THSCC Forums

It's the age old question so I have come to the mountain...

The car: 2005 350Z 35th Anniv. Ed. Stock shoes: F: 18x8 with 225/45/18; R: 18x8.5 with 245/45/18. I am currently running Michelin Pilot Super Sports in 245/40/18 and 265/40/18. The tires have great grip but because the car is camber challenged and I tend to drive it hard, I have shredded the outside edge of two front lefts in the last year. Could be a toe problem and will be getting that checked and adjusted if necessary on Friday.

Regardless, I need new tires. The Michelins have been nice but I'd like to try for more grip. In the sizes I'm currently using, I have three choices: BS Potenza RE11, Ventus R-S3 Version 2 or Advan Neova AD08R. Based on what other folks are using, I'd like to try the BS RE-71R or the BFG Rivals but they're not available in my size.

The RE-71R and Rival have the correct front size but no 265s for the rear. The closest is 275/35/18. Is that too much to try to stuff on my wheels? If 275s will work, I'm all for more rubber. But if not, should I go with the R-S3s or back to the stock 225s in front and 245s in the rear? Or something else?

Thanks in advance,

Lee

Pull out your spoon.

http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tire/potenza-re-71r

Click "See more tire details"
Chart will show you recommended rim widths for each tire size.

Lee,

I had excellent results on the M3 running 275/35-18 Rivals all around, and it has 8.5/9.5 width wheels, so the 275 was slightly pinched up front (i.e. TRA recommended wheel width is 9-11" for the 275/35-18). Since in your case it would be pinched on the rears just beware that you'll have more transient squirm out back with the narrow wheel/large tire setup (i.e. tail looser on transitions: turn-in, slalom, etc). I assume in this case you'd run the 245/40 up front. If you want the best autocross tires, I would assume the RE-71R is the choice to make with the Rival S being 2nd, barely. I don't know which of those is longer lasting in battle and daily use (neither by a long shot compared to the PSS, especially since they come with 30% less tread to begin with) however.

Definitely get the toe checked out and try to run as little toe-in as possible. If in daily use, perhaps setting it to the minimum toe-in of the factory spec is the place to start. Also, the condition of the bushings comes into play in heavy cornering and braking in how well "located" the loaded outside wheel remains. (I realize all of this you already know... )

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

Well, if you are used to burning up cash buying PSS's, then the re71-r pricing won't hurt as much

You will go faster in the re71-r, for sure. If you are using 265/40 in the rear, that is nearly an inch bigger diameter than stock, right? Maybe go to 265/35/18 for the rears? 245/40s in the front will fit, no problem. Sidewall is fairly stiff, and it can tolerate being run on a narrower wheel.

+1 on Chuck's comments about bushing wear and alignment. I have no knowledge of how the split lower arm/link design wears and what its long-term failure points are. From limited reading it sounds like it should gain camber in compression like a wishbone front suspension , so it *should* be friendlier to tire wear than a strut-based setup.

_________________
Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

First, buy a set of NON-staggered wheels. Being able to rotate tires on a camber challenged car is essential. ask me how I know.

_________________
Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

It's Street Class. Can change +/- 1" diameter and ~0.25" offset only.

_________________
Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

I think they finally updated the offset change allowed to mm recently, and it's 7mm now? (instead of 6.35mm)

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

Sorry, my fault. Revised:

1. Change class
2. Buy non-staggered wheels
3. Enjoy the results

_________________
Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

Tough crowd in my book 7mm = 0.275" which is ~0.25". Good thing I am not a machinist, right?

_________________
Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

Well, what I was referring to (in my mind anyway lol) was how the SCCA kept a looooooong outdated spec on the Solo books of quoting the offset change allowed in inches. Wheels in the old days (well, in the US anyway) actually had offsets specified in inches. Finally just recently they woke up from a 40 year slumber and updated that spec to how wheels have been made for decades, with offset spec'd in mm, and decided on 7mm. I assume the reason they did that was that some people had machined their wheels to the old spec max (6.35mm change), so they rounded up to 7.

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

4. Lose enjoyment when competing in cars in street prepared setup for the class and losing badly.
5. Spend a few thousand to bring car up to near new class prep level hoping to enjoy results.

_________________
Current stable:
2019 BMW M2 Competition slicktop 6MT
2011 BMW M3 sedan slicktop 6MT
2007 BMW 328i wagon (slushbox for now)
1975 CanAm 125MX2

Better question is are you DD on these tires? If so I would go with the Dunlop Star Specs or the second choice Hankooks. If you are daily driving the Re071r is a horrible choice because wear is atrocious.

Can you not fit a 235 in the front?

_________________
2006 Civic Si - #24 HS for 2015

2005 GMC Sierra
1991 318is Garage Ornament

If you're planning on driving the same set of wheels/tires at autox and for lapping days, I'd recommend against the RE-71R or Rival S. On cars that get great tire life, people are only seeing ~6 hours of life on track with the RE-71R. We ran the AD08Rs on the Lexus and they were fine. We currently have half a set of R-S3 V2s somewhere around the car, and I haven't heard any real complaints.

If you want to completely shut me out of CS for this year, RE-71R. If you don't want to buy tires after every HPDE and a half, AD08R or Z2* or R-S3.

Truth. Seems like there is a bifurcation in 200 TW tires now, which makes a bit of sense given the inherently different nature of autocross (and maybe time attack) vs HPDE and certainly LeChump. Grip comes at the expense of wear, for sure.

_________________
Steve Carter
1972 Datsun 240Z-- resto pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/srcartermd
2007 GPW Honda S2000-- STR 86

It's the staggered product cycles of various companies.

I'm just hoping that the next wave of "old" tire refreshes (Dunlop, Hankook, etc) have the grip of the current hot tires to have, but with the longevity of the tires that came out in 2010-2014 (1.5 autox seasons, 6-8 DE weekends, ~10k miles).