Swapping out the Pirelli Summer Tires

[Magmetallic15]

Is the tires the only thing that makes this car a "Performance Pack". I disagree. You have not looked at the components of what a Perf Pack is. By placing Michelin 275 40R/19 AS 3S tires on this car no longer makes the car perform??? Wow what a thought. I will have to tell a friend of mine that has a 650 hp GT500 that his car no longer "performs". He would disagree.
The purpose of threads like this is to discuss the new 6G car and its abilities or lack there of. If you feel this this is "absurd" then move on. My original post to raise a point about the lack of choice that Ford gives us with their ordering process when it comes to "performance" and the tires they place on all their car now-a-days. I bought a 2013 Ford Focus Titanium - not a performance car in my eyes - and it had "Summer" Performance tires on it that lasted less than 25,000 mi and were dangerous to use in rain or cold weather.
So before you condemn a thread as absurd, try to understand the original post and following posts to understand more!

I find threads like this absurd... Why would you want a performance car without summer only tires??? Just for poser status? Summer tires have significantly more grip other than cold conditions. Just skip the performance pack if you want all seasons.

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[Tony Alonso]

I feel these Summer tires are "over-rated" in how they provide "performance". Most of these cars, mine included, are not going to be track or 1/4 cars. They will spend their lives on the roads of America, in my case the Midwest. Yes I want a car that can "perform" when I want to do some "spirited" driving in twisty southern roads of Indiana. However, placing "performance" All-Season tires on these cars from the factory do not IMHO reduce the overall "performance" of the car. Again, the definition of "performance" is different in everyone's eyes. If I get caught in the rain, or the temp drops 15-20 degrees in a couple hours and the summer tires lose traction, they are no longer performing their duty, they now have become dangerous. Ford has done this for a long time, I had a 1985 TurboCoupe Tbird that was deadly in the rain, because Ford thought that the Goodyear Gatorback tires were good for performance. I know I will hear a lot of you say, if you don't want a "Performance car" buy a Prius, not is not my point. I have an 05 GT that I drive in a spirited way, but have all season tires on it, so I understand performance. What I think all that read this thread should consider is performance on the track is one thing, performance in the "normal" reality of driving this cars in American Midwest is another thing! Leave the summer tires off unless the car will spend it's life as a track car, and Ford give the buyer the option to place tires that they want on the car.

Yes, it's understood that there is a difference between street and track driving. If I understand your point, you would want to keep all of the unique components except for the tires because of all-season drivability. That's certainly quite possible, of course, however, there are some dynamic differences tuned in to the car which includes the tires. That's part of the engineering work you pay for when you get the option. And yes, whether or not you notice it depends on how you drive it.

It obviously comes down to personal preference. If you are a track rat or want the capability that a track rat would have, then this packaging makes a ton of sense. If you have a daily driver car, then it doesn't. Having tires mismatched to the suspension tuning is something that people do all the time when they change out tires, even if they are not summer tires. People change tires for looks, price, and wheel size changes all the time. Whether or not people will notice the "ultimate" capabilities depends on how they drive.

I see this a philosophical approach to meeting the requirements of a target audience. No right or wrong - it's just the way it is packaged based on the utilization of the improved grip that the summer tires offer in the right conditions.

At any rate, I personally don't find this a bad deal. And as mentioned above, maybe the name of the option would have helped to highlight the intent - Track Pack.

 

[Husker]

The Performance Pack is exactly that, perhaps Ford should have kept the package named Track Pack so people would have just ordered GT's with all seasons. If you don't intend to use the car at it's limits why order a $2495 track suspension package :shrug:

I think many people are ordering these cars without being honest with themselves, and the intended purposes of the car. Way too many people 'wanting' the race car suspension then complain about the black wheels, the tires, no spare etc. This is why they have a GT with everyday driver suspension and tires. It's really not that complicated.

I thought "Track Heads" wanted the stripped down version of the GT, instead of GT PP (Less weight & owner mods) for the track-->:shrug:

 

[Tim Hilliard]

I thought "Track Heads" wanted the stripped down version of the GT, instead of GT PP (Less weight & owner mods) for the track-->:shrug:

Well mine is, as stripped as you can get it. I'm dying to see the difference in weight between the loaded versions to mine. But if I understand your statement correctly your point is why is everyone buying full loaded cars and the PP. I apologize if that was misinterpreted.

The contents of the PP really don't add additional weight save for the brakes. The staggered tire set up also offsets the bigger brakes, the difference in weight between the 9"/255 vs. the 9.5"/275 is approx. 10-15 pounds, it may be enough to negate the weight added by the bigger Brembos. Some light weight bracing, everything else is just tuning of bushing durometer, shock valving, and spring rates. There is no weight change to speak of, a couple of pounds in a sway bar, maybe, unlikely if they are hollow.

Again for a starting point for a track car (road course) the PP for very little investment make an excellent platform to build from. You can add coil overs, wheels, tires, different friction materials in stages, everything will build upon itself. Yes people like Filip from Cortex will tell you that you can start with a base car because his systems basically replace everything but I'd rather have the 3.73 Torsen and 15" Brembo's buried in my car payment. It's already coming from the factory ready to play, as you learn/improve your ability in the car, you systematically can improve the car as you find the factory limits.

 

[USPSALIMITED]

Look at competitors, BMW 235 for example. Check one box & it comes with summers, leave the box unchecked & it comes with all seasons.

An upside is that some of the hardcore performance folks want different rims & wider or just different tires for track use anyway, so the 'don't want em' and the 'really want the best' folks both can choose the all season option and the 'don't need the best but want something sticky' folks can go with the performance option.

 

[USPSALIMITED]

Yes I want a car that can "perform" when I want to do some "spirited" driving in twisty southern roads of Indiana.

Last I checked our state had at least 47 miles of highway that could qualify.

 

[Husker]

Well mine is, as stripped as you can get it. I'm dying to see the difference in weight between the loaded versions to mine. But if I understand your statement correctly your point is why is everyone buying full loaded cars and the PP. I apologize if that was misinterpreted.

The contents of the PP really don't add additional weight save for the brakes. The staggered tire set up also offsets the bigger brakes, the difference in weight between the 9"/255 vs. the 9.5"/275 is approx. 10-15 pounds, it may be enough to negate the weight added by the bigger Brembos. Some light weight bracing, everything else is just tuning of bushing durometer, shock valving, and spring rates. There is no weight change to speak of, a couple of pounds in a sway bar, maybe, unlikely if they are hollow.

Again for a starting point for a track car (road course) the PP for very little investment make an excellent platform to build from. You can add coil overs, wheels, tires, different friction materials in stages, everything will build upon itself. Yes people like Filip from Cortex will tell you that you can start with a base car because his systems basically replace everything but I'd rather have the 3.73 Torsen and 15" Brembo's buried in my car payment. It's already coming from the factory ready to play, as you learn/improve your ability in the car, you systematically can improve the car as you find the factory limits.

Got it...Thanks-->

I need A/S or Winters because of temperatures in Nebraska +I definitely want the summers for Summer FUN.

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