jmarkey77

Howdy everyone,

I've had my C7 Z51 for a few years and I'm ready to track it this summer. I've been running the stock Super Sports but need new tires soon and am looking for a better choice for that. Any suggestions?

I daily my car and want run flats. I want better track performance but needs to be descent in the wet just in case.

I've looked for threads on tires but I didn't find anything that answered this question specifically.

Suggestions?

schaumi

I just got Yokohama AD09’s. They are 200tw extreme performance summer tires, but they are biased more towards durability than ultimate grip or lap time. They have treads so they can do some wet driving. I did one track day on a light rain day and they were pretty good. Certainly going way slower than the dry. Do you plan on running your new tires as your only tires for street and track or will these be track use only?

edit. I have mine as track specific use. I run all seasons for normal driving. C5 Z06.

jmarkey77

Thank you, I'll look into those tires!

Initially they be used for both, though if I really enjoy track time I'll look into track specific tires.

blueray16

I also have a C7 Z51 M7 which I daily but like to do one or two track events each year.
If you are new to track events, you would do well to get run flat tires for your daily use and in wet conditions. Something like the Michelin Pilot sport 4S will work well for you day in and day out and will easily handle occasional track duties, especially if you are new to the sport. Though not available in run flat for stock Z51 sizes. I am now using the all season 4 run flats and very happy with them The original super sports did well on track when new but are now likely used up and hard as rocks. I think they may still be available in Z51 size run flats on tire rack.

Odds are that ,like most of us, you will be hooked on tracking events after the first day. In that event you will quickly want a second set of dedicated track wheels/tires. Your choices then will not include run flats. The time it would take to swap wheels in your garage and drive to and from the track should be negligible. For track events, I always change wheels/tires and brake pads in my garage and drive to the events.

On a long cross country road trip a couple years ago, I spent a day on Laguna Seca with my runflat all season michelin tires and my normal street brake pads and had a ball. With expanded breaking zones and slower cornering speeds, there were no hero lap times, but it was great fun and tires and brakes held up to the abuse and got me 3000 miles back home without issue.

You don't need track tires yet. That will come later probably with a more track oriented alignment and dedicated track brake pads for starters.
Beware the addiction.

jmarkey77

I'll be careful, and thank you for your advice!

CraigStu

Go to Grassroots Motorsports magazine and also Tire Rack tests for some great info. I am autocrossing on Falken RT660s and happy w/ them. They are not the fastest 200s so may be an option for tracking. The tests above have a ton of info.

jmarkey77

Thank you!!

CraigStu

BTW, if you decide on Mich 4S, go to 255 or 265 fronts. The 245s have an unnaturally narrow tread width.