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Cup 2 track day tire life or another tire for Hpde?

NeverSatisfied

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I’m curious for those running cup 2’s at the track how much life/ heat cycles are you getting out of them?

I just picked up a PP2 and plan to track running square 305.

I really like cranking out laps. 4-5 20-30 min sessions per day. I’m not trying to win the HPdE trophy, but I am giving her ~9.5/10 for those laps. So the tire budget can become considerable.

My past tire preference in hpde in a lighter car is the RS4. I think it offers a nice balance of speed, consistency, and price.

low mile cup 2 take offs seem to be about the same price as new RS4’s

trying to decide on track day tires that officer a decent value! Any input would be appreciated!

thanks, Matt
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2morrow

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I currently have a couple sets of SC2's but no track experience on them...yet. From my street driving assessment they are sticky AF and throw shit everywhere.

I have a couple seasons of experience with the Bridgestone RE-71R and it is a great track day tire. They're fast, confidence inspiring and predictable. It's 200
TW vs the SC's 180. I will go through 2 sets of fronts a season and that's 5-8 events a season. It gets hot as hell up here too.
 

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Cup 2's are too pricey new for me. At equivalent money, I would probably take new RS4's over take off Cup 2's.

The RS4 is probably the best 200TW tire for the money for track use. Nearly as fast as Re-71's and longer life. But availability is rather spotty.

NT-01 give good track life, and can often be had relatively cheap. But little to no faster than the latest 200TW tires, but they don't fade late in a session. But downside is, you probably don't want to drive them much on the street, and especially in the rain.
 
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NeverSatisfied

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Thanks for the note on that. I'm leaning towards the RS4. It sounds like even at an equivalent price point per tire, the RS4 is still a lower dollar per lap without giving up much performance. And the RS4 is tolerable in the wet with tread.
 

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Cup 2's are too pricey new for me. At equivalent money, I would probably take new RS4's over take off Cup 2's.

The RS4 is probably the best 200TW tire for the money for track use. Nearly as fast as Re-71's and longer life. But availability is rather spotty.

NT-01 give good track life, and can often be had relatively cheap. But little to no faster than the latest 200TW tires, but they don't fade late in a session. But downside is, you probably don't want to drive them much on the street, and especially in the rain.
My biggest issue is tire sizes. I run the GT350 tire sizes but don't have the GT350 wheel sizes. Going 305 square isn't an option for me. The stagger on some of these are bigger than I run now (F275/R305) which may introduce different characteristics. Lots of good reviews for the RE-71's but man, just don't have the sizes I want.
 

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NT01’s are noisy but they are nearly as sticky as Cup2’s, waaaay more consistent as they wear and last longer.

I’ve run Cup2, NT01, RE71R, RE11 and Pilot Super Sports on track and so far the NT01 and RE71R were the best when considering grip, life and consistency after several heat cycles.

Cup2 had the least life and worst consistency after several heat cycles.
 

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For decent value on a dual purpose car.. RS4 all the way. I run a set of those for a whole season, grippy tire that wears like iron (as already mentioned) and can be driven on the street. The RS4 was a bit noisy on the street at low speeds.

For something with more of an HPDE focus, I would recommend the NT01. I have been running that for a few seasons now and it's the best bang for the buck for a sticky tire that lasts out on track.

The cup 2's are are probably the best dual purpose tire out there, but... they are costly and won't wear as well as the RS4 or NT01.
 
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NeverSatisfied

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I appreciate all the input--I have a set of 305 RS4's showing up tomorrow to try out.
 

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I purchased a set of wheels and Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires last spring before taking delivery of my '19 GT350. I quickly swapped the rubber to save the Cup2s for track days. I hadn't done a HPDE until last summer and now have 4 days under my belt - 2 @ Oregon Raceway Park and 2 at Laguna Seca. I used the Cup2 set at ORP. After two days, the outsides of the front tires were nearly worn to the bottom of the tread. The rears were less worn - a bit over halfway through on the outside edge.

When I got home from ORP, I had all four tires pancaked on the wheels to put the remaining tread on the outside of the car. At Laguna Seca last January, I drove the first day on the daily driver MPSS. I switched to the Cup2 for the second day. Comparing the driving experience, the MPSS allowed the car to slightly drift toward the outside of the turns. The slide was predictable and controllable. The Cup2 didn't slide much at all, though I doubt I was pushing them to their limit. I didn't notice any performance degradation as the tires wore, but that may be due to my inexperience and/or running 9/10s. The driving experience between the two was not different enough for me to justify the high cost of another set of Cup2 tires. In fact, the controlled drifting of the MPSS tires was actually a bit more fun than the "riding the rail" feeling of the Cup2s. Perhaps it's true as they say, "It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow". I might change my tune as I get more HPDE experience.

I suspect the Cup2 front tires have one more track day in them. After that, I'll probably try a set of the longer-lasting tires that others are recommending, e.g. R-S4, NT01. I'm leaning toward the Bridgestone RE-71R due to their popularity among my Autocross group and legal for my class, but I've heard some misgivings from folks using them for track days. I understand they heat quickly which is great for Autocross, but some say they get "greasy" in a 20-min track session.

Stay Safe!
Jim
 

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I've done the Cup2's in 305/35/20 for about half a year now, and to be honest, I'd avoid them. They're great tires, don't get me wrong, but if your main goal is to have fun and get seat time, I believe the cost of running them is only bested by short life slicks. Now granted, much of my experience was before the GT500 came out, so while my HRE 20's were super sweet, I couldn't use any GT350 takeoffs at 19", so I had to bounce around and between the Audi, Ferrari, and Mercedes specs which were give or take 500ish a tire. Had I known then what I do now, I would have downsized and gone with smaller rims for cheaper tires, like my Nitto NT01's are just over $300/ea and are generally known for not being the fastest, but being remarkably consistent and lasting quite a few heat cycles. I recall somebody setting a PB on their 18th session nearly bald one.
edit - I was tracking almost every weekend and that'd put me at almost $1500/mo in tires, as I'd get 6 days of 4 cycles before they started to bald and get super slippery, kicking the rear end out at 140 isn't as cool as it sounds.

Something you didn't mention, but I hope you're doing, is getting CC plates so you can further extend their life. Stock camber is something like 1.4, and if you're taking these on fast and high turns, you'll really start eating away at the corners of them. Being able to slant them slightly further better distributes that load and traction, and that alone would extend your life a few extra events when you're rotating around.
 
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Thanks for all the feedback. I snagged the RS4 from TireRack. I just installed a set of Camber plates from Vorshlag and hogged out the tower holes as well for some added space. I was surprised to find 2+ camber from the factory front and rear when I checked it, but I'm planning on setting it at ~3.5F/2.5R to start and I'll go from there based on tire temps--unless someone has another suggestion
 

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I found -3.5 front camber to make my car finicky on high speed sweepers. My car had FP lowering springs and camber plates but was otherwise stock. You may want to start with -2.5 first on the fronts IMO.
 

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I've done the Cup2's in 305/35/20 for about half a year now, and to be honest, I'd avoid them. They're great tires, don't get me wrong, but if your main goal is to have fun and get seat time, I believe the cost of running them is only bested by short life slicks. Now granted, much of my experience was before the GT500 came out, so while my HRE 20's were super sweet, I couldn't use any GT350 takeoffs at 19", so I had to bounce around and between the Audi, Ferrari, and Mercedes specs which were give or take 500ish a tire. Had I known then what I do now, I would have downsized and gone with smaller rims for cheaper tires, like my Nitto NT01's are just over $300/ea and are generally known for not being the fastest, but being remarkably consistent and lasting quite a few heat cycles. I recall somebody setting a PB on their 18th session nearly bald one.
edit - I was tracking almost every weekend and that'd put me at almost $1500/mo in tires, as I'd get 6 days of 4 cycles before they started to bald and get super slippery, kicking the rear end out at 140 isn't as cool as it sounds.

Something you didn't mention, but I hope you're doing, is getting CC plates so you can further extend their life. Stock camber is something like 1.4, and if you're taking these on fast and high turns, you'll really start eating away at the corners of them. Being able to slant them slightly further better distributes that load and traction, and that alone would extend your life a few extra events when you're rotating around.
Curious, where are you getting NT01s for that cheap? Everywhere I look, they are closer to $400 a tire.
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