Wheel/tire packages for track

[cloud9]

Regardless of the availability in size combinations, Invo vs. NT-01 is more about compound.

Yep. The NT01 wears better than the 555RII as well. I wish Nitto would introduce a 295 or 305 in the NT01 for 18" diameter wheels.

 

[adam81]

Has anybody heard of or tried these wheels, TSW Nurburgring? They have various sizes & are lightweight. Has anyone tried the NITTO Invo tire

Yep those will work. Not sure about that tire, maybe for the street they will be ok.

Also check out Forgestar wheels.

http://www.elementwheels.com/proddetail.asp?prod=fs-f14gm1990fs-f14gm1910

18x9.5 is at 40mm offset. 18x10.5 is a 27mm offset. Will these sizes fit the front and rear respectfully? I guess the biggest questions is how far, if at all, will they stick out and will they clear the brakes???

 

[cloud9]

The 40mm offset will work since the Enkeis work at both 35 and 45mm offsets depending on tire. Both those sizes work with a 275, but the 45mm offset would require a spacer to run a 285. The rears would stick out too much IMO. The 18 x 10.5 38mm offsets already stick outside the fenders just slightly but do not rub. You'd be moving out another almost 1/2" with the 27mm offsets. If anything a 45mm offset on the 18 x 10.5 rears would be better as there's a full 1" of clearance to the bump stop bracket on the inside of mine with a 305 tire on there.

 

[adam81]

Gary,

I know you run the enkei 18x10.5 in 38mm for the rear. Would a 45mm be better as the tire wouldn't stick out as far? Could you still run the same width tire without issue?

 

[steveespo]

My thought process for my car is based on a couple factors, with my weight reduction plans and redistribution of weight from the front to the rear (302S hood, aluminum bumper, battery relocated to trunk, headers and high flow cats, tubular k member) and running 45 more rear wheel horsepower than stock Boss cars I felt more rear biased traction would be needed. I run mostly in Sport mode but have run all assists off and the car definitely has trail brake and corner exit oversteer tendencies. The nannies help with errors in judgement : but they do hold the car back speed wise.
But in reading your opinions I guess having more tire would always be faster in any case and shock, roll bar, spring and air pressure can be used to tune the car for under or oversteer as desired.
Thanks for the tips.
Steve

 

[2012YellowBoss]

The Hoosier 255/40 calls for a 9" rim on their site. I was thinking about this same setup if I go with Hoosiers.

With the 295/30 and 275/35 setup you only have .5" stagger, same stagger with the 255/35 but it is shorter by .7" Notice the 255/35 and 275/35 have the same tread width. The 295/40 and 255/40 gives you a .7" stagger. The factory stagger is .82"

The height difference between the 295/30 and 275/35 is .2" With the 255/35 it is .5"

The 295/40 and 255/40 is a 1" height difference, that would be the biggest problem but it gets you way closer to the factory height of about 27" tall. The advantage with the tall tire is being about to run faster without hitting the rev limiter, (to me that is a big plus) my only concern would be what a one inch difference does and maybe sidewall rollover but I have no idea if that would be a problem.

So unless the 1" height size is a big problem, why would this setup not work?

P295/40ZR18 10.5" 27.2" 10-12" 11.0"
P295/30ZR18 10.8" 25.3" 9.5-11" 10.0"

P255/40ZR18 9.8" 26.2" 8.5-10" 9.0"
P255/35ZR18 10.3" 24.8" 8.5-10" 9.0

P275/35ZR18 10.3" 25.5" 9-11" 9.5"

 

[adam81]

Yes you are correct the 255/35/18 and 275/35/18 have the same tread width. However there is almost an inch difference in height. This is crucial for sidewall rollover as well as to protect your wheel from bumps, curbs, etc. Also the 255/40/18 only has 9.8 tread width. I want more tire under there for the track. That is why I decided to go 275 front 295 rear when trying to stay staggard.

Because our cars are 2wd and not 4wd the difference in height when comparing front to rear does not matter, as far as I know. However the difference in height of the front and rear tires will affect the rake of the car. But only half the distance as with tires half is down and half is up..... So if you move from a stock 27in tire to a 26in tire the car would be .5in lower to the ground over that axle.

The front to rear tread width difference on the LS is 1.4in. I have to say running the last two sets of tires (r6, pilot sports) the car had a tendency to oversteer and definitely never understeered. Looking up the differences in tread width they were both under 1in......

Jeez all this crap is confusing..... I never really put much thought into the height in tires changing the height of the car, nor the detailed specifics and ratios of tires until this thread. I have only used two different sets of tires other than stock that were both hardly used that I got steals on. This has gotten me to thinking about getting adjustable sways, run the most tire under the car that fit, and possibly just go with a square setup. Then you can rotate the tires wherever you want. This also gives you the most flexibility with tire selection.

Thoughts?

 

[steveespo]

Threads like this are what a good forum is all about. It's good to talk with a bunch of guys who just want to make their cars better on track. This is the legacy of the Boss 302 and Fords racing history. Also how we will stay on top of the ZL1's.
Steve

 

[2012YellowBoss]

The question for me with the 295/40 and 255/40 becomes is the height difference going to create a problem, IDK. The gain to having a 27 inch tire vs. the 25 on the rear is huge to me, getting every last MPH out of them. I am more worried about roll over on the rears since I have run only 35 rear. The 40 up front is not a problem as I have been able to run hard without any rollover. If the car is going to handle a little worse with the 1" height and I gain the MPH plus the larger stagger, then it is worth it. If the car is unmanageable with the 1" difference then that is a different story.

The 9.8 tread width is another story but I was hoping the R6's extra grip would make up for that.

As far as running square vs. staggered that is a personal choice. You have to put money into the car to be able to run the square anyway. If you get the wear figured out rotating is not that big of a deal IMHO. The rears last longer so you buy less and both front and rears can be swapped side to side. I have not run R comps yet but found with my tires I heat cycle them before all the tread is gone anyway so a square setup may not help that much.

 

[drano38]

possibly just go with a square setup. Then you can rotate the tires wherever you want. This also gives you the most flexibility with tire selection.

Thoughts?

Did it, and am glad I did.
Haven't hit the track with it (warmed up to 24 today, ~6" snow on the ground), but I'm sure I'll like square. Strano said his adjustable front will work (JSheier runs this for square). Another option is 7/8 or 1" rear. Sam said if we plan to change springs, and only the rear bar, the 1" rear is the better choice.
I might buy the front and 1" rear set--heck, the extra bar is cheap compared to all the Boss toys sitting in my garage right now. ;D
I'm on the track to have fun, and realize I won't pass Gary any time soon. So if square keeps me from being the top Boss on the track, I'm ok with that. I'm still having fun.

 

[cloud9]

Did it, and am glad I did.
Haven't hit the track with it (warmed up to 24 today, ~6" snow on the ground), but I'm sure I'll like square. Strano said his adjustable front will work (JSheier runs this for square). Another option is 7/8 or 1" rear. Sam said if we plan to change springs, and only the rear bar, the 1" rear is the better choice.
I might buy the front and 1" rear set--heck, the extra bar is cheap compared to all the Boss toys sitting in my garage right now. ;D

I think you'll like the new NT05s and when you do decide to try an R-comp I envy that you can run the NT01s. They really grip and seem to hold up really well. I wish the 555RIIs held up like the NT01s.

 

[drano38]

Yea, can't wait to get on the track w/ the Enkei's and NT-05s. Should be able to carve the corners harder than with the stock tires. And since Scott (2012YellowBoss) has already figured out tire pressures for the track, I can dial them in pretty quick. Once again, the pioneers making my life easy.

 

[lbp]

My thought process for my car is based on a couple factors, with my weight reduction plans and redistribution of weight from the front to the rear (302S hood, aluminum bumper, battery relocated to trunk, headers and high flow cats, tubular k member) and running 45 more rear wheel horsepower than stock Boss cars I felt more rear biased traction would be needed. I run mostly in Sport mode but have run all assists off and the car definitely has trail brake and corner exit oversteer tendencies. The nannies help with errors in judgement : but they do hold the car back speed wise.
But in reading your opinions I guess having more tire would always be faster in any case and shock, roll bar, spring and air pressure can be used to tune the car for under or oversteer as desired.
Thanks for the tips.
Steve

..Where are you picking up the 45 ponies?? :-X

 

[steveespo]

My thought process for my car is based on a couple factors, with my weight reduction plans and redistribution of weight from the front to the rear (302S hood, aluminum bumper, battery relocated to trunk, headers and high flow cats, tubular k member) and running 45 more rear wheel horsepower than stock Boss cars I felt more rear biased traction would be needed. I run mostly in Sport mode but have run all assists off and the car definitely has trail brake and corner exit oversteer tendencies. The nannies help with errors in judgement : but they do hold the car back speed wise.
But in reading your opinions I guess having more tire would always be faster in any case and shock, roll bar, spring and air pressure can be used to tune the car for under or oversteer as desired.

Thanks for the tips.
Steve

..Where are you picking up the 45 ponies?? :-X

My car made 407 rwhp before I did the ARH long tubes with 3" x pipe, revised 93 octane Brenspeed tune, BBK 85 mm and DSS aluminum driveshaft. All worth about 35 at the wheels. Most stock Boss cars are making 396-405 RWHP. These are on a Dyno Jet with SAE correction applied.
Steve

 

[BlackNDecker]

How is the fender to tire gap on the 18" wheels? Form follows function obviously, but it seems like that would look 4x4 with the stock suspension.

 

[cloud9]

How is the fender to tire gap on the 18" wheels? Form follows function obviously, but it seems like that would look 4x4 with the stock suspension.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

By cloud91965 at 2011-04-30

By cloud91965 at 2011-04-30

By cloud91965 at 2011-09-27

By cloud91965 at 2012-01-08

 

[2012YellowBoss]

LOL, I can hear the BMW and Porsche guys saying to themselves on track - is that a 4x4 that just passed me? ;D

 

[cloud9]

LOL, I can hear the BMW and Porsche guys saying to themselves on track - is that a 4x4 that just passed me? ;D

I was thinking of installing some of these:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[VoodooBoss]

That's why I installed Roush side splitters, it makes the car look lower. ;D

Those 302S wheels look great on your Boss.

 

[oldbossman]

I just signed up to BMO. I purchased by boss May of last year. I am adding the brake cooling kit (right side is in already- what a pain !)and already added the transmission scoop. As with most of you, I want to replace my wheels/tires with a set for the track. Reading all the excellent posts here as well as other websites, I have decided I want to initially run Nitto NT05's 275/40R18 front with Enkei PF01 9.5X18 and 295/35R18 rear with 10.5 X 18. I decided on these based a combination of their price, grip, and wear according to those that have used them. I went with these sizes because they seem to come fairly close to the diameters fo the OEM 19's (so the car is not lowered too much) and based on section width comparison (which I assume provides a good ratio for tread width since tread width is usually not listed).

What I would like some feedback on is this stagger seems to be only about 0.8" (again based on section width ratio and not actual tread width) which might cause some oversteer problems. Any thoughts on this set up? Also, for the Enkei wheels I assume I would go with the 45 mm offset front and rear? Also, any suggestions on other high performance street tires or competition tires that come in these or close to these sizes.