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Mixing tires: PS4S front, SC2 rear?

Mr. Maboomba

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I have Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires in 295/35ZR19 on the front of my GT350 and Nitto NT555G2 in 305/35ZR19 on the rear. The Nittos have lost traction unpredictably in the wet too many times for me so I need to replace them.

I'd prefer matching tires but the PS4S only comes in a 30 aspect ratio (305/30ZR19, 315/30ZR19 or 325/30ZR19). I think that would look funny based on some pictures I saw on here where people had a 30 tire on the front and a 35 tire on the rear.

I use the car for track days, autocross and canyon carving. I have a different daily driver. I live in the SF Bay Area where it doesn't rain that much but you do get wet spots on the seaside and mountain roads.

Will Cup 2s have better wet traction than the NT555G2? (They are rated pretty poorly for wet traction on Tire Rack.)
How will putting 305/35ZR19 Cup 2s on the rear affect handling? More understeer with the less-grippy PS4S up front?
Am I likely to experience tramlining or is that primarily caused by Cup 2s on the front?

The other option is to replace all four tires with 30 aspect ratio PS4S but it seems like a waste of good rubber on the front of the car.

PXL_20211223_202157689.jpg
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Strokercrate

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I have Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires in 295/35ZR19 on the front of my GT350 and Nitto NT555G2 in 305/35ZR19 on the rear. The Nittos have lost traction unpredictably in the wet too many times for me so I need to replace them.

I'd prefer matching tires but the PS4S only comes in a 30 aspect ratio (305/30ZR19, 315/30ZR19 or 325/30ZR19). I think that would look funny based on some pictures I saw on here where people had a 30 tire on the front and a 35 tire on the rear.

I use the car for track days, autocross and canyon carving. I have a different daily driver. I live in the SF Bay Area where it doesn't rain that much but you do get wet spots on the seaside and mountain roads.

Will Cup 2s have better wet traction than the NT555G2? (They are rated pretty poorly for wet traction on Tire Rack.)
How will putting 305/35ZR19 Cup 2s on the rear affect handling? More understeer with the less-grippy PS4S up front?
Am I likely to experience tramlining or is that primarily caused by Cup 2s on the front?

The other option is to replace all four tires with 30 aspect ratio PS4S but it seems like a waste of good rubber on the front of the car.

PXL_20211223_202157689.jpg
If the hardness and sidewall stiffness isn't the same it can cause the advanced stability control to go wack especially if you have magneride.

I ran two types briefly one time while not recognizing that the side wall rating was different. The rear would sway and want to come around in a curve doing 50-60. Could hear the squeal. Replaced with the same side wall rating cleared up completely.
 
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Mr. Maboomba

Mr. Maboomba

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Why not go with Super Sports? They come in the correct sizes for the GT350.
While I respect the SS, as with all Michelin tires, I do think the PS4S and SC2 are superior tires to the SS. Besides, if I'm going to be mixing tires anyway, why not mix PS4S + SC2 instead of PS4S + SS?

I can't imagine mixing tire brands on a high performance car.
Same here. The car came with mixed brands when I bought it. It’s time to correct that
 

svttim

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Haye to say it but replace all 4. Cup 2s in the rear will stick well, front will be not as sticky. You wont know until you try it but cant see it being a good response
 

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Performance nut

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Why not go with Super Sports? They come in the correct sizes for the GT350. I can't imagine mixing tire brands on a high performance car.
I can tell you right now it's not a good mix, 4S and PSS. Next set will be all 4S or Cup2.
 

Hack

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I think as long as the less grippy tires are in the front, you are fine. I probably wouldn't put the less grippy on the rear. That could cause you more of an issue. Understeer can be annoying, but it's safe. So I would have no problem agreeing with you on less grippy fronts. I personally really liked the PSS on my GT350. I think they were great for both track and street. I would just use PSS on both. They are good enough. I wouldn't use Cup 2s. I think the PSS wear out fast enough and grip well enough.
 

dem00n

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Mixing tires is only common in drifting and in some levels of motorsports where the driver/team has identified a different set of tires in the rear and front to be beneficial. In your case, considering the performance nature of your driving, the same tires all around is beneficial. You have nothing to gain from mix and matching, except from saving some money.
 

Dave2013M3

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I have Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires in 295/35ZR19 on the front of my GT350 and Nitto NT555G2 in 305/35ZR19 on the rear. The Nittos have lost traction unpredictably in the wet too many times for me so I need to replace them.

I'd prefer matching tires but the PS4S only comes in a 30 aspect ratio (305/30ZR19, 315/30ZR19 or 325/30ZR19). I think that would look funny based on some pictures I saw on here where people had a 30 tire on the front and a 35 tire on the rear.

I use the car for track days, autocross and canyon carving. I have a different daily driver. I live in the SF Bay Area where it doesn't rain that much but you do get wet spots on the seaside and mountain roads.

Will Cup 2s have better wet traction than the NT555G2? (They are rated pretty poorly for wet traction on Tire Rack.)
How will putting 305/35ZR19 Cup 2s on the rear affect handling? More understeer with the less-grippy PS4S up front?
Am I likely to experience tramlining or is that primarily caused by Cup 2s on the front?

The other option is to replace all four tires with 30 aspect ratio PS4S but it seems like a waste of good rubber on the front of the car.

PXL_20211223_202157689.jpg

I have Mich PS4S on the front with a 285/35/19 and the rears I am using a 305/35/19 Mich PSS. They are actually very close in performance. The 4S has a little better wet traction, but to be frank almost anything is better than the Nitto G2s, the only thing worse than the G2s are the Invos.

Also the Mich PSS in 305/35/19 is the OEM tire for the non R GT350.
 
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Dave2013M3

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I can tell you right now it's not a good mix, 4S and PSS. Next set will be all 4S or Cup2.

Care to elaborate, I run 4S on the front and PSS on the rear and I canyon carve all the time with no issues. They feel very similar. The dry grip are almost identical for both, with the nod going to the PS4S in the wet. I never drive in the rain with this car. Michelin even said the main issue with the PSS is its performance in the rain, which is still quite good but the 4S took it to another level.

I know guys who have tracked both tires with their M3s and there was very little if any difference in lap times. On the street its a non issue.
 
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Creedog

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While I respect the SS, as with all Michelin tires, I do think the PS4S and SC2 are superior tires to the SS. Besides, if I'm going to be mixing tires anyway, why not mix PS4S + SC2 instead of PS4S + SS?


Same here. The car came with mixed brands when I bought it. It’s time to correct that
I have PS4 in front and PSS in rear. I went this route because PSS in 35 series were not available for the front at all. PS4 in 35 series were available. I have the same set up for my Apex SM-10 track rims. I ran two HPDE days at CMP this past Oct w/o any issues. The car was extremely stable. The only time the rear end started to come around is when I ran too much speed into the corner or bad entry/exit. I was running with an instructor for the first day since it was my first time at the track. I knew what I was doing wrong, corrected it and then I ran through much smoother. I daily the car and mountain runs.

This is only my take on it but I’m comfortable running a few events this year, mountain drives, and the Shelby Mountain Run. Just my opinion.
 

Performance nut

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Care to elaborate, I run 4S on the front and PSS on the rear
I never drive in the rain with this car.
Try driving in the rain or after several thousands of miles. New it wasn't noticeable. Both tires perform very different in the rain and cold. Both age differently. If anything, I would put the 4S in the rear and PSS in front if you had to mix (again don't recommend you do this).

I drive mine rain and shine, cold and heat, night and day, track and street. Dont recommend this combination at all.
 

Dave2013M3

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Try driving in the rain or after several thousands of miles. New it wasn't noticeable. Both tires perform very different in the rain and cold. Both age differently. If anything, I would put the 4S in the rear and PSS in front if you had to mix (again don't recommend you do this).

I drive mine rain and shine, cold and heat, night and day, track and street. Dont recommend this combination at all.

Don't get me wrong, if they had a 305/35/19 I would have gotten a 4S, but MIch doesn't make it. The MIch PSS is fine in the wet, in fact it was the benchmark before the 4S for a max performance summer tire. Living in C. Cali and not driving in the rain for me made this a non issue.

That all being said, to the life of me why doesn't Mich make a 4S in the 305/35/19 size? It is an OEM size for the GT3050 if you got a non R.
 

Performance nut

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Don't get me wrong, if they had a 305/35/19 I would have gotten a 4S, but MIch doesn't make it. The MIch PSS is fine in the wet, in fact it was the benchmark before the 4S for a max performance summer tire. Living in C. Cali and not driving in the rain for me made this a non issue.

That all being said, to the life of me why doesn't Mich make a 4S in the 305/35/19 size? It is an OEM size for the GT3050 if you got a non R.
Agreed, not sure why they phased out the MPSS fronts and replaced with 4S but didn't do the rear... My next set of tires I'm going to run a square setup so I no longer have these issues. It's become an era where you get what you get. Rather not risk making compromises in the future.
 

NightmareMoon

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Sport Cup 2s will be slippery on the rear until they heat up, and worse in the wet.

So you car will either suddenly oversteer, or badly understeer. Not a good idea to mix those two tires being as different as they are.

PS4S and PSS are more compatible, but still mixing tires ain't great. Would hope you'd be learning that lesson with your current setup.
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