What size wheels for track use? 17" vs 18"

[Black R]

Hi,

I don't think my missile will be very competitive for autox, but I may sub it in for a couple of events to get it sorted out.

I definitely want to get it to a lapping day asap.

With that in mind, I'm shopping for some track wheels. Ideally, I have a non-staggered 17x10 (zero offset) setup in mind because I could swap this to one of my other cars if needed. I could also go with 9" in +12 or 9.5" in +7.
I have 18" 350z wheels for daily and feel like they are too big a wheel visually...

But I noticed some people run 18" track setups also.

Now in the past, I've always chosen tire first and then worked backwards to get wheels.

So I guess the affordability of track tires bears some mention here.

Also, let's not forget weight (unsprung) as a priority.

And of course this is for an s13.

I don't care about stock bodywork, so dazzle me with wideness and I will rape my fenders accordingly.

Are you guys finding 18" takeoffs somewhere, or are there wider more affordable 17" options out there?

[2Fass240us]

18" take-offs are more available in wider tires. Given the wheel widths you mention above, that may be your better option.

If you were buying new versus looking for take-offs, I would recommend a 17x10 or 17x10.5 with a 295 or 315.

[Matt93SE]

I get tons of takeoffs that fit great on 17x8 sizes, but with your power levels that may not work too well.

Try giving some of the used tire shops a call and see what they say on takeoffs. I buy R888s in in 235/40/17 from the Solstice GXP and MX5 cup guys and they get tons of them through.
might be different in 18".

As well, 18" on an S13? that's almost dorifto big.. personally I wouldn't go larger than 17 myself.

[McCoy]

If your new to track days/HPDE then I really suggest to get to a BMW/Porsche/whatever driving school on your street tires to get a good feel for the car and yourself. You might just find something else that needs attention before the BIG R-componds. I know some will call me a 'hater' for saying that, but this is advice from someone that's been tracking cars for 10 years and learned from making mistakes.

Your HP is going to play a part in how much tire your putting down and the weight of the car. A 185whp light car only need a 225-235 width tire at most. Getting over 400whp and your going to need some 295+ to help put down the power out of the turns... with a r-compound. The tire compond is upmost important here, you can get away with a monster tire with a soft compound, but it comes at the cost of tire life. Pick a harder compound and you won't be able to get them up to temp... Also, how hard you push the car has a direct relation to this.

for example... a 3100lb Z06 on 275/315 V710's with a good driver can go a full 25-30 minutes (no traffic) before having to take a cool down lap, and it's not because of the tires... the tranny just overheated!

Sorry, I probably wasn't much help, but wanted to give you something to chew on.

[Tower240sx]

Real men rock 16's

FTMFW


but seriously go out for first track experience on street tires, not all seasons, but definitely not R-comps, its more fun to be limited by tires than pull your car out of the barricades because the tires just kept wanting more

[koeprototypes]

well I rock 17x10s 275 OZ old school

[Matt93SE]

What they said. I always assume people on here have plenty of track experience. I used street tires for probably the first 5 years I was tracking the car. It really makes you learn how to drive smoothly (properly)- especially with the power you'll be putting down from a 2JZ.

Running R comps actually holds your driving back at first because it masks a lot of mistakes. you can do a lot of dumb things and the car will just stick or slide a bit and not make a noise. do the same mistake on street tires and they squeal like pigs telling you you're doing something mean to them, or it upsets the car enough that you have to change what you're doing in order to not wind up in the weeds.

[Black R]

I guess I should have noted that I usually run intermediate or advanced group on lapping days.

I've been autoxing and doing hpde's since 2000.

I'm not the hotshoe at every event, and am actually kind of rusty at this point. But I've kind of exhausted the ole "run azenis till you're ready" approach.

I really appreciate the advice though.
I would espouse the same thing.

I just may run ra1's or something like that though...

C'mon guys, I'm still on stock twins!
Probably 300whp if I'm lucky.

*I'm having a hard time finding something affordable and off the shelf in the sizes I'm lookin for.

Any of you got a lead on decent sizes and offsets?
I've been looking all day.

Hell, if the Def setup will fit under 16's, I may just start looking there.

It's a shame though because I just passed on 6x 16x12 ccw wheels for $500...

I thought they wouldn't be tall enough..! :(

[Matt93SE]

when you go to race compounds, you can find all kinds of badass sizes you never knew existed. the problem is they're all for 10 and 12" wide wheels. they make almost NOTHING in street compounds for those sizes in 16".

I bet you'll be happy with R888 or RA-1. they're the next logical step up from Azenis and their ilk.

[koeprototypes]

To me it depends on how your suspension and weight distribution is set up.With such heavy motors usually the spring rate can't be the same as OEM specs people talk about.
But I did manage to get a better weight distribution by adding a roll bar heavy enough to take some weight of the front.My motor weights basically the same as yours just a little less.
I still haven't manage to solve the under steer and other aspects.
and on street tires I think bf will be my next research.
I should have swap an sr and be done with it.

[McCoy]

If you want used, your best bet is looking at places like nasaforums.com, sccaforums.com, or places that sell takeoffs... just got to do some searching.

[2Fass240us]

If you want used, your best bet is looking at places like nasaforums.com, sccaforums.com, or places that sell takeoffs... just got to do some searching.I did this a few months ago. I wrote down all 17" and 18" tire sizes 255 and wider and whether they came in full sets, pairs, or staggered sets that could be separated into pairs.

The difficulty with 17's is that it's still hard to find anything bigger than a 255 that isn't too tall for our cars, even r-comps. They exist, but aren't very common used.

In the ones that were wider, they were pretty even between 17 and 18 with a slight advantage to the latter. This is independent of overall diameter.

[Def]

What they said. I always assume people on here have plenty of track experience. I used street tires for probably the first 5 years I was tracking the car. It really makes you learn how to drive smoothly (properly)- especially with the power you'll be putting down from a 2JZ.

Running R comps actually holds your driving back at first because it masks a lot of mistakes. you can do a lot of dumb things and the car will just stick or slide a bit and not make a noise. do the same mistake on street tires and they squeal like pigs telling you you're doing something mean to them, or it upsets the car enough that you have to change what you're doing in order to not wind up in the weeds.

I see so many guys in big power Vettes that went to R-comps before they had anything for car control skill that just drive like hamfisted aholes on track. They might turn similar laptimes to my S13 that's down ~150 rwhp and on smaller street tires, but they just can't seem to understand they'd be faster if they didn't drive like a jackass.

Exactly like the guy in the modded 996 GT3 on Pirelli Corsas that thought he was hot **** because he was going maybe 1-2 secs a lap faster than most other people on track. That car should be MUCH faster.

[Def]

I did this a few months ago. I wrote down all 17" and 18" tire sizes 255 and wider and whether they came in full sets, pairs, or staggered sets that could be separated into pairs.

The difficulty with 17's is that it's still hard to find anything bigger than a 255 that isn't too tall for our cars, even r-comps. They exist, but aren't very common used.

In the ones that were wider, they were pretty even between 17 and 18 with a slight advantage to the latter. This is independent of overall diameter.

Hard to beat 285/30-18 for a wide/not too tall tire. Used R-comps in that size are still pretty pricey though compared to slightly narrower 17" ones.

[Matt93SE]

Exactly like the guy in the modded 996 GT3 on Pirelli Corsas that thought he was hot **** because he was going maybe 1-2 secs a lap faster than most other people on track. That car should be MUCH faster.

They usually grid those guys right behind me on the next session so I can leave them in the dust and they can ask how much power I have. when I tell them about 150, they shut up real fast.

[turtl631]

I want the GT3 but not the hamfists.

Life goals...

[Tower240sx]

My bad I mistook the car's new-to-trackness as your own......sorry