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Depends on what you are aiming for. The Cup 2 is a streetable track tire that has less thread depth when new, so won't last as long. Initial thread depth of the Cup 2 is 7.2/32" if I remember correctly, whereas the PS4S starts at the typical 10/32" tread depth. The Cup 2 also doesn't handle wet conditions well. It's meant for mostly dry track and roads. It'll give you increased dry grip, handling and response compared to the PS4S, but the PS4S makes up for that in the wet. I've been debating trying a set of the Cup 2 since on average we have essentially 300 dry days a year here, so don't really need the wet traction for most of the year, but the lower initial tread depth has me hesitate. Not sure it's worth having to get new tires sooner. The PS4S is an amazing street performance tire and does very well in the canyons. It doesn't quite have as much dry grip as the Cup 2, but on the other I do like to break the rear tires loose and slide around occasionally. Not really looking for stickier tires, and I don't really wanna leave the car in the garage during the winter when it rains.
I really like the 30k mile tread warranty on the PS4S. In the USA, the the CUP2 doesn't have a tread warranty. More than once I've had PSS or PS4S tires wear out before the warranty mileage was up, and Michelin gave me credit towards a replacement set of PS4S.
I really like the 30k mile tread warranty on the PS4S. In the USA, the the CUP2 doesn't have a tread warranty. More than once I've had PSS or PS4S tires wear out before the warranty mileage was up, and Michelin gave me credit towards a replacement set of PS4S.
I've never bothered with the warranty and with a staggered setup it's only 15k miles due to not being able to rotate them, however, road hazard is typically not offered on the Cup 2. Tire Rack for example offers free road hazard on the PS4S and I've taken advantage of that program multiple times. There's no road hazard on the Cup 2. Definitely another factor to consider.
I have been tackling with this question for a while. I have ps4s currently and really do enjoy their performance. I have always been curious about the Cup 2's. Its hard for me to believe the cup 2's are much better on normal roads. I imagine they are just a bit better in track focused situations.
The Cup 2 also doesn't handle wet conditions well.
I'd second that. From my autocross and track day data captures, I found that the Cup 2 tires were only good for 0.6 G lateral grip in the wet, compared to 0.9 G lateral grip for the PS4S.
I've driven both Cup 2 and PS4S on the street in temps of 40 deg F to upper 80 deg F and found:
- Cup 2 is noisier and rougher riding than PS4S in all conditions
- Cup 2 gets progressively more stiff/rough below about 50 deg F
- at normal temps (say tread 45 deg C or less), the Cup 2 doesn't have much more dry traction than the PS4S
- subject to wet grip limitations, Cup 2 will virtually always handle better than PS4S
- when Cup 2 is up to operating temp, it will deliver about 0.2-0.25 G more lateral grip than PS4S
- without driving like a maniac, you can't get Cup 2 tires fully up to temp on public roads
(OK, maybe you could in 100+ def F air temps)
- Cup 2 has a wear rating of 180, compared to PS4S's rating of 300 (expect 1/2 the life from Cup 2)
@superswiss Does Michelin make a PS4S just for Mercedes? I went to Costco for a quote and there were several versions in that same tire size and I do not know which one to pick. Do you know if there is a particular indentifier that I need to look for?
Also I am going for 265F and 295R. Do you think this is a bad idea? Or should I stick to stock size?
@superswiss Does Michelin make a PS4S just for Mercedes? I went to Costco for a quote and there were several versions in that same tire size and I do not know which one to pick. Do you know if there is a particular indentifier that I need to look for?
Also I am going for 265F and 295R. Do you think this is a bad idea? Or should I stick to stock size?
They do for certain sizes. The newer AMG models come with PS4S from the factory, but so far the C63 sizes are not available in OE variant as of last time I checked. The designation you need to look for is MO or MO1. MO is the MB designation and MO1 is the AMG designation. There's also MO2 for some special AMG tires such as the GT Black Series special Cup 2 R tires.
@munis , correction looks like the fronts are now available as MO1 and the rears can be had in BMW Star variant for the coupe's 19/20 setup according to Tire Rack. I was waiting for the BMW Star variant, hoping to become available in the coupe's sizes. They are closer in dry performance to the Cup 2. Below is a good video comparing them to the standard PS4S. Looks like I'll be going for this setup next time I need new tires, or maybe by then the rears will be available as MO1 as well.
@munis , correction looks like the fronts are now available as MO1 and the rears can be had in BMW Star variant for the coupe's 19/20 setup according to Tire Rack. I was waiting for the BMW Star variant, hoping to become available in the coupe's sizes. They are closer in dry performance to the Cup 2. Below is a good video comparing them to the standard PS4S. Looks like I'll be going for this setup next time I need new tires, or maybe by then the rears will be available as MO1 as well.
I found this one Michelin's website, for our front size, these are the variations that are available:
These are for the rears:
What is the difference between the normal one and the star BSW again? @superswiss
That seems to line up with Tire Rack. The difference between the star and the regular PS4S is explained in the video I posted. In a nutshell, the star has a compound makeup that's closer to the Cup 2, so it offers more grip and performance in the dry, but isn't as good in the wet as the standard PS4S. Seems to be the ideal compromise between the standard PS4S and the Cup 2 if you want more grip w/o going all the way to the Cup 2 and deal with the reduced initial tread depth of the Cup 2 and the resulting lower tread life, and not needing to get as much heat into it as the Cup 2 requires before you actually get all that grip.
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