Hi everyone, I've autocrossed my G twice now and the front tires are getting chewed up, so I've decided I should get some 17" wheels/tires for autocross and the occasional track day. There is an autocross clinic on June 18 so I need to get them soon!! Please help....

Tires: what sizes are you guys running? Just from searching online, it looks like 275/40-17 is widely available. For the fronts, 255/40-17 or 245/45-17 are two sizes that come up too. I wouldn't mind going w/ 255's all around, but someone said the car will feel better w/ bigger tires.

As for brands, I'd like a DOT R-compound tire probably, like Yoko ADVAN A032R (hard compound), Toyo RA-1, Falken Azenis RT-615, Nitto 555R II. Are there other tires to consider?

Wheels: Any suggestions on wheels and offsets? I think I will have to go w/ 17x9's or 9.5 for the size tires I'm looking at. what offset should I be looking for? I would like a lightweight, cheap wheel.

Anyways, any advice to help me decide on a wheels and tires, including where to get them, would help me out a lot. Thanks guys!!!

 

^BUMP

Come on guys, any help would be appreciated.
Specifically:
1) for 17" rims, what size tires do you recommend?
2) any suggestions on cheap, light wheels?
3) what offset is needed for our cars?

I am so dissappointed....I post a real question and nobody answers. Somebody posts a 100th-time repost of "no Brembos on the 05?" or "is it hotter looking to leave my sunroof tilted up?" and it gets 100 posts. This is why I am not a premier member.

 

I'll bite.

After 2 track days I decided to dedicate a set of R tires to my 17x8" snow tire rims. I was concerned with matching or bettering the 18" Pilot diameters (for VDC) and load ratings. The closest I could get was Yokie AO32R's (H) in 245/45-17 so I put them on all around. They work fine, are pretty sticky and give plenty of feedback. I got full tread depth and heat cycled from the dealer (Tire Rack), and am glad because 2 of my 3 track days this year have been pouring rain for at least half the day - they were MUCH better than the Pilots in the wet. The only drawback is tread howl that may bug you on the way to the track. This is the only R tire that I've used, but other people have commented positively on the Toyo for performance and reasonable durability. Kumho 710's are also popular, they're supposed to perform better but wear quicker too.

A 17x9" rim with approx. 30mm offset (same as stock) would be a better choice because you can get up to 275's on there; more manufacturer choices and more grip. This size is commonly used for Mustang/Camaro's that are similar in weight to the G, seems like a good application to me.

Also, I've seen very little noticable effect on the VDC with no stagger, but shut it off on the track anyway.

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for your reply, Timm! I'm still researching availability of tire sizes and wheels.....

 

I'm really happy with my 5zigen wheels. The 17x8's weigh ~17lbs. Check them out here: http://www.5zigenusa.com/w_fn01rc.html. If you are running in BSP (which you should if you have a plenum spacer) then you can go pretty wide.

Front:
A good matchup would be the 9" up front with some 255/40/17 tires. However, I'm not sure if the +35 offset on the 17x9 wheel would fit over the brembos. If not, go with the 17x8 +25 offset wheel and 245/45/17 tires up front. That is what I have and it fits great.

Rear:
Go with the 10" wide rim in the rear with some 285mm tires. I would go with 275/40/17 in the rear. I think the +35 offset should fit - but I can't guarantee that. You'll probably have to do some searches for offsets on wheels/tires that wide...

I don't see any reason to run all 4 the same. Having more rubber in the back will help with the power-on/corner exit oversteer. Yes, you'll have more understeer tendencies, but you'll still be just as fast or faster in the corners as you would with all for the same. You can probably dial out some of the understeer by use of a softer front sway or a stiffer rear sway...

As for tires, if this is your first season autocrossing, I would recommend you go with a street tire like the RT-615's. From what I've been led to believe the R-compounds are much more expensive, less forgiving, and wear out much faster (especially by making rookie mistakes). I love my Hankooks, but they don't make them wider than 245mm wide! Good luck!

Mike

P.S. I bought my setup from edgeracing.com. I got the wheels and tires together, so it made a really good price for me.

 

I picked up a set of RA1s. They handle amazingly on the street. I mean the handle freakin unbelievably on the street. This Sunday will be my first autoX on them so I'll have more to report then.

Went with 275/40/17 rears and 255/40/17 on the front. On 5Zigen Fn01r-c 17x9 ET:35 from Edge Racing, the setup cost me right around $1600 shipped.

 

Dude - not to pick on you, but you've got to realize the Brembo/sunroof questions you refer to are in the "General G35 Coupe" category where there is always around 100 people reading/writing at any given time. The "racing" (or "autocross," more specifically) category usually has more like 0-2 at any given moment. You've come to the right place, but have some patience - the real experts will give you some advice eventually (just give mine some consideration until they do ).

Anyhoo, sometimes I wish I wasn't in STX so I could run tires as wide as you guys! I also forgot to mention my setup cost less than 1350 after shipping and FL state tax...

 

I think the cheapest wheel that fits is the FN01r-c, and it looks good too. Roneski, did you go 17x9 ET:35 on both front and back? The Black Racing Pro N1 (also 5Zigen) is cool too but I haven't seen it at too many websites.

Other wheels that caught my eye were the MB Weapon and Competition . They are around $120/wheel so they are much cheaper! But the 9" wide Weapons weigh 24 lb. They are also OOS right now so I'd have to wait a few months (and chew up my Michelins ).

As for tires, the Toyo RA-1's are getting some good praise. They come in 255/40ZR17 and 275/40ZR17. I read the Kumho Ecsta V700's can be removed and swapped L/R so you get better life out of them.

 

I went with the same size rims all the way around. I figured that the 17x9s gave me the most freedom if I want to change tire sizes in the future and they only weigh 17.5 pounds.

The RA1s can also be reversed to limit wear. You just have to make sure that you aren't running through any water. Dry performance is supposed to be the same in both directions.

 

We did the exact same thing.

 

Got to run the RA1s yesterday. Gotta say that there was a day and night difference between them and the street tires.

I didn't manage to push them to anywhere near their full potential, but I'm slowly learning what they can do. The grip was ****** impressive. Almost too impressive, there were a couple of corners where I had a bit of trouble rotating the rear end so I had to add a bit of pressure to the rears and she responded better (nice problem to have btw).

Overall I'd recommend them, after talking to quite a few people about tires yesterday the consensus seems to be that hoosiers are the most popular solution out here. Nobody had anything bad to say about the RA1s though, just that they were a bit harder than the Hoosiers, they will however have a service life at least twice as long as the Hoosiers.

 

Did you have the RA1s shaved?

 

No, full tread.

 

I run Hoosiers S04A's on the stock rims with 245-40/18 front and rear. 1 Race and 1 evo school later I have had no problems with the VDC (which is off anyway when I race) or the ABS. I also moved up from 50th in PAX to 17th. I daily drive and track Toyo T1S's on RH J-5 255-35/19 and 275-35/19 rear.

There is no comparison between the two on an Auto-X course. Auto-X specific Hoosiers are 2-3 seconds faster on a 60 second course minimum. A great driver can make it up on an average driver but to be competative in auto-x you almost have to have the hoosiers.

Sorry for the slow reply but I haven't had a chance to catch up on my G-35 reading lately.

 

Hi all, thanks for your comments so far. I'm looking to get the MB Motorsports Competition in 17x9, 27 offset all around. They are much cheaper than the 5Zigen's and are 20.5 lb/ea.

Now for tires, it seems like they can't get the Toyo RA-1 in 275/40-17 for the rear (backordered), so I am going to go for the Kumho Victoracer V700 (255/40-17 front; 275 rear).

I have some autocrosses coming up, but I would like to do a track day later this summer too. A knowledgable person at our auto-x meets said for auto-x it isn't necessary to shave the tires, or even to heat cycle them. Should I at least go w/ heatcycled tires so they wear better?

I will probably be ordering these tomorrow, so let me know if you have any more comments before I take the plunge! Thanks a bunch guys!!