres so quite old by now even with tread as the tyres would drive like old tyres on track anyway and heat cycles are typically the major problem for the tyre. They have obviously not had a hard life - as well as even, and minimal tread wear, the shoulders look completely unworn (shiny smooth) and the mold "spikes" are all still there, with sidewalls also completely unmarked. I think the point being made and per other posters is that the age of the tyres by now is going to be probably (much) more of a factor than tyre wear so even if they were shiny and new looking, it would be a bit of a no go for anyone sensible to consider buying tyres of that age whatever the condition of them might be. well short of using them as disposable tyres for a bit of drifting practice that is... .