A while back I installed some satin black Apex SM-10RS wheels to accommodate much wider tires (265 in the front and 305 in the rear). I also wanted to drop down to 19” wheels versus 20” to get more sidewall. To fit that I had to modify the suspension. You can read about those projects here. The satin black wheels with Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are a great dry track setup, but I wanted something for the street that could double as a wet track setup. So I decided to get another set of Apex SM-10RS wheels but this time in satin bronze. The bronze looks great against the Oak Green paint. For street tires I went with Pilot Sport 4 S. Now I can keep the bronze on the car most of the time and swap them out for the track set on dry days. I will store the OEM silver wheels in case the next owner wants to go back to stock. But before I store the wheels perhaps I should burn up the tires doing so autocross or burnouts :)
Here is the track setup (since this picture was taken I have removed the center caps because I melted the APEX ones while on the track).
Here is the street setup (I put in OEM stain black GT4 center caps with I think is an interesting contrast).
Ride report: Its hard to know if the street tires are the sole contributor to this but the GT4 feels softer and more forgiving with these street tires compared to the track tires. That would make sense but it’s hard for me to prove it. I would guess that the Pilot Sport 4S has a softer sidewall. It certainly has more tread than the track tires. The compound is also different than the track tires, so my hypothesis is that the combination of these things creates a softer, tamer, more forgiving ride compared to the Pilot Sport Cup 2. So far I am very happy with this street setup just as I am happy with my track setup.