Tires thread......again.
 

Street: XP8 rear, HPS 5.0 front
Track: XP8 rear, DTC-60 front
only 3-4 track days/yr


What tires would you think buy (for both street and track) and why?


Nitto555G2, MPSS, NT05, NT05R


Take size/cost out of the equation. I'm getting dizzy trying to figure this out :banghead:

How often do you drive when you're not on the track. Or, how many miles a year?

I'd lean towards the MPSS or Nitto 555G2/Cooper RS3-S for a cheaper option.

That's a short list!
Out of what you have here I'd pick 555 for daily and NT05 for track (isn't NT05R a drag race tire?).

If you're open to other suggestions what I am leaning towards myself is a "cheap" street tire like Sumitomo HTR ZIII, and for track Bridgestone Potenza RE 71r. But with DTC60 you may need R comps indeed.

I'd agree with those other choices too. Being that you daily it, I wouldn't do the NT05 unless you want to replace them every year. And yes, the 05R is a drag radial. If you put less than 6-7k a year on, including the track days, then yes the NT05 is a good option.

But if you want some tread life beyond your track days, g2 or RS3-S or HTR ZIII

I use it only on the weekends and maybe 1 or 2 days during the week/month. Its not my daily car.

Sounds like NT05 is a likely choice if I'm only putting around 6-7K miles/yr :-)

I loved my htr z iii's when I had them. Put on like 1200 track miles and they held up incredibly well. The trip was surprisingly good for a 300 tread wear tire. They HOWL but the audio feedback is a nice thing for the track in general. Plus they are cheap.

Then when you put on a set of slicks some day you'll wonder why you didn't just but a second set of wheels and tires in the first place. Not that I know from experience. And not like I have 4 sets of wheels and tires at home now ;)

And if you get less sticky tires you can just brake a little earlier with the Hawk pads. Which are capable of locking up a slick at high speed...

Hey SGwick, what sizes are you considering? Are you staying square or going staggered? I know sizes are the major restricting factor in your decision making process, so I'm curious what you have in mind.

I remember you saying that, that's what made me seriously look at this tire too! :nice:

staying square possibly using 275/40/18

That's what I run. Square 275 setup. It works great for my driving style

do you know of any issues running 275/40/18 on 18x10 on all four corners (asking about wheels) or would the 18x9.5 be a better option?

As I understand it, 18x10 is better; 9.5 wheel is a bit on the narrow side for most 275 tires.'

For road track, you want to go with the widest wheel that is in spec for the tires.

That said, I am running 275/35's on 19 x 9.5" wheels and they look fine to me. They do get a bit squishy when hot but I think that is due to the tire compound not the wheel width.

I have 18x9.5 wheels and they've been fine. OEM gt500 wheels from the earlier ones were 18x9.5 and came stock with 285's for the rears.

Tire rack has specs for every tire they sell with nominal rim width and min/max width. Great resource if you haven't checked it out before

I don't have experience with those tires but I purchased BFGoodrich Comp 2s cause my Sumis didn't grip at all. Since I swaped out the tires its been night and day difference. Car grips well and at slow speeds you can literally hear the tires grip on the pavement.:jester:

Hoosier A7
 

Hoosier A7
Are the fastest Period.


Not for the street but it has been done.


Proven to win national championships. Even in lite rain to drying race track.

R7's are better suited to road courses. But A7's are awesome too. R7's are stickier than BFG R1's I run but not by much and they wear more quickly

We use the R7 on days when the air temp is close to 100F.

But Any other time the A7 is quicker with more grip than the R7
If winning is important. And the chassis is correct.
The Best and quickest answer

What size tires do you guys run?

Keep in mind people here do Open Track Days and HPDE events, not wheel to wheel racing. For majority of us here "winning" means improving our best lap time from before and leaving the track with with the car shiny side up and with no new bruises. :grin: