[-Rooster-]

Watched msquared’s linked video. To be honest, that’s more of an endorsement of using track tires on track instead of summer tires than it is an endorsement of summer tires over all-seasons off-track in warm weather.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by -Rooster-

Sweet, thanks for the intel. To be fair, track days keep heat in the tires, so a 35-degree track day isn’t a 35-degree drive to Asheville, but 40F and wet is very, very impressive.

I also use these same tires as my daily tires, and they will be on my car through the early cold snaps in St. Louis until the threat of ice/snow or sub-20F temps presents itself.

Watched msquared’s linked video. To be honest, that’s more of an endorsement of using track tires on track instead of summer tires than it is an endorsement of summer tires over all-seasons off-track in warm weather.

To the former, ECS or PS4S tires definitely won't be as fast on a dry track as a dedicated track/competition tire. I assumed that wasn't what you were really asking. The question you posted was whether they would hold up to a couple track days per year. The answer is, "Yes, they will, especially if you aren't at 10/10ths for a full 20-minute session." To the latter, did you not see the wet track times? The ECS did a 70.1s time, while the all-season was 2.1 seconds slower and only 0.2s faster than the track tire!

[-Rooster-]

Originally Posted by Msquared

I also use these same tires as my daily tires, and they will be on my car through the early cold snaps in St. Louis until the threat of ice/snow or sub-20F temps presents itself.


To the former, ECS or PS4S tires definitely won't be as fast on a dry track as a dedicated track/competition tire. I assumed that wasn't what you were really asking. The question you posted was whether they would hold up to a couple track days per year. The answer is, "Yes, they will, especially if you aren't at 10/10ths for a full 20-minute session." To the latter, did you not see the wet track times? The ECS did a 70.1s time, while the all-season was 2.1 seconds slower and only 0.2s faster than the track tire!

I was impressed with the A/S on the hot, dry track and with the summer tire on the wet track. There is the caveat he mentioned of the water being a uniform very low depth. I wonder if the A/S or the summer sheds water better. No matter though, both are good enough in hydroplaning resistance.

But the difference from the A/S to the summer tire on the dry track was much smaller than expected. Bring a track tire to the track makes perfect sense. I’ll get there in time.

Maybe I’m too cautious with the A/S4 over the winter here. But, when we’re talking about the car I cart my family around in, that’s the way to err.

[TransamGTA350]

I have experience with both the Michelin PS4S and the Goodyear SC3, do track days with my 1LE and live in a cold climate (Connecticut). OP, I completely understand your concerns with tire choice, especially given all of the CYA warnings the tire manufacturers give these days. I have Michelin PS4S on my Tesla Model S and Goodyear SC3 on my Camaro 1LE. Yes they are on different cars, but I've driven both tires under varying conditions and have a good feel for what they are and what they can and can't do.

The Tesla with the PS4S is my daily driver and I drive it year round, unless it snows. When it snows, I drive my 4wd Silverado. I'm very impressed with these tires. They are sticky in the warm weather and are excellent in the rain and wear very well for a high performance summer tire. I have 20,000 miles on them and should get another 10,000 before they are worn out. I do drive the car on cold dry days in the winter. No issue down to 30 degrees outside. 20-30 degrees, need to be a little careful, just don't push too hard around corners until they warm up. I've driven them down to 10 degrees outside and they weren't very happy down there, could definitely feel that there wasn't a lot of grip. No cracking or damage to the tires, just low grip. I don't drive it much when it's that cold anyway since the battery range is significantly reduced at those temperatures, so I drive the truck during those times. I have not run these tires on a track day, but I know some friends who have. They are good for novice track drivers, for 2-3 hot laps or a rainy track. More than a few consecutive laps on a dry track and they will start overheating and feel greasy. The best explanation for these tires are that they are a great high performance street tire that you can take on the track.

My 1LE is a nice day fun car/track day car and it's garaged for the winter months. On this car I have the factory Goodyear Supercar 3 tires. I would consider them a track tire that you can drive on the street and would not want to use these tires on a daily driver. On the street, they need some heat to start gripping properly and below 50 degrees outside you can really feel the loss of grip. I've driven them down to 35 degrees and they felt like the PS4S's at 15 degrees. I've driven them in light rain and they were OK, but I would be nervous about hydroplaning on the highway in heavy rain. The are also only good for about 10,000 miles of street driving, so that's also not too practical for a daily driver. Now, on the track these tires are awesome. They need a warmup lap and then they really start to grip and then can take a lot of heat before getting greasy. For a nice day car/track car, these are a great tire.

For the OP, with the climate in South Carolina and using the car as a daily driver, two sets of wheels and tires makes sense. My suggestion is to run the PS4S as the street tire year round and for rainy track days. I would not worry about the cold weather, they will be fine. Then, have another set of wheels/tires just for the track and try out different track tires. The SC3's are a good choice for a beginner track tire as are the Michelin Cup 2's. When you're ready for them, the Goodyear SC3r's are even better. However, those are really a track tire that is barely street legal and will get you to and from the track and that's about it.

Hope this helps. Good luck

[-Rooster-]

That is very helpful. Thank you very much for posting.

[FactoryMatt]

wonder how the ECS 02 compares to Yokohama Advan V601 at higher temps (light track). the MP4/ECS are clearly better in the cold/wet, but there seem to be aencdotal reports the V601 is more stable and consistent with heat in them? even if the max grip level is slightly lower at 'optimum' temps. i sure would like to know....