Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 issue

[Speedy Emira]

I have just watched this video and was shocked to see Michelin has made both left and right tyres in the same mould.
I’ve had Cup 2 tyres many times in and more recently on my RS3 which was 700hp and didn’t notice any issues or get uneven tyre wear. This week my Cup 2 Connect tyres arrive so I’ll find out if they are the same.
I have the Goodyear tyres at the moment so it would be good if someone can check their tyres to see if they have the same issue on the Lotus ones. I understand OEM supplied tyres can be different even if they have identical model names.

 

[Speedy Emira]

I found a response video where Michelin state they are track optimised and some tech reasons on how.
So one thing I have learned is if you have Cup 2 tyres and they have the same outer shoulder direction you need to rotate them to get even wear.

 

[lynchy73]

I was getting noticeably more wear on my front left cup 2 C on the track (didn’t notice same thing on the rear). Front left was getting hotter too, as the tyre pressure would increase more than right side front. I recently lowered the car slightly, maybe the geo needs adjusting…. I would have thought an alignment error can cause uneven wear, but didn’t think uneven left to right.

Didn’t have this on the F1 OEM tyres the week before, but that was before it was lowered. I’ve since rotated as per the YT video. Gonna try to get an alignment check soon.

 

[Eagle7]

I was getting noticeably more wear on my front left cup 2 C on the track (didn’t notice same thing on the rear). Front left was getting hotter too, as the tyre pressure would increase more than right side front. I recently lowered the car slightly, maybe the geo needs adjusting…. I would have thought an alignment error can cause uneven wear, but didn’t think uneven left to right.

Didn’t have this on the F1 OEM tyres the week before, but that was before it was lowered. I’ve since rotated as per the YT video. Gonna try to get an alignment check soon.

You might also need corner balancing. Find a place that has a digital auto (not a truck) weight scale that shows the weight for each corner like you can see in @Dragoon project thread https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/dragoons-emira-build.5101/

 

[lynchy73]

You might also need corner balancing. Find a place that has a digital auto (not a truck) weight scale that shows the weight for each corner like you can see in @Dragoon project thread https://www.emiraforum.com/threads/dragoons-emira-build.5101/

My lowering was a budget drop (just moved the circlips on the shocks, it gives a not insignificant drop on the I4 Sport setup), so no corner weighing for me…

this was really a noticeable amount of additional wear on the left front, versus other 3 tyres. I’m guessing alignment got messed up a bit.

 

[Not A Camry]

Which PS Cup 2 are the "Lotus" compound? I see choices for POR, FER & MB - and I assume they are not interchangeable.

 

[OppositeLock]

These are Lotus specific ones at Tire Rack (link) They're 240 treadwear compared to 180 for a lot of other cars.

I bought a set to try on track, they're not bad, but my front left is too damaged after one track day to go to the track again.

 

[Not A Camry]

These are Lotus specific ones at Tire Rack (link) They're 240 treadwear compared to 180 for a lot of other cars.

Seriously helpful, that is what I needed! TR didn't even bring this one up for me to consider.

I would like to try 255 on 9" wide wheels in the front. What are the chances the "NO (Porsche)" 240 TW (linked) are the same sidewall and compound?

 

[Eagle7]

Which PS Cup 2 are the "Lotus" compound? I see choices for POR, FER & MB - and I assume they are not interchangeable.

The ones that are the specific Lotus spec say LTS on them.

 

[gcmak]

These are Lotus specific ones at Tire Rack (link) They're 240 treadwear compared to 180 for a lot of other cars.

I bought a set to try on track, they're not bad, but my front left is too damaged after one track day to go to the track again.

Which track damaged the front left for you?

 

[OppositeLock]

Which track damaged the front left for you?

Oh, it was Laguna Seca. I scrubbed quite a bit of rubber off, and I mis-spoke, it was the front right. I haven't yet worked out the proper pressures for this car, as it's new to me, and I scrubbed the middle of the tire too much to risk another track day. It's ok for the street. I would have expected to scrub the outside. I have a new set of Dunlop Race Maxx 2 tires on a new set of wheels now, just for the track, and I'll set pressures with a probe pyrometer this time, so I'll figure out what's good in front and rear.

This car is HEAVY! It eats tires significantly faster than my Elise.

 

[Sandalwood]

Oh, it was Laguna Seca. I scrubbed quite a bit of rubber off, and I mis-spoke, it was the front right. I haven't yet worked out the proper pressures for this car, as it's new to me, and I scrubbed the middle of the tire too much to risk another track day. It's ok for the street. I would have expected to scrub the outside. I have a new set of Dunlop Race Maxx 2 tires on a new set of wheels now, just for the track, and I'll set pressures with a probe pyrometer this time, so I'll figure out what's good in front and rear.

This car is HEAVY! It eats tires significantly faster than my Elise.

That may be why they increased the treadwear a bit on the LTS version of the tire. My Elise was a Sport suspension and shipped with Advans that lasted about nine minutes...But you are correct that more normal tires lasted quite a while on a car that light and with limited torque.

 

[gcmak]

Oh, it was Laguna Seca. I scrubbed quite a bit of rubber off, and I mis-spoke, it was the front right. I haven't yet worked out the proper pressures for this car, as it's new to me, and I scrubbed the middle of the tire too much to risk another track day. It's ok for the street. I would have expected to scrub the outside. I have a new set of Dunlop Race Maxx 2 tires on a new set of wheels now, just for the track, and I'll set pressures with a probe pyrometer this time, so I'll figure out what's good in front and rear.

This car is HEAVY! It eats tires significantly faster than my Elise.

Thanks. Passenger front makes sense - that's what gets roasted at Laguna. I've experienced a range of weights at Laguna - from a 2,800 lb 86 (both generations), to a 3,500lb Supra, and now the heaviest combo G87 M2 (3,900 lbs). I suspect I'll have a bit of an opposite reaction haha.
Laguna is one of the few tracks that I adjust independent pressures for each tire based on pressure fluctuations as well as temperatures (if the car shows the TPMS temps - which sadly the Emira does not, even though the sensors are capable). I am looking forward to having a double wishbone front, instead of strut - I can see why the middle wore more than the shoulders. I try to really monitor each tire after every session and adapt/adjust accordingly.

That may be why they increased the treadwear a bit on the LTS version of the tire. My Elise was a Sport suspension and shipped with Advans that lasted about nine minutes...But you are correct that more normal tires lasted quite a while on a car that light and with limited torque.

Lotus adopted the Cup 2 (240) version. I'm not clear what customizations they did to the tire over the non-branded Cup 2 (240), but a number of manufacturers also offer this as an optional tire on their cars. Generally Porsche, Mercedes, and Ferrari (to name a few) customize the regular Cup2, which is 180TW.

 

[Emiro]

For those who’ve tracked their Emiras — how accurate are the readings from the Emira’s built-in tire pressure sensors compared to a good-quality traditional tire pressure gauge? I’m used to monitoring track pressures with a gauge, but I’ve never had a car that actually displays real-time pressures. Thx

 

[OppositeLock]

The TPMS is ok for the street, but to save battery, it only measures and reports pressures once in a while, and when you're at the track, they're all over the place.

I still use my trusty old track pressure gauge. As a first attempt, I ran recommended street pressures as my hot track pressures, and that seemed too high based on tire wear.