Tires, tires, tires...

[Stephen06GT]

Yes, I know this has been discussed to death, but it's been several years since I had to put new boots on Ol Paint so I turning to you, the TMC, to get your opinions. Ol Paint, for those that don't know him, is my 2006 Roush-charged Mustang GT. Let's say 400HP/400TQ for power, mostly a weekend cruiser, that will see the occasional lapping day. Right now I'm looking at the usual suspects, Nitto NT555 Gen2, Firestone Firehawk Indy500, Continental Contisports. Not in the market to have two sets of wheels (one for road and one for track), so I'm just wondering what else people are running and how you like them.

Thanks
Stephen

[CON VERT]

I've got the Nitto's on mine , same HP , staggered set up, have no complaints ~

[Scrape]

Michelin Pilot Sport 4s is quite the contender but the Nitto NT555 is very very good as well.

[Uncle Buck]

The Firehawk tire is a little easier on the wallet. My brother in-law had them on his boosted 05. No track time but they were darn sticky at the launch.

[1BAD92LX]

My dad is chewing up his firestone indy500's. Car does see double duty street and track. He says he's not much of a fan of them in the rain either.
I put falken fk510 on mine on a friends recommendation based on good wet traction.

[RAT ATK]

Firestone Indy 500 on the CTS worked pretty well at the track. My vote would be for the Michelin 4S if the budget allows.

[newbiestangowner]

Very happy with Firestone firehawks for the price -track and daily during driving season, as Al said it’s easy on the wallet unless prices have changed. ( under $1000 with taxes back then)

I’m probably going to buy them again, but one thing I did notice now is that they do get pretty “ loud” as they wear compared to my continentals prior.


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[Stephen06GT]

Anyone have any knowledge of the Yokohama Advan ApexV601 or Hankook RS4?

[RAT ATK]

Fast Ed is a fan of the RS4 if I recall correctly.

[Zippy]

Anyone have any knowledge of the Yokohama Advan ApexV601 or Hankook RS4?

The Ontario Time Attack club I am with suggested for me to try out the Hankook RS4's. They swear up and down that it's one of the best lapping day tires out there at the moment.
However, I couldn't find any information on how people thought of them in the rain.

I think a good lapping day tire will lack that traction you'd want to have in the rain.
It is definitely a pros and cons game in trying to find a balance between a 'track tire' and a street car tire.

What helped me narrow down my choices was sizes.
With Covid a lot of tire sizes and even compounds have been either discontinued or backordered.

My vote would probably be like you suggested, the Nitto or the Firehawk's. Probably the Firehawk as they are significantly cheaper then the Nitto's. Plus, if you don't like them, you havn't spent an arm and a leg finding that out.

[fast Ed]

RS4 is a favourite of the low dollar (no such thing really) endurance race crowd as it has pretty reasonable grip as a track tire, and wears very well. Pretty decent in the rain, not as good as some of the other 200 TW tires but when I raced on them I thought they were good. We'd get 8+ hours out of them on track in the dry. For street driving they'll be a bit harsh compared to other non-track focused tires for ride, noise etc. but not intolerable from what I'm told ... I've not experienced them on the street myself, only on track.

[Ger]

I went for Michelin PS4s on the Cayman. They are premium money, up to 50% more than some but tread life can be as much as double. I have 3 or 4 track days and 5K street kms on mine with little sign of wear although I am a bit of a Captain Slow as some of you will attest! They are great on the track and on street. They also work well in the wet and a good looking tire to boot IMO. The newer PP1 Mustangs runs these as well. I was into $1600 for my set of 18s so not cheap. Good luck with the hunt Stephen.

[Mustang4]

I’ve got the Michelin Pilot 4S on my 2018 and love them. Great grip and ride in dry and rain. No track time but I’m sure they’re great. Costly though.

Also have the Firehawks on 1991 and they handle well, ride well and low noise. Very pleased, low cost. No track time, though Ed told me they were great on his SVO.

[ZR]

If I was forced to one set of tires for both, no doubt I'd have gone with the Michelin's regardless of price.

[Scrape]

this channel does great unbiased reviews on tires. They just released one on high performance tires.


https://youtu.be/kqf6zNkKtVY