Yeah - I know about the release compound and such. It's not that they felt slippery, they definitely grip and bite OK under modest turning. But the turn-in feels sloppy and the tail end of the car also feels uncontrolled. Do you feel strongly that this could be due to the release agents used in the moulding process? Anyway, I'll hold judgment for now as I know some amount of break-in is normal. Maybe another PSI or two would help...
New Pilot Super Sports feel "floaty"...
Well, I'm waiting on some new wheels to arrive. But the stock PS/2's were shot. So I picked up a set of Michelin Super Sports. The only problem is/was that the stock sizes were nowhere to be found. So I went with 265's up front and 295's out back.
I have only driven them home from work - but my first impression is that the handling isn't so great. I suspect it's because I upsized over the stock sizes, but the car seems like it floats more than it should - it just doesn't feel nearly as connected to the road as before. The rear 295 on the stock 9.5 inch wheel definitely has a bit of bulge to it - and I am sure that results in some play or lateral movement on the rear, contributing significantly to the sloppy feel. I suppose it also could simply be because the new tires have new tread blocks - they aren't worn down and so it's only reasonable to assume they have a big more wiggle. But the PSS has pretty large blocks - so any tread block movement should be minimized.
Anyone else put this combo on their V on stock wheels? What did you think? I'm not too worried because the new wheels are 9.0 front 10.5 rear and I'll go with proper tire fitment for them, which should tighten things up. But I have a bunch of family coming into town, the V is my DD, and I live in Houston where major downpours make driving with no tread depth ill advised.
I guess I'll be selling these tires (and maybe the wheels) in a few months once I get the new gear in.
I have only driven them home from work - but my first impression is that the handling isn't so great. I suspect it's because I upsized over the stock sizes, but the car seems like it floats more than it should - it just doesn't feel nearly as connected to the road as before. The rear 295 on the stock 9.5 inch wheel definitely has a bit of bulge to it - and I am sure that results in some play or lateral movement on the rear, contributing significantly to the sloppy feel. I suppose it also could simply be because the new tires have new tread blocks - they aren't worn down and so it's only reasonable to assume they have a big more wiggle. But the PSS has pretty large blocks - so any tread block movement should be minimized.
Anyone else put this combo on their V on stock wheels? What did you think? I'm not too worried because the new wheels are 9.0 front 10.5 rear and I'll go with proper tire fitment for them, which should tighten things up. But I have a bunch of family coming into town, the V is my DD, and I live in Houston where major downpours make driving with no tread depth ill advised.
I guess I'll be selling these tires (and maybe the wheels) in a few months once I get the new gear in.
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The rears probably do better on the coupe owing to the wider 10.0" rear wheels. I think with the 9.5's on the stock sedan and wagon they get more squirm. Wish they all had the same size tires...the 10" rear as a stock size would be ideal. Of course guys will always want more meat, but that seems like a good start for a car with 550+ lb/ft bone stock. I can only imagine they must have been lazer focused on the N'ring times (and nothing else) to specifically spec a 9.5" rear on a car like this....I'm running those sizes on my coupe and I think they handle great.
Heh - well they are paid for and on the car now, so I'm for a penny, in for a pound at this point. I gave the car a wash and dressed the new tires over lunch - I think that helped the turn-in performance someI had the same initial feeling when I got mine. I have the 275/295 combo of the PSS. Keep the tires on there, they absolutely kick ass. The sloppiness goes away after 1,000 miles or so. They last so long that it really takes time for them to break in. Mine are worn probably 7/10 and the traction and turn-in crispness is amazing.
The worn stock sized PS2's will feel lightning quick having zero tread flex and being somewhat stretched. The extra sidewall you have now will help soak up bumps and lead to better traction from a dig.
I wish I had seen Smackdown's new PS/2 take-off rears for $275 - I might have just scooped those up since I have new wheels on the way...
Update: My take is that they feel slightly better, but I don't think the wearing off of the release compound and other stuff made a huge difference. Now don't get me wrong - they feel floaty compared to other very high performance tires, but most people would consider them pretty tight. And I'm not making a statement about total or absolute grip - I haven't tested anything scientifically. But my perception is that on manuevers that shift the car back and forth or cause the tail to want to dance, you can definitely feel the rear end move about a lot more. Maybe it's just a matter of driving the car differently. I do think the extra 1/2 inch on the coupe wheels would help a lot. In fact, I'll probably run the 295/30/20's on my new 10.5 inch rears unless I find a good set that have a 305 rear. The 295/30/20 will be a perfect match for the 10.5 width according to the Michelin website recommendations. When the tire is a bit "stretched" as most people put it, this effective pre-loads the sidewall under mild tension. That creates very tight response IMHO. When you have more sidewall buldge, this provides a lot of slack in the sidewall - that slack has to be taken up when corning. The effect of this is that the front end turns in, the lateral G's shift and the rear floats sideways slightly before the tire shifts on the rim and the sidewall is fully loaded. Now as I said - I can say that once the turn-in is done and the tire is loaded that high grip levels aren't achieve. But to me, the feel on turn-in or rapid lane changes and similar maneuvers feels sloppy, even after a couple of weeks of break-in. As for grip from a dig, I'll assume if I run the 295's on either a 9.5 or a 10.5 rim width, launching the car should be somewhat similar. But if you really want to launch the car well, you'd choose a different tire and probably wheel combination entirely. If you want all-around performance, your goals (and hence the setup overall) would and should be different. My car is a DD, not a dedicated toy or track or strip car, so I have to find a setup that works well all around, knowing that I'll give up peak performance in specific areas....
Edit: To your point about drag radial feel, I don't have much experience with this, but I doubt these would feel like a drag radial...I'm probably being pretty picky. But I feel like I should be for a car like this.
Edit: To your point about drag radial feel, I don't have much experience with this, but I doubt these would feel like a drag radial...I'm probably being pretty picky. But I feel like I should be for a car like this.
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