mwestc5

I've searched all over this forum looking for a consensus (maybe consensus in this case is oxymoronic) on a tire I can drive to the track, on the track & back home.

I sadly sold my v8 Miata track car. Was tired of towing to the track & back, loading & unloading the car. Storing the car, and screwing around with slicks and dry tires and so on.
3 weeks ago I replaced the Miata with a track ready 03 Z06.
Stock engine. But everything else you can think of is track ready, suspension, brakes, roll bar, harnesses, racing seats, trans cooler, brake cooling ducts, modified shifter and numerous other upgrades. The really nice thing about the car is, it's fairly comfortable to drive to the track. I've had only 3 track days since getting the car. Those track days were this past weekend.
Still trying to find my comfort level in the car.
The car has 7 yr. old Firestone Firehawks on it now. Not exactly great track tires.
My goal the past 3 days was to keep the car pointed in the direction I wanted it to go with no off road excursions & get a feel for the car itself. I've drivin the v8 Miata for 5 yrs on Hoosier slicks over a 100 track days. The switch to the Z06 was quite a change. I quit early as I felt I pushed the tires as far as I felt comfortable without going off the track. Once I kind of consistently reached that point I felt I had nothing more to gain by trying to push these tires any further. By the end of the 3 days I felt I had reached a pretty good comfort level in the car.

I'd like to run 4 square for the obvious reasons.
I'm looking at the stock Z06 wheels:
18x10.5
+58 offset
I'd like to run a 315x35x18, hopefully they won't interfere with the
brake cooling ducts.

I'm not as concerned about the tires in the rain on the track-more concerned with their performance in rain to & from the track.
Looking for some durability, I try & do about 30-40 track(HPDE-no racing) days per season.
Don't want to be buying tires every other event.

Tires I'm considering:
Toyo 888: I used them on my v8 Miata before going to Hoosier slicks

Nitto NT 05: heard good things but not sure about rain capabilities

Dunlop Driezza Z11 Star Spec(as an instructor I've been in quite a few cars with thes on them and they always impressed me-but never in a Vette-that I knew of

Bridgestone Potenza RE71R

Goodrich g-Force Rival-S

Hoping to get the tires wrapped up by my next track days the end of this month.
Thanks

spdislife

I can comment on the Toyo R888s and Nitto NT05s from my own experience. First of all the Toyos will be a much stickier compound than the Nittos. Either one will perform well in the rain to and from the track assuming you have enough tread depth left. For R coumpound tires, the Toyos wear very well, but long before the tread is gone, the tires window before getting greasey will shrink. In my case I disposed of them after about 30 to 40 heat cycles. I've recently tried the NT 01s and like them alot once the lateral grooves are gone. At that point all that's left is 2 grooves around the circumference with 2/32 of depth. The problem however in your case is driving on those tires to and from an event in the rain.

Cheechsmith

What size NT 01s are you using? Do you have any suggestions on who to buy them from?

Sox-Fan

The re-71 only comes as wide as 275/35/18 at the moment. They are supposedly adding more later. We shall see. The Re-11 comes as wide as 285/30R18. I have them on the front of my car. It's a great tire on the street in the rain. I drive then daily on many a long trip in the rain. they handle it well.

spdislife

I still run the 17/18 setup, but on the back I use 305/35 18

discounttiredirect has them for 310.00 a piece right now with free shipping always.

mwestc5

spdislife
Looks like you're not that far from me. What clubs do you run with? I was at Pocono this past Sat with NASA and Mon-Tue with DelVal Miata Club. I'm wondering if we ever crossed paths anywhere. Till this past weekend I was driving white & blue v8 Miata.

Back to the tires. After doing some checking around re:tires and sizes availability I seeing very few of the tries I'm considering come in the 315 size. Most availability seems to be in the 295 size.

Re:888's
That's the tire I'm most familiar with because I ran then for years on both my Miata track cars. I liked them in the rain on the track, before the 888's I used the RA1. I liked the 888's better. But, before I spring for tires I want to learn as much as possible about my options.

Sox-Fan, I just noticed the limited size availability on the RE71.
I really don't want to get narrower then a 295.

spdislife

Have you ever run with the RTR region of PCA? That's the club I'm with. Good core group of guys. Very Corvette friendly.

mwestc5

I'm an RTR member. They were pretty Miata friendly too, both when I had a 1.6 stock Miata and when I switched to the v8 Miata. Have not run much with them last 2 years. I think 2 times last year and none yet this year. I did notice more Vettes turning up, even Paul switched to a Z06.

Next event I'm planning on is Schattenbaum @ NJMP end of this month, that's why I'm in a rush to finalize tires. I can't go out again on the tires on the car now.

Back to tires:
Looks like a few of my tire options top out at the 295's on 18" wheels.
So far I've narrowed it down to the 888 which is available in the 315's or 305's and the Yokahama AD08 (295-30-18). A guy I instructed (Schattenbaum guy) a few years ago runs these on his 911 and loves them. He's become a pretty good driver over the years, I respect his judgement-but does his experience in a 911 carry over to a Z06?

danziger

Realistically, how much time will you be driving your C5Z on the street? Just to/from the track? That will help determine what tire would be best.

A 18" square set-up opens up a lot of options. I drive more often on the street versus track/auto-x, so I went with Michelin PSS. You might be better served by the Toyos or Nitto NT-01s.

mwestc5

How much time will I be driving it on the street? That's a good question.

My plan when I decided to sell my v8 track only Miata was to replace it with similar performance and streetability. The thing I regretted most was making the Miata a dedicated track car. I missed enjoying it on the street.

This car will see as much street time as possible. I have a few other fun cars to drive on the street as well. I've got another Miata (stock), a C5 convertible (stock) and a Boxster(stock) in addition to 2 more cars with car seats to drive the grandchildren around. But, as of now this is my favorite street car--maybe because I've had it a very short time and the novelty has not yet worn off.
I do want the ability to drive it on the streets and to drive it to & from the track in a monsoon without white knuckling it the entire drive. But, if the choice comes down to track performance vs a not so comfortable street ride I'd opt for the track, as long as I could still drive it home in the rain. I don't really care about noisy tires or uncomfortable ride quality on the streets.

I"m still a track junkie who's compromising a bit. I don't need to squeeze every 10th out of the car on the track anymore. I'm OK at 8/10's or maybe even 7/10's. Hopefully I'm making some sense.

At this point I've narrowed it down to the :
Yokahama AD 08
888
Nitto (I've reading where some are disappointed with the NT05 vs NT01)

E-Emmons

I ran 275/40R17 NT01s for a season and would drive back and forth to the track on them. I even got caught using them in the rain while towing a small trailer behind the vette. They work fine until they get below the tread depth ( about 50% tire life ).

I drove on 555RII 305s square 18" as well, fantastic tire that felt just like the NT01 but had more of a tread pattern. I would think the 305 NT01 would serve you very well. I thought the 305 size on 18s were far more confidence inspiring then any 285 or 275 size tire i ran on the 18s.

Most popular autox tires right now dont come in sizes larger then 275. The Rivals do, but I dont think they really offer any advantage over the NT01 or R888.

Were you just at the Pocono Mpact event? I was also instructing and think we talked for a little while, I was in the blue z06.

mwestc5

That was me, I was at Mpact then came back on Mon-Tue on the North course. Which Vette was yours? You're not very far from me.
I got a much better feel for the car on the North course then the South-East. I'd never run the SE before and had no seat time in the Vette yet.I'm much more familiar and comfortable with the No. course I felt more comfortable pushing the car and tires a bit more. By the lunch break on the 2nd day I felt I had gotten as much as I was comfortable with out of the tires. The car felt good but I have to admit I miss the torques of the v8 Miata coming out of the corners.

Thanks for the comments on the NT01's.
I'd like to try the Yokahama's my friend uses but I want at least a 295 all around. That really narrows it down to the 888's and the Nitto. Are you saying the NT01 vs the 05?
Thanks

mwestc5

I think I've come up with a decision. Spoke with my NT01 911 Turbo track buddy. He actually was in favor of the Bridgestone RE71R or the Yokahama AD08R. I was surprised he was not as big a fan of the NT01's as I thought he was.
Spoke with my other track buddy happens to be another 911 guy. He's had 2 sets of the Yokahama's over the years and loves them.
I read the various reviews on Tire Rack's site: AD08R's and the RE71R's. Reviews are pretty similar, all very good. The thing that's pushing me towards the Yokahama's is the size availability.
295x30x18 (preferred wheel size:10"-11"-mine are 10.5" wheels) tread width is 11.7", that's 1.7" wider then the Bridgestone at 10" and only 1/10" of an inch less then the 315-888's.

TireRack has them at $358 ea + $60 shipping. Still substantially cheaper then Tire Direct with Free shipping and $25 discount. Most likely I'll get these at local tire shop if they can come reasonably close to TR price. Local shop has been mounting my Hoosier Bias Ply Slicks when no one else would mount them because the sidewalls are too stiff making them very difficult to mount. Charged me same price as mounting regular tires and sometimes no charge. Unless, someone can come up with a reason to get another tire, I guess I'll be getting these Yokahama AD08R's.

FASTFATBOY

There is a guy who drives back and forth to Barber in a Z51 LS3 car on the Advan AD08 R's and he likes them. Car runs hard to be a street car he drives in the gate. 1:44's there.

He previously ran the RE-11's he seemed faster on the Advan.

mwestc5

Thanks

spdislife

Small world. I've been running with RTR the last 6 years and I'm sure our paths have crossed. Last time I saw Paul at the track with us was last year at the Glen. I do miss him and his in your face direct attitude.

Dan H.

I tried to sign up for this event last week and its wait listed

FASTFATBOY

I like the NT-05, I ran 7-8 sets on my 99 Z28 track/street car. The wear well and have good grip, the mistake most make with the tire is letting the hot pressure get too high, then they get greasy.

To fix that you start the session with lower pressure. I kept lowering mine until I would only gain 4-6 lbs at the end of the session. Generally 31F and 26 R to start in that barge of a Camaro.

mwestc5

Dan, I just registered and saw that all the INSTRUCTED RUN GROUPS were wait-listed. Which run group are you trying to register for?
If you're registering for an Instructed group, as of now they're probably short of instructors, therefore accounting for the Wait-List. They are waiting to see if any more instructors register and any instructed people drop out.

Socko

18's all around let you run most of what there is.

315 will have issues before lock with the front ducts, and you have likely realized already even at lock, c5's turning radius is poor, so it will be worse. 315 can interfer with rear ducts as well.

r888 is likely your best option running that many days, though cost wise scrubs will be MUCH cheaper. As 30-40 days a season at 9/10-10/10 is going to cost you minimally a couple sets of tires a season.

Buy stock in a rotor and pad company cause you are going to be replacing them much more regularly then tires.