I am almost finished with my suspension modifications. I enjoy running the car in Time Trails and have beefed up the suspension. Some of the modifications are Metal Control Arm Bushings (Upper and lower), new Bilstein Shocks, Heim Jointed Sway Bar Links, Bump Steer Kit, Rear Suspension Locating Kit, Spherical Metal Joints & Sleeves for the rear control arms, Heavy Duty Tie Rod Sleeves, Timken bearings, Heavy Duty Ball Joints, Tie Rod Ends, new F-51 springs, Stainless Steel Brake Lines, Hawk HPS brake pad set, Front/Rear Insulated O-Ring Caliper Conversion, etc.

Now it is time for rims and tires. Since the fenders are flared and can accommodate a bigger tire. I used to run the old H50-15 BFG T/A’s on 15X10 American Racing 200S rims. But it seems 15’s are an antiquated size. I decided to go to a 17 inch rim about a year ago. I really liked the VINTAGE 48 17x11 for the rear (http://www.vintagewheelworks.com/products/wheels/v48). I spoke to my friend Mark about tires. He said:

“Some time passed since we last discussed this. One significant marketing change occurred that effected the selection for tires we buy for Corvettes. - Porsche and GM switched to 18" rims for the rear.”

Has anyone else noticed a lot of the big 17 inch tires have disappeared from the market? For the most part, 275/40X17 is the biggest you can get. Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 jumps from 275/40X17 to 335/17.

I called Vintage Wheel works. Unfortunately for me the V48 is scheduled for production. But we are looking at a year or more wait.

Now I am not sure what to do. If I buy a 17X11, I am worried that in the future they will cut production back even further. 15 is obsolete. 17????

 

BTW: For tires my friend Mark made these recommendations:

1) The Falken Azina RT-615 would have to be at or near the top of the list. The Assign comes in 275/40/17 for the front and 315/30/18 for the rear. The Azina is a perfect Time Trial Tire and rain tire that is a bonified street tire. It will give you two "golden laps", run a 20 mins session, and last about 15K miles on the street. Cost is the most reasonable: $150-$225 per tire. If you had to short cycle two rear tires, it's not the end of the world. The performance (I.E. lap times) for the Azina is up there with track only tires which is why I put this at the top of the list. I personally ran a 1.09 at Rockingham on this tire (275's front & back). Comparable times to an unshaved RA1. I think they will work better on your car than mine because of the weight difference between the two cars. This is the current tire of choice for street tire autocrossing (I.E. Non-R Compound). For sheer dry grip and cost nothing comes close. For this reason they are the track junkie tire of choice.

2) BFG KD is still top of my list. However, availability on the 305-315 sizes are spotty. The main advantage to the KD over the RT-615 is consistency. Slightly longer life due to the harder compound. It's more suitable to heavy cars like Corvettes. Cost is $255 for fronts and just over $300 for the rears. If I was not doing Time Trials I would choose the KD first. The tire drains water well so forget about the KDW or Sport version. The KD was the A/X street tire of choice until the RT-615 came out. I chose this tire over the RT-615 because I tend to run my car very heavy most of the time- full tanks and passenger.
The RT-615 is really not suited over 3400lb


3) Michelin Pilot Sport PS2. Biggest advantage is the wide selection of sizes going down to 17" They still come in 335/17 as well as 275/17. If you buy a Porsche GT2/GT3 or an M3 this is what you will get. If you are married to a 17" rim size this is the tire of choice. Depending on how may track events you do, expect to last about 30K. . I had these on my '92 LT1. They are a great tire but tricky to drive at the limit. Others have observed the same, but these designs are always updated. Perfect street tire in that they are quiet, great in the rain, great response, and very capable on track (up to a limit). This is a high end OEM tire so all this can be expected. Down side is cost: $300 for the fronts and over $400 for the rear. If you are keeping 17's rims, this is an easy choice.

 

i understand your trepidation. it does appear the trend is continuing to get larger and larger. although i think 17's will be around for a while still, i think you might be better considering either 18 or 19".
as for tires, i don't have much personal experience with new high performance tires but you can't go wrong with the michelins. of course both kuhmo and nitto are getting good reviews.

 

What are you guys with flairs and running bigger tire for road racing or time trial running?

 

I still need to install my flair kit this winter.

I've been using Hoosier r-6's 295/17 fronts on 10 inch wheels and 335/18 rears on 18X12 My next rears will be the 345/35 to get a better diameter.

I also ran 25.5 X10 fronts 27X10 hoosier & goodyear 15 inch stock car knock off scuffed tires for about $75 plus shipping each. but when went to bigger Wilwood brakes i had to go with bigger wheels


I'm a little hard on brakes and tires and one of the fast times of the day guy in his full race 2007 Z-06 is running Toyo 888's he said that he has been getting 18 -24 sessions out of the tires or about the whole year here at the local track.

What do you have for a motor and tranny?


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...irePageLocQty=

 

Here are my 17 X9 fronts and 17 X11 rears for street driving with 255 45 17 and 315 35 rear. I can raise and lower the front with my Semi coil over front QA-1 shocks



this is out on the track doing mid 150 mph

 

I just finished a rebuild on the 350. This time I had to go 0.030 over. I went with the Edelbrock RPM Performer set-up, which includes the aluminum heads, cam, and intake manifold. Although I did not go with their carb. I have a Holley.

The tranny is an M21.

 

gkull

First off, thanks. Beautiful car and great pics. I went to your link at Tire rack. What I am thinking I may do, is try to buy a big 15 if I can find one. The Hoosier does have a 275/50ZR15. If I can find something bigger, I may do that short term and get 18 inch rims later.