bumpin96monte

I know this topic has been beaten to death, but I wanted to bounce some options off the experts here.

My setup: 09 base model a6, 1 7/8 headers, a&a v3si setup, 3.8" pulley, meth. I'd like to stick with the stock body and stock wheels for now. I understand a rear widebody with Z sized tires would help a ton with giving me more options, but I don't currently want to go that route due to the cost of new wheels/new bodywork/ paint.

The problem is that the car is currently on oem replacement runflat tires, and it doesn't hook well at all. 1st and 2nd are impossible to hook at 75%+ throttle. 3rd hooks well, but I'd like for 2nd to be more usable. It's a rocket in 3rd, but that's also getting into really high speeds to enjoy it.

The car is mostly street driven, maybe 5k a year or so, but I'd like to hit the drag strip and maybe a 1/2 mile event once to try them. I'm ok with a tire that would only last a year. I live in AZ, so it won't be driven in cold or rain. I'd also like to eventually add another 50-100 whp (ie a cam and smaller pulley).

I know many reccomend pilot super sport tires, but I'm afraid it won't be enough, and I'm ok with worse tread wear.

What I'm thinking:
-nt05r in a 305 35, with 265 40 front (PSS?) tires to keep the sensors happy
-Mt et street in the above size, with the same fronts as above
-nt01 in stock rear sizes only (would be nice to be able to keep my stock front tires since they still have a ton of life left).

Obviously the drag radials would hook up better, but I'm wondering if the nt01 might be a good intermediate step with tread wear and traction between a DR and the PSS.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

ESSFO

I have MT ET SS's on my Z06. Great tire as long as you're not driving in the cold. I have Toyo R88's on my 05. That's a good alternative to radials, better rain performance but about the same life.

bumpin96monte

It doesn't really get that cold out here. We'll get a few days that might get down to high 30s in the mornings (but then up to the 60s by the afternoon) but the car is kept in the garage that's always at least 70, so I cant imagine the actual tires get anywhere near freezing in the few minutes it takes me to get to the highway. Worst case, Im ok just not driving it those days if the tires are known for getting damaged in that cold of weather.

I also don't have any intention to drive it in the rain. I've got a DD for that. It's not like I'm going to have any fun driving it in the few days we get a downpour each year anyways. Certainly there's always the off chance I get caught in a freak storm, but I'm ok bumming a ride home from a friend at work.

It sounds like the r888 wouldn't really give me much benefit for what im looking for. It would be something to consider if they had notably longer life than a drag radial or if they came in the stock size, but it doesn't look like either of those is the case.

I guess my concern about the longevity of drag radials is that I'd be irritated if they couldn't even make it a couple thousand miles of 100% street driving. If I can't get 6k+ and a year out of them, then Id have a hard time justifying them- that's the only reason I bring up longevity. I see a lot of people online claiming 6-10k on them 100% street miles, and I'd be ok with that.

bumpin96monte

Looks like I've had a change in plans. I found a really good deal locally on some perfect c6 z06 wheels that have practically new nt05r tires on the back (although I'll have to replace the front tires since theyre not sized for a c7).

Now I guess it's time to find a good deal on a rear widebody...

advancivic

I live in Phx, I use to daily on mickeythompson et streets ss best tire hand down I was using 275/60/15 tho I was around 600whp. I drive 60miles a day. I also had a set of nt05r in 305/35/19 too they hold up nicely but the Mickey is the better tire hands down. with me driving on the mickeys daily and doing digs etc on the weekends I got a full year out of them.
5 days a week 60 miles a day and racing/cruising on the weekends






What supercharger do you have ls2/3 and power?

Dirteater19

I'm in a similar boat. I've got a base model with 19 inch rear wheels making 640 RWHP and can't hook to save my life. Seriously, it's down right dangerous. Questions is, is there a tire for a 19 inch wheel that I can get some traction on the street on? I believe I have 295/35/19 right now. Will 315/35/19 give me enough side wall and width to grab a little more or do I need 18 inch or possibly 17 inch wheels?

advancivic

305/35/19 mickeythompson et street ss tire will do it for you.
Or
Convert to 15s and run a 275/60/15

bumpin96monte

Do you think the Mickeys did better for you because you had them on a 15"? Or do you just think they're that much better of a tire?

My setup is pretty basic, LS3, v3si, 3.8" pulley, meth (50/50 mix currently), and headers/exhaust. Dyno said it does 525/485 but I think those numbers are a bit conservative. I'd like more power down the road (short term switching to 100% meth when I run out of my 50/50 premix with either more timing or a smaller pulley), with the long term plan being a bigger cam/more boost. It pulls great in 3rd, and it would be nice if it pulled even harder.

The issue I'm running into now is that even with pretty new stock replacement tires, 1st is unusable under power which I figured would happen. The more frustrating part is 2nd. It won't hold full throttle at any speed without a ton of tire spin.

I've been getting better about easing into 2ND and running it out at part throttle. The hard part once its into boost in 2nd is that its so super sensitive and highly dependant on the surface / temp / etc. You think you're doing ok, then you hit a minor imperfection in the road or press the gas another millimeter and suddenly you've got massive wheelspin. Either it's hooking or its a mess, there isn't any in between.

3rd has been great so far. It's only spun a couple of times, but it's always worked itself out if I kept in the throttle.

advancivic

Obviously yes it hooked better being more sidewall but no the tire it self is better, with my Vette I'll be buying 305/35/15 mickeys. The mickeythompson is better then the nitto and I was actually able to get more life out of the Mickey then I did with the nitto.



Once I get the Vette up to 600+ I'll start looking into converting to a 15"
But it's not really needed I feel the 305/35/19 should hook up pretty nicely
Or going to a 17" with a 28" tire should work.

Dcasole

guys don't forget the traction control and other nannies we got , you have to keep the proper diameter difference between front and back otherwise all kinds of bad stuff happens

Dave

advancivic

Even if you switch to comp mode aka turn it off

Dcasole

Yep , car always starts with all the nannies on , you would have to remember to turn it off every time you start it

That would be a royal pain in the a#$$#

If you forget all kind of bad stuff will happen and none of it is good

I don't remember the outside diameter max between the front and rear off the top if my head but you can search these forums as it is all over these boards or just Google it

Dave

advancivic

Lol, not really its just a double tab and done. But once turn off you're good to go

But I think the front and rear suppose to be like 1"-1.5" difference or something like that

chpmnsws6

R888's hook in 2nd for me. Good luck hooking on the street in 1st with anything but a 15" conversion

Dirteater19

Thanks, I was gonna see if Mickey Thompson makes tires for my 18 inch front wheels that will be compatible with the rears, or even if it's a good idea to put those same tires on the front. If not, I'll have to find another option for the front. My pilot SS or R888's?

BlindSpot

Very true. There is only a small % tolerance signal differential among the 4 wheel sensors. It will impact ABS, Traction Control, Active Handling and others like cruise control. A CEL will look like all these systems failed.

There are several online calculators that will give you % difference in rolling circumferences between different tire sizes.

ESSFO

They probably make a tire that size but I wouldn't run them on the front. I would do a 200+ TW tire on the front so you're not replacing them every 10K miles like you would the rears. MPSS is a great choice.

Dirteater19

Perfect! Thanks!

schpenxel

I have NT05 on the front, NT05R on the back. I will probably get the same whenever they wear out. They are driveable in rain (just take it easy) and I can usually hook 3rd as long as it's not cold out. 2nd is still hit or miss but on warm days it usually grabs pretty well.

bumpin96monte

Yep, thanks for the reminder. That's why I won't be able to use the tires that are on the front wheels I'm buying- they're sized for a c7 and are way off what I need.

If I remember my calculations right, it looked like I could put my base model sized front tires on the Z wheels with the 345/30 rears and it would be pretty close to stock ratio.

Since the tires are free since I already have them (and I need to move over my tpms anyways), I'm going to try that.

Worst case, I'll have to buy different tires up front to get it a little closer.