It doesn't take much to make me happy, but a Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE at Nelson Ledges with five sets of tyres ranging from treadwear 300 to treadwear 100... well that's a very easy place to be happy.
The reason for this test was to see if a lower treadwear value, which is a number the American Uniform Tyre Quality Grade (UTQG) standards body assign to a tyre based on a basic wear test, really does mean more grip, but it turned out to be a fascinating insight into some of the big hitting tyres used on track in North America.
The surprise of the show was the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3. Sadly this tyre isn't available in Europe, and sits somewhere between the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S and Cup 2. Dynamically it's outstanding for its sector, with crisp steering and great feedback, and good grip to match, finishing just a little slower than the Cup 2.
The Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, which is a UUHP road tyre, almost matched the one lap pace of the Toyo R888R, which is either very good for the Michelin or very bad for the Toyo. The internet seems to love the R888R, so perhaps it works better in smaller sizes on lighter cars, but on this 305/30 R19 it was a difficult tyre at the limit. If you drove at 9/10th, it felt great, but when you tried to extract the final pace from the tyre is gave very poor feedback and seemingly random grip.
As for the original question, does a lower treadwear rating mean more grip, if we ignore the Toyo yes it does, but thanks to the Toyo, in this test, it does not.
The Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 R offers extremely high levels of grip, even compared to the Cup 2. The steering is heavy, offering excellent feedback and a high speed of direction change. When the tyres are in their operating temperature window, the grip is unrivaled in this test, and it gives you the ability to adjust your lines at the limit of grip. Extremely fast track tyre.
The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 performs as expected from the Cup 2, it offers high levels of grip and is very easy to drive for a track tyre, however it breaks into understeer earlier than the SuperCar 3.
The Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar 3 is a very impressive road / track hybrid tyre. The steering is well weighted, quick and direct, offering good feedback and sportier levels of driving than even the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2. The grip levels are very high, with the lap time a second ahead of the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. This is an outstanding road tyre on track, and the surprise of the test for me.
The Toyo R888R is a difficult tyre to drive at the very limit. At 8/10th the tyre feels sporty with direct steering and a nice weighting, however when you get to the limit the tyres balance moves around without much feedback, and once past the limit of grip is oversteers very quickly. The tyre also produces a lot of tread pattern noise at speed.
Considering the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S is the most road focused tyre in this track test, it was very impressive. There is the usual 4S delay to the steering, especially compared to the SuperCar 3, and the steering is light and non communicative. However this would be the best tyre in the wet, and offers road levels of comfort. Impressive all round ability.
