FASTFATBOY

DE guys, what tire are you on?

What is your wheel/tire setup?

What is the cost vs longevity?

How is the grip over the life of the tire?

Where are you buying them?

Here's mine:

Stock C5 Z06(pretty much)

18x10.5 square setup

Was on Hankook RS3's, 285/35/18...these tires are 5 year old bricks, almost no grip. 21 sessions on these and 1/2 tread is still on them...they are going to tire heaven.


I like the NT-05 as I know this tire well, not the quickest out there...but they hold up well and grip stays pretty good till you kill the tread.

Hankook is no longer made in this size.


May be ready for race takeoffs, but would like to run a few sets of a middle of the road tire first.

So, post up...what tire are you on?

tmtraylor

I'm on my second set of R888, 295/18 square. (I used NT05 before these.)

1300 or so installed at my chasis/tire shop (GranTurismo East in Atlanta). I have them flipped on the wheels a couple of times over their life and rotate to maximize my tire budget. I expect I get 9-11 track days out of them.

I would run scrub tires if the overall cost was cheaper than these. I don't think it is. I know they would be more fun.

I haven't gone through enough tires to say "the grip falls off after X number of laps"... I just drive to what they will give me and try to wear them to the cords. Maybe Santa will bring the Sugar Momma this year!

FASTFATBOY

Time difference between NT-05 and R888?

tmtraylor

I had the stock sizes on NT05 so not apples to apples. At the time I was doing 1:45ish at Road Atlanta. When I went to R888 I ran 1:43. Over the next year, confidence is improving and now I do 1:40. I am still the limiting factor, not the tires.

wtb-z

I think a fresh R888 is close to 1 second per 90 second lap faster than a "good" 200TW tire. (I am leaving out the "excellent" and new for 2015 Rival-S or RE71 since I haven't used those yet)

The NT05 never seemed to be competitive in the 200TW segment so maybe the gap is more like 1.5-2 seconds per 90 second lap.

But the R888 seemed to heat cycle out quickly for me so by track day #4 it took a lot of driving just to match a time I easily could set on a "good" 200TW tire.

While it seemed a touch slower than the R888, the NT01s I used cycled out slower and wore more evenly. They seem like good HDPE option if you have room in the budget to get off street tires.

LateBreak

I'm still a big fan of the Dunlop Direzza Star Specs. They'll hang with the softer tires for the most part, but they're decent in rain and still wear extremely well. I'm getting 16 racing hours from a set, you'd likely get more than that in DE's with cooling them down frequently.

That said, the Michelin PSS are phenomenal tires. They'll last a LONG time doing track days, are outstanding in the wet, and are still great on the highway. A racing friend of mine finished 5th overall in One Lap last year in a C5Z, his PSS's were still 3/4ish tread after the full event including highway miles and track events. Great tires....

FASTFATBOY

On the NT-01 will a 305/30/18 fit in a 10.5 square setup without scrubbing if you are lowered on factory bolts? Also did you flip them on the wheels and run them for more wear?

I need some tires to make 2 more events next year, then they will be put up and in the mean time I will search for what tire to run at the Optima event at NOLA in Sept. as things will surely have changed in that market by then.

FASTFATBOY

285/30/18 is the only size I see. Have you run this size on a 10.5 square setup?

Dan H.

I've run a set of NT-05's since I started doing DE's two years ago. I really liked these tires to learn how to drive on. They give a lot of feedback as you learn. Once you are able to drive beyond the tires capability they get greasy late in a run. I started in year one with NT-05's in the staggered stock sizes. Year two I picked up some more rear C5Z wheels and a second set of rear NT-05's and ran them square. In two years I have the four rear tires worn to between 4/32 and 5/32. I only run 4 events a year, on average two days per event.

At the end of my last event my instructor said I was ready to run r comps and to move to the advanced group (SCCA PDX). I thought I was going to move to NT-01's based on this forums feedback. Then today I picked up a set of Hoosier A6 scrubs for $300 for the set. I was hesitant to go to Hoosiers because of the wear on the car. NT-01's would have been about $1300, I figure I can buy almost a full set of SKF hubs for the difference should I need them. For $300 I think they are worth the experiment. If total cost is too much, i can go to NT-01's

FASTFATBOY

A6 scrubs won't last long, fast but they go quickly.

I figure as tire cost per event. The faster the tire, the higher the cost. Not just on tires, but on brakes, hubs etc.

Scrubs may be $400 a set but the NT-01 may not be quite as fast. The NT-01 is easier on the car and you aren't paying $60 to have tires swapped so often.

This is where I've confused myself lol.

wtb-z

My car isn't lowered, but 315/30/18s fit fine with about max camber front and rear. They wore evenly enough that I don't think flipping would have been that helpful - it would have given a fresh edge/sidewall, but not much more than that. Rotated around all corners though.

Soloontario

I have really enjoyed NT01s. Consistent and long lasting but I wouldn't flip them on the rim due to their asymmetric tread. Also not good in the wet

Michelin PSS are also good. Not as consistent as the Nittos and not as fast but a lot better in the wet. The Michelins are much more consistent then Hankook RS3s, even when new. BTW the 295 Michelins are almost as wide as the 315 Nittos but have a lot more void in the tread pattern.

I think the 305 NT01 is actually a 35 aspect ratio and the 315 is a 30. Net result is that the 315 is actually a bit pinched on a 10.5" rim but is short enough to not damage brake ducts too badly. I would think the sig taller 305 would really damage the ducts, not due to it's width but it's height as when you turn the wheel is when the tire hits the duct, not going straight.

63Corvette

I recommend scrub slicks from (forum vendor) GT racing tires. They run from $50 to $100 per tire, and some have only been mounted but not used, and the people at GT Tire are great people to do business with. If it's about dollars per track time hour then this is some of the most cost efficient seat time you can get.

Last C5

Ditto and my car is lowered.

TKOGTO

CCW 140s: 18 x 9.5 and 19 x 12; ~$3,100k
R888's: 295s / 345s; ~$1,725 after mounting
Like wtb-z below, I got 4 1/2 excellent days out the R888s. Halfway thru day 5, I noticed grip dropped off a fair amount. I will run them 1 more day in April to confirm. I suspect I can safely get 2 - 4 more days out of their tread/reduced grip but if the grip is down appreciable in April, they're gone. Sliding around can be fun and instructional but I'd prefer the lap time.

At LRP, a track I've been to ~30x, I got 1.5 seconds from the R888s vs MPSS' and LRP is only 1.5 miles. In the past, if I got 4/10s quicker all year I was happy.

At the 1.9 mile Lightning track @ NJMP, I got 2.4 seconds and I was puss#ing it around T1 because I just couldn't get my brain to accept the tires had more to give on entry.

I experienced comparable grip between the NT-05s and the Kumho XS tires however the Kuhmos lasted more than twice as long. I thought I just got a bad batch of the NT-05s when they lasted only 5 1/2 days and others reported much better results but when the MPSS' I got thereafter lasted only 9 days, I'm now guessing the fall off was more due to gains in experience than compound deficiencies.

Many rave about the grip and longevity of the MPSS'. I was not as fortunate re: the latter. I got 9 days, about 900 track miles and another 2k - 3k on the street. Not terrible, just expected about 30% more.

Despite mixed sizes, if it is dry next time out, I am going to rotate the R888's side to side. Maybe it helps with longevity, maybe it doesn't. I'll try though. At 5 - 6 days per set, every day helps.

insertclevername

OP are you talking track dedicated setup, or tires to drive to the track and stay on?

FASTFATBOY

Dedicated track setup

I have 4 rear C5 Z06 wheels.

stevensa

I run ST3/TT3 with a set of 275/35/18 square Maxxis Rc1 on my c5z. I know you asked about DE, but my experience should be helpful. The RC1 has comparable grip to an NT01 but it wears like iron, the last set I had had 33 heat cycle on them when I sold them to an e46 m3 DE guy who put 20 more on before they corded. Grip drops off a bit after 10 heat cycles, but then stays consistent until they cord. Even after the grip drops off it is very minor. You mainly notice that the tire doesn't do as well when hot vs. new, but the cool performance is about equal.

You have to buy them direct from Maxxis as far as I know at $250/tire. They are not a Hoosier, but you can definitely still run some decent times with them. I have gone 1:52s at TWS, low 1:42 at MSR Houston both directions, 1:21.0 at MSR Cresson (first and only time there, not a great time but ok) with them.

FASTFATBOY

Any times at Barber or NOLA?

insertclevername

If I was able to get a separate set of wheels and tires to the track. I would get some r-comps. I have not had any experience with them yet. I would more than likely go with NT01 or R888.

I have Dunlop star spec on the z now and they do well. I used them on track once. I was new to the track, but knocking off lap times in line with other well driven C5z's by my 3rd outing. I have used them for 8000 miles now and they are holding up really well. I don't have enough neg front camber, more outside edge wear resulted. They are holding up better than I expected, so when I get home, I'm going to another -.5 deg camber up front. They hardly make a peep when pushed hard in a corner, and I like that. Maybe it was the surface at Arroyo Seco though.