Track Tyres in Winter

The Psychedelic Socialist · Thursday at 10:16 AM

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?

Brigsy · Thursday at 10:31 AM

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.

R3k1355 · Thursday at 10:34 AM

They look pretty decent tbh

The Psychedelic Socialist · Thursday at 10:39 AM

Brigsy said:
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.

R3k1355 said:
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 · Thursday at 10:43 AM

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 · Thursday at 10:49 AM

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 · Thursday at 10:52 AM

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?

Brigsy · Thursday at 10:58 AM

If you want to drive quick on non dry days then change tyre for something suitable for lower temps. PS4S,PS5 or whatever, grip will be much better.

andybond · Thursday at 11:14 AM

I found that some tyres don’t like the cold.

PS4S and Contisport 5 were not lethal in sub 8 degrees, but certainly took some serious effort to get temp into the tyre.

They were excellent in the rain though.

Drive for the winter conditions and not expecting a dry summers day grip and you will be fine.

McGherkin · Thursday at 11:20 AM

The Psychedelic Socialist said:
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 · Thursday at 11:45 AM

McGherkin said:
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 · Thursday at 12:17 PM

The Psychedelic Socialist said:
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.

The Psychedelic Socialist · Thursday at 12:18 PM

RSRowe said:
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.

I'd best get them used up now then before it turns cold...

adamlstr · Thursday at 12:38 PM

R3k1355 said:
They look pretty decent tbh

View attachment 1740088

These are my ‘winter tyres’ for the Porsche, man up.

Clio_fool · Thursday at 5:20 PM

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.

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.

Brigsy · Thursday at 9:23 PM

The Psychedelic Socialist said:
I'd best get them used up now then before it turns cold...

Anglesey will see off the fronts. Maybe all 4 if your doing full day

Mr Trailer Man · 2025-04-25T09:06:32+0100

Brigsy said:
Anglesey will see off the fronts. Maybe all 4 if your doing full day

I took 4-5mm off a brand new set of AD08R on the Clio at Anglesey on a damp day in March one year 😂

Flob · 2025-04-25T09:24:07+0100

The Psychedelic Socialist said:
I'd best get them used up now then before it turns cold...

Or just buy another set of winter wheels?

Cross climates on one set, track ready stuff on the other. Best of both worlds.

The Psychedelic Socialist · 2025-04-25T09:35:54+0100

Flob said:
Or just buy another set of winter wheels?

Cross climates on one set, track ready stuff on the other. Best of both worlds.

A second set of the 19s would be another £1,500 which is more than I'd want to spend really given CSF will probably be my only track day (and I really want to keep the OE look).

I think I'll just aim to get my money's worth from the Corsas this summer / CSF, then replace with PS4s, PZ5s or SC7s in late autumn.

Flob · 2025-04-25T14:31:16+0100

You have not used man maths well, not at all.

I really like 2 sets of wheels because winter tyres are so good in cold weather but so s**t for the rest of the year and you end up averaging wear so summers feel like they last ages... also my summer wheels stayed mint and didn't get all horrid and corroded. You likely save money doing it and still have a set of wheels to sell at the end.

npt · 2025-04-25T14:48:27+0100

I would defo recommend fitting a good set of all weather's for winter, them p zeros are a summer tyre really.
I run goodyear vector 4s in winter and they are fine in the snow/rain, other tyre I run is the ps4s for summer, it's not the best in very cold weather imo

Clio_fool · 2025-04-25T15:13:54+0100

Mr Trailer Man said:
I took 4-5mm off a brand new set of AD08R on the Clio at Anglesey on a damp day in March one year 😂

😳😳😳
Removes M2 from track time at CSF. 😂

Mr Trailer Man · 2025-04-25T15:26:08+0100

Clio_fool said:
😳😳😳
Removes M2 from track time at CSF. 😂

Drive steady 😂

You'll only lose 2mm then.

The Psychedelic Socialist · 2025-04-25T15:44:57+0100

Flob said:
You have not used man maths well, not at all.

I really like 2 sets of wheels because winter tyres are so good in cold weather but so s**t for the rest of the year and you end up averaging wear so summers feel like they last ages... also my summer wheels stayed mint and didn't get all horrid and corroded. You likely save money doing it and still have a set of wheels to sell at the end.

Hmmm, I am the persuadable type....

I'm assuming that something less track focused like a PS4S or PZ5 would still be better than the Corsas in the summer, in the wet.

If so, I'll probably junk the Corsas late this year, then see how I get on with the slightly less aggressive summers over winter. (East Anglian winters have been pretty lame of late)

In spring I'll probably be looking at Mountune M330 upgrade so then I can revisit the second set of wheels / winter tyres in autumn '26.

-Jamie- · 2025-04-25T16:49:12+0100

Get AD09s, they will be better in every condition and still work when it's dank out

Flob · 2025-04-25T17:38:34+0100

Clio_fool said:
😳😳😳
Removes M2 from track time at CSF. 😂

It was never on the list you fanny.

Clio_fool · 2025-04-25T19:44:57+0100

Flob said:
It was never on the list you fanny.

Like your Jaaaaag is never going to Germany.

I'll see you in the gentlemens club.

Flob · 2025-04-25T20:24:09+0100

Clio_fool said:
Like your Jaaaaag is never going to Germany.

I'll see you in the gentlemens club.

Have they accepted your application Porl?

I think it will make it there, I don't know if it will also make it back...

Clio_fool · 2025-04-25T22:50:11+0100

Flob said:
Have they accepted your application Porl?

I think it will make it there, I don't know if it will also make it back...

Is the BM too asbo?

I'm sure if the jag invades Germany it'll make it home again. Stick some union Jack's on it for good measure 🇬🇧

Yarp · 2025-04-25T23:03:57+0100

McGherkin said:
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.

R888R are f**king hilarious in the wet. Would highly recommend a set in the winter if you want 29/10 danger levels.

Search

Search

Track Tyres in Winter

The Psychedelic Socialist

Brigsy

R3k1355

The Psychedelic Socialist

McGherkin

McPension

RSRowe

The Psychedelic Socialist

Brigsy

andybond

McGherkin

McPension

The Psychedelic Socialist

RSRowe

The Psychedelic Socialist

adamlstr

Clio_fool

Brigsy

Mr Trailer Man

Flob

The Psychedelic Socialist

Flob

npt

Clio_fool

Mr Trailer Man

The Psychedelic Socialist

-Jamie-

Flob

Clio_fool

Flob

Clio_fool

Yarp

Similar threads