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Track Tyres in Winter



The Psychedelic Socialist

ClioSport Club Member
I tried posting in the Focus ST forum but it's a bit of a ghost town compared to CS....

How sketchy is it running a daily on what are basically track tyres in the winter / wet?

My ST has P Zero Corsas fitted which seems to be in the same class as things like the Cup 2 (https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyre-Tests/The-BEST-Track-Day-Tyres-for-2024.htm) albeit being a bit better in the wet and a bit worse in the dry.

But how terrible will it be in winter? I live in Norfolk so 'winter' really just means a bit wet and below 7°C and I haven't seen snow in years.

Will it be like running full-on ditchfinders, or just not quite as good as something like a PS4S at 10/10ths but perfectly adequate for the most part?
 

R3k1355

ClioSport Club Member
They look pretty decent tbh

Pirelli-P-Zero-Corsa.jpg
 

The Psychedelic Socialist

ClioSport Club Member
Ive ran semi slicks through winter years ago and they can be a bit loose in lower temps. You wont die if your driving steady.
Good to hear. Would be nice if I can still push on though. My old Fiesta was still quick enough in winter though that had the benefit of PS5s.
They look pretty decent tbh

View attachment 1740088
Yeah, it's a reasonable tread pattern and the fact it scored highest in that tyre test in wet conditions gives me some hope they'll be decent.

Might all be academic though if I use them up at CSF and replace them with a set of PZ5s or PS4Ss in autumn.
 

McGherkin

McPension
ClioSport Club Member
You’re not going to be pushing on if it’s cold and wet, but if you’re not careless and don’t go smashing through standing water at 70mph you’ll live.

I wouldn’t call semislicks in winter an enjoyable experience.
 

RSRowe

ClioSport Club Member
  Megane 250 Cup
Concur with the above. Poor water clearing and the temps really do make life difficult (as you can’t put enough energy into the rubber).

Obviously you’ll be fine, but you certainly won’t be pushing on.
 

The Psychedelic Socialist

ClioSport Club Member
Yeah, I know I'll never be able to push on in winter like I can in summer regardless of tyre choice.

I guess my question was really, how much worse is a track focused tyre like the Corsa compared to a decent summer tyre like the PS5 when it gets cold and wet. Night and day, or only really noticeable above 7/10ths?
 

McGherkin

McPension
ClioSport Club Member
Yeah, I know I'll never be able to push on in winter like I can in summer regardless of tyre choice.

I guess my question was really, how much worse is a track focused tyre like the Corsa compared to a decent summer tyre like the PS5 when it gets cold and wet. Night and day, or only really noticeable above 7/10ths?
I’m speaking from the terms of AD08R and R888R, Maxxsport RB5 etc but those tyres are night and day worse than a Pilot Sport 4/5 when it’s cold and wet. Hands down.

But what you have is more like a Cup 2 where it’s a bit like a semi slick but designed to still have some road manners in adverse conditions because OEs don’t want to fit full blown semislicks on a car that they’re going to sell to a customer who’s going to drive it out of the dealership mid winter.
 

The Psychedelic Socialist

ClioSport Club Member
I’m speaking from the terms of AD08R and R888R, Maxxsport RB5 etc but those tyres are night and day worse than a Pilot Sport 4/5 when it’s cold and wet. Hands down.

But what you have is more like a Cup 2 where it’s a bit like a semi slick but designed to still have some road manners in adverse conditions because OEs don’t want to fit full blown semislicks on a car that they’re going to sell to a customer who’s going to drive it out of the dealership mid winter.
That's a fair point. I keep forgetting I'm not driving a modified car any more and that the onus is on Ford (not me) to ensure the car is actually driveable as sold.
 

RSRowe

ClioSport Club Member
  Megane 250 Cup
I guess my question was really, how much worse is a track focused tyre like the Corsa compared to a decent summer tyre like the PS5 when it gets cold and wet. Night and day, or only really noticeable above 7/10ths?
It's night and day the moment you get to a wet/cold/wet and cold roundabout and the car does nothing.
It's definitely noticeable at low speeds.
 

Clio_fool

ClioSport Club Member
I ran the clio through winter with 651 sports on and as long as I drove like it was a 1.2 clio not an RS they didn't try to kill me.
651.jpg

The Michelin pilot super sport on the M2 (oe fitment) are w**k in anything under 10°c and the car behaved like a fiesta on maccies trays. Get some PS4/5 for winter.
 


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