Chris C.

I've seached (a lot!) and haven't seen this answered yet: Which is more important for occasional track use -

Choosing between lighter weight OR wider tires - which would be more important (adv intermediate driver for 5-6 DEs a year?)

rim size diameter width weight
18" 235/40 MPSC 25.4 9.5 22
18" 295/30 MPSC 25.2 12.1 25

18" 255/35 R888 25.1 10.2 26
18" 315/30 R888 25.5 12.5 30

19" 235/35 OEM 25.5 9.5 20
19" 305/30 OEM 26.3 12.3 27

Both choices seem to lower effective gearing, and move more width proportionately forward (slightly in case of MPSC)

I am going with forged rims so in the first case you lose weight per wheel over stock; second case is about equal.

Also - will the r888 work OK with "standard" alignment i.e. -1.2/2 camber ? Thinking I rather have the "circuit setup -2/2.5, but I do drive on the street a lot (on pirellis)

Thanks in advance! Chris

Chris C.

Bump. Track gurus, any help appreciated! Trying to find a shop in Tucson to corner balance and align, and curious how much camber I will need for r888.

AllanJ

I'm no track guru but I'll post this thought to help get the ball rolling.

With only 5-6 DEs, IMHO tire/wheel choice doesn't matter. Your focus is street so I'd choose an alignment that's between street/track and choose whatever wheel/tire combo you want.

If you were trying to get all you could from the car at the track, then you'd have the track alignment and run whatever the other fast guys are running for wheels/tires. Since you aren't doing that then it really doesn't matter much. Just get out there and have fun.

Cheers,

iLLM3

If you need 2 rear MPSC's in 295/30-18 let me know, only slightly used and too small for my gt2!

C.J. Ichiban

Chris,

depending on your actual street mileage per year, you might not be really saving that much money if you have to buy a second set of wheels too...+1 to allan's comment on sticking with stock. By 5-6 DE's I'm assuming you mean full weekend, PCA style DE? so that's 10-12 actual days of driving, figuring 5 sessions per day. 50-60 track sessions will pretty much cook the MSPC or the Corsas...

I don't see a need in replacing tires/wheels (ask OldGuy he's been looking for new wheels and I told him to paint his black) unless you're going through tires like a madman. I've had the car since late january and have 4250 miles already...by the end of the year I'm sure I'll be on my 4th set of tires.

Right now-I'm on my second set of MSPC on the stock sizes/stock wheels and am perfectly fine. Of course, I'll try out the R888 due to lower cost (since I'm over 50% track mileage I'd guess) but still not sure if I want to go with 18" wheels since I'm getting a different track-dedicated car to feed my habit and don't want to bleed from both ends so to speak.

at a few grand for new 18" wheels, you're talking about the costs of at least 2 full sets of OEM tires. this is offset if you put a ton of miles on the car (as 18"s are cheaper significantly) but even then, it takes about 4 sets of cheap tires (and this could be between 2500-5000 miles per set!) to offset the cost of a mildly decent 18" custom set of GT3 wheels (ccw is cheapest at around 2400?, HRE, BBS, etc are minimum double that ).

also- from what remember reading on here- either the RA1 or the R888 can delaminate quickly from running too much camber (anything over 2.5) and they work better with a more vertical set up.

Lastly- wider tires = more grip. your tires get lighter each lap as they melt into the tarmac...I wouldn't worry too much about that in relatively high powered cars like the GT3.

David A

Talk to John at CCW wheels, he will give you good advises.

Chris C.

Thanks CJ et al. I have a set of C10s in dark gray anodized inmy garage today, and went with 315/255 R888 at John's recommendation. The question stemmed from how heavy the r888 is compared with a real MPSC, and unsprung weight savings makes a big difference in my experience with hollow turbo wheels on a street/track 993 and Champions on my Boxster.

I like having dedicated track wheels as driving R-comps around town on the street in my experience is a bit overkill and expensive given the factory MPSC won't last me one full year. I run Pzeros or MPS2 on the street as they grip fine for canyone driving and last 2 years with my mileage. Also, they give me a set of rains in case that happens during a DE in the phoenix area

Point taken though that the cost savings ($500+ per set of R comps) might be imaginary given my investment in track wheels to run them!

I decided the factory alignment was "aggressive" enought for first time out - really just looking to keep the car neutral and predictable.

Will post impressions after Saturday! First DE with 400+ hp, should be interesting!

Chris

AllanJ

Hi Chris,

If it makes you feel any better, if they remain in good condition you can easily sell the C10s for $2200-ish way down the road so you won't be losing much money on them.

Have a great time on Saturday!

Chris C.

Thanks Allan - there does seem to be a healthy market. It's a good investment - not worried about the cost, just wanting a well sorted car for the inaugural run!