Semi-slick tyres for Sport 410 / Cup 430 (and some others)

[Martrack 21]

Hi,

I was looking at semi-slick tyres available in both dimensions required by the Sport 410 / Cup 430 (and a few other ones, as the Cup 380 if I'm right).
215/45 ZR17
285/30 ZR18

Choice is rather limited.
I contacted various manufacturers, here's their feedback.

Of course there's the default option, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2.

Most interesting, Pirelli just told me the Trofeo R will be available in both 215/45 ZR17 and 285/30 ZR18.
ETA Q1 2020.

There's also the Federal FZ-201(M) available in these dimensions (road legal ?).

And the Nankang NS-2R.
Regarding the Nankang AR-1, the employee I was in contact with suggested the company to develop this size in the future (wait and see).

And here's the not planned list :
- Avon ZZR / ZZS
- GoodYear Dunlop SPORT MAXX RACE 2 / Eagle F1 SuperSport R / SuperSport RS
- Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R
- Toyo R888R
- Yokohama Advan A052

Of course feel free to comment 👍

Edited December 1, 2019 by Martrack

[FF 112]

I have the same dilemma and problem in looking at very high performance semi-slicks tires for the 410 Sport. I have to say as well that I don't care to much about the road performance but I like to obtain the best on track.

First of all I hope they will develop the Trofeo r in 215 and 285 to fit exactly our sizes as per your info.

I found the Dunlop 03G available that they told me should be close to the Trofeo r in terms of performances. 

They informed me the best tires you can have are the Hankook z221 but I tried a lot and I couldn't find them available.

All the other options like Toyo, Avon, Yokohama should stay between the ones listed above and the CUP2 in terms of performances.

This is what I found out up to now. For sure I will try the Dunlop 03G and give my feedback.

I hope someone else have done a research and can share his experience.😁😁

[pete 2,019]

Think a zzr is a track tyre suitable for the road and a zzs is a road tyre suitable for the track and better in the wet

[RedViper 84]

Do they make Nankang AR-1 in those sizes?

[Nightfire 24]

I switched to the Yokohama Advan A052 after the ZZR, the Yokohama has a much softer flank and gives me better feedback on the track.

I drive the tire on a 430 cup. in the dimensions:

215/45R17

295/30R18

The tire is not as problematic on the track with the temperature management.

[Martrack 21]

But then you do not use the correct rear size 😐

[Nightfire 24]

The dimension of the rear tire fits perfectly.

 

[Martrack 21]

On 10x18 we can officially go up to 285mm.

Over, at least in France, we wouldn't pass the annual technical inspection, we would also take the risk not to be covered by our insurance in case of problem... Not sure about UK though...😐

This is why I was asking manufacturers for the "perfect dimension" 😉

PS : thank you FF for the additional Dunlop 03G & Hankook z221 references👍

[FF 112]

You are welcome @Martrack and soon that I have news and feedback I will comment here.

 

[Martrack 21]

On 01/12/2019 at 23:41, Martrack said:

Regarding the Nankang AR-1, the employee I was in contact with suggested the company to develop this size in the future (wait and see).

On 04/12/2019 at 16:51, RedViper said:

Do they make Nankang AR-1 in those sizes?

Just got additional info from Nankang about the AR-1 :
For your information, we are planning to develop this size. But it will take 9~12 months from today to have this size available in the market.

👍

Edited December 6, 2019 by Martrack

[Maxi_z 112]

I used the MPSC2 the DUNLOP DZ03G and the TROFEO R on the 380 cup

I really liked the Dunlop DZ03G they are really good and even if they feel different I think almost as good as the trofeo r (maybe less good on wet)

The problem is that they are not available anymore in 285 and I can only find them in 295 and as they are quiet a wide tyre I think they might be a little too wide

Does someone know where to find them in 285?

 

I saw a 380 cup fitted with A052 in 215 and 295 and the rear tyre look just a little too wide but I would think really acceptable and they should be good on track

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Martrack 21]

On 03/12/2019 at 22:47, FF said:

They informed me the best tires you can have are the Hankook z221 but I tried a lot and I couldn't find them available.

Renn-Reifen : https://www.renn-reifen.de
Both 215/45 ZR17 & 285/30 ZR18 available 👍
They ship to whole Europe.
They also have the Federal FZ-201.

2 hours ago, Maxi_z said:

I really liked the Dunlop DZ03G (...) Does someone know where to find them in 285?

They are on Renn-Reifen price list :
https://renn-reifen.de/infos/dunlop-direzza-03g.html
https://renn-reifen.de/images/preislisten/dunlop_direzza.pdf
But not listed to buy...
You should perhaps send them a mail to have more info, could be interesting.
To Dunlop directly also.

Edited December 8, 2019 by Martrack

[FF 112]

On 08/12/2019 at 12:55, Martrack said:

Renn-Reifen : https://www.renn-reifen.de
Both 215/45 ZR17 & 285/30 ZR18 available 👍
They ship to whole Europe.
They also have the Federal FZ-201.

I tried to contact them several times by mail but without reply from their side. Even by phone is impossible to reach them. Very strange...

[GFWilliams 2,021]

Out of interest, what do you find is wrong with Cup 2?

 

[Maxi_z 112]

I ordered different times tyres at Renn Reifen including the DUNLOP DZ03G when they used to be available in 285

They are not really fast to reply emails etc and when I wanted to order some Hankook they then wrote that they were out of stock and I asked about Federal ant they were again out of stock and ordered the Trofeo R but after that they

did not update their website so either some of the tyres are available or they just do not update the website

I think that the dunlop is not available anymore in 285

 

The Michelin pilot sport cup 2 is an excellent all around tyre with a lot of grip for the road good on track and without many dowsides of the usual semi slicks

But if you want to be really fast and agressive on track there are many faster and better tyres that will feel more made for the track

The michelin is good but not as fast as others (Trofeo R for example) if you continue pushing it can become a bit greasy and squeaky and also (by doing a few powerslides at the end of a session) It can delaminate

But still it s a very good tyre depending on the driver use and conditions.... It s cheaper than some others good on street not noisy not that bad on wet for a semi slick and will last long if not pushed to the limit on track

The dunlop DZ02G and the trofeo R (each on a different way) made the car feel a little more as a racing car

 

 

 

 

[FF 112]

18 hours ago, GFWilliams said:

Out of interest, what do you find is wrong with Cup 2?

 

Nothing honestly but is depending on what you do mostly with the car. If you use it on the road and some times on track they are fine but if you use the car most of the times on track is better to use other tires like Trofeo r, Dunlop, Hankook.....

[GFWilliams 2,021]

1 minute ago, FF said:

Nothing honestly but is depending on what you do mostly with the car. If you use it on the road and some times on track they are fine but if you use the car most of the times on track is better to use other tires like Trofeo r, Dunlop, Hankook.....

Having used Trofeo R and Cup 2 on my car, I realised there’s a few factors to consider. Trofeo R are a tiny bit faster, but it comes at a cost of them not lasting anywhere near as long. It gets tiresome pretty quickly when you only get one or two trackdays out of a set of tyres. Cup 2 seem to last about 5 trackdays by comparison.

[Martrack 21]

On 10/12/2019 at 13:18, Maxi_z said:

I think that the dunlop is not available anymore in 285

I received several answers about the Dunlop 03G.

First, Dunlop UK redirected me to Mr Tyre Motorsport.
Mr Tyre Motorsport (UK) : 285/30R18 was dropped from the list of imported sizes, they have to be produced in a minimum quantity, so there would need to be a real demand to import that size.
HP Tyres (UK) : unfortunately 285/30R18 is no longer available.
Renn-Reifen (DE) : these tires are no more available.
LMS Racing (DE) : this size is out of range in Europe.
Nengun (Japan) can provide everything Dunlop Japan still offers, and should then add this size to their catalog. However then, price for 2 tires + shipping is crazy...

Dunlop 03G finally does not seem much like an option...

[Joseph Antabi 20]

On 4/12/2019 at 13:21, Nightfire said:

Cambié al Yokohama Advan A052 después del ZZR, el Yokohama tiene un flanco mucho más suave y me da una mejor respuesta sobre la pista.

Conduzco el neumático en una taza 430. en las dimensiones:

215 / 45R17

295 / 30R18

El neumático no es tan problemático en la pista con la gestión de la temperatura.

Does the 295 work well without rubbing?

 

[Nightfire 24]

Yes the 295 / 30R18 are mounted on my 380 CUP and 430 CUP. With other models, I can not say.

[Martrack 21]

On 13/12/2019 at 23:02, Martrack said:

Dunlop 03G finally does not seem much like an option...

Demon Tweeks (UK) confirmed : Unfortunately they are not made by Dunlop anymore as there’s no demand for this size. The last time we sold these was January 2010.

[Martrack 21]

On 01/12/2019 at 23:41, Martrack said:

Most interesting, Pirelli just told me the Trofeo R will be available in both 215/45 ZR17 and 285/30 ZR18.
ETA Q1 2020.

Now available 👍

[Ph1l 5]

But of a late reply but I have some hopefully useful data.

I have a Sport 410 although none of the testing below was on that car and I don’t track it. At the moment it’s on standard rubber but I’ll change that to probably AD08 for the road.

I race in a series where we need to use list 1b road legal tyres, I’ve tried all sorts and the absolute best are the AO52s.

On a Ginetta GT4, with slicks at Silverstone we moved to Pirelli Trofeos and lap times went up 4 seconds. Not bad really I thought from slicks to road tyres, but you can feel the softer construction with the tyres moving about more especially in the side walls, almost having to be a little bit conscious of shifting some weight before turning in.

They also went off fairly quickly and while the lap times weren’t affected too much they did drop off. I ran the first race in the car at Snetterton a week before the test and finished I think 9th (3rd Class A) on the Trofeos.

We tried some quite well used AO52s given to us from another Ginetta at Silverstone on the same day same conditions and immediately the car felt better, turn in was more positive and there was much less movement in the tyres. Instantly I shaved 2 seconds off the time and the tyres didn’t go off like the Trofeos.

Full race distance is 40 mins, the next race at Brand Hatch was 2nd (1st Class A) and the performance was consistent throughout on one of the hottest days in the UK and I didn’t have to manage tyre temps. This was on the same old AO52s we inherited, tested and raced on.

A friend runs an S2 Europa initially on ZZRs and did well, won championship, twice, and then tried the AO52s and found even more time. I think about a second. At the moment they are the tyre to have.

 

it’s not bad in the wet either, unless it’s really wet although really want something else for a lot of wet running.

I wouldn’t put them on the Evora as I use it in all weathers, but if I were to track it then I’d go for AO52s all day long.

[alias23 1,536]

Yokohama Advan A052 - These are the fastest tyre I've had on the Exige on track!