JPschnitzer

How do the stock ContiSports work on the track?

PSI Hot?

I'm thinkin 38 hot

Joe Weinstein

From what I hear, stock contis are lousy in general. That's not to say they
are unsafe, but they just don't stick much. Using them at the track would
be a good way to wear them out enough to have an excuse for getting
another brand...
Joe

Bob Rouleau

JP The stock Conti's are fine on track and are as good as any of the OEM tires Porsche has - tested and approved - for your car. I have used them and find the Conti provides superior grip in the wet. They are fairly sticky and wear faster than the Pirelli but we're talking degrees of difference here nothing major. I'm afrad I have to disagree with Joe, but Porsche does a very thorough job of testing the tires they approve and they don't let any lousy ones get through the net.

If you are comparing them to real track tires like the Pirelli Corsa or Michelin Cup, then the Conti sucks, but so do the other street tires
The only complaint I have with Contis is that they tend to be the most expensive of the approved tires. That may vary from one region to another though.

Best,

Joe Weinstein

Hey Bob, no problem: *I'll* disagree with me if you like them. I was just passing on
hearsay... I run DOT R tires everywhere, so I have no direct experience...
Joe

BoneDaddy

For what they are, they're decent, but once you go to an R compound, the difference is stark.

1AS

The stock Conti's are fine on track and in one important aspect outperform Pirelli. Pirelli"s are prone to belt shift, while the Cont is not.
Re grip: Absolute maximal grip is not an issue for track use outside of timed or wheel-to-wheel competition. For DE track use, a tire should be predictable (give a little warning before letting go) and have decent wear. You really don't care about whether you can pull .96G vs .94. You care about getting all the speed and control you can with the equipment you have. For that, the Conti is fine.

My personal preference is for tires which don't pick up a lot of track rubber, which R spec tires do in spades. I like tires which aren't too fussy about the perfect pressure, since tire temp checks and pressure changes are fine for race weekend, but don't make for a relaxing track day.
So, in summary, if you are running a streetable car, the Conti is a good trackable street tire. AS

Scott_in_Houston

I use Sport Cups now, but ran contis for a couple of years prior.

They are the best street tire I've had on the track. And yes, they are MUCH better than the Pirelli's even beyond the belt shift issue.

ar38070

I have run both the contis and the pirellis on the track. In the dry I did not notice much of a difference. The contis in the wet suck. I have not run r-compounds in the wet on the TT but r-compounds in the wet in a boxster had better grip. Of course the comparison may not be appropriate. I have not run pirellis in the wet.

Hot psi 41 front, 45 rear. I ran lower 38, 42 on my first set and corded the outsides well before using up an appreciable amount of tread. The second set got much better tire life at the higher pressures. This was with a stock sunspension and alignment. YMMV

Bottom line is that they are fine for the track.

JS

Run a Michelin PS2 if you want a tire for both.

Scott_in_Houston

Best Street tire is definitely Michellin PS and PS2's

BY FAR

Last930

The Contis on my car disintegrated after a few days at Road America - chunks came off of the left front tire, leading to a pretty slow, bumpy ride home. I switched to SO2As and find them a good tradeoff for mainly street use with an occasional blast on the track.

JP Schnitzer

Thanks guys.....I ended up at the track with my trusty E-36 M3 and a set of SO-3's and had a great time....smoked an RS America...I love passing Porsche's when I am in my Bimmer.

I'll run the MPSC's on the Turbo at Laguna Seca this fall...That will be fun! The Conti's seem very good on street.....high limits.