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I’m in the process specing tires for autocrossing for the coming season. Last season I ran about 60 runs on the Michelin Sport 4S’s that came on my C8 Z51. The tires were good, but not competitive with the Cup 2’s. So, I plan to go with the Cup 2’s this coming season.
I’d like to go with a wider front tire, to reduce push, and am wondering if anyone has run a 265 X 35 X 19, or wider, successfully, in the front? If so, what size and what adjustments, if any, did you have to make to accommodate them?
While going to a smaller wheel would be nice, I’m going to stay with my 19” wheels in front.
Thanks much
Last edited by Jeff Eikenberry; Jan 25, 2021 at 01:34 AM.
Reason: Trying to increase responses
I got 19x9.5 on 275/30R19 in the front and 20x12 on 325/25R20 out back. Fitment is perfect with no rubbing. I'm also lowered on Cicio collars in the front and Z51 shocks out back.
I got 19x9.5 on 275/30R19 in the front and 20x12 on 325/25R20 out back. Fitment is perfect with no rubbing. I'm also lowered on Cicio collars in the front and Z51 shocks out back.
We ran 265/35R19 Front, 315/35R19 Rear R7's with no issues. Now on 295/30R18 Front, 345/35R18 Rear R7's.
Had no idea 345’s would fit the rear. Do you track primarily, or autocross? I ask that, as a friend has suggested that when I purchase the Cup 2’s, that I not go with 315’s in the rear, keeping the size at 305. He believes that the 265’s will help a little with the push, but believes the car will rotate better with the smaller rear tire. Makes sense. Am curios to know your thoughts. Thanks very much!
Depends. Are you sticking with the stock wheels or going something aftermarket/custom?
Originally Posted by Jeff Eikenberry
Do you Autocross? If I were to purchase a second set of wheels, that’s valuable information. Also, do you have the front lift system. Thanks much!
We don't but front lift won't cause any clearance issues.
Originally Posted by Jeff Eikenberry
Had no idea 345’s would fit the rear. Do you track primarily, or autocross? I ask that, as a friend has suggested that when I purchase the Cup 2’s, that I not go with 315’s in the rear, keeping the size at 305. He believes that the 265’s will help a little with the push, but believes the car will rotate better with the smaller rear tire. Makes sense. Am curios to know your thoughts. Thanks very much!
It's the LG development car so it really only sees the road course. For the road course a smaller rear may help the car rotate but it'll lessen your ability to put the power down coming out of the corner, I'd rather go wider and then manage the car from there. For autocross the 265/305 combo may work pretty well, just make sure to keep your F/R ratios in check.
You hit the nail on the head........ gas on vs rotate. Coming from a C7 Z06, it was always looking for the opportunity to swap ends. The C8 is planted to where you want more rotation. 🤦♂️🤷♂️
Good point (front/rear ratio) and something I am acutely aware of. Stock height variance is 1.4” vs 0.9 for the 265/305. 1.2 for the 265/315. Yes, the 265/305 may be an issue.
With regard to Richie Rich, yes, you are right. Rich, at Abel Chevrolet, is the GO-TO person for Corvettes in Northern California. I had heard a lot about him thru the years. A number of my Corvette friends rely on him for setups and upgrades. Of course, some also purchased their cars thru Abel Chevrolet!
After purchasing the C8, I posted some questions on the Forum regarding basic setup for autocrossing a C8. Rich commented on those. At that time, the C8 had just started arriving at customers (my VIN is 0610) and Rich did not have a lot of hands on experience, so was very cautious about what should be done for my setup.
When the time came to service my car, I took it to Abel, in spite of the 90 minute travel time each way. Rich and I chatted, again, about setup while my car was being serviced and two quarts added to the transmission (it threw an error code, for low oil pressure, at its first autocross). I also had the car aligned for AX’ing/street use.
My car is now due for its 7,500 mile service, and I’ve made an appointment with Abel and, hopefully, will be able to discuss my tire situation with Rich, at that time. I'm sure we'll go over the original AX setup, now that he's had some seat time in a C8.
Thanks very much for your suggestion of contacting Rich.
Last edited by Jeff Eikenberry; Jan 26, 2021 at 03:54 PM.
Reason: misspell
I had 275/35/19’s on factory front wheels , they rubbed the mud flap a little and after a track day never rubbed again ( not kidding) my next set of track/ autocross tires I did go down to 265/35/19 because I don’t get the fronts to over with over 3 degrees of negative camber. Again 265/35/19 on factory wheels no rubbing
First, thanks very much for your response. I do have a few more questions:
1.) Any concerns about the rim specified for a 265 being 9.0" - 10.5", while our car has 8.5"?
2.) With running -3.0 camber, have you detected any street wear issues? I'm at -2.6 with the stock S4's and there is no sign of uneven wear after 4,500 miles, except for the outside, and that came from..... about 75 AX's and one track day. So, I had pretty much decided to go to -3.0 up front.
3.) What tire are you running? I'm going to run Sport Cup 2's this coming season.
4.) You didn't mention your rear tire size. I'd be interested in knowing, as my C6 GS and C7 Z07 were sensitive to a significant change in spread between front/rear diameters. I haven't heard about the C8's.
First, thanks very much for your response. I do have a few more questions:
1.) Any concerns about the rim specified for a 265 being 9.0" - 10.5", while our car has 8.5"?
2.) With running -3.0 camber, have you detected any street wear issues? I'm at -2.6 with the stock S4's and there is no sign of uneven wear after 4,500 miles, except for the outside, and that came from..... about 75 AX's and one track day. So, I had pretty much decided to go to -3.0 up front.
3.) What tire are you running? I'm going to run Sport Cup 2's this coming season.
4.) You didn't mention your rear tire size. I'd be interested in knowing, as my C6 GS and C7 Z07 were sensitive to a significant change in spread between front/rear diameters. I haven't heard about the C8's.
Thanks again!
your talking to a guy that used 315/30/18’s on a 9.5 wheel along with hundreds of other guys running ssr in scca . 265/35/19 is ok on 8.5 wheel it’s not pinched, 2nd negative camber don’t kill inside of tire with zero tow , negative camber or positive camber kills tires with tow in or tow out . 3rd I run R71R’s 18/19’s autocross and supercar 3’s track sprint and tracking. With the R71R’s being discontinued the falken 660’s will be the way to go autocross, 4th just like the c7 ( I had 4 of them )make sure fronts are shorter than rears but not two inches shorter- it don’t matter what size tires/ wheels you use just so long as fronts are shorter than rears but as I said not by 2 inches- some say you can go square but I haven’t tried that yet
1.) I've got it........ no issues with running the 265's on an 8.5" rim.
2.) Was unaware of the synergies between toe/camber/tire wear. Just checked my last alignment and camber was -2.6 / toe 0.02" and -2.6 / 0.01. I'd say I'm safe going to 3, if toe stays where it is.
3.) Ran 2 sets of tires on the C6 GS (SSR) and C7 Z06 (SSP). At 77, I'm through switching back and forth. Will run one set, in SS, with the C8. As a side note, the GS was an incredible car. The Z06 was numb. Fine on the track, but didn't communicate in a timely manner in AX, and the supercharger was always waiting for just a little too much throttle.
4. C7's. Hmm Street for one and ??? Stingray/Stingray Z51/GS/Z06/Z07/ZR1? Don't think the front rear will be an issue. I'll run anything from 305 - 325 and be close to what the stock differential is.
1.) I've got it........ no issues with running the 265's on an 8.5" rim.
2.) Was unaware of the synergies between toe/camber/tire wear. Just checked my last alignment and camber was -2.6 / toe 0.02" and -2.6 / 0.01. I'd say I'm safe going to 3, if toe stays where it is.
3.) Ran 2 sets of tires on the C6 GS (SSR) and C7 Z06 (SSP). At 77, I'm through switching back and forth. Will run one set, in SS, with the C8. As a side note, the GS was an incredible car. The Z06 was numb. Fine on the track, but didn't communicate in a timely manner in AX, and the supercharger was always waiting for just a little too much throttle.
4. C7's. Hmm Street for one and ??? Stingray/Stingray Z51/GS/Z06/Z07/ZR1? Don't think the front rear will be an issue. I'll run anything from 305 - 325 and be close to what the stock differential is.
Thanks again!
4 c7’s not at same time sorry, base , z51, z51 mag ride and then z06 . I hated iceing- ice mode on every one of them . I believe the 2019’s and of course the 2020’s addressed that . I’m happy with going WOT to slamming on brakes late before turning on c8 , one more thing to remember not many guys know , the C8 throws a unbelievable amount of heat on front tires from front radiators , unbelievable amount! I will run R71R’s/ falken 660’s on cool small autocross days and the supercar 3’s on hot days longer runs . One last thing I absolutely love about car is in between runs keep car running it cools itself like no other car I’ve had , I sit in between runs with windows up and A/C on and the car still drops temperature the entire time . I’m 60 , chubby and hate the heat and sun above 80 degrees outside
I don't believe there is any question that the C8 will be the best of all Corvettes, as it should be. Incredible car, no doubt! The only drawback is storage. Yuh just work around it.
I wouldn’t recommend the Cup2s for autocross, they don’t get grip quick enough as made for road course temps and also put you in R comp class if you care about being competitive. I’d recommend SC3s or RT660 as mentioned above, I’m waiting to try out the latter though the SC3 is the best dual purpose tire imho. RE71R was my favorite before being discontinued, hope that helps.
You and savage present compelling cases for the Supercar 3. I like the thought of it being somewhat more heat tolerant, as there’s a lot of heat puked onto the front tires from the radiators. I plan to try sticking aluminum foil covered cardboard between the tires and fan discharge area, IF there is enough space to accomplish that and leave enough room for the radiators to flow. What sizes do you run on stock wheels? Thanks much!
Did you like the Z06 for autocrossing? Three of us had ‘15’s and after two seasons stopped AX’ing them..........too numb and didn’t communicate. When you realized you were in trouble, it was too late. If communication wasn’t enough, the supercharger was there to finish one off! There was a guy who was successful with a Z06, but he literally had the car’s suspension revamped.
I did run the Z06 at Laguna Seca, and it and I were happy campers, except I blew sound and had to tip-toe by the sound booth.. I can see why Randy Pobts (SP) gave it a good review. I did lose the differential, though. The ring gear was howling on the compression side by day’s end. Must have been misaligned when built, as the car only had 8,000 miles on it. Chevy replaced it w/o a peep.
I had planned to purchase a Z51 car, in ‘15, but my wife was smittened by the Z. How was the Z51 with Mag Ride for AX’ing? My Z06 did a good job of keeping me cool between runs, too, but unlike you I live in a low humidity climate.
You and savage present compelling cases for the Supercar 3. I like the thought of it being somewhat more heat tolerant, as there’s a lot of heat puked onto the front tires from the radiators. I plan to try sticking aluminum foil covered cardboard between the tires and fan discharge area, IF there is enough space to accomplish that and leave enough room for the radiators to flow. What sizes do you run on stock wheels? Thanks much!
I don’t have a C8, but they make the SC3 in the stock 245/35R19 size or the 265/35R19 and 305/30R20 stock rear.
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