Michelin Pilot pricing

[oregonduckman]

Who in town has the best pricing on Michelin Pilots?

[kurquhart]

Discount Tires on Genessee will give you a PCA discount (ask for Jerry); plus they are a Witness advertiser.

I have purchased two set of MPS there; they also match Tire Rack prices for my Hoosiers.

[Kim Crosser]

Agree on Discount Tire at Genesee. Fair prices and Porsche Club discounts.

Why Michelin Pilots? If you are looking for a good AX/street tire, check out the Yokohama Advan Neova AD07. It is probably a bit less expensive, and (IMHO) is better at dry traction and cornering stability than the Michelins (including the PS2).

I have had two sets of the Advans - with very good results. It is a 200 tread wear, so you take 1 point for them.

[SDGT3]

What kind of discount do they offer? 10% with PCA?

[oregonduckman]

Will the Yokohama Neovas change the class that I am in?

[ttweed]

It is a 200 tread wear, so you take 1 point for them.

Kim-
You are sooo "last year" on this. The rules changed for 2008 and there is no 1 point penalty for 140-200 treadwear tires any more. Check the Rule changes explained document for #15.

duckman- this means that they will NOT change your class.

TT

[Kim Crosser]

You are sooo "last year" on this.

Dang! I guess I need to read those closer!
Anyway - Duckman, since they are now zero points, they definitely won't affect your class.

Regarding the price/discount, the "nominal" discount is 10% for PCA/SDR members. However, they might be unwilling to give 10% for everything, since the margins on the tires themselves are sometimes less than that - depends on other discounts.

Get the current pricing on Tire Rack (http://www.TireRack.com - add shipping fees if necessary (you can check that online)) and figure out in advance what a fair price would be (tires + shipping + installation). If you let them know that you know the Tire Rack pricing AND that you are a PCA/SDR member, I have found they give very competitive numbers.

[Curt Yaws]

I'll second Kim's recommendation of the Advan Neova over the MPS. I've had both on my GT3 and the Advan's are much faster and seem to last longer as well. The price is about the same. Mine came from Tire Rack, but for the same price, Discount is much more convenient.

[Irksome]

I recently purchased some tires from Discount Tire Direct (www.discounttiredirect.com). I was amazed at the price they offered. At this point, I probably will use either them or TireRack.com for any tire needs, depending on which carries the tires I want. Discount Tire Direct has free shipping, and allows you to decline the road hazard coverage if you so choose.

I will check the recommended Discount Tire locally first, though, that's a great recommendation.

I loved my Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s for street. I recommend strongly against them for autocrossing, though, as they tend to chunk on the shoulders, thus ruining the whole tire. If you are going with a street set separate from a track set, PS2s are great. If not, I'd recommend you go away from them, or you can join me in crying about the nearly perfectly good tires in your garage.

PS: I have one 235/40R18 N3 PS2 with ~50% life left. I'll give it to anyone for $50, or buy a similar remaining life equivalent for the same. =)

PPS: I put on Falken Azenis RT-615 2 weeks ago, which are destined to be my track tires. While I futz about getting a new set of front street tires, I've been using them on the street. I'm very impressed: quiet and handles really really well. I'm not sure how they will be in the rain, though. I can't wait til the next autocross to see how they do, and I'm considering putting them on for my street set also. They are also half the price of the PS2s (whole set of 4 for $750).

[Kim Crosser]

I ran Falken Azenis 715s before the Yokohamas. They started out good, but I found that when they heated up, they got greasy. My best times were always my first timed laps.
The Falkens also lost most of their grip after about 40-50% of the tread was gone, whereas the Yokos only gave up the grip when I reached the wear bars (at the last AX, in case anyone wondered why I kept going sideways and backwards).

[Dan Chambers]

I ran Falken Azenis 715s before the Yokohamas. They started out good, but I found that when they heated up, they got greasy. My best times were always my first timed laps.
The Falkens also lost most of their grip after about 40-50% of the tread was gone, whereas the Yokos only gave up the grip when I reached the wear bars (at the last AX, in case anyone wondered why I kept going sideways and backwards).

... And ... there's always the Hankook RS-2. Very good pricing from Import Tire ... downtown ... and I think they are as good a competitive "non-points" tire as Azenis, or Neova's. We use 'em for street and DE's and get great results at both. On my SC the set ... yeah I said the SET ... cost just over $400.00 with mounting, balancing, the works. Not a bad deal, IMHO.

Just my opinion, others will disagree.

[Irksome]

I ran Falken Azenis 715s before the Yokohamas. They started out good, but I found that when they heated up, they got greasy. My best times were always my first timed laps.
The Falkens also lost most of their grip after about 40-50% of the tread was gone, whereas the Yokos only gave up the grip when I reached the wear bars (at the last AX, in case anyone wondered why I kept going sideways and backwards).

So what are you putting on to replace the Yokohamas, Kim? Are you going with another set of them?

[Kim Crosser]

So what are you putting on to replace the Yokohamas, Kim? Are you going with another set of them?

Yes - I am going to run this set until after the Driving School and then put on fresh Yokohamas before the next AX.
This set will be good for demonstrating pitch-and-catch (or at least pitch!) at the PDS.

[oregonduckman]

Looks like there is no rear match for the Advan Neov for my Cayman, any other suggestions?

[Kim Crosser]

Here is Tire Rack's take on the "extreme performance" tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/cha ... p?ttid=100

Any of these will probably work better than the "Max" tires (like Michelin PS2) for AX events. I note the Advan Neova is still the overall winner on dry traction, but the Bridgestone looks pretty close.