Tyres Help me choose tires

[_LAH_]

It's about time for me to replace my factory pz4 hn tires with a new set.
I have done about 12k km's with 3 track sessions (one being very wet). Rotated once and have about a milimeter left to the wear limit indicator.

I like the dry grip on the stock tires but they can be scary at times in the wet.
I would like to keep the sharp steering of the pz4 hn's and would welcome better wet grip. Also expect better dry performance from the new tires since pz4 can now be considered an older design.

I am daily driving the car (stock) with an occasional track sessions every month (or two) or so.

I'm torn between Pirelli p-zero pz5 or the Continental sportcontact 7. Both of which I can acquire for the same price.

Pz5 is relatively new compared to the older sc7 but I believe there is plenty of experience accumulated within the community by now.

I would be glad to hear your first hand experiences with particularly these two options compared to the oem tires and if possible compared to each other.

 

[i_twenty_N]

I think none of them are that sharp, because the 215/40 R18 PZ4 in HN spec is extra reinforced except with its XL rating. As I said often this HN spec has an extra liner on its carcass.

 

[_LAH_]

Right, I've read about the extra liner. I understand compromises will be made.

I don't know how much of a difference I would feel but the directness of steering contribute a lot to the feel of the car. Keeping it as intact as possible would have been great. Wish there was a pz5 hn option.

From what I've read so far, the pz5 sidewall is confirmed to be softer and i guess sc7 harder than pz5 but still softer than pz4 hn.

I was thinking to go run flat (wish i had a spare) but these tires don't have that option.

 

[goobyN]

If you can get PZ5's for the price of SC7's then I'd probably go for those as that's a pretty good price. I've heard they've improved over the PZ4's in almost every regard (and massively for wet grip). If you're sizing up to 225 then you'll probably lose that sharpness/agility of the OEM tyres though. It's not that bad, especially given the compromises of OEM tyres, but it was noticable to me for sure.

The main downside for PZ5's would be that they're relatively new and not a lot of feedback from owners on them. Tyrereviews loved them on their golf gti test car though. I was heavily considering them over Michelin PS5's but my local tyre place couldn't get them in stock until a month later and I needed my tyres replaced sooner so had to pass.

 

[_LAH_]

Forgot to mention, yes I will be going 225/40 on the stock wheels.

 

[YNWaN]

I’ve had Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6 and they were excellent - quieter and less ‘crasshy’ over bumps than the stock - but slightly less direct steering than the stock. I’m now running PS4 and they seem very similar to the Goodyears - I’ve not done a lot of driving on them though.

Oh, the rim protection on the Goodyears is much better than the PS4, which is pretty much nonexistent.

 

[_LAH_]

Went with the pz5. First impressions, noticably softer. Haven't pushed them much yet but don't feel any grip advantage in dry, they don't inspire much confidence even after about 100km driven. Maybe on the track I could judge better. Not too fond of the softness, completely changed the feel of the car, beyond my expectations really. But i guess the alternatives wouldn't have been any harder than these.

Installation was eventful to say the least, despite my warnings, after some bruised jack points and scratched rims the tires were on. The only thing i like about them so far is the sidewall design. Sidewalls are also noticably straighter than the pz4 (which i like) with smaller rim protectors (which i dont like).

Will report if things improve with more distance driven.

 

[i_twenty_N]

100km ist nothing with a new set of tires! They have to adjust to the cars geometry, as said these are softer more forgiving with more grip. Drive these with lower pressure, the first 1000 kilometres are awful of course.

Had the second pair on fronts because was first time very unlucky with collecting a screw or nail.

 

[_LAH_]

Got it. Have a session booked for this Sunday. They will have to be adjusted on the track then.

 

[i_twenty_N]

2,1 - 2,2 on fronts 2,0 on rears as they are cold.

 

[_LAH_]

2,1 - 2,2 on fronts 2,0 on rears as they are cold.

These are not track pressures I suppose? Incidentally, this is exactly what i was running all week. Only slightly higher in the rears.

The pressures spiked like crazy on my first drive, i had to purge the air from them while hot (down to 17psi and then back up to usual) and settled on what i pumped in them guestimating.

Probably there was too much moisture in them from the mounting lubricant. They seem to be much more predictable with pressures after the purge.

Planning to start with 27 psi in the front and 25 psi in the rears cold on the track this weekend.

 

[YessNL]

I would go for the Hankook Ion evo

 

[i_twenty_N]

How was your session?

 

[YessNL]

It was great! The car felt much more planted and balanced after the KW V3, Hardrace arms and alignment. The biggest difference for me is the improved handling and stability, especially through corners. Really happy with how the setup turned out

 

[_LAH_]

How was your session?

My session was fine, apart from the fact that there was an accident at second to last corner on lap 4 so after lap 3 (includes warm up) it was yellow flags in that region till the end. I can do 7 flying laps max normally.

I can confirm pz5 has definitely more grip than the pz4 hn. It took some time for me to build confidence but towards the end i could maintain faster mid corner speeds easily, especially in long sweepers. This is evident in both telemetry and lap times. They also seem to be more heat resistant. The texture on the tires were much more uniform and there was not so much graining to speak of. I'm attaching reference pictures for both pz4 hn and pz5 taken right after a session. Its not too evident from the pictures but could give an idea. They are also surprisingly vocal, there was considerable howling on high g corners. I don't remember anything close to this with the pz4 hn's. They were practically silent.

The ambient temp was 27 degrees celsius, i started off around 27psi cold in the fronts, -4.5psi from the target pressure of 32psi. Didn't go any lower since these have softer sidewalls and i didn't want them to fold but they did regardless. Saw 36-37psi in the end.

In the rear I started off with -7psi and the final pressures were spot on at around 29-30 psi.

Subjectively speaking, the car definitely has a more floaty feeling to it untill it takes a set probably due to the softer sidewalls and their character change was much more noticeable as the pressures go up compared to the pz4 hn's. This floatiness can also be felt during minor steering correction's under load and translates to a softer, delayed response sort of feel however did not diminish confidence and can be controlled predictably and responds very well to longitudinal weight transfer via throttle inputs. We know that the change is not only to the sidewall stiffness and compound but the pz5 cross section is visibly more square than the pz4 hn.