Michelin Pilot Super Sport

[DWC]

Originally Posted by C2 VXT

Who has the Yokohama Advan sports in stock?

Any Yokamana dealer should be able to get them. I got mine last week from Charlotte tyres in Oxford. There supplier had plenty of stock. £1080 fitted.

[calumski]

Originally Posted by calumski

With Iain at Litchfield quoting (in round numbers) £1450 a set, and even importing them only costing £1650 a set (vat, duty, delivery and fitting included)....

I may have mis-quoted Iain's prices. Here's the link: clicky

That's £1488 but he doesn't mention whether that includes fitting or delivery.

[david42]

Just thought I would give preliminary feedback on the MPSS. Having read the first 12 pages of this thread I ordered a set (standard setup) from Tire Rack who delivered in 10 days. Delivered cost was $2,488 (Aussie dollars, of course) My local Tyrepower fitted them but INSISTED on putting in 40psi as they were adamant the sidewall could not cope with anything less.
Driving home was, as expected, very twitchy but oh so quiet. Driven about 500kms now at 30psi in all conditions (Autumn rain, standing water and dry and warm 22 C) and absolutely love them. My wife even says she is impressed (Does that count?) PS.I have 2 large cans of 'Slime' to repair and inflate if needed as this product claims to be compatable with TMPS. Thanks to all for the thread.

[golferadmin7610]

Originally Posted by david42

Driving home was... oh so quiet. Driven about 500kms now at 30psi in all conditions (Autumn rain, standing water and dry and warm 22 C) and absolutely love them.

Cheers mate, thank you for posting user review.
I oh so cannot wait for my set to arrive and give it a try.

One thing I am curious. What is your opinion over ride comfort, and handling?

Thanks
Sam

[calumski]

Originally Posted by david42

My local Tyrepower fitted them but INSISTED on putting in 40psi ....Driving home was, as expected, very twitchy ...

Even at 36psi these tyres feel like they are driving on oil.

If anyone wants to experiment with pressures then be careful when venturing north of 30 psi.

[David.Yu]

Originally Posted by calumski

Even at 36psi these tyres feel like they are driving on oil.

If anyone wants to experiment with pressures then be careful when venturing north of 30 psi.

Correct. I was highly sceptical at first, but Michelin themselves told me the correct pressure was 29psi and indeed they only seem to work at that.

[david42]

I agree, you definitely do not want anything over 33psi. I am now at 30psi and starting to feel more confident but I am not sure if I was over cautious previously because of all the other negative comments on this thread, There is certainly no lack of ride comfort regardless of pressure but boot it in a bend and you feel ever so....... Uncertain? Maybe it is just a matter of adapting to the slightly different characteristics of these tyres but as 90% of my driving is on the road rather than the track - I love 'em.

[Adamantium]

from reports I've heard they might feel different but are ultimately faster on track than the dunlops!

[barry P.]

Originally Posted by Adamantium

from reports I've heard they might feel different but are ultimately faster on track than the dunlops!

On Sat I was working at Mallory and had a long chat with one of the Silverstone instructors who does a lot of time in the Academy cars, including high speed passenger laps, he asked me what tyres I was using and then told me the school cars are currently on Pirellis but the instructors preferred the Dunlop run flats because the walls were much stiffer which gave a sharper and more predictable turn in.

[Adamantium]

That is true, but the Michelins are an extra load tyre which has a stiffer sidewall albeit not stiff enough to be considered a run flat.

I have read enough reports to suggest they don't have the same abolsute feel, but I've read in a few different locations that in terms of sheer pace they are faster.

[golferadmin7610]

Originally Posted by barry P.

then told me the school cars are currently on Pirellis but the instructors preferred the Dunlop run flats because the walls were much stiffer which gave a sharper and more predictable turn in.

It maybe true that stiffer side wall construction in the tires can give sharper steering response, but performance has a lot to do with what compound is used and a tire's construction, I think.

I don't know what Pirellis he uses, but in my national races at 2.41km Bira International Circuit we have been regulated to use Khumho full slicks for 2 years now. The Khumhos have tire walls so stiff, race cars can stand on them in case of puncture. (race cars are light though, 1070kgs) On the other hand, the best performance 'street' tire from Bridgestone, RE11, can lap the circuit with less than a second of lap time difference, at 1/2 the cost, more than twice tire life, more "predictable" handling characteristic, wider performance window. You can charge into corners with RE11s with confidence they are not going to shit on you. In comparison, the Khumhos feels very snappy. I often wonder what it feels to drive on Bridgestone slicks built on RE11's design.

And I tried a set of 10-laps old BFGoodrich slicks, at working temperature they were so grippy and progressive, confidence inspiring I could set my brake point 10-15 meters later than Khumho, carry higher speed in turns, throttle out earlier, and cut my lap time by almost 2 seconds.

Never raced Michelin slicks, they were stopped when I started racing. My friend told me they were so sticky that one time he ran a bit over too much the inside kerbs of an off camber downhill turn at high speed and the car simply rolled over...

[golferadmin7610]

Oh and yeah I forgot to add in my last post.

Ambient temperature here is usually 35 degrees Celcius, track surface in early afternoon can have temperature exceeding 50.

In practice we usually start with 26psi, do 2 warm up laps and hit it hard 5-6 laps the pressure goes up to 32-33psi and need to pit in because grip deteriorates as heat builds up and higher pressure causes tires to ball up.

In essence I want to say that if you want to save fuel, say on your daily drive sedan, pick up truck, as high as possible, some try 40psi while my all terrain pick up truck tires run 48psi. But in a performance car never exceed 30-32psi, when HOT. Unless you are driving a truck, or have 250 kgs of gold bricks in the trunk, the weight should not be a factor to determine your GT-R's tire pressure.

[64btzlhy]

I just fitted a set of Michelin PSS and I too am wondering about the lack of sharp steering feel compared to the Dunlop...... more testing / driving is required before I finally decide however

[David.Yu]

Originally Posted by 64btzlhy

I just fitted a set of Michelin PSS and I too am wondering about the lack of sharp steering feel compared to the Dunlop...... more testing / driving is required before I finally decide however

What size and pressure? I'm pretty happy with the steering feel at 29psi, just feel the 255s lack ultimate grip relative to the rear.

It's probably impossible to get that completely "solid" feel that the Dunlops give without using equally hard sidewalls and suffering the awful ride harshness.

[64btzlhy]

Originally Posted by David.Yu

What size and pressure? I'm pretty happy with the steering feel at 29psi, just feel the 255s lack ultimate grip relative to the rear.

It's probably impossible to get that completely "solid" feel that the Dunlops give without using equally hard sidewalls and suffering the awful ride harshness.

David mine are 295 all round at 30 psi cold. I only had them on from Friday 11th afternoon so I am still getting used to them By the way I can still spin the rears with 295s