FF Tire Choice | FerrariChat

FF Tire Choice

Discussion in 'FF/Lusso' started by Ric A, Feb 19, 2019.

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  1. Ric A

    Ric A Rookie

    Feb 17, 2019
    7
    Full Name:
    Richard Alexander
    Guys hi, I’m new to the forum and hope you can help

    I’ve got a 2015 FF which I love, however I find the road noise on some surfaces a bit annoying so I’m considering a rubber swap from the standard P zeros

    Has anybody had experience of other tires, specifically from a road noise perspective? I’ve seen a few posts where people have swapped to Michelin Alpins or SottoZero but not seen any comments about how this impacted cabin noise.

    Thanks in advance
     
  2. Outrun

    Outrun Karting

    Can't tell you from a road noise perspective - I have a Novitec exhaust so can only hear that!! - but I can tell you that a change to Michelin Ps4 totally transformed my cars handling and therefore my confidence with it. There are some that like PZeros but I find the operating window to be too narrow where I live in the UK. Where are you based?

    Also, the Sottozero and Alpins are both winter tyres so obviously best below about 5deg or so. In summer, they will heat quickly and wear accordingly.
     
  3. Ric A

    Ric A Rookie

    Feb 17, 2019
    7
    Full Name:
    Richard Alexander
    Hi Outrun

    Thanks for the reply.

    I live in Cheshire. The Zeros are OK, but I do find that they tend to tram line and as I say, seem to be unnecessarily noisy on some surfaces.

    Its probably getting to the wrong time of year for Alpins and Sottos as you say.
     
  4. FFantastic

    FFantastic Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2015
    857
    UK Riviera
    Hi Outrun
    My 2015 FF tramlined a bit and the ride was a bit notchy if at the correct pressure so changed to Michelin and all cured instantly. should have specced them from new but had Pzeros on everything before so went with them again............never again. I have Michelins on the Lusso and they are great. So far 10,500 mls of mixed long distance and town and only half worn. Plus Michelin snow and mud winter come in the correct sizes unlike Pzeros which are only 235 and 285 as opposed to 245 and 295.
     
  5. Ric A

    Ric A Rookie

    Feb 17, 2019
    7
    Full Name:
    Richard Alexander
    Thanks for the reply FFantastic, thats really interesting. The tram lining is a real pain. Can you remember if the road noise changed at all with the swap to the Michelin boots?
     
  6. CrazyMD

    CrazyMD Formula Junior

    Mar 10, 2012
    403
    Southern California
    I put Michelin ps4 and it’s a completely different car in a better way. Can’t believe how bad the p zeros are on the ff.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  7. ttforcefed

    ttforcefed F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Aug 22, 2002
    18,753
    i have the michelins also and they're very quiet. then again my novotec makes everything else sound non existent
     
    FFantastic likes this.
  8. otakki

    otakki Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2016
    1,623
    I didn't know Michelin Alpin has 245/295. They are not available in that size in the States, so I reluctantly got Michelin Alpin in 235/285. Would love to have slightly more sidewall with 245/295.

    Off-topic question: Does anyone know what's different between K1 and non-K1 tires? For example, for Michelin PSS/PS4, there are those 2 versions and they look exactly the same.
     
  9. FFantastic

    FFantastic Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2015
    857
    UK Riviera
    They were a bit quieter for sure but not so much that you would notice in normal driving. On concrete roads the difference was more obvious.
     
  10. FFantastic

    FFantastic Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2015
    857
    UK Riviera
    The rating is merely showing that these tyres were the ones tested and approved on a specific car by a specific company. ie Porsche, Aston Martin, all have there own code and the difference can be as little as 5% more sidewall reinforcement or outer tread block density etc.
     
    otakki likes this.
  11. Bamsefar

    Bamsefar Formula Junior

    Nov 26, 2012
    523
    So if I get this correct, changing from Pirelli to Michelin is an advantage?

    I have to change tires since my right rear tire had a "nail" so both rear tires needs to be changed anyway - question is, should I also change fronts and go for Michelin? Michelin P4S or Supersport, or even going nuts and go for Pilot Sport Cup 2 (do they even have the right size?)? Oh I never track my FF, well close to never anyway...
     
  12. ml321

    ml321 Formula Junior

    Aug 26, 2008
    254
    London/Munich
    I personally wouldn’t go for a wider winter tyre (if anything I would want a narrower one if possible) as I already find that the cars slips way too much downhill on snow/ice on the 235/285 tyres - they are ok, but it sometimes feels like ice skating

    Quite good uphill in snow mode though (even playing snowplough with it all landing on the hood/windshield)
     
  13. gh0st0

    gh0st0 Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Jul 2, 2018
    2,497
    Midwest
  14. msgm1

    msgm1 Formula Junior

    Nov 4, 2003
    454
    NYC
    Can you get run flats for the FF?
     
  15. Bamsefar

    Bamsefar Formula Junior

    Nov 26, 2012
    523
    I hope not! It is the most devastating type of tire I can imagine - all my BMWs had them, I hated them, I always changed to something like Michelins.
     
  16. Ric A

    Ric A Rookie

    Feb 17, 2019
    7
    Full Name:
    Richard Alexander
    Hi all

    Just a quick update.

    I put my hand in my pocket and changed my p zeros which were only half worn for the p4s with the k1 compound.

    What an unbelievable difference! The continual drone of road noise has completely gone and the tendency that the car had to tram line has also disappeared.

    Cost just under £1k all in but the best money I’ve spent yet, it completely transforms the FF
     
  17. Outrun

    Outrun Karting

    #17 Outrun, Mar 4, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2019
    This is exactly what I did. Actually I took off Pzeros with only 500 miles on them and stuck them in my garage, I'll put them on at sale time if the Michelins are low on tread.

    To those asking about the K1 or non - or indeed AML, MO, MGT etc - the difference is actually mainly in the body of the tyre ply, chaffer and belt which are the components that make up the tyre other than the actual rubber/silica compound. Some manufacturers do extensively test different designs and choose a tyre for the handling characteristics that they seek. In reality, i'm not sure that most of us would notice on a normal road etc but there is actually something to it.

    Also as mentioned, there are some issues of consistency with Pirelli manufacture between products made in China and elsewhere. As there is no way to tell the origin of any tyre, you can get two seemingly similar products that behave differently. It's a shame really.

    A friend of mine runs a Le Mans endurance team and he will tell you that the same is true of the race tyres that both supply. Michelins are the same, Pirelli differ from tyre to tyre. As you can imagine, this is not ideal when trying to set up a race car.

    Nothing against Pirelli, just they have not worked for me across the FF, the MC Stradale I had before, my daily Ghibli etc.
     
  18. baguns

    baguns Karting

    Sep 19, 2012
    246
    Yorba Linda, CA
    This might be a very dumb/naive question - is it sacrilege to put Kumho’s on the FF?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  19. Outrun

    Outrun Karting

    Tyre choice is a very personal thing. Kumho makes some good products however actually suffers from the same thing as Pirelli which is inconsistency in manufacture between factories.

    Try it if you like, worst case is they are crap in which case by some Michelin PS4s or Cup2 if you take it on track days.
     
  20. 95spiderman

    95spiderman F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 1, 2003
    15,055
    ny
    is there an all season option for ff? could only find summer or winter
     
  21. otakki

    otakki Formula 3

    Mar 24, 2016
    1,623
    It seems the only option to have same model all-season on all 4 corners would be Pirelli Cinturato, based on another forum member seeing those tires on GTC4 in Europe. However, Cinturato's size for the front here is not available in the States. Also, Cinturato is not "Ultra High Performance" ie Conti DWS or that new all-season from Michelin. Moreover, Cinturato's speed rating is low, not Y rated (not I would go higher than the speed rating of the tire most of the time). Unfortunately, those Ultra High Performance all-season tires I mentioned dont have the size for the rear, only the front.
     
  22. Outrun

    Outrun Karting

    The Cinturato p7 comes in one size up all season so 255 etc, but as mentioned, it’s not very good. Have them on a Works Mini right now and they are not great. Picking up a 2nd set of wheels for the FF is quite easy so I think a winter set and summer set is the best way to go assuming funds and storage allow.
     
  23. 95spiderman

    95spiderman F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 1, 2003
    15,055
    ny
    yes seems ff deserves 2 sets of tires as of now. maybe by time i get one in 2 yrs there will be a good all season option
     
  24. Bamsefar

    Bamsefar Formula Junior

    Nov 26, 2012
    523
    All seasons tire on an FF is way wrong. Actually all-seasons-tires in general is just not a good tire. Either you can use summer tires all year round, or you choose to run with correct winter tires. If you need to break late or something, a true winter tire will be superior to any all-year-all-seasons tire. So the basic question will actually be: Are you ready to gamble with your life with all-seasons tires instead of a proper winter tire?
     
  25. FFantastic

    FFantastic Formula Junior

    Mar 23, 2015
    857
    UK Riviera
    As said before 'it's a personal choice' but no-one I know would even contemplate putting any tyre on any modern Ferrari that is not recommended by Ferrari.
    The saving is negligible, wear would be higher, road noise would be higher and tyre consistency would be suspect.
    I made the mistake of putting Yokohamas on one of my cars a few years ago. They were noisy, they tram-lined, the ride was bobbly, and they wore down to 4 mm within little time at all after which they had no grip in the wet at all. Never again.
     

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