Michelin PS2 tire pressures for a DE

[MikenOH]

I've got a DE coming up in a few weeks and wondered what tire pressures others have used with this tire during a DE. Thanks for any help.

[Chris C Atlanta]

Miken - I ran my PS2s at my normal street pressures 34/35 and they did fine. Hot temps were in low 40s. Ambient temp was 85 degrees.

[MikenOH]

BTW, did you ever sell your 19" wheels?

[986Jim]

What in the hell is a DE? Is it a drivers exam or something and they check your tires?

[Chris C Atlanta]

Driver's Education, high performance driving schools conducted on a racetrack put on by Porsche and BMW (and other) clubs.

[twilson]

A DE (Driver's Education)is a high performance driving school, usually sponsored by a car club.

I did one this past weekend on Michelin PS2's. I ran 41lbs front and 37lbs rear.I had some previous experieince using that combo. The Boxster was very loose in tighter turns --- you have to use as much of the track as possible. Those pressures worked okay (considering driver error) but nothing changed much when I went to 39 rear and 34 front just to see what would happen. So, with those two extremes under my belt, I would say I would start with Factory specs plus 2 lbs. and work your way up or down depending on the tires and reaction of the car.

[MikenOH]

the temps were in the high 40's and rain--not conducive to getting the tires warmed. I went with 35/37 (f/R) and it seemed pretty balanced. Wet traction was very good, almost amazing.

this past weekend we did the evo auto-x school, in similar temps, and I went roughly 40/40 Hot; I think I could have used bit more in the front but overall it wasn' bad. Have to say, the turn in compared to Victoracers just wasn't there--these tires have traction but they almost feel like a touring tire unless you get the pressures way up. Pilot Sport Ribs ( or MXX3) have much firmer sidewalls and corresponding sharper flexes. These are great around town tires but my next track set wil be different; maybe the Falken 615. BTW, my extra set came with the PS2's.

[986Jim]

Cool, sounds like you had fun. I would like to do one of those days. It's funny how bad a driver you really are once you show up to the track and realize that you really do suck lol.. I did a Driver for a Day thing in a 944 Turbo and wasn't allowed to take the car out of 3rd all the way around the track. It had lots of power through the whole gear and even without shifting at the track I still was only able to post mediocre track times. Funny, being aggressive is not nearly as fast as being smooth, one thing I learned quite quickly.

[edevlin]

"Miken - I ran my PS2s at my normal street pressures 34/35 and they did fine. Hot temps were in low 40s. Ambient temp was 85 degrees."

What size wheels are you running with those pressures? I just got a new set of PS2's with 18" wheels 8" front, 10" rears. I have put about 400 miles on the tires and have yet to find a good tire pressure combination. The factory spec pressure seems to make the car pretty loose, I am not sure if loose is the proper term. I feel what seems like tread squirm when cornering. Any additional pressure recommendations for my tire/wheel setup would be appreciated.

Ed

[Topless]

If you are new to "Tracking" your car I recommend starting with high pressure. About 35 cold is a good place to start. This will give you crisp turn in and a stiffer sidewall which will prolong tire life while you work on your skills. Forget lap times and focus on learning the line and smooth balanced carving turns. I have seen aggressive new drivers destroy a $1000 set of tires in one day by pushing too hard around the course with low tire pressures.

[trev0006]

I have mine at 36psi cold, any more my ride quality goes down

Originally Posted by Topless

If you are new to "Tracking" your car I recommend starting with high pressure. About 40/40 cold is a good place to start. This will give you crisp turn in and a stiffer sidewall which will prolong tire life while you work on your skills. Forget lap times and focus on learning the line and smooth balanced carving turns. I have seen aggressive new drivers destroy a $1000 set of tires in one day by pushing too hard around the course with low tire pressures.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by trev0006

I have mine at 36psi cold, any more my ride quality goes down

5 years later I agree. I fixed it.

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by MikenOH

I've got a DE coming up in a few weeks and wondered what tire pressures others have used with this tire during a DE. Thanks for any help.

On those tires (18s) I found that I started to melt the tread block at 36 cold but this was on a tight technical track ... hard on tires

You might want to keep an eye on them and take out a couple of pounds for later sessions. Seems counter intuitive but it seemed to work for me at the time

[Burg Boxster]

Originally Posted by Topless

5 years later I agree. I fixed it.

You mean 6