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      06-16-2012, 07:45 AM   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gtMc View Post
very excited. funny, this forum is the only place I know that people share in ones excitement over tires. everyone @ home here thinks i'm nuts. "If you need be i'll be in the garage enjoying the 'new tire' smell." nothing beats it!
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      06-17-2012, 09:32 PM   #46
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Lots of opinions here already, but figured I'd weigh in since I have quite a bit of experience with the PSS on my M Coupe...which is pushing 500BHP, no less. I just finished a set and am buying another one tonight.

They are the best tires I've used on any car, and I've tried several high-performance brands. No comparison to the Conti's; the car is in a completely different performance class with the PSS's, IMO. I chose 245 front, and 265 rear, which also balances out the stock understeer a bit by reducing the stagger slightly.

No rubbing in the front as others report; the steering is noticeably heavier, but not unreasonable and a positive change IMO. I didn't notice a lack in steering immediacy to the Conti's, but the PSS's are so impressively engineered, that doesn't surprise me--I bet you would have even better response from 225s, but to me the extra grip of the 245s is more valuable given that they are still quite precise.

I have driven my car very hard, and for the past year had a really crazy mountain road commute that tears up tires quickly. The PSS's are incredibly resilient (50% more track life than the PS2s, 10% more highway), and had pretty even wear. (sorta fun video here:
)

Since you drive the twisties often, my biggest recommendation is to ensure you have -2.5 camber up front. Far better grip and critical for even wear if you are frequently holding lateral force. I installed camber plates to attain this and it is one of my best mods to the car, bar none.

Enjoy a totally new driving experience!
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      06-18-2012, 04:43 PM   #47
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^ This sounds like its going to be an awesome switch, thanks for the feedback. Now I kinda wish I had gone wider up front, as I do prefer a heavier steering feel. but im sure the 225's will be just fine and quite responsive nonetheless. now to dial in a little neg camber....
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      07-15-2012, 08:57 PM   #48
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Last week I finally got my OEM wheel back from Wheel Collision Center in Bath PA, all brand new looking and perfect, and had the 4 new PSS's mounted, gone now are the stock Conti's that were on them. But today was really the first day I got to drive it pretty hard for a few hours. Put about 175 miles on them, back twisties thru the woods, about 88 degrees out and humid. The tires are awesome so far, and I almost feel like they broke in a little by the end of the drive. Mheav, I'll post pics tomorrow since you wanted to see them. And i'll put them next to another spare set of stock contis on oem rims that I have to show the true difference in look and size if any. (went to use the camera and batt was dead so no pic this eve).

I think the best way to describe the change is that I felt more in control of the car and it was giving better feedback thru the steering wheel. Especially noticed it on some longer curves that lasted ~ 1/2 half a mile, where you're turning slightly but doing it at 70mph for 20 seconds. they held those long curved lines really really well. The stock conti's felt like they fluttered a little thru those turns, almost tramlining in a way? PSSs didnt feel that way. Loving the new tires so far though (and they smell damn good too)! Pics tmrw.

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      07-15-2012, 09:16 PM   #49
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If you're going to do canyon carving, make sure to check tire-roll over for proper pressure.
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      07-15-2012, 09:33 PM   #50
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kgolf31 View Post
If you're going to do canyon carving, make sure to check tire-roll over for proper pressure.
yeah i was going to ask about this. so I did check the tire pressure twice, once when they were warm after about 25 highway miles, and once halfway thru the drive when they were hot. Warm was around 35psi and hot was 37 psi. Do those levels seem ok? I think it says 32psi cold inside the doorjam... As for checking 'tire-roll over' . . . not really sure about that.
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      07-15-2012, 10:10 PM   #51
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gtMc View Post
yeah i was going to ask about this. so I did check the tire pressure twice, once when they were warm after about 25 highway miles, and once halfway thru the drive when they were hot. Warm was around 35psi and hot was 37 psi. Do those levels seem ok? I think it says 32psi cold inside the doorjam... As for checking 'tire-roll over' . . . not really sure about that.
Levels will vary on tire compound, size, what you're running on, how hard you run it...etc

If you're really pushing it, a good indication is the tire arrow:



Those are my RS3s after my first auto-x. The arrow indicates where the roll-over mark should be. All tires will roll over the sidewall, adjusting pressures to make sure they don't roll over too much/little is key.

I dropped 1 PSI in the rears and now I'm golden. I run 35 hot rear, 39 hot front on my RS3s for autocrossing.
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      07-15-2012, 10:22 PM   #52
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gtMc View Post
Last week I finally got my OEM wheel back from Wheel Collision Center in Bath PA, all brand new looking and perfect, and had the 4 new PSS's mounted, gone now are the stock Conti's that were on them. But today was really the first day I got to drive it pretty hard for a few hours. Put about 175 miles on them, back twisties thru the woods, about 88 degrees out and humid. The tires are awesome so far, and I almost feel like they broke in a little by the end of the drive. Mheav, I'll post pics tomorrow since you wanted to see them. And i'll put them next to another spare set of stock contis on oem rims that I have to show the true difference in look and size if any. (went to use the camera and batt was dead so no pic this eve).

I think the best way to describe the change is that I felt more in control of the car and it was giving better feedback thru the steering wheel. Especially noticed it on some longer curves that lasted ~ 1/2 half a mile, where you're turning slightly but doing it at 70mph for 20 seconds. they held those long curved lines really really well. The stock conti's felt like they fluttered a little thru those turns, almost tramlining in a way? PSSs didnt feel that way. Loving the new tires so far though (and they smell damn good too)! Pics tmrw.

tires > suspension

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      07-16-2012, 06:13 AM   #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kgolf31 View Post
Levels will vary on tire compound, size, what you're running on, how hard you run it...etc

If you're really pushing it, a good indication is the tire arrow:



Those are my RS3s after my first auto-x. The arrow indicates where the roll-over mark should be. All tires will roll over the sidewall, adjusting pressures to make sure they don't roll over too much/little is key.

I dropped 1 PSI in the rears and now I'm golden. I run 35 hot rear, 39 hot front on my RS3s for autocrossing.
Ok - I'll look for this tonight when I get home. I know it takes some tweaking to get them right. I also need to take a 'cold' reading, will do that soon too. thanks...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dubbedown View Post
tires > suspension

=D
Dan, yep it was a great move to upgrade the tires before thinking of doing anything else!
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      07-16-2012, 11:19 AM   #54
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The PSSs (and the PS2s I had before) actually have a little Michelin Man instead of the arrow.

IIRC, his name is "Bib"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibendum
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      07-16-2012, 06:51 PM   #55
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OP, finally, here are some pics you asked for. One close up, one further out, and one with an extra oem conti next to it for comparison purposes. Sorry for the shadows but I wanted to rush and catch the sun on atleast part of the rubber before it was too late.
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      07-16-2012, 07:41 PM   #56
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Looking good gt... Thanks for the pics!!
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      07-23-2012, 12:50 PM   #57
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August 2012 issue of Car & Driver tested summer performance tires. Guess which one won

The article is not online yet but is called "Monsters of Grip: Nine Summer-Performance Tires Tested".
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      07-23-2012, 01:05 PM   #58
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Just got a set last week.

So far, I like them. Very quiet, very comfortable ride. Although some of the ride comparison to the Star Specs is may the result of the sidewall height being closer to stock vs. the Star Specs (which were -2.7 smaller, and worn to the point of practically being slicks). Look good on the stock wheels too.

Keeping the sidewall height closer to stock, plus the tire itself, may be more optimized to the stock dampers and spring rates. Also went up to 245/275, steering may have a tiny bit more effort, but it's so small if it's there it might be imaginary.

I haven't run them on the track, but as a street tire, so far they're awesome and seem to have a lot of grip (I don't push things much on the street though).
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      07-25-2012, 12:31 AM   #59
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Finnegan View Post
went up to 245/275
Finnegan, please confirm that the Michelin Pilot SuperSport tire sizes you're using are 245/40R18 front and 275/35R18 rear.
I understand that you are running them with the stock Z4M rims. Is your geometry set stock, or modified (e.g. more negative camber front, or spacers). Any issues such as rubbing / interference with the stock geometry setup? Thanks.
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      07-25-2012, 02:36 AM   #60
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RobertRO View Post
Finnegan, please confirm that the Michelin Pilot SuperSport tire sizes you're using are 245/40R18 front and 275/35R18 rear.
I understand that you are running them with the stock Z4M rims. Is your geometry set stock, or modified (e.g. more negative camber front, or spacers). Any issues such as rubbing / interference with the stock geometry setup? Thanks.
Those are the sizes I'm running. Stock wheels. -2.0 front, -1.6 rear. No spacers. No rubbing around some reasonably hard corners. I haven't run them on the track or in AutoX yet. Others have run these sizes w/o issue using Dunlop Star Specs in both Track and AutoX conditions, but sidewall design and etc. section width can vary tire type to tire type even in the same sizes.
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      07-25-2012, 12:38 PM   #61
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I'm surprised you went with 245/275 finnegan. What made you change your mind?
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      07-25-2012, 01:44 PM   #62
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These are the best tires ever! They have a lot of more grip and are very, very quite. A lot better than the contis
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      07-25-2012, 10:48 PM   #63
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Quote:
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I'm surprised you went with 245/275 finnegan. What made you change your mind?
Bit larger section width vs. 235/265 (track), and while the lower profile sidewall on the 235/265 gives a bit more effective torque at the wheels, I wanted to see if the more stock sidewall height would be better aligned with the stock dampers and springs. (It seems too; similar to the stock size Sumitomos Krissi ran last winter.)

I thought the turn-in and response might suffer compared to the 265/235 Star Specs, but the PSS are such good tires that it doesn't matter--turn in is awesome! Maybe 235/265 PSS would have even better turn in, but since the response is good, and ride is great, I don't care.

Lastly, Krissi really wanted a set of the PSS in max width, and I might just port these to her car and slap a set of NT05s or Star Specs back on my car (her tires are pretty well shot as well).
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      07-26-2012, 06:27 AM   #64
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I'm surprised you guys have no problems running 275s in the rear. I'm running 265 RS3s (almost same section width of a Star Spec) and I'm rubbing in the rear inner fender. Bad enough I needed 5mm spacers.

As well, I thought going 245/275 could actually lead to less performance of the tire on OEM wheel sizes, because it's almost too much tire. I'm pretty sure The Hack explained this.
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      07-26-2012, 12:56 PM   #65
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The Star Specs are known for running wide even though they have the same spec width. That's probably why they rub and the PSS don't.

And ideal would be .5" wider rims for 245/275, the stock sizes are at the max of what the PSS spec allows. Having said that I'm super happy with PSS in 245/275, so much grip. You really have to work to get a chirp on the straights.
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      07-26-2012, 01:05 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kgolf31 View Post
I'm surprised you guys have no problems running 275s in the rear. I'm running 265 RS3s (almost same section width of a Star Spec) and I'm rubbing in the rear inner fender. Bad enough I needed 5mm spacers.

As well, I thought going 245/275 could actually lead to less performance of the tire on OEM wheel sizes, because it's almost too much tire. I'm pretty sure The Hack explained this.
Yes, he did. I think it was something like "put them on properly sized wheels and you'll be amazed at how much better they are".

I'll have to measure the section width vs. the 235/265 Star Specs. Visually, they don't appear much wider, because the Dunlops have a wide section width.

I might lose a second at the track with the less than optimal size for the wheel (I know where can find that, and more, on a few corners), but it's worth it given the DD driving comfort vs. the lower sidewall height.

Of course, if I put them on a nice set of Apex wheels that would be idea. Which is what I'll probably end up doing--I needed tires now and I only have the stockers to work with (the Apex sizes/colors I want are out of stock).
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