Ragtop 99

That looks good. Could you scan the template and attach the PDF to your post. I've contemplated doing black wheels and that is a nice touch.

PowerLabs

UPDATE: just weighted my wheels; 53.8lbs each with a Nitto NT555R2 mounted and balanced, TPMS sensors in place and aired up to 35PSI.

I.E. This tire/wheel combo is approximately 7lbs lighter per corner than the factory wheel/tire combo, despite being 2 sizes wider

Pictures will be up tonight. Yay, nothing like a 14lbs reducting in rotating mass!

For comparison purposes:
Factory rear tire/wheel combo: 61lbs
Stock rear wheels with a Michelin run flat: 60lbs
Stock rear wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s, one of the lightest tires for this size (non run flat): 56lbs <= This is what I am currently running.

I.E. Running a 305 width tire on a widened 18" wheel is lighter than almost ANY tire you can run on a factory 19" wheel, even in stock (285) width.
(Stock Eagle F1 Supercar tires weight 33lbs, a stock Nitto NT555R2 weights 29.5bs)

pmj341

7lbs is a lot!!!

PowerLabs

Not the best pics; the tires and wheel are dirty and I didn't bother to wash them, but to those who wanted to see what the weld beads look like, here it is:

pmj341

You have small hands
Or that's a lot of rubber
they look great!!!!

PowerLabs

Lol... I'm still trying to get my GF to model them

pmj341

When are putting them on!!!

PowerLabs

It'll be a little while still; I bought the fronts (Toyo Proxes R888, sized 265-35R18), and they arrive next week, but I don't think I'll have them mounted and in the car for at least another 2 weeks... The weather is still very cold (it snowed about 2 inches this Friday) so there is little point to attempting to run an R-Compound; these tires have been shown to grip worse than a cheap all season at temperatures below 45F...

pmj341

I just shipped my wheels to weldcraft thursday, they will ship them to Mike when they are done.
I will ship the fronts to Mike monday.
I got 2 305/35zr18 used, they were shaved and used for one track day, If they work ok then I'll buy a set, or get some Dr's.

PowerLabs

Sounds like you are doing EXACTLY what I did... Let me guess those tires you bought were Toyo Proxes R888, from John B, (johnbtires@gmail.com) ?
I did the same thing... I got a full set of R888s, 305/35zr18 Rears, 265/35zr18 Fronts; I will run these Nittos in the back at first, then swap them out for the Toyos; with a good back-to-back comparison I should be able to decide which ones work best.
They are an identical rubber compound though; I expect them to be very similar.

pmj341

yes, I got them from John, I just got a list of fronts, but have not made up my mind
on which way to go.

Keith N

Sam - The wheels look very nice. I voted for the thin red pinstripe. Here's a picture of mine - painted black lips with a painted velocity yellow stripe. I didn't put on the C6 flag decals, bacause it looked too busy on my wheels.

PowerLabs

A 245 40 18 (Stock Size) OR a 275 35 18 (Stock C6 Z06 Tire) will be a perfect fit (they have identical overall diameters).
The 245 is too skinny and will lead to oversteer with a 305 in the back.
The 275 fits on a stock C6 front, but will baloon out quite a bit. It is also quite heavy. I think it would be a good choice and its been tried and proven on the forum.
A 265 is also too wide for a stock C6 rim, but I figured if the 275 fits, this will fit with less balooning. It is also lighter and should tramline a little less... That was my choice.

I spoke with a Toyo Rep and learned the following:
- Toyo owns Nitto. The rubber compound of a Toyo Ra-1 is the same as a Toyo R888 (which superceeds it), and is the same as a Nitto NT555R, NT555R2 and NT01. The only difference is the thread pattern and sidewall stiffness.
- It is fine to run an R-Compound tire on the back and a street tire up front for street usage, but on a race track the car will understeer teminally, and that will quickly get much worse as the front tire gets overwhelmed and overheats past its optimal temperature.
- It is fine to run an R-Compound on the back but if you run one up front it will heat up fast and scrub rubber away every time you take a turn; expect circa 7000 miles from an R-Comp being run in the front, even if the car is not being driven agressively.

PowerLabs

That is NICE!!!
I got black powdercoated lugnuts, so I think the decals won't stand out too much from the all black look... Your picture convinces me that the stripe is a good call... I've decided to try a Vinyl one...

Keith N

The vinyl stripe makes sense. If you decide to change just take it off.

carlrx7

lets see a pic of that rear with those fatty's on!! i think im sold on this idea

kev1n

Did they get scuffed up during the tire mount process? I see some white edges there- unless its reflection from the camera

Tom_Slick

I just did mine in all black..

PowerLabs

Not at all... I went on Tire Rack's website, searched the list of recommended installers in my area, and found a tire shop with a Hunter touchless mounting machine and one of the newer Hunter dynamic balancers that balances the tire on its vertical and Horizontal axis. They didn't scratch the wheels at all and the whole service (mount and balance both tires with TPMS sensors I provided) cost me $43.
They use a white goop to get the tire to slide past the wheel and I haven't cleaned that stuff up yet; that's what you're seeing.

Espresso

I think its the guy mentioned in an above post.