Tire suggestions anyone?

Popular questions are always worth a search - long thread here http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=339580

 

michellin super sports

 

+1 on Michelin Pilot Super Sports -- a few hundred dollars more but well worth it, consistently good.

 

My car had the run flats too and they were very sloppy in the turns, switched to Bridgestone S04 Pole Positions and love them. I just completed a 1300 mile west coast trip and they were great in the turns and hills in Big Sur as well as the rain coming in to LA. You have to put 235's on the front, 225's not available, no problems so far with size change. I don't track the car either.

 

How do the 235's look on the front rim? Do they bulge out at all? TIA

 

I just got my car a few weeks ago and they came with Continental Extreme Contact DW. They have about 70% tread life left. I have nothing to compare them to on this car, but they are quiet at highway speed.

 

I was going to suggest Bridgestone also.

 

I had 235/285 Bridgestone RE-11's installed a couple of weeks ago and couldn't be happier. From what I hear they're supposed to wear very well also.

You cannot discern a noticeable difference in the 'look' of the 235 vs 225 front tire. I would recommend these tires in a heartbeat to any 360/430 owner.

 

I'm very interested to hear more how you like these. I'm thinking of going with the same thing (Continental Extreme Contact DW) when it comes time to buy new ones for the F430.

A bit different note, I have Michelin Pilot Super Sports on my E63 AMG and they are surprisingly noisy on the highway.

 

+1

I put them on my CS last month and have never liked a tire this much and they were a few hundred dollars less than the MPSS and I could get the RE-11 in 235/35 and 285/35 which works great. Highly recommended!

 

Same here. Replaced my dry-rotting original P tires with R11s last month. Same sizes as yours; 430 in my case with challenge wheels. Highly satisfied so far. Big hugs to F430GT for all his contributions on this topic!

 

Can't really see much difference. No rubbing or ABS problems.

 

I'd also like to chime in with a huge thanks to everyone for the posts (430GT, Arizonaitalian, etc). I have PZero Rosso's on the CS I just picked up and am looking to "upgrade". I just kept remembering Clarkson saying on Top Gear "get those Bridgestones off it" so I never considered them till after rading the latest posts.

 

As an extra piece of advice, 2 years ago when I got the RE11 for my Scuderia and Cayman, they were the best option. I ran telemetry (traqmate) data acquisition at a test track in California, comparing the Pirelli Corsa System (OEM Scuderia tire), Toyo R888 (race tire), multiple sizes of Hoosier A6 (sticky race-only tire), Bridgestone RE-050 (OEM Cayman tire also OEM in the F430), and these RE-11 based on feedback from my fellow SCCA racers and competitors.

The RE-11 produced the same lap times at the test track (Riverside, CA), as the R888 which is a track-only tire. Worse tires, RE-050, second worse ones Pirelli Corsa System.

2 years later, there are newer tires that are promising, but I cannot recommend them until I have done testing. These tires are: Hankook RS3, Michelin Pilot Super Sports, Yoko AD08, Kumho XS (not available for F430, 360CS or Scuderia, only Modena). From all these newer ones, I bought a set of Michelin PSS 8 months ago. The Michelin is pretty impressive, I like it a lot, but I feel the RE11 has more dry grip.

Very likely, when my RE11 are done in either car (Cayman and Scuderia), I will get the Michelin PSS, as the tire is phenomenal in the rain, and it rains a lot here in Florida. With the MPSS I can get a wider rear and a wider front tire that fits my stock wheels.

The Kumho XS is not available on our sizes, but anyway this tire is loud (noisy), so it is out of my list.

The Hankook RS3 is the fastest dry grip tire, it even likes heat. Problem is that sizes would force to run 235 front and 305 rear, so the car would be prone to understeer (even more). I saw a Hankook tire failure in January at Sebring that erased the entire brand for me, to ever consider to buy them. Hankook doesn't even run at major races, has never been in Formula 1 where the best tire technology is born.

A friend of mine swears by the Yoko AD08. On an instrumented testing done last year by a SCCA member comparing the cherry-on-top highest performance street tires, the AD08 beat the RE11 by a small margin, but I have never had a good experience with the Yokohama brand, contrary to this, plenty of tire failures with Yokohama from years ago.

I like to use a tire brand that my car manufacturer has certified. Michelin, Pirelli and Bridgestone have been OEM tires, so any tire I would consider must come from these 3 brands. I also like a brand that has been actively involved in Formula 1, and these 3 brand have done so. Then I choose the state of the art tire model from the brand.

The RE-11 is the top performance street tire from Bridgestone, and the Pilot Super Sport is the top performance street tire from Michelin. In my opinion, these are the only options I would consider for street tires and maximum performance in my Scuderia. Pirelli currently doesn't have a worth maximum performance street tire.

Both Michelin and Pirelli offer street/track tires (DOT-R), such as the Pilot Sport Cup, Corsa System, and Trofeo. Not only these tires don't last (4 track days and they are done), but they also heat cycle out quickly making their longevity a big problem for strict street use, these tire need to be replaced every 2,500 miles.

Bottom line, stick to RE11 and MPSS.

 

I recently installed Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sports on my 360 and they seem to be a good choice. They are bit more forgiving over bumps, have a long treadlife, can be used in the wet and cooler temperatures as well. They are also about half the cost of the S-02A's which were stock. Was a no brainer for me.

 

With all due respect, the Michelin Pilot Super Sports replaced my Bridgestone RE760 on my daily driver. The RE760 doesn't belong on any sport car with more than 200Hp.

On a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best and 1 the worse:

Dry Grip:
MPSS: 8
RE760: 3
RE11: 9

Wet Grip:
MPSS: 10
RE760: 5
RE11: 7

Steering wheel feedback:
MPSS: 8
RE760: 2
RE11: 9

The RE760 is a fine tire for a Corolla, Kia, and many other commuter cars. Hard rubber (long lasting tires) offers low grip.

Given the mileage most of our cars have, it doesn't make sense to sacrifice all the dynamic performance limits, to run a tire that would last 40,000-50,000 miles, unless the car gets driven this much in a short period of time.

I would never recommend a RE760, and I ran them for 4 years. Tested them at autoX, they were horrible. I agree, they are cheap and they are long lasting, but they don't belong on a 360 Modena.

 

Well, they are on my 360, and so far the difference in street handling is relatively minimal as far as I can tell. I also drive my 360 over 1000 miles a month so the 300% increase in treadwear was a siginficant factor to me, but to others how drive their f cars less often, it may not be. Also, you didn't mention anything about how the tires handle uneven road surfaces. I live in center city Philadelphia and the roads in the Delaware Valley are far from perfect. The S-02As had a 186+ speed rating (which meant nothing to me and probably to 95% of others owners as well) and as a result of that the sidewall was just way to stiff. The tires effectively transmitted to much shock to the suspension, not only making the ride uncomfortable, but also probably doing more harm to the cars ball joints as compared with my tires. Also, the 1-10 rating reviews on tirerack.com were quite different from your personal assessments. One review was also from a 2000 360 Modena owner and he wrote something very similar to what my impressions have been to date.

With all due respect

 

Has anyone used verdenstein tires. Just bought a set for my g55 and am very happy with them. Italian design and supposedly great performance.

 

I had a set of those on a 190E many years ago. I remember I really liked them, but hardly ever see them for sale anywhere anymore. I though they were made in Finland? Maybe I'm thinking of Nokian, actually.

 

Unfortunately I really don't have a point of reference. I haven't really pushed the car yet, and don't intend to track it. They do seem forgiving over the bumps and are very quiet. Was disappointed to see them on my moms Volvo as well. I have the MPSS on my Boxster. They are great on the track. Seem a little harsher on the road.

I know that these F cars are all about performance. But for me it's more about the sheer artistic beauty, interior craftsmanship, comfort, and oh yes the exhaust note. A little understeer... I doubt I'll notice.