Kumho V700 vs Michelin Pilot Sport Cup

[cstreit]

From the reading I've done around, it seems like the MPSC has a slight edge over the V700?

Are we in agreement over this? I've been running the V700 successfully for 2 years, but if I can get an edge with the MPSC I'd like to try it...

Any thoughts?

[juan ruiz]

Michelins Rules...........

[cstreit]

Can you elaborate on why Juan? Thanks!

[jpachard]

Chris, I run the Pilot Sport Cups on my Club Racing car and love them. I had a terrible time trying to get the Kumho's to work on my car. I lost 3 sec. at Limerock compared to the PS Cups. Now in all fairness my suspension is set up for the Cups but as I understand they need close to the same settings. I run -2.5 deg neg. camber all around with a 23.5 ride height. I have the 225's up front and 255's in the rear. I had to do some 5 lb. deadblow "modification" to the back of my car to have the tops of the tires clear but otherwise I have no problems. The Cups are also an excellent intermediate rain tire and last forever! I ran the Enduro at Sebring and they were really stable for the 1 1/2 hr. race. I definitely noticed I was gaining on the Hoosier crowd towards the end of the race. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Chers, James

[juan ruiz]

I can tell you that Michelins stick to the ground like glue with over 500hp to the wheels and not having ANY traction problems I can only point to the tire direction,some what of a problem when I only had 300hp, and different tires,yes they are very expensive and the ride may be a bit hard but they will glue to the road.

Must people never try them because of the $,you try them, then theres only one tire, Michelin.

Hope this helps

[cstreit]

James,

I've run pretty successfully on the Kumhos... THe MPSC's are almost $300 more expensive per set... Just wondering if they are worth it...

Where you running higher or lower pressures in the Kumhos? (I noticed that if I ran the Kumho's at upper 30's vs. 30 pounds, I had a lot of problems...

Thanks,

[zotman72]

As a recovering Victoracer bigot, I am leaning towards trying the Pilots this year. For racing, the Hoosiers rule but do not last. The Michelins apparently last longer but are slower than the Hoosiers. Easily $300 more for a set over the Kuhmos. However, I have heard of one club racer that has done over 30 days at the track with a set of Pilot Sports and there is still tread on them. Mmmmmm.

[jpachard]

Chris, I don't know how many heat cycles you are getting out of the Kumho's but I've got almost 45 out of one of my sets of Cups and they're still going. When you add in the cost of mounting etc. I believe you end up ahead using the Michelin's. I run the Michelin's at 32 rear 30 front hot on a 2800lb. car. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Cheers, James

[cstreit]

I'd guess I'm getting close to 30+ on the Kumhos...

[sammyg2]

The Pilot sports are better handling and last longer, but they also cost much more.
Depends on if you are looking for the best tire or the best tire for the money. We are talking about handling, right?
Otherwise I would recommend cheater slicks if all you want to do is go straight

[widebody911]

I've heard a lot of good things about the Michelins, but haven't tried them yet. However, they're not yet available in a 315/35-17, don't know if they will be.

Was this the tire that was used in the tests published in Pano, where the Kumhos didn't make it thru the first day?

[cstreit]

I just ordered the Michelins... Figured I'd give them a shot. I'll let you guys know what I think in a few weeks...

[ted]

I currently run Victor racer 255/40/17 fronts and 275/40/17 rears.
The closest MPSC is a 225/45/17 front and a 255/40/17 rear.

They may last longer but in this case could smaller tires likely provide slower lap times.

Anyone have a similar experiance with a narrow MPSC combo??

I have the Hoosier's too and they are awesome.

[Bill Verburg]

The MPSC's are very highly thought of around here. They stick well and last along time(relatively speaking). They do like heat (160 - 220&degF )though and can be greasy when cold giving little or no warning before letting go. They like 25 - 28psi cold and 32-36psi hot w/ 1.5 to 3&deg of negative camber.

They will reputedly heat up more quikly after being heat cycled but are not sensitve to the # of heat cycles. Just watch your lap times, when times start going away that is the sign that the tires are nearing the end of their useful life.

The Michelin reps are adamant that metal valve stem caps w/ seals be used.

The size issue isn't as bad as may appear from the nominal sizing. They run wider and shorter than is usual in the 225/45 and 255/40 x17 sizes. I haven't looked at other sizes so cannot comment on them.

[jpachard]

Bill is correct about the size. My 255/40X17's are the same width as a 275 Hoosier. The fronts are about the same but are a nice complement to the 255's since they tend to make a 911 more neutral.

Cheers, James

[Jack Olsen]

What I've heard is that they work well with less-aggressive suspension settings (relative to Hoosiers or Kumhos), and take about twice as long to come up to temperature as the Hoosiers. Outside of that, they're suppposed to only be a half a second or so off of the Hoosiers (at a typical track), once you've got your car dialed in to work with them.

And they last a l-o-n-g time.

I wish they were available in wider sizes.

[cstreit]

May work out well for me as I don't run a ton of camber in my car... It just got too twitchy...

[racea911]

What exactly is a "heat cycle"? Is it a 15 or 20 minute continuous lapping session? Is a 4 lap autocross session where you wait for 3 minutes between laps also considered a heat cycle? I'd like to figure out how many "heat cycles I am getting from my Kumhos.

Thanks

[hobieboy]

I just went thru the same dilema and decided on the Kuhmos.
Based on my calculation using the published data, a 275/40 Kuhmos on 10" is just marginally wider than a Michelin in 255/40 - 0.2" from my memory.

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by Bill Verburg
The Michelin reps are adamant that metal valve stem caps w/ seals be used.

Bill,
Where would I obtain the correct valve stems? The closest I can come to metal valves at the tire shop I use is "chrome valve stems" which are have a metal sleave over the rubber valve stem for cosmetics.
thanks,
Chris