Too capable for public roads

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Sapphireho

You guys could finally have that pissing contest off the deck.

Ya, I'll make sure he gets the windward side - I need all the help I can get just to clear the deck -


humfrz

[Hoahao]

Originally Posted by JR

Anyone have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ installed?

On my second set. I bought a second set of OEM rims and use them in winter; Primacies in summer.
First generation wasn't as good in light snow as I thought they would be. 2nd generation is supposed to be improved in snow handling , but I have not had the chance to drive the second generation on snow yet, so can't advance an opinion on snow handling.

Better then the OEM Primacies in summer and probably a good choice for someone who only wants one set of tires tires year around and doesn't need to drive in heavy snow.

I've worn the Primacies out and will be getting a set of dedicated summer tires in April

[leevanf]

Responding to the great discussion of ZDan and SeriesBlue,

Theres no doubt gripper tires, on tire alone without driver differences, will retain or regain grip FASTER.

Yet I think the point is, less grip basically increases the "reaction time threshold", allowing a beginner like me, more leeway in both error and time to correct when i lose control - how effectively grip is immediately returned to or not, depends on my skill.

On the other hand, grippier tires decreases that leeway threshold, so for beginners, would be more dangerous as they panic and make wrong corrections. BUT in the hands of someone experienced in losing control (you 2 guys), will definitely return back to grip faster than stock tires hands down.

Im no expert but this is how I would describe it -
my first losing grip was with an e55 amg. it felt like a thick rubber band snapping. One moment youre turning in, the next split second was "shit am i gonna crash!" the squeal and the total loss of control was almost instantaneous. My instinct was to remove my foot from throttle, countersteer a bit, and thankfully i *SNAPPED* back to normal. After that was a huge sigh of relief and a reminder to never do that again.

On my first experience of losing grip in the brz, the tires started squealing first even before the actual floating feeling kicks in, giving me a split second to say "here we gooo", so i instinctively reduce throttle, and counter-steer, - all the while, the squealing progressively weakens and the car wobbles to correction slow enough for me not to make any jerky steering inputs. It definitely took longer to get grip back vs the e55, but the chances of me getting it back was surely higher. And the feeling after that was, "holy shit that was scary but kinda fun because i controlled it!"

Thats my experience lol!

[Ganthrithor]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

This worried me when I went from the stock tires to 255 section Michelin Pilot Super Sports, but the end result was far from what I had feared. Some people (those "THE CAR IS WAY TOO UNDERPOWERED" folks) had insisted that my car would just be STUCK to the pavement, and that it would be impossible to have fun.

I enjoyed the exact same tyres, but I have to say that I've been enjoying them a bit more since the kevlar's begun to show through the rears :P

Do you have any recommendations for a tyre with nice breakaway characteristics but maybe a little less grip than MPSS (I guess PS4S, now)? I was thinking of giving the AS3's a shot-- +200 treadwear over the PS4S, and a bit cheaper. They are heavier, though, which makes me sad, and reviews say it's still a really grippy tyre. Pirelli P Zero All Season looks like an option, but they've got a lot of negative reviews and I remember Pirelli's higher performance tyres driving like shit on track after a handful of laps.

I might just give the AS3s a try. IDK.

Anecdote: I got PS4Ss for my 997 and I kind of hate them, but I'm not sure if it's because of the sizing or the tyre construction: I went down a width on my rears and up a width on my fronts 235 to 245 or something, I can't remember-- it said I was still within the reommended rim-width for the tyre but it doesn't feel good. The car is way better-balanced now, but has the most disconcerting, mushy turn-in: you can yank the wheel a quarter turn at speed and it feels like nothing happens for half a second. So there's tons of front end grip, but every time you go to turn in it feels like you're understeering and you have to force yourself to not add additional steering angle and just wait for the car to turn, otherwise you end up overcontrolling. Not confidence-inspiring and sometimes almost makes me feel motion-sick / disoriented.

[Wiscocrashtest]

I'm using stock-sized PSS on the stock wheels. The car still moves around if you want it to but now has some serious stick. It's just about right for the street. On the track, I still want more grip, mostly on the front end.

What's really silly is when I have the snow tires on it. I drive to/from the rallycross events on the snow tires in the summer when the tires are nice and squishy. Zero grip anywhere.

[daiheadjai]

Anyone try the Continental Extreme Contact Sport?
More of a UHP street tire than a track tire, but I've been impressed by their grip and durability so far on my Hondas (I only really ventured into this tire because the MPSS/PS4 wasn't available below 17in sizes). Plus there's a lovely 12 month or 2/32nds road hazard warranty included (which I've claimed on - thank you Toronto potholes).

I've only really pushed these tires hard on the S2000 on a couple occasions - the only time I managed to get the tail out was a hard right turn in 2nd gear (and it was easy to bring back in). On the Fit, they've never run out of grip (and I haven't been foolhardy enough to try to run out of grip on public roads). Haven't tracked them, and no longer had the BRZ when I got them, so I can't compare them apples-to-apples.

[Go Frogs]

Originally Posted by Victorscp

was watching this movie last week and trying to explain to my wife why this one was the best one in terms of driving. she still didnt get...

agreed. who was it, one of the Millens (Rhys)? I remember hearing he did it in one take...with wig on of course.


darn DVD bonus features or was it FXX DVD movie trivia night?

[mike2100]

Originally Posted by JR

Anyone have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ installed?

Yes, in the stock size. They stick like glue compared to the stock tires. For added context I changed to them with only 4K on the stock tires so it’s not like the stockers were worn out. I did two track weekends on the stock tires (dry and wet conditions). I also have experience with “extreme performance summer” tires like the RT-615 and Star Spec, as well as track tires like the NT-01 all on other cars.
After installing the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ I didn’t hesitate to sell the stock Primacy. People will tell you the stock tires are good for learning car control but I found that once they heat up they become greasy and unpredictable (track conditions). The tire is in the summer grand touring class. Designed for comfort and fuel efficiency, as well as energetic video reviews of the car. The stock tires also get noticeably hard below 40 degrees.
I don’t hoon about on the street trying to slide around so the low grip of the stock tires is not appealing to me. The A/S 3+ are perfect for daily driving in a much wider temp range. I wouldn’t use them in the snow but it doesn’t really snow where I live. I’ll be getting a set of NT-01 on dedicated wheels for track use.

[mike2100]

Originally Posted by leevanf

Responding to the great discussion of ZDan and SeriesBlue,

Theres no doubt gripper tires, on tire alone without driver differences, will retain or regain grip FASTER.

Yet I think the point is, less grip basically increases the "reaction time threshold", allowing a beginner like me, more leeway in both error and time to correct when i lose control - how effectively grip is immediately returned to or not, depends on my skill.

On the other hand, grippier tires decreases that leeway threshold, so for beginners, would be more dangerous as they panic and make wrong corrections. BUT in the hands of someone experienced in losing control (you 2 guys), will definitely return back to grip faster than stock tires hands down.

Im no expert but this is how I would describe it -
my first losing grip was with an e55 amg. it felt like a thick rubber band snapping. One moment youre turning in, the next split second was "shit am i gonna crash!" the squeal and the total loss of control was almost instantaneous. My instinct was to remove my foot from throttle, countersteer a bit, and thankfully i *SNAPPED* back to normal. After that was a huge sigh of relief and a reminder to never do that again.

On my first experience of losing grip in the brz, the tires started squealing first even before the actual floating feeling kicks in, giving me a split second to say "here we gooo", so i instinctively reduce throttle, and counter-steer, - all the while, the squealing progressively weakens and the car wobbles to correction slow enough for me not to make any jerky steering inputs. It definitely took longer to get grip back vs the e55, but the chances of me getting it back was surely higher. And the feeling after that was, "holy shit that was scary but kinda fun because i controlled it!"

Thats my experience lol!

I would attribute most of that difference in experiences to the difference between the E55 AMG and the BRZ. Mostly due to the difference in mass. Imagine an obese person on high end figure skates vs a slim figure skater on rental skates.