So there it is - another IS-F with Enkei PF01, 18X9,5 ET45. I did put on them Michelin Cup2 265x35x18 tyres, square setup.
Rims fit perfectly (thanks to this forum), but there is hardly enough space in the front for these Cup2s - I guess they are wider then nominal and they leave literally 3-4mm between tyre and suspension element!

I was so scared, but there is no rubbing at all even on track







How does it handle?
It's a different car compared to OEM sized PSS. Front sticks so much that it's almost impossible to get any understeer on public road! I was amazed.
But of course I had to test it on tack, so I went to some local track, which I know pretty well to see how car behaves, before I hit some serious staff (=Nordschleife).

Grip is immense, car is better balanced, but because of square setup, car is a bit more tail happy, but still very controllable. However in slow sections you can still get understeer. I was testing pressures and in the end I realized that I was running on too high pressure: 2.6 bar hot. Apparently optimum for these tyres on a heavy car like ours is 2.2 bar, but I didn't have time to check this out.

Time compared to PSS improved by 2-3s per lap (2:00 vs 2:03) and I guess with lower pressure it would be even better.
Here is some short video:

Look:
Well, initially I didn't like it and I only bought them 'to be functional'. But now when I did put my OEM wheels back on, I'm missing 'racing and raw' look of them. And I'm missing the front grip, especially when taking some highway exits in a more 'dynamic' way

Overall I think these are great rims for reasonable price, I couldn't get anything better.

 

Love hearing your impressions of the cup2’s! I’ve been trying to figure out what to go with for a track setup... need much more front end grip on the track than at the stock sizing.

 

Nice car, nice track, nice driving, the only compromise is the wheel to fender gap but if the car handles better who cares cheers.

 

...good stuff, thanks for showing us. On the track the ISF is another animal with a wider squared setup & sticky rubber.

 

Nice video, car seems to fly by everyone else

 

Thanks, indeed the 'look factor' could be improved, but I don't care for the moment - wheels and ProjectMu HC+ pads in front are the only mods.

 

That's what I needed too. I can't believe that this car is so much under-tired from the factory.
I'm very happy with CUP2s, but these are also my first semi-slicks, so I don't have comparison. However my good friend with M3 e90 tried several tyres and he liked CUP2s, so I followed.

 

Indeed, for those who track their F, forget all other mods, get proper wheels / tyres first.

 

Pretty much, but not sure if you saw the moment with Integra Type R (last 2-3 minutes) - this one was surprisingly quick!

 

Thanks for sharing, now all you need is the rr-racing penske shocks their usrs bushing and the handling transformation will be complete . I my self will be going the bridgestone re71r route basically a cheater slick and much cheaper then the cup2. How is the road noise? my current hankook rs2 are howling like a ****. The michelin pss were much quiter .

nazdrowie

 

Nice set-up, Piciu..

I hope to get a similar 18" set-up for summer/track wheels next year.


If you haven't tried this already, a nice improvement in front end grip can be had by running 255/35/19 (OEM size for rear). They fit fine on the 2012+ front wheels.

-Mike

 

I don't think I will invest that much in this car, as I'm thinking about selling it in 1 year time and getting some cheaper / lighter track toy. I'm missing manual transmission so much! And anyway there is a lot to do between seat and steering wheel
I didn't drive these tyres much on highway and on track I had a helmet, but from driving at around 60 mph I would say they are surprisingly quiet - on the level of my OEM sized PSSes.
I've heard good stuff about RE71R, but it's really difficult to them in Europe - the most popular are Federals 595 and Cup2 I would say.

 

Thanks Mike!
I didn't know 255s will fit 2021 wheels - it means one could get square setup on OEM!
I have 2008 wheels, so my choices are limited. Decided to keep OEM size on OEM wheels and get these Enkeis, as I was sick of having my road tyres destroyed so quickly and then driving on them in all sort of conditions. Having track wheels kind of improves your safety when you DD your F, so if somebody is hesitating, I really recommend going for new set of wheels.

 

One more photo, this time from the track with beautiful GT3 RS in the background

 

Thanks for the pics. Car looks great! I've been thinking of running the PF01's with 275/35/18 summer tires (RS4/RE71R) myself too and will be going with the Project Mu HC+800 pads all around. Will probably also add the RR Racing USRS. Your pics just sealed the deal for me, not going to stress about the front fender gap at all as maybe that'll be phase 2 with a nice set of coils from RR Racing in a year or two.