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So my current tires have almost full tread on them. But they are the crap Goodyear runflats and are 6+ years old. The car was a total garage queen. It's already hard to get traction from a roll, just spins easily. For reference, I have a 2000 FRC LT headers, full Magnaflow exhaust, deleted pup cats, LS6 intake and a custom air intake, not tuned yet. My cam will be going in probably next week. After that I either plan to throw a 295 in the rear or stay with the stock size and go with a sticky 275. I'll have around 400whp quen all said and done. What are you guys with the same power running in the rear and does it stick? This will be for the street and possibly a little track (straight line stuff).
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
sidewall and tire compound are more important than width if you are looking to hook... what size are your rear wheels and are you willing to run drag radials?
Last edited by StingrayRebel; Jun 9, 2018 at 06:34 PM.
sidewall and tire compound are more important than width if you are looking to hook... what size are your rear wheels and are you willing to run drag radials?
Stock rear spokes are 19x9.5. I'm willing to go with a Nitto NT05.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
aren't stock rears 18's?... either way a 275 tire would be perfect on a 9.5" wheel and I wouldn't go over 285 personally... technically you could make a larger size fit but the bigger you go the more it will pull the sides in and that decreases the contact patch... drag radials are about the only way to put all the power to the ground, nt05r's are really good if you are willing to run those and they have the size you need... in my opinion those are a great all around drag radial, they handle decent for what they are, will last a bit longer than other radials as long as you don't do burnouts or spin them a lot, do ok it the rain if you happen to get caught, and will get much better traction than any other regular street tire and some of the other drag radials but if you want max traction and aren't as concerned with wear/handling/etc then there are better choices
aren't stock rears 18's?... either way a 275 tire would be perfect on a 9.5" wheel and I wouldn't go over 285 personally... technically you could make a larger size fit but the bigger you go the more it will pull the sides in and that decreases the contact patch... drag radials are about the only way to put all the power to the ground, nt05r's are really good if you are willing to run those and they have the size you need... in my opinion those are a great all around drag radial, they handle decent for what they are, will last a bit longer than other radials as long as you don't do burnouts or spin them a lot, do ok it the rain if you happen to get caught, and will get much better traction than any other regular street tire and some of the other drag radials but if you want max traction and aren't as concerned with wear/handling/etc then there are better choices
Sorry, I mistyped. Yes, 18x9.5. My friend runs NT01, but I think those are probably way too soft. Never ran them so I don't know.
I run Continental DW 285/40/18 on the rear, and I can only break them loose from a standstill with a 4000 RPM clutch dump. Stock except for Vararam. Michelin PSS are supposed to hook even better, and drag radials even better than that. For everyday driving, I would go PSS, Continental ExtremeContact Sport, or PS4 if it is ever made in our size. For weekend sunny only drives, a drag radial or something more grippy makes more sense.
I run Continental DW 285/40/18 on the rear, and I can only break them loose from a standstill with a 4000 RPM clutch dump. Stock except for Vararam. Michelin PSS are supposed to hook even better, and drag radials even better than that. For everyday driving, I would go PSS, Continental ExtremeContact Sport, or PS4 if it is ever made in our size. For weekend sunny only drives, a drag radial or something more grippy makes more sense.
Agreed. I rarely drive the car and it isn't my daily. It goes on spirited canyon runs and car meets. Might take it to the drag strip once I get the cam, but just occasionally.
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Originally Posted by neutron82
aren't stock rears 18's?... either way a 275 tire would be perfect on a 9.5" wheel and I wouldn't go over 285 personally... technically you could make a larger size fit but the bigger you go the more it will pull the sides in and that decreases the contact patch... drag radials are about the only way to put all the power to the ground, nt05r's are really good if you are willing to run those and they have the size you need... in my opinion those are a great all around drag radial, they handle decent for what they are, will last a bit longer than other radials as long as you don't do burnouts or spin them a lot, do ok it the rain if you happen to get caught, and will get much better traction than any other regular street tire and some of the other drag radials but if you want max traction and aren't as concerned with wear/handling/etc then there are better choices
Wider doesn't necessarily equate to more grip...it's all about tire compound.
NT05 is an olllld compound now. The competition is now far ahead. As mentioned, it is cheap. Grip ranges from okay to solid on a track day but if you're autocrossing they never get warm enough to work competitively. They have good grip on the street but in no application do they wear well. I think I got 14k miles out of mine before they were bald. A lot less than that and they were hard and heat cycled out.
My personal and anecdotal experiences with this tire have all been sub par.
Its a cheap tire, and thats about where the pros stop.
I'd buy federal 595s or something way before I considered the nt05 again
I ran square 275s on my GTO
Interesting. Nice goat btw. I just purchased 2 tires for the rear just now and they are the NT05's in 275 40 18, which is my stock rear size. Guess I'll find out once I get them. My buddy who I sold my cammed 06 goat runs the Fedrals you have, but in a 255 45 17 I believe.
I use to have Federal UHP 275 35 19s on that car and traction was non existent. Then again, I was making 430whp with a bigger cam back then and those tires were rubber bands. He now has a tame 224/226 114lsa cam and making 378whp. He loves the Federal 595's, he said it hooks pretty good.
I've never personally run the federals, just heard good things.
My FRC has square 285 Michelin PSS and I'm incredibly happy with them, but they're very expensive.
I'd also look into the continental summer UHP (don't remember what they're called now)
or the firehawk indy 500s, but those only go up to 275s. However they're a rebranded Bridgestone re003, and like the continentals, a lot less money for almost as good performance.
I've never personally run the federals, just heard good things.
My FRC has square 285 Michelin PSS and I'm incredibly happy with them, but they're very expensive.
I'd also look into the continental summer UHP (don't remember what they're called now)
or the firehawk indy 500s, but those only go up to 275s. However they're a rebranded Bridgestone re003, and like the continentals, a lot less money for almost as good performance.
The indy 500s were originally what I was going to buy. But after some research and people raving about the NT05's, I decided to buy them. Now I'll need to see what I will do for fronts.
Is a 275 Tire Enough??
