morris

So after quite a few years of HPDE running stock tires then NT05 and finally pilot sport cups, its time for the next step. I have always run streetable tires because I drive the Z to the track and then back home (on a good day) . In any event while this worked out fine it did get expensive because I was driving MPSC's daily of course they are a very soft tire and don't last that long.

I am finally going to get a trailer and so now my son and I can transport our cars to the track and I don't need to have street tires on the car during my trips to and from the track.

I have an 09Z so I have the 18" 19" combo chrome wheels. From what I gather I have more tire options in a straight 18" setup so I was thinking of sticking street tires on the stock wheels and buying a set of 18's for the track tires, I haven't decided if I will stick with the MPSC or make the jump to full slicks yet.

Does anyone have guidance or suggestions on where I can get a set of relatively inexpensive but safe 18" track wheels, I will buy new if affordable but would be fine with used also. So basically I am asking for a recommendation on what I should look for whether it is a new set or a used set.

Thanks Morris.

B Stead

2009 Z06 ?

Oz Superleggera III
18 x 10, 41mm
19 x 12, 57mm
On sale at TR

Forgestar F14
18 x 10, 40mm
18 x 12, 59mm

Forgestar F14F
18 x 10, 40mm
18 x 12, 59mm
$700 each at the Howey website

Also, take a look at the Forgeline website
.

morris

thanks that's helpful, the last thing I want to do is buy a set of wheels that are going to fall apart or that may be unsafe and yes it is a 2009 Z06

Thanks,

morris

It doesn't hurt that I can buy wholesale at tirerack either

skxf430

Go with some nice forged wheels like Forgelines, Finspeeds or CCW's. Optimum sizes for running Hoosiers, or slicks is 18x11 and 18x13.

If you are trailering your car, you don't need to get MPSC's anymore as they are overpriced and not really the fastest tire out there. They are a decent tire if you need to drive your car to and from the track but since you are trailering look into Hoosiers, Continental and Michelin slicks and even scrubs.

red1vette

I went with CCW C10's 18x11 and 18x13 with 295 up front and 335 out back

UrbanKnight

Another vote for CCW in 18x11, 18x13.. 315 up front, 345 out back

Werks

Hey Morris, going the 18" wheel route is going to really open up a lot of new tire selections for you in both Dot-R and Slicks. Here is my personall oppinion on things. If you are going to buy new wheels you want to get the sizes that will allow you to run the largest possible selection of tires. For that you want 18x11 fronts and 18x13 rears, you do not want to make the mistake of buying 18x10 fronts. With a 10" wide front you can run Dot-R's like a 295 Toyo R888 or Hoosier R6 or A6. With an 11" wider front you can run the 295's, 305's or 315's from the same companies plus you can run a selection of slicks and most of those even a narrower 285/645/18 tire is going to have a recommended wheel width of 10 1/2"-11". A normal slick front tire that we would run on the Vette would be something like a 305/650/18 and that has a recommended wheel width of 11". Now you can fudge it and mount tires on narrower wheels if needed but imho if you are buying new wheels why put your self through all of that? For the rears you are going to want the 13" wide as you can still run all of the normal width DOT-R tires i.e. 335/30/18 R888's or the 345/35/18 R6/A6 tire plus for slicks again the 325/680/18 or 325/710/18's that you would run in the rear all call for 13" wheel widths. So by going +1" in width front and rear over stock you really open your self up for a much larger selection of tires.

Now as far as wheel brands, the 2 most economical what I would consider "track worthy" wheel makers are CCW and Finspeed. CCW's are proven, not the lightest but strong and you might be able to find some used ont he forum. Finspeed's are the new guy on the block so to speak, they have imho much more attractive styling than the CCW's, they are lighter and all pretty much special made to order by the owner there Daniel who personally tracks a Corvette too and realy knows his stuff. They also have a new ceramic coating which is practically scratch resistant and after a year of use my wheels still look brand new! The wheels that I had on my car at the last Track Attack were Finspeeds and honestly if you are looking for wheels I'd recommend that you just take a look at his web site or give him a call.

jwebsta32

0Anthony @ LGMotorsports

I have heard good things about Finspeed wheels too, but have not had a chance to use any of them yet.

Now for years and years ForgeLine has been our trusted source of wheels for all of the race cars. I have not seen wheels this light and take that kind of a beating on track and hold up like they do. I know most of you guys are not doing wheel to wheel racing but I have had the lip of the wheels folded over almost in half and the tire still on the bead and air in the tire....that is some serious holding power! Not to mention they are light and can be done in a number of sizes and offsets from 1 piece forged units to three piece wheels that allow you to change setups on the car without a lot of money.

Worth a look at both.

morris

Thanks there's a ton of insight in your post as usual thanks, I will give the finspeed a look. the size information is key and greatly appreciated.

morris

Anthony, I know I owe you an email, I spent all day yesterday about 9 hours each way driving to and from Kansas City to pick up the trailer and slept most of today then just got home from work.

As far as the credit yes I checked and it is there, I will also give you a call on Monday to talk about the GA1r's

dapopa9

You can also go with a the OZ Alleggerita HLT which is a strong yet lightweight track wheel. 18x10 front and 18x12 rear. This will allow you to run Hoosier R6 in 315/30 front and 345/18 out back on a C6 Z06 with no rubbing. Tirerack has them also....just need to call for those sizes as they don't show on their website.

http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/roll-o...for-the-c6-z06

morris

Thanks to all for the feedback together it gives me a great start to move forward

0Finspeed

You passed about 20 minutes South of our shop - would have loved to meet you in person and show you our operation.
Let me know how we can help.

morris

now I find out that would have been worth the stop for sure!

Werks

Not a problem! I noticed that you mentioned GA1R's in another post. Those are the first set of wheels that I bought for my car from Anthony and I had them on the car at TA2012 when I first met you and your wife. Great wheels and light. I got them right when they were released and unfortunately I think there was some issue with limited offsets available when first released or something like that so I had to go with 10" fronts instead of 11". Now that I'm running slicks predominately the front wheels are too narrow so I can't really use them and they sit. Nothing like walking by $5k+ worth of wheels that you can not realy use every time you go in the garage lol! Having said that though they are what I would consider top of the line wheels and are priced accordinglu. As long as they resolved whatever the issue was with the limited off-sets so that you can run 11" fronts then they would certainly be a wheel that I would advise you to take a look at if you are shopping in that price range. Shoot me a PM if you have any additional questions about any of this stuff!

5280Racer

Like everybody is saying your going to wanna run 18's... I would strongly recommend Finspeed. You won't get the service and quality anywhere else..

MarkDFW

Go with 18" all the way around. PM sent.

By the way, you need to make sure you get TPMS with whatever wheels you buy. I believe your z will go in to limp mode if you don't.

jwebsta32

Or buy the LG track box and forget about TPMS at the track.