The Corvette C8 equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tiresForbesAs crazy as it might sound, tires are one of a performance car's most important pieces of equipment. The tires essentially translate a car's power and handling dynamics and the driver's input into performance, gripping the road and clinging its curves—or not.Performance tires are highly tuned and specialized to help deliver the experience the car maker intended, and makers of high performance cars spend a lot of time collaborating with tire makers to ensure this.But can a performance tire do double duty, allowing safe and confident driving on city streets and still deliver a highly tuned experience on the track? Michelin took us out on the company's test track to experience one of their most popular sport tires, the Pilot Sport 4 S, and then let us feel the performance of the highly specialized Pilot Sport Cup 2R performance tire to see the difference.Street-To-Track Tires Do Double DutyThe first car we lapped the track in was a Toyota Supra equipped with Pilot Sport 4 S tires, one of the most popular performance tires on the road. These tires are designed to allow the car to deliver all that the car is capable of, both on street drives and on the track. And though most owners won't take their sports car on a track, but it's nice to know that you can if you'd like to.AdvertisementAdvertisementBut that performance can be found on highway on-ramps and twisty mountain roads where a highly competent tire can allow a bit more speed and control.And that's how it felt on the track in Laurens, South Carolina where we put these tires to the test. Our test driver, Derek Secord, senior subjective test driver at Michelin, pushed the Supra to its limits hitting well over 100 MPH on the track and maintaining a thrilling speed through the curves. In the passenger's seat I could really feel the Supra holding tight to the road.The Toyota Supra equipped with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires on the wet track at Michelin's proving grounds in Laurens, South CarolinaDon't Discount the Weather, EitherTrack days are usually optimal weather days, but that's not the case for our daily drives. We frequently encounter rain, mist, freezing temperatures and more and our tires need to perform in all conditions. The Pilot Sport 4 S is designed to accommodate.To see just how well these tires perform in rainy conditions, we took the Supra out Michelin's wet track, a circular track lined with sprinklers that keep the water flowing.This time, I got behind the wheel; I'd driven both a BMW and Chrysler Pacifica on the wet track, and I'd tested a Toyota Camry on a wet track. But this time was different.I expected competence, as I'd experienced in the two earlier test drives. What I didn't expect was performance—as in, fast, capable, sporty performance. While I had to drive slower on the wet track than I might on the dry track, I could feel the Supra gripping the pavement despite the rain. The tires allowed me to keep my speed up nicely and stay the course through every curve, no extra braking necessary. This test showed the real integrity of these tires, allowing track-worthy sport performance in rainy as well as dry conditions.The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires installed on a CorvetteTrue Performance Cars Demand True Performance TiresCreating the ultimate tires for the ultimate sports car might be the pinnacle of a tire maker's job. For Michelin, that's the Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires. These are specially developed to handle the torque and horsepower, as well as the suspension and handling of a small group of supercars, and while they are fine for street driving, they are designed for track performance. They are included as original equipment on the Corvette C8, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS and GT3 RS, the Ferrari 488 Pista, 296 GTB and F80; the Ford Mustang GTD and Mercedes-AMG Black Series. While the Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires can be purchased by anyone and cost about $3,500 a set, they may not be ideal for every sports car since they are better suited for track driving than daily street driving.AdvertisementAdvertisementTo experience these, Secord took us out in a Corvette C8 to experience the Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires. And while we didn't get to test out a competitive set of tires to feel the difference, what we did experience was pretty incredible.As Secord ramped up the power of the C8 to launch off the line, I could feel the tires gripping and resisting the power buildup, and when he let off the brake for a full launch, I could feel the car shuddering as the tires gripped the pavement for an optimal full-power launch. From there the Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires, which have a racing-style low tread design and built of sticky compound materials, gave the C8 as much grip as it needed to maintain the optimal drive line. That's how post-100MPH speeds on a track happen: by design.Coming back into the pit after laps on the track, it was clear: The sticky, low tread tires might deliver a disappointing performance on the Toyota Supra, especially in the rain or in cold temperatures. And while the Pilot Sport 4 S tires might be fine on the Corvette for daily jaunts around town, they could leave much of the C8's performance untapped. And that would be a shame in both cases.This article was originally published on Forbes.com