Pilot sport cups

Anyone running pilot sport cups? Are they a significant improvement over the pilot sport 1 or PS2s? Also, are the PS2s worth the upgrade over the 1s?

I havent run the cups on a viper, But they are a pretty sticky tire for track use that hate cold weather. Not as fast as a hoosier, but wear much better, Spooky in the rain (on track). I used on my PCar for years & was happy with the above considerations. Simular to an unshaved Toyo RA 1. I used them as an intermediate rain tire, wet track, sprinkles.

I just got a set of the Khumos XS & they are impressive, & the price is right. At the strip they near race tire traction with 180 tread wear. Really heavy though. Jon B gave a great price. Have not tried on a road course, but in street duty they ride great & balance easy. FWIW

Some basics on tires for you xcool,
Tire life and tire stickyness are two opposing specs on any tire. The stickyer it is the less life.
All season tires have a treadwear rating of 400-500 giving them a relativly long life.

Hi-Performance(summer) Tires typically have a treadwear rating of around 200 wich means that they have about half the life of an allseason tire, But are twice as sticky giving them much more grip. These tires work well in warm climates but get harder in the cold inhibiting the performance.

Track/Competition Tires have a treadwear rating of ??-80. As you can imagine, they are very sticky at the cost of life. But most people who run these as they were intended(on the track) dont care about the life like someone would who was driving on the streat. They just car about how many laps/races they will last untill they have to buy a new set. Most people who run these competition/race tires have a dedicated set of wheels for them and change to te race wheels/tires for the track. (the PilotSportCup is in this catagory)

If youve got alot of $$$ to throw at tires then it certinatly couldnt hurt to run the sportcups for extra grip on the streat and replace as needed. But most would say that this would be impractical.
Yes the PS2's are much better than PS1's. If you still have PS1's on you car then chances are that they are as hard or harder than an all-season tire severely inhibiting the performance of your vehicle. After so many heatcycles and years, any tire looses its stickines. Have your ever felt the erasor tip of an old pencil???, rock hard. The same principal applies to tires.
Any New summer tire that is made in viper-size will be better than your old PS1's

The KumhoXS is not in the same league as the PilotSportCups as it is just a Hi-Performance(summer) tire just like the popular PS2's, NittoINVO's, ect... that most of us run.

Appreciate the input. New tires are towards the top of my purchase list. What tires are you running on the street Dom?

"top of my list" - wise decision

I like you purchased my viper with a set of old PS1's on her. It would not have been safe for the average person. I would break the tiresloose at the top of 1st and 2nd which blew my friends away(they thought it was the power)(i knew it was a combo of that and the old tires) none the less, i left them on for a half year or so as mechanical maintinance was my top priority and it was great practice and fun learning to drive the viper with limited traction and being able to do drifts & burnouts since i didnt care about the tires. Took em down to the cords then replaced with NittoINVOs. 1.5 years, 2 trackdays, 2 autocrosses, 7,500miles later they are wearing nicely and still have plenty of grip. Only complaint being that the front sidewalls are a bit soft for trackdays so you have to run more pressure in em to keep from rolling over when thresholdbreaking and entering a turn. Planning on running em for 2-3 years then switching to the KumhoXS's or whatever other option is available at the time... Or by then maybee ill have the extra cash for a set of dedicated track wheels/tires

PS2 .

If your car has 18's you've been outta luck for about two years anyway. I have them, loved them but they are shot and I can't get them anymore.

shaunxcool said:

Anyone running pilot sport cups? Are they a significant improvement over the pilot sport 1 or PS2s? Also, are the PS2s worth the upgrade over the 1s?

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check your PM's.

Give JonB a call.

I just switched from PS 2s to Sport Cups and they give the car a whole new feeling. Its a harsher ride but the grip is awesome. For street the PS 2s are great too and of course handle the wet better. For the track I cant see running PS 2s over the Cups unless wet conditions. Both are great tires and Michelin makes the best tire.

The Kumho XS are on back order in the 335 17 size everywhere I've checked.

VIPER GTSR 91 said:

I just switched from PS 2s to Sport Cups and they give the car a whole new feeling. Its a harsher ride but the grip is awesome. For street the PS 2s are great too and of course handle the wet better. For the track I cant see running PS 2s over the Cups unless wet conditions. Both are great tires and Michelin makes the best tire.

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I agree with everything you said, PS2s are nice for the casual driver but if you want performance the Cups will blow your mind. 80 treadwear rating makes 'em sticky for the track, close to the 40 rating of a Hoosier R6, but alas as mentioned no treadlife, I corded the fronts in 4 trackdays

VIPER GTSR 91 said:

I just switched from PS 2s to Sport Cups and they give the car a whole new feeling. Its a harsher ride but the grip is awesome. For street the PS 2s are great too and of course handle the wet better. For the track I cant see running PS 2s over the Cups unless wet conditions. Both are great tires and Michelin makes the best tire.

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I agree except that the PS2s are much better for the street. They also last much longer. For the track, teh ACR tires are just incredible. Once warmed up they stick like glue.