[Pete_vB]

I swapped out my 19" wheels with Pilot Super Sport tires for a set of OEM M3 wheels with 245/40/18 and 265/40/18 Hankook R-S3s a couple days ago. My intention was to use the R-S3s as summer (and autocross) street wheels and tires, then the PSS as "winter" (I live in California, so by winter I mean rain). What I've learned so far has me re-considering that plan.

The bad: These tires have zero grip in the wet or cold. I've been driving R compounds occasionally as my street tires off and on for 15 years now (Yoko 032Rs, Toyo RA-1s, even Kumho V-710s) so I'm pretty used to tires that need some heat to work. These are very much like an R compound in that respect, but probably worse. On cool 50F mornings these will comfortably spin the RPMs off the dial in 1 and 2nd easily and even 3rd if you try, and that's in a straight line, in the dry... On cool (50-60F) days on the street it's difficult to get and keep enough heat in the tires to get them to work, even when you're trying.

Wet: We had a cold, wet autocross yesterday, 50F and rain. Last week I was within a second of my friend who took TTOD on the Pilot Super Sports. This week, similar conditions, I was over 6 seconds back, meaning I lost at least 5 seconds to these tires. That's 10% slower, and frankly it felt like more. It wasn't a matter of hydroplaning, the compound simply has no grip in the cold and wet whatsoever.

The good: If you can get them warm, dry grip is great, as you'd expect. They don't seem to be particularly great at putting power down in a straight line, but cornering or cornering plus throttle is impressive even coming from the PSS. What was more interesting though was how much more talkative and toss-able the chassis became in all conditions.

Even in the wet the car is far more controllable than the PS2s, this despite the fact that the PS2s have more wet grip. I tried autocrossing in the wet with the MDM on, off, etc, and eventually just drove it like a drift car- sideways everywhere, all the time. And despite some absolutely ridiculous slip-angles the car was always controllable to the point that I felt in no danger of spinning or hitting cones despite some very nervous looking corner workers. In the dry this control ability over the limit seems to carry over, though I haven't been able to test fully at ridiculous slip angles yet.

More unexpected was how much more feedback the chassis gives with this wheel/ tire combo. With the 19s I'm used to limited warning before the rear breaks loose when exiting a corner under power. It may be very catch-able after it breaks away with the Pilot Super Sports, but judging how close you are to that breakaway isn't easy. With this combo, however, something interesting happens: as you roll into the power on corner exit you can clearly feel the car moving from understeer to oversteer before the tires let go. It is very perceptible that the back is slipping more that the front (or vice-versa) and you are carrying some slip angle before anything actually breaks away.

This sensation gives you much more feedback from the car and frankly makes driving much more involving and enjoyable. Where the stock car is stuck, stuck, stuck until it's not, on these tires the car is moving around the whole time, even when it's not actually sliding around. I must say I really like that extra feedback, and combined with the way the car handles the bumps better (even vs the PSS, which is already better than the PS2) it makes driving my favorite back road significantly sweeter.

One other surprising thing was turn-in; when warm they seemed to turn in slightly better than the PSS (though not as well as the PS2s), even with the 18" wheels vs 19s. Must be tire construction...

So overall if it wasn't for the issues with the cold/ wet I'd happily drive these tires all the time. The extra feedback from the chassis is what's really compelling more that the grip. Unfortunately the issues with cooler temperatures and how bad they are in the wet make me unsure I can live with them day to day. I can see having nightmares about sprinklers wetting the roads, etc, that just aren't issues when running Pilot Super Sports. I currently doubt I'll get another set of these for street use.

The interesting question here, however, is how much of the extra feedback from the chassis is due to the tires, and how much is due to the smaller 18" wheels? Would 18" wheels with Pilot Super Sports really be the best of both worlds for street rubber? That's certainly the question I'm currently asking. I'm intrigued, so I'm not yet sure how long I'll wait to find out...