Track Tire Suggestions

[rikhek]

I just bought 4 - 18" Z06 OEM wheels for road course duty. Toyo RA-1's will be the main tire of choice. Torn between running 275 fronts and 305 rears or going with 305's all the way around. Your thoughts?

Rick

[jlucas]

Both have positive and negatives, so in the end it comes down to driver preference. If it's your first set of R comps, get the 275/305 combo.

[kmagvette]

FWIW - I went with the T1 set up, 315x17 all the way around. These are my first slicks (Goodyear gs-cs) and I find them to be quite friendly - even when I get stupid slideways. The car remained well balanced through a slide to the left followed by an intentional tank slapping slide to the right.

[rikhek]

Originally Posted by jlucas

Both have positive and negatives, so in the end it comes down to driver preference. If it's your first set of R comps, get the 275/305 combo.

I have about 900 track miles at Hallet in Oklahoma on R tires. I've just upgraded to bigger wheels. Guess i'll try both and find out for myself.

Additional comments are welcomed.

Rick

[Subdriver]

Rick,
What are the height (overall diameter) differences between the Toyo 275 and 305? I've run 275/40-17 front and 315/35-17 and they are both fine. But if the Toyo's are too tall or too short you may notice that it negatively impacts overall handling.

As for the width, I find that the 275s offer a little less rolling and aero resistance that helps a little at high speed tracks, the 315s offer more bite under braking and seem to turn in a little better. As I have to run the 315s on 10" rims, the whole tread isn't on the ground due to some buldging so I find that mid-corner grip isn't all that much different between the two.