bigmackloud

Got my first track day with the Corvette coming up in November (not my first track event, just the C5 is new). Trying to decide on a square setup, but my head is swimming in a sea of tire brand and tire size combinations.

Goal: 3-5 track events per year, not a DD but does get street driven on nice days. No inclement weather. I'm in NC so not brutally cold, but does drop below freezing sometimes. (Parked is parked in the garage).

Car is currently stock height but I wouldn't mind lowering it a little, but I don't want to make it impossible to get over speed bumps.

I'm leaning towards a square setup so I can rotate and hopefully extend tire life. Naturally I want the best I can get on the track, but I don't want something that's going to heat-cycle out just from some street use.

Wheels: I really really like the TWS Nurgurgring 18x10.5


Initially I was thinking about the 295/35/18 NT-05's but after reading some older threads, they don't get positive reviews on the track. They also come in a 140TW version, but they're aren't available right now.

Several threads mention the BFG Rivals in a 295/35/18, but they're on backorder with no ETA.

Then there's a lot of threads on the 315/30/18 combo. I love meaty tires but that seems a bit much. My real complaint is that in some pics I've seen they appear to stick out past the front fender, and I don't care for how that looks. I also plan to run brake ducts, though I guess I could put them on only for the track.

The NT-01 comes in a 305/35/18, but I'm not sure how well that height fits (26.4") in the front. Plus the NT-01 is a 100TW I believe, not sure if I'd ruin it with street driving (heat cycles).


So I digress... any suggestions on a good tire brand/tire size combo that's currently available for a square setup? (and I apologize for what I'm sure is a regularly discuss topic)

Xian

I'd look at the 275/35 18 RE71R. The car works fine with a 275 square setup, IMO, and the 71R is going to be grippier than the wider NT05.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....E71R&tab=Sizes

The 315 Rival-S is a great tire and I've been running it on the rear of my C5Z. I haven't put it on the front so I can't comment on clearance/looks.

brkntrxn

315 square is what most of us race on. However, 315s on the front of a C5 with a decent track alignment will have a tendency to tramline, depending on the profile of the tire.

295 square would be about the ideal double duty, square setup.

bigmackloud

Any suggestions on a good tire in the 295 size? That's my issue, finding a tire available in a preferred size.

From a capability stand point, the 275 square would probably be fine, but I'd like the look of something a tad wider.

Thanks for the input

troyguitar

Money-no-object I'd probably try the new Michelin Sport Cup 2 in 295/30/18 but they are $500 a tire.

More realistically I'd just stick with 275's, likely the NT01 if you are not running in the rain.

A compromise that gives you some width but gives up some responsiveness would be Michelin PSS in 285/35 or 295/35.

mpryan

I'm running the rival s 315 all around on c5 z06 18x10.5. Yeah it sticks out a tad and if I'm pulling into the garage it can rub on my brake ducts, but I just don't turn that sharp now that I know the limit. Over all it's an awsum setup and I really like how the car drives. Way better than the Nt05's I had before these.
My 2cents

Dan H.

I'm in a similar place as the OP. I run four events a year and drive my car to the events along with an occasional trip to work or lowes on the weekend. I run 295 NT-05's square on my car. I get some brake duct rubbing with the wheels turned sharp, so i just don't go past a full turn of the wheel, no biggie.

I feel like these have been good tires to get started in this hobby. They have good grip on a dry track and provide a lot of feedback to the driver as you push them. They are also cheap, which I like the idea of learning on for myself. These tires are awful in the rain. Not good in the rain on the street, very bad on the track.

I do not have anything to compare them to so this isn't much of a review. I plan to shop around for my next set of tires mostly to try something new.

Soloontario

It depends a lot on what you want to do. If there is any timing to be done in competition, you want a tire that performs better if only for a short while. OTOH, if you just want a good experience with an all round tire your choice may be different. Here are my thoughts. Most from direct experience.

Nitto NT05 Cheap, no good in wet, fairly easy to overheat. Old tech

Nitto NT01 Cheap and very consistent. Can be overdriven and they keep coming back for more. Very resistant to heat cycling degradation but noisy on street and no good in wet. (the 315 is pinched on a 10.5"rim)

Hankook RS3 Used to be good but not capable of doing well with repeated lapping. Performance falls off when hot making them unpredictable.

BFG Rival Easy to drive but occasionally unpredictable. Heat cycle out well before the rubber wears off. I have no experience with the Rival S but suspect that with our more powerful cars, they won't stand up to repeated lapping

Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Not as fast as either the Hankooks or Rivals but vastly superior in the wet and much more resistant to heat cycling making them more predictable for longer stints. Certainly the winner in the all round tire group but not the winner if you are competing. The Michelin Sport Cup 2 is sig faster but wears more quickly and really quite poor in the wet.

Anecdotally the Yokohama AD08R seems to heat cycle out although I have never driven them myself.

One other point re brake ducts is that it isn't just the width you have to be concerned about but the height of the tire as a tall tire will contact your brake ducts much more when the wheel is turned than a shorter tire.

In general, a 295 is all you need. OTOH, the Michelin PSS 295 is almost as wide as the NT01 315 on the same 10.5 rim

Xian

Yeah, if there's a look you're going after vs performance then get what works best.

FWIW, here's the 275 on 18x10.5 setup I used for my trip last week from FL to the Integra Type R Expo @ Gingerman (MI), then to Solo Nats in Lincoln, and then back home. They did well on the street as well as ~7 track sessions. Only sketchy thing was driving them in the rain for the last 300 or so miles. They were about down to the wear bars so wet traction was sub-optimal at highway speeds.





Given that these 275's are pretty "large" for their size, I don't know how different they'll look vs a 295 (assuming you can find something in stock).

bigmackloud

Yea, I guess my first priority is performance, but I'm also proud of the Corvette so I want it to look good too. Much larger investment than my track miata was; that was function only.

If anybody has a good pic of 315's on a C5, I'd love to see them. Specifically I want a good pic of the front and how much they stick out.

Xian

If I get a chance this weekend I can try tossing the 315's on the front and rear vs. just the rear.

Edit:
Not the best pic but this is a 275 on an 18x9.5 front and a 315 on an 18x10.5 rear. I'd have concerns about steering feel and tire rollover with a 315 street tire on a 10.5 up front.

bigmackloud

Anybody running a 315/30/18 or 275/35/18 (both roughly the same height) in the REAR have a picture from the side?

So this afternoon I swapped my front and rear tires on one side. Base C5, so 245/45/17 (25.7" height) and 275/40/18 (26.7" height). the 275 width on the front (18x9.5 wheel, +65mm offset), was pretty much dead flush with the lip of the fender. Actually looked pretty good. Though as you can image, a 26.7" tall tire in the front is way too big (that wasn't really what i was checking for though).

The front tire though looked really small in the rear fender well. (height/diameter wise). That's concerning because my front tire is an almost identical height to a 275/35/18 or 315/30/18 (which was an option for a square setup).

Thus, I'm curious if anyone has a side shot, particularly of the rear. My first thought is that it might look kinda goofy. Then again, my car isn't lowered yet, so maybe that makes it better?

I'll also say, a 275 in the front is a meaty tire. I can't image a 315, haha.

69autoXr

Re wheels and front tire sticking out past the fender: If you're looking at the TSW wheels, I believe they use more offset than the stock C5Z rear wheels, so that will tuck them in a bit in the front relative to the C5Z rears.

I posted pics of my C5Z with 18x10.5 and 315's x4 in your other thread.

C5Z06CE

I use the square setup of NT-01 as you describe above and they work great but my car is 95% track duty

SouthernSon

My experience with the NT01 is the same as that covered by Soloontario. I ran 315 square on the 18 X 10.5's. I have now found the new Hoosier R7's to be consistent and long lived enough to satisfy my needs for track only. They will turn in quickly and stick like glue. No compromise tire will give you the same control. However, you will need the better SKF wheel bearings for sticky tires. One sometimes needs wheel spacers, too, with a square setup. I need the spacers with the Wilwood SL6 calipers. You may be familiar with the problem if you ran into this with your miata.

Bossdog

C5Z06CE,
I considering your wheel/tire set up, square 18x10.5 with 305/35 NT01's. I'm curious what your active handling/Traction control thinks about the square set up? I read about concerns being that the system is looking for a slight rotational differential. I don't want to turn off the stability control package.

aaronc7

you're going to want 315 30 size. 305 35 way too tall for the front.

I'm running 285 35 rs3 I've had no AH or TC issues. On a C5 I think it's purely a TC potential issue not AH. I got up with 150 on track with this setup no AH complaints... TC was off. On the street, up to normal interstate speeds no issue with TC either.

Dan H.

I agree with aaronc,
There are several people that had interference issues with the 305/35 tires. Most have had to at a minimum raise the ride height some. The 315/30's are a better bet. They'll rub at full lock but everywhere else they are good to go.

If you search my profile name I have a post where I took delivery of both size tires and took pictures of them next to each other.

bigmackloud

Personally I found the AH to be a nuisance. There were certain sections of the track where it tried to intervene and actually made the car feel more unstable too me. I always turn it off now. Of course that would depend on personal skill level and comfort level. But it's not a "if you turn this off you're gonna crash and die" sort of thing. Try it for a session and see how it feels.

Bossdog

Sounds like that is good advice. The Track Mode on the 2012/13 Boss and the 05 STi both have very non-intrusive nannies, I didn't really seem to notice them. I see several people commenting on how the C5 Z06 version had some short comings. I heard the c6 version was better. I have 20 or 25 track days under my belt with my last 2 cars so I do OK as far as experience and skills. I'm new to the Corvette. I generally don't drive 10/10ths either, I'm just out having fun. If the c5 Z06 is as stable and easy to drive as others are saying, I'm sure I'll have a Ball!