monroepaul

I want to get a set of R compound tires this year for the half dozen HPDEs that I plan to do.(I did 4 events last season)I have an 02 Z06. In addition to the C6Z06 repros that I run in the street I have 4-stock c5 Z06 rear rims (18 x 10.5) and 2 stock (17x 9.5) I'm not sure which tires to get and which combination of tire size, rims, etc. to use so I'm looking for some input.
The other question I have is will it be possible to drive to the track with these tires or do I have to make other arrangements. I was planning on picking a set of mud flaps for track events to try to keep whats left of the clear on my rockers anyway.

AU N EGL

If you are driving to and from the track, then Nitto 555RII or BFG KDW2 would be a good choice. Not quite R compounds but close. and still street tires.


for the 18x10.5s you can put 18x315x35 or 305x35s

The 17x9.5 put the widest tire you can on there.

Good Luck

John Shiels

BFG KDW

monroepaul

Can I run 18 x 10.5s for the front and back?

rhneff

Absolutely - it's done all the time. I did it on my 02 Z06, and still have that setup for my rain tires, works fine.

JimbeauZ06

I've seen some BFG KDWs get badly chunked. I'm not sure which compound they use, but they appear to be more street oriented with pretty deep tread. I went with the Nitto 555RIIs which I could drive on the street even though I try to avoid it. Nitto does consider them "road race" tires and they don't need to be shaved to avoid chunking. Kumho V710 are what I see most 'Vettes run if they trailer to the track.

WNeal

My 06 Handles great with that setup and you can then rotate your tires to maximize the life on them.

gonzalezfj

If you are running 710s you will get your azz handed to you by someone running Hoosiers.

Frank Gonzalez

beerkat

I ran the BFG KDW2 last year with NASA-SE HPDE 2 and 3. The tires still have enough tread life to work as street tires for a good while. I did not notice any unexceptional chunking. I moved to the NT01 315/35/17 all around for this season.

JimbeauZ06

Lighten up Francis. He's talking DE tires not racing. If you want to spend the extra $ so you can hand someone their azz in a DE go right ahead.

jcmbird

I'm selling some nitto 555rII's soon. About 5 hpde days run. fronts and rears off my 04 zo6 [stock wheels] if anyone interested. No issues, last year tires.

0Vector Vette

If you are serious about your HPDE events, than run the Hoosier R6. If you are really serious about it, then run Hoosier A6. However, neither of these should be driven on the street at all. As for sizes, I know it is popular to run the same size all the way around. This can be advantageous to you if you are running street tires because of the ability to rotate them. On a race tire though, we never rotate them. In fact, we mark them so they always go on the same place. I would recomend running the 315-18 on the rear 18 x 10.5, and 275 -17 on the front 17 x 9.5. Many like to put a wider tire than that on the front, thinking more is better. More is better, if you can balance it with more on the rear as well. When was the last time you saw a Corvette come from GM with the same size tires all the way around? There is a reason for that. Your car should be pretty well balanced with those sizes.

What you have to decide is do you want to compromise performance or convenience.

gonzalezfj

Nah. I'm not uptight. I used 710s for two seasons. They are not bad tires, it's just that the Hoosier R6s give better grip, longer life and are more predictable at the limit.

Some people in this forum have also indicated that the 710s last longer. That has NOT been my experience. For the last two seasons, my R6s have lasted considerably longer than the 710s used to.

So, why do you think the Hoosier cost will be higher than the Kumhos?

This is a friendly discussion. No need to get upset.

Frank Gonzalez

tmak26b

RA1s, all the other tires mentioned are jokes in comparsion (except 710s and hoosiers, of course they cant drive 10 hours).

Before I get bitched at for recommending the RA1s, I had over 10K miles on it. I did 6 track events, 8 autox and drove 10 hours straight on them. Not a problem. Heck I even popped the beads on them, got it back and drove it home