What did you do to your mustang today

3936.jpg

I'm attempting an intake manifold swap.
 
Start of the year oil change, dealer advised the rear tires are down to 3/32" of tread, fronts at 7/32".

Those back tires lasted 15,000 km, and that was no track time, and fairly conservative driving.

Only 52,000 km, this will be the fourth set of rear tires since new.

Time to fire up the line lock and make way for the new ones.


:oops::LOL:
 
Last edited:
So far I've got 6000km on the pilot sport AS4 on my 2005 - i like them, seem stickier than the AS3 i ran before. I had 235/5517" as3's now 255/40 19" as4's and surprisingly i don't notice much increase in roughness. Handling is sharper. I notice a bit more tramming with the wider tire on the grooved concrete in Ontario . So far have been good in the rain
 
SVT4MT said:
Considering a swap from the Pilot Super Sport Cup 2 and trying a full set of Pilot Sport 4S's.

Couldn't be any worse than 15,000 km of life from the Cup 2's, and I'm not tracking the car , I see no compromise or downside for handling.

Opinions or experiences with Pilot Sport 4S's ???
Click to expand...

I believe Michelin makes the Pilot Sport Cup 2 and the Pilot Super Sport, but not a Pilot Super Sport Cup 2.

The sport cup 2 was the factory tire on the GT350R with a tread wear rating of 180. Basically a street legal track tire. A very soft compound for ultimate grip but shorter lifespan/mileage.

The super sport was the factory tire on the regular GT350 with a tread wear rating of 300. A max performance summer only tire. Slightly harder compound providing a bit less grip than the cup 2 but a longer lifespan/mileage.

Trevor can confirm this when he gets a chance but I don’t think there’s any way a person can get 15000 km out of a set of cup 2’s.

On the other hand, 15000 km sounds about the appropriate mileage for a set of super sports. It’s actually probably on the higher side.
Being max performance tires and a tread wear of 300, which is still on the sticky side, there is just so much life in these tires.
In order to get more mileage or life, one would have to go to a harder compound tire.
Something like 400 tread wear or higher.
The problem with that is that when you get to that tread wear level these are no longer max performance category and they’re not available in the sizes required by the GT350.

It’s a delicate balance.

Going off the mileage you have achieved and the fact the super sport was the factory tire on the GT350, I am working on the theory that you are running the super sports.

To address the question of wether the pilot sport 4S would give you more lifespan than the super sports?
I would say NO based on the fact that the sport 4S has the same 300 tread wear compound as the super sport.
As for grip or traction compared to the Super Sport, the Sport 4S do have just as good traction. As mentioned above, they have the same compound.
I have driven Sport 4S’ on a Mach 1.

The difference between the sport 4S and the super sport is basically the stiffness of the sidewall.
The super sport is a very good performance tire with a good (meaning stiff) sidewall for cornering grip and stability.
A few years after the Super Sport saw life, Michelin set out to make a similar tire but with a smoother ride quality to address some complaints they had received.
Their answer was the sport 4S, basically a super sport but with a softer sidewall for a bit more comfortable ride.
Everything else is the same. The tread wear, traction and heat management ratings of 300 AA and A.
So one should get about the same milage from the sport 4S as the super sport.

If you want more mileage in the size for the GT350, you need to find tires with a tread wear higher than 300.
I use Tire Rack for research and comparison because of their vast stock.
Tire Rack carries 2 tires in your size with a harder tread wear than the super sport.
The higher the tread wear number, the harder the compound, and the more lifespan you should get.

They are the Continental Extremecontact Sport 02 with a tread wear of 340. Still a max performance summer tire.

The other is the Nitto NT555 G2 also with a tread wear of 340. This one is a ultra high performance summer tire instead of max performance. An example of diminishing performance as the tread wear number goes up and compound gets harder.
But the price also goes down as the performance drops.

In theory, both these 2 tires should provide more lifespan resulting from the fact that they have harder compounds than the super sport.
I have no experience with either one.

I think the Super Sports are a good combination of performance and lifespan.
I’m still running them and plan to continue.
I run the Super Sports on my red car too.

Lastly, I checked both the Tire Rack and Michelin web sites for the GT350 size of 295/35/19F and 305/35/19R and neither show the Pilot Sport 4S as an option.
It may not be made in those sizes.
Both sites only show the Pilot Sport Cup 2 and the Pilot Super Sport as Michelin options.

If you want the Pilot Sport 4S, you may have to go to the GT350R sizes of 305/30/19F and 315/30/19R.

Good luck with your research/choice.
 
Last edited:
67 AGAIN said:
I believe Michelin makes the Pilot Sport Cup 2 and the Pilot Super Sport, but not a Pilot Super Sport Cup 2.

The sport cup 2 was the factory tire on the GT350R with a tread wear rating of 180. Basically a street legal track tire. A very soft compound for ultimate grip but shorter lifespan/mileage.

On the other hand, 15000 km sounds about the appropriate mileage for a set of super sports. It’s actually probably on the higher side.

Going off the mileage you have achieved and the fact the super sport was the factory tire on the GT350, I am working on the theory that you are running the super sports.

To address the question of wether the pilot sport 4S would give you more lifespan than the super sports?
I would say NO based on the fact that the sport 4S has the same 300 tread wear compound as the super sport.

I think the Super Sports are a good combination of performance and lifespan.

Lastly, I checked both the Tire Rack and Michelin web sites for the GT350 size of 295/35/19F and 305/35/19R and neither show the Pilot Sport 4S as an option.
It may not be made in those sizes.
Both sites only show the Pilot Sport Cup 2 and the Pilot Super Sport as Michelin options.

If you want the Pilot Sport 4S, you may have to go to the GT350R sizes of 305/30/19F and 315/30/19R.

Good luck with your research/choice.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the informed opinion Marc, other than correcting me about the proper name for the tire, that was really helpful. :LOL:

I understand though, for an apples to apples comparison you have to be talking the correct series of tire.

You pretty much boiled it down to all the points I needed, I always appreciate your well written and thoughtful replies.

It's tempting to go to the GT350R set up with the Pilot Sport 4S's , from what I can see they're a little less expensive.

I'm less inclined to go with another tire brand, so I'll stick with Michelin's , although I'm sure the Continentals and Nitto's are good.

That being said, I'm not completely against changing brands , time for some pricing comparisons, and availability checks.

Given that the 15,000 km lifespan is what it is, I'll probably stick with the Pilot Super Sport (Cup 2's) I'm running now. ;);):LOL:
 
Last edited:
Installed my Mishimoto license plate mount.

Washed car
Clay bar session
Ready for ceramic coating
Did passenger side and side of roof
Thought why not take an exhaustion nap.
Came back out and bird poop on side I didn’t coat yet.
Took another nap now I’m hunting that bird.
Car care and leukemia
Not fun

Ford performance banner comes Monday
Going to install myself without a nap I hope
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1275.jpeg
    IMG_1275.jpeg
    3.2 MB · Views: 3
SVT4MT said:
It's tempting to go to the GT350R set up with the Pilot Sport 4S's , from what I can see they're a little less expensive.
Click to expand...

Since you mention this option is a possibility, and in case this variable is not on your radar, be aware that if you do go with the GT350R size tires, your car will be almost a half (1/2”) inch lower than with your original size tires.

The reason is due to the 30% sidewall ratio on the R tires as opposed to the 35% ratio on your OEM tire size, making the overall diameter of the R tires smaller.

Your front splitter will be that much closer to the ground.

The diameter of the front R tires is 0.8 of an inch smaller and the rears are 0.9 of an inch smaller.

I attach screen shots of the front tire specs from the Tire Rack site.
Look down at the overall diameter numbers.

Screen shots #1, 295/35/19 specs

IMG_8317.png


Screen shot #2, 305/30/19 specs

IMG_8318.png
 
67 AGAIN said:
Since you mention this option is a possibility, and in case this variable is not on your radar, be aware that if you do go with the GT350R size tires, your car will be almost a half (1/2”) inch lower than with your original size tires.

The reason is due to the 30% sidewall ratio on the R tires as opposed to the 35% ratio on your OEM tire size, making the overall diameter of the R tires smaller.
Click to expand...

I use those tire size comparison calculators a lot, more so when I couldn't get 35" snow tires for the truck, to see how far off the speedometer would be with tires that weren't 35". Finally found the 35's from Nokian a couple of years back, which solved that problem. But I digress.

The half inch lower thing was another point I considered, I'm already 3/4" lower with the Ford Performance springs I had installed years back.

I got tired of the debate and sent my parts guy an email and ordered up the Pilot Super Sports in the OEM spec for the GT350.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top