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I rode with the metzlers when i first started racing and they seemed pretty good to me, but back then I was going a hell of a lot slower on a bike with heaps less power ! , I moved on from the metzler pretty quickly due to issues with being able to get them when you wanted them.
Next I went to the Michelins, was using these in the superstock class, they weren't slicks as we don't run slicks in Superstock. The Michelins worked well but tended to move around a lot, it wasn't that bad once you got use to it , but it made me shit myself on more than one occasion, they tend to slide early but seem to be very predictable and easy to control when sliding. I went away from michelins as did several other riders when people started to have issues with them being 'out of round' they were causing a lot of front end chatter and uneven wear on the side walls , Michelin themselves didn't give a shit when the tyres were sent back, and just said , bad luck we're not giving your money back !! so with that type of customer service I decided to take my money elsewhere !
From there I went to Bridgestones. First time out on Bridgestones I thought something was wrong with the bike, it felt like I was riding on marbles !! but the tyre itself seems to have harder side walls so the ride is less plush....but after 1-2 laps they felt great ! lots of confidence and as sticky as all hell. Dropped my lap times on the bridgies and enjoyed riding on them but most of all I benifited from the advice from Wattsy, the local Bridgestone rep who is also an ex A grade racer, if you run Bridgies he'll generally help you with bike set up to suit the tyres , which as any racer will tell you is half the battle !
They stick really well, but when they slide they tend to be a bit more agresive when they let go, it's caught me out a few times, but most of the time it was ok and very controlable, Spining up and sliding out of the basin was something that I got use to and learnt to control fairly well on the Bridgies.
As with all tyres it's as much about your susspension as it is the tyres, don't think you can change tyres to fix your problems, different tyres require different susspension settings. Stick with a tyre long enough to dial in the susspension and you'll find that most tyres perform fairly well.
If you are riding around fairly slow 66 or slower then I tend to agree with Col, slicks won't quite get into their maximum performance range, they will still give you heaps of grip, but not much more than a treaded race tyre
Well that's My 2cents
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