Dan H.

Hey all,
Is there a wheel/tire combo that can be put together cheap so that I can run in the rain on a track day? Wagon wheels are super cheap, base C5 wheels seem to be cheap too. Anyone have experience using 4 rear wagon wheels, or base wheels with something like a Conti DWS?

Don't want to spend the money on H2O's or the premium for c5Z rear wheels.

I have NT-05's as street tires and Hoosiers for the track. The NT05's are not much fun when it rains, I'd like something that works better to make it still fun.

63Corvette

Can't help you if you don't want the hot settup. Just stay home. It's cheaper than wrecking your car.

meldog21

Dan,

Similar to you I have different wheels/tires for different conditions, and I'm a cheap skate.

I have 3 sets of all 4 C5 Z06 rear wheels. It varies slightly based on tire availability but generally 285 front tires and 305 rears on the 10.5 rims. At the track I use take off slicks, on the street in the summer I run NT01's, and in the winter I use Continental Extreme Contact DW's. One weekend at Laguna last year it blasted down rain. Expecting the possibility of rain I brought the DW set with me and ended up using them. They were fantastic "rain tires." I was passing many smaller race cars on real racing rain tires, so they must be pretty good as long as they're new or close to new.


It sounds like you just need that 3rd set of wheels, or just use your NT05's if it rains and deal with the lower level of traction.

Actual C5 Speedlines usually go for about $600-$800 a set depending on condition. I just checked ebay and you can get cheap copies of the Z06 wheel for less than $100 per wheel, or you can get any cheap aftermarket wheel that you like that's in the same price range. I personally would not recommend cheap wheels that are heavier than the Z06 wheel and probably not as strong. Of course good wheels cost more, or a lot more.

The Continentals are a good performing wet weather tire. The Michelin Pilot Super Sports are top rated by tire rack but they cost more. On tire rack 285/35 x 18 Continentals $230, Michelin PSS $299. There are other options too, but you'll have to do the comparison work.

So to get another set of wheels/tires that would work as rains but still be usable for the street you could expect to spend up to $800 for wheels and $1000-$1500 for tires. There isn't really a way to get tires cheaper, but you can find cheap wheels.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Dog

insertclevername

I personally would stay off track with my street car in the rain. The pros start piling up in rain.

If you are determined to further your driving skills however. I would get rid of the NT05's from the stockers. Bump your tire size down to 245/40-17 F & 275/35-18 R. This opens up some great wet performers. Plus the benefits of running skinnier tires are better in the standing water.

emptnest

IMHO Continental DW's make great rain tires.

More info:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1590777242

klodkrawler05

Bridgestone re71's are surprisingly good in the rain, and don't suck in the dry either, might be a good street/wet track tire although they do wear quicker than the NT05.

Dan H.

Thank you guys, I was thinking DW's but wanted to get some other points of view.

JeremyGSU

I never went out in the rain during HPDE. Mostly because they required the windows still stay down with Chin so you would just get soaked. No fun there.

GT Racing Tires

New TSW wheels with Continental rain tires, $1,500.00 plus shipping.

Dan H.

I've driven with the windows down in a deluge at Summit Point. It was a different experience where there was a lot of good learning. The inside of my car was literally soaked. I thought it would have upset me more, but it didn't. My car has just a tick over 20k miles so its still in decent shape.

My car was a handful on NT-05's. My instructor told me there were better options so I appreciate the feedback everyone has provided

insertclevername

Run with PDG.

emptnest

I keep heavy duty garbage bags in my tool kit for the rainy days. Slip them down over your seat backs and most of the water damage to the interior will be prevented.

Of course, your body is more likely to slide against the plastic bags, so well fitting seats and restraints are a must.

Bill Dearborn

What do you have for front brakes? The wagon wheels will work if you have stock brakes. If you don't you could have a problem. With the LG G Stop kit installed on my C5Z the 18x10.5 rear wheels barely cleared the calipers (they were close enough that I used 1/8 spacers to ensure the wheel didn't hit the caliper during hard cornering.

The Firestone Wide Oval in C5Z is a great rain tire and is also a great street tire. I ran them in Aug 05 when Hurricane Katrina made its way up to Watkins Glen. It poured for over 24 hours straight and the track was covered with water with streams running in a lot of places. Those Wide Ovals weren't phased at all. The only place I had any slippage was going through T11 and they would slip on the concrete a little. None of the other concrete seemed to bother them. I had 2 hours of track time that day and that is the last time I drove in the rain. However, it looks like Bridgestone is reducing the number of tires that Firestone offers and the only thing close is the Potenza.

This is what the Wide Oval looked like on my car when I was selling the car 4 years later:


This is what the Potenza tread looks like:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....6&autoModClar=

Close for 50% of the tread and and not even similar for the other 50% of the tread.

Bill

conemark

A good rain tire similar to the Hoosier H20/HWET is the Kumho W710 if you can find them. Some argue it's actually an even better rain tire than the Hoosier offerings. These aren't mine, but here is the tread pattern:



I just happen to have a set on wagon wheels relatively close by to you if you're interested.