Michelin Tyres and Track Days

[robert997]

News from Michelin - see below. New compund on front tyres should improve wear rate, and the GT3 cup tyre is now available in 19" N-rated.

I've also spoken to Robert Coates at Red Star Tyre & exhaust - contact details below, and he's e-mailing me the club member prices for all the Michelin tyres which I'll post in due course. He advises the Cup is available in 19" and 18" on the 997, but only the 19" is N-rated. He will also courier the tyres at the same price to help those of us not near Braintree !

Hi Rob,
Glad to say that things have now progressed with the 997 19" front tyre.
Following the Porsche Club raising these issues with Michelin, and my discussions with our technical team in France, this 235/35 ZR19 (87Y) Pilot Sport PS2 N1 tyre has now been modified. The modified tyre has successfully gone through all the Porsche approval tests, and is now in production. We expect a significant improvement in exterior shoulder wear in track conditions.
NEW PILOT SPORT CUP
We have some more good news for your members who are interested in track days.
We have now launched a Pilot Sport Cup suitable for the 997.
The tyre details are as follows:
Front: 235/35ZR19 (87Y) Pilot Sport Cup N0
Rear: 305/30ZR19 (102Y) Pilot Sport Cup N0 Extra Load
Although the rear tyre is slightly wider than the standard 997 rear tyre (the standard tyre is a 295/35ZR19, ie around 10mm narrower), these tyres will fit on the standard 997 wheels without any problems.
This Pilot Sport Cup fitment has also been approved by Porsche (hence the N0), and will be available through Porsche for some future versions of the 997.
However to enable 997 drivers to experience the Pilot Sport Cup now, we have made the tyre available through our specialist tyre outlets (see below).
The tyre has a slightly modified pattern compared to the existing Pilot Sport Cup tyre (slightly more grooves), as well as different tread compound materials.
The tyre in fact has a different compound on the outside of the tyre (more for
dry) to the inside of the tyre (more for wet). This means that wet performance is now very good, and very progressive, yet the dry grip is still fantastic.
Obviously the Pilot Sport Cup still has a reduced original tread depth compared to a normal road tyre (e.g. the Pilot Sport), so care should be taken in deep standing water at speed.
The Pilot Sport Cup tyre range is available through:

Protyre Motorsport, Fenton, Stoke-on-Trent
Tel. 01782 411001
Contact: Shaun Chetwyn: 07968 307584
Email: shaun.chetwyn@protyremotorsport.co.uk

Red Star Tyre & Exhaust Centres, Braintree, Essex
Sales Office: 01376 347452
Contact: Robert Coates: 07977 929528
Email: robert.coates@red-star.co.uk

 

[robert997]

Good Morning Robert,

Further to our telephone conversation yesterday these are my 997 Register Members' prices for the tyres we spoke of;

Porsche 997 19" wheel option
Front: 235/35ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport (PS2) N1 £180.15
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup N0 £223.25

Rear: 295/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport (PS2) N1 £256.63
305/30ZR19 Michelin Pilot Sport Cup N0 £311.38

These prices are inclusive[/b] of overnight carrier delivery and VAT. (should your members require fitting at our site there would be a further charge for this).

The tyres are in stock at all times (manufacturer's availability permitting) and are of the latest spec as detailed in Steve Dolby's e-mail to you.

My company, Red Star Tyres, is located at 38 Broomhills Industrial Estate, Braintree, Essex CM7 2RG.

Telephone contacts, in the first instance please call me on 07977 929528 anytime, the depot contact is Dave Rodda on 01376 347452. Fax. No. 01376 560648.

E-Mail: robert.coates@red-star.co.uk (there is a temporary problem re. this address that will be resolved in the next 2-3 weeks, however my home address is robert@coatesfamily.freeserve.co.uk, please use this in the meantime)

I have no problem with you giving your members any of my personal contact details.

The depot is situated just 2-3 mins. From the A120 and is 15 minutes from J8 (Stansted Airport) of the M11.
There are all the fitting/balancing and 4-wheel alignment facilities you would expect for work on your cars. We are open Mon-Fri 8am to 6pm and Sat 8am to 5pm.
For the sake of record whilst we have a strong Michelin bias we are a normal tyre retailer able to offer all major O.E. brands plus a good range of economy alternatives for all cars, vans and motorcycles and are able to invoice most lease/contract hire companies if required. Other services include MOT testing, general servicing, Batteries and Exhaust fitting----this may be of use to members' family cars?

I think I have covered most of your potential questions but call me otherwise.

Thanks

Kind regards
Robert Coates

Tel. 07977 929528

 

[bobfair]

Rob,
As I am doing six track days this year I have taken the plunge and bought a second hand set of 19" Porsche wheels from Jasmine and a new set of Pilot Sport Cups for the 997. I will let you know how I get on. Reason for the purchase was to protect the road tyres that are still quite new and have a good depth of tread on them plus I need all the help I can get with staying on the black stuff.. In my 996 C4 the track days ate road tyres when they had a good depth of tread. I will keep you posted about how I get on with the Cups.

I would be interested in comments from any other 997 owners who are trying the Pilot Sport Cups (Wear rate, pressures etc). Also has any 997 owner tried the Pirelli Corsa track tyres which seemed quite a bit more expensive? Final question is will a 997 with PSE pass the noise test at Goodwood? I have got so used to mine the thought of switching it off and having to reconnect the switch is awful.

regards

 

[Dapster]

In the 987 handbook it warns you not to use track (as in, slick) tryes as the resulting cornering forces could starve the engine of oil which can only have hideous consequences. Given that the 997 has the same non-dry sumped engine, are you sure that cut slicks are a good idea?

 

[Dapster]

Just re-reading the first note from Michelin posted by Rob, it would seem that the Cup tyre is approved for the 997 "We have now launched a Pilot Sport Cup suitable for the 997", but then they go on and say "This Pilot Sport Cup fitment has also been approved by Porsche (hence the N0), and will be available through Porsche for some future versions of the 997" which would imply that the're suitable for the dry sumped GT2/GT3/TT brigade. Best check the technicalities of this out before anything nasty happens and the OPC walks away from a warranty claim.

 

[bobfair]

As I am not planning on setting new world records for G Force or in setting record lap times I think I should be OK. In my view there is a huge difference in slicks and the Cups as the difference in amount of rubber in contact with the road is enormous. The tyres are rated N0 which means they have been approved by Porsche and will be standard fit on some later models (doesnt mean they are not suitable for current models). However I take the point about the lack of a dry sump in a 997 and so would be interested in Robs view

 

[bobfair]

Just looked in my 997 brochure where in the engine section it states "a consistent supply of oil, is suppplied regardless of gravitational forces. The engine is therefore inherently reliable in even the most demanding track conditions" Shame the handbook seems to contradict this

Whilst we wait to hear from Rob I have dropped an E Mail to Steve Kevlin to see if he can help

 

[Mark_Bennett]

ORIGINAL: bobfair

Just looked in my 997 brochure where in the engine section it states "a consistent supply of oil, is suppplied regardless of gravitational forces. The engine is therefore inherently reliable in even the most demanding track conditions" Shame the handbook seems to contradict this

Yes. The famous "semi-dry sump" []

 

[robert997]

Sorry I've been away for the last week. Bob, I think you'll be fine, these Pilot Sport Cups are for the 997 GT3 and Turbo, and given that they're N-rated there should be no impact on warranty claims. As for track use, just think of the hammering the press cars must get, I can't imagine a subsequent owner of these cars being denied a warranty claim on the basis of the cars history.

I must admit I thought we were dry sumped ??

 

[bobfair]

I promised to report my experiences with the Michelin Sport Cup tyres which I have used for trackdays this year on my 997 C2S . The tyres lasted for 5 track days (plus a bit of road work) and probably were good for a sixth but probably not street legal so I have just replaced them. They offer tremendous grip in the dry (not used in the wet) and inspire a lot of confidence so I can recommend them. I found they were sensitive to pressure and found they gripped much better when I followed Michelins advice and dropped the pressures to 2.3 bar all round when hot (yes that low)
I did not suffer any adverse consequences such as oil warning lights coming on despite driving as enthusiastically as I could on each circuit. I have bought another set so that is perhaps the best recommendation