Spectacular track tire choices for Porsche Cayman

John Mahler

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Q: I have an 2006 Porsche Cayman. It is due for some new rubber. I want to participate in more driving events this year and need to find the right tire for the occasional track day.

A: There are many excellent choices for your car, in fact so many you will have to prioritize what you want from your tires. Do you want ultimate grip and are willing to trade some ride quality to get it? And if so how do you tip the balance, half and half or 40/60 street/track or is ride comfort the most important issue. Ride comfort being a relative term, since you are driving an amazing handling mid-engine sports car.

The ultimate top dog for grip in dry and wet is the new Bridgestone RE-11. On my last test it, exceeded 1.4 g in dry grip, and it loves water as well. Its downside, a somewhat firm ride; actually not too bad but it does generate noise at all speeds.

Then come the rest in a tight pack for second place. This is where you have to decide what is important to you.

The Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 is the standard choice of most Porsche drivers. It grips in wet and dry, it has an incredibly smooth ride, and it has the best “finish” of a street tire. In testing terms, the “finish” is the part of the test when the tire loses grip. Michelin engineers its tires to have a very gradual loss of control. The tire gives lots of warning by becoming non-responsive before it lets go. Once it lets go, it is easier than average to recover, with some gentle steering and/or throttle modulation. The price for this is less ultimate grip than other tires.

The Bridgestone RE-050 PP (Pole Position) exceeds Michelins grip levels but you pay by bouncing over every road imperfection and a fairly high audio soundtrack on every kind of pavement. A neat thing about the Pole Position tires from Bridgestone is that they constantly renew themselves as they drive. The rubber is layered so that as the tire wears, new fresh sticky rubber is exposed. So as the tire wears, it keeps the same grip levels right down to the end of its life. You pay extra dollars for this feature. If you are interested in the RE-050, make sure to specify Pole Position, as there are three other versions of the RE-050.

If you feel you would like to spend less on tires rather than more (who doesn’t), take a look at the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo. The name Hankook does not yet have the magic of a Bridgestone or Michelin, but this smaller Korean company produces a high quality product. This tire produces exceptional grip at a cost between half and two thirds of the big boys. The tire maker is an up-and-comer of the business. They are No. 7 in the world and eying to move up.

Yokohama’s Advan Sport, has a great ride, is quiet, and provides exceptional wet grip. Some sports race cars use this street tire as a wet weather race tire. However, due to its generous tread depth, it is a bit squirmy when pushed hard in the dry.

Continental has a new sports tire, the ContiExtremeContact DW. It is not at the grip level of these other pure sports tires, but you will be able to use all the grip it has. Its virtue is consistency and predictability of how it reacts to steering and cornering load. The bonus here is that it will last longer than the others.

If you want to feel confident on the track, I would consider any of the top four choices. These four tires will have more grip than you can use until you become a serious “trackie.” The others will be fine if you are just getting comfortable and on the bottom part of the learning curve.

Q: If a tire for a passenger car or a heavy duty truck does not show an aspect ratio shown on the sidewall, what does that mean?

A: There are two answers to your question. If you are looking at an old cross-ply car tire, the aspect ratio is 100 per cent. That is, if the section width of the tire is 7.5 inches, the sidewall height will be about 7.5 inches. If you are looking at a tire that is marked 7.5/15, it really means 7.5/100-15. It may vary slightly since manufacturing was not all that exact in those days and there was also some variation in sizes from one company to another.

If you are looking at a radial tire, there are two answers. The industry standard is to assume an aspect ratio of 80, that is, the tire’s sidewall is 80 per cent of the width of the tire. All of the industry accepts this 80 per cent aspect ratio except the British Ministry of Transport. The MOT says the aspect ratio is 82 per cent. I have to ask, who came up with that number? But the measure when put into practice is that there is little difference between 80 and 82 per cent, so you can pick whichever you fancy.

Email tire questions to John Mahler at thetireguy_1@hotmail.com. Please include vehicle’s make, model and year, tire brand and size, as well as your name, address and phone number. Due to volume, personal replies cannot be provided.

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