FL5 on Cup 2 – uneven front wear (inner-centre rib), track direction or alignment?

[MainMind]

Hi all,

Looking for experience from other FL5 owners running Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 (265/30ZR19 93Y, OEM size) on track.

Context: track days at Circuito de Navarra (Spain), which runs clockwise, so right-handers dominate and the front-left is the loaded outside tyre most of the lap. Car otherwise stock suspension and alignment, Ferodo DS2500 pads.

Previous day: a set of Cup 2s ended up with clearly faster wear on the centre/inner-centre rib. I suspect I ran them over-pressure that day (I didn't bleed hot pressures closely), so I moved them to the rear.

This time I fitted a new pair on the front and monitored pressures closely every session:

• Cold start (in the shade): 2.2 bar F / 2.1 bar R
• Hot, measured within 2 min of stopping: 2.45–2.5 bar F / 2.3–2.4 bar R (Michelin's window is 2.3–2.7 hot)
• Ambient 26–31 °C

I also took thermal images right after each session.
Note: this is an uncalibrated consumer thermal camera measuring surface temperature, so treat the absolute values as a rough reference only. What I'm relying on is the difference between zones and between tyres, taken with the same camera, method and timing. Front tyres, second session (approx.):

• FL: inner ~88 °C / centre ~73 °C / outer ~72 °C
• FR: inner ~81 °C / centre ~71 °C / outer ~67 °C

So the centre was not the hottest zone, but the inner shoulder ran 15–20 °C hotter than the outer on both sides, and FL ran about 5 °C hotter than FR overall.

Result: wear is much milder than last time, but I can still see the same pattern starting: the rib next to the inner groove (the softer, wet-oriented compound on the Cup 2) is cleaner and more worn than the rest, and it looks a bit more pronounced on the FL.


Questions:

1. Has anyone seen this inner-centre rib wear on Cup 2 with an FL5? Is it typical for this tyre on this car?
2. Would you put it down to the track (clockwise, lots of loaded right-handers) or is it a sign to check alignment, e.g. too much static negative camber or toe for this pace, or a left/right difference within Honda's factory tolerance?
3. For those who've had an FL5 aligned for track use, what front camber and toe are you running on Cup 2s, and did it even out the wear?

Thanks!

 

[Ic@ns33urhrt]

Same thing happened to my cup 2s. Ruined the tires. Not sure if more camber would help. Getting camber joints put on to increase camber to help with tire wear on track. Also, moved on to Nankangs.