Your tire selection / choice for F430

I LOVE my Continental Extremes. Big time.

 

I'd be interested to hear as well. Was going to go with pirelli's but now leaning towards Michelin ps2's for daily road use. I had ps2's on my 911 turbo and they were awesome.

 

I moved from the PZero's to the PS2 and I'm very happy with them. For street driving, even hard on mountain roads, they do a much better job than the PZero's. The PZero's were very difficult to use with mid-season temperatures while the PS2 are keeping a very good grip.

 

+1

I have OEM Pirellis on my F430 now but may go to Michelin PS2's when I need new rubber. I had Michelin PS2's on my Porsche Twin Turbo and the tires seem to ride smoother, wear is better, and have more grip than the Pirellis. The Pirellis are rather stiff in the cold in my opinion.

 

I have Pzero Corsa, very sticky, very good, but very expensive.

 

For ultra high performance street tires, the Yokohama Advan "AD" series really won me over. First with the AD07 and now the AD08. I know they aren't popular with exotic cars, but I think it's because people don't give them a chance. The only tire on the market today that I have tried that even comes close is the Bridgestone RE-11.

They are also significantly cheaper than tires like the Pirelli "Corsa" series.

 

PS2 are obsolete as of 3 years ago, they used to be good back in the day. They were better than PZero, Eagle or anything Ferrari put in the 360 and F430, except the Corsa System in the Stradale and Scuderia. Not good anymore.

Corsa System are obsolete as of 2 years ago, there are much better r-comp tires.

Michelin Pilot Super Sport replaced the obsolete PS2.

Pirelli Trofeo replaced the obsolete Corsa System.

RE-11 stick better than PSS in the dry. PSS stick better in the rain. Both stick better than Corsa System.

 

I agree regarding the new PSS tires, no doubt. But for now, they are still not available in the sizes we need. I just hope they will be available when my PS2 will have to be replaced

 

Great info f430gt. That's exactly what I was looking for. Any comment on wear longevity and road noise?

 

I have both the RE-11 and new Michelin Pilot Super Sport. They are both quiet. The PSS is supposed to last longer than the RE-11, and they should. The RE-11 have lasted very long in two of my cars. With the same usage, I went through 5 sets of R888 in just 1 year.

F430 PSS Sizes:

225/35R19 and 275/35R19: Despite of the rear tires being 10mm narrower than stock, these tires have so much more grip than the PS2, that not even a 325 PS2 can match the grip of a 275 PSS. You can optionally use the 295/30R19, but that require the front axle to be lowered 10mm and a 235/35R19 front to balance the car.

F430 RE-11 Sizes:

235/35R19 and 285/35R19: Front ones fit fine on the 7.5" stock wheels.

 

I'm sorry, I'm technically challenged. Why would the front axle need to be dropped 10mm if we install a tad wider rear tire? Would it also be required if I go 19" front and 20" rear aftermarket set up?
Thanks.

 

Thanks again F430GT. Awesome info!

 

be careful changing to a tire that was not designed for the car. Even though a tire company may say it is a stock tire choice for a particular car with the Ferrari's they have a specific tire combination that has to deal with the cords, rubber, etc. Especially with the 360/430 they can become very nervous with the wrong tires and tire pressures.

 

The Corsa system is still being produced, so why do you say they are obsolete?? Thanks.....Steve

 

I have PS2 now, manufactured late 2010.

I plan on going with the Michelin PSS next time around as it should be enough for occasional tracking and suitable for street use as well.

Yokohama would be interesting to test, availability is a problem in Europe though.

 

I also have the Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's on my 430 and they seem to perform very well. When they need replaced I will try to stay with the spec tire sizes and see what is available at that time.

 

F430GT knows tires. I went with his recommendation and have RE-11. No complaints at all. You have to go up one size for the front. No problem with the fit.

 

Steve, Pirelli still sells them but they were designed in the late 90s and sold to the public 10 years ago, they never got any better.

There are tires available today with more grip, less chunks when driving at the limits, longer life and cheaper prices than the Corsa System. Ferrari already gave them a kiss good bye by not using them in the 599 GTO and switching to the Michelin Pilot Super Sport.

In my experience, and data gathered through Traqmate, the RE-11 and MPSS are the best choices for street tires today, with the RE-11 being my favorite for dry conditions, and the PSS for wet conditions.

Some people are fine with PS2, PZero, Eagle tires, etc. For me, it is about what they produce on average and peak g-forces on my Traqmate, lap times, longevity, and the most important part: predictability, the communication of everything happening under these tires and the steering wheel. The Corsa System are numb on feeling, the PS2 are very numb, the PSS have a nimble feeling, and the RE-11 are just awesome.

At a GoKart track I used to run in California while developing the suspension tuning on my Scuderia, the RE-11 were as fast as the full race Toyo R888 tires. The R888 have already shown to be faster than the Corsa System by Club Racers. Nobody races on Corsa System for a simple reason: they are slow tires.

One of the reasons the Fiorano lap times in the 599 GTO are faster than the Enzo, have to do with the gigantic 285 and 315 sizes Michelin PSS used in the car. Put the 599 GTO on the original Enzo tires and it would not touch the Enzo lap times.

 

Using a 295/30R19 with a lower overall diameter would change the rake of the car, and these cars are very sensitive to alignment and rake settings. a 22mm positive rake (22mm taller rear end compared to the front axle) is about the good spot used by Racing teams, and the factory settings for the street car. If you install a shorter tires, drop the front end, re-align the car (toe and camber static settings change with ride height adjustments).

 

Thanks so much F430GT! You're the tire expert and it's great to read such good feedback. I think I'll give the RE-11 a try the next time I'll have to change my tires. Do you use the standard tire pressure on the RE-11 tires : 2.2 bar-31.9psi front /2.4 bar-24.81psi rear ?

 

Have you checked if the RE-11 is available in Europe from Bstone or do we need to order these from the US ?
I am considering my choices between the PSS and the RE-11

 

Exactly... I have the exact same experience with my F430... I ran faster time with my RE-11s over the corsas, and the corsas are nearly twice the price and only half the tread life...

Very well said... Thanks F430GT

Alex Lin

 

Mr Anderson; Can you post an image of how the 235/35R19 RE-11s fit your front rims? I think the 225s are a bit narrow and think the extra 10MM might help bring out the tire a bit. This also might help protect the rims. As long as the handling is not adversely affected.

On my Boxster I went from 205/ 17 to 245/35ZR19 on an 8.5" rim and my stopping G force was increased so much I nearly broke my neck the first time I gave it a hard brake test from 80mph. BUT the tires rubbed the fenders, even after being rolled, so had to put my tail between my legs and go back to 235s.