Wheel/tire packages for track

[CaliMR]

Thanks, that's what I thought but figured I'd ask.

 

[oldbossman]

OK, as everyone suspected, the dealer said that the 45 mm offset was only available for the fronts. However, I was wondering why the distributor indicated that he had some complaints with fender rub with the 35 mm offset but everyone on this forum that has used the 35 mm offset in the front seems to indicate no tire rub. Looking at the pictures I could possibly see where the outside loaded tire might rub some. Is this why many of you use 275/35/18s instead of 275/35/18 in front, especially since a 40 is closer to original height? I also saw a post where there was some concern that a 45 mm offset in the front gets close to the strut. However, based on what you guys have experience with, I plan on going with:

PF01 front 18 X 9.5 35 mm offset and 275/40/18 Nitto NT05
rear 18 X 10.5 38 mm offset and 295/35/18 NT05 rear

And yes in my earlier question I was referring to the caliper for the rear.

 

[cloud9]

Should work good. Have you or are you planning to add any negative camber to the front? That moves the tire even further from the fender. The Boss already has -0.9 degrees of camber from the 11mm drop which helps with clearance to the fender. With a 275/40/18 on the front and a 45 mm offset there is about 3/8'-1/2" to the strut and with the 35mm offset you have almost an inch. The stiff sidewall on those tires won't allow enough flex to be an issue with either wheel.

*cleaned up all the autocorrect errors from my phone!

 

[2012YellowBoss]

Reading and learning, thanks Gary for all the good info ;D

 

[oldbossman]

Thanks cloud9 for the info. Regarding camber changes you guys are way ahead of me on changes to the Boss to make it handle better on the track and camber changes are something I have not spent much research time on. I will wait until I get a few track weekends on the car and see how the tires wear and how it handles for me. One thing at a time. Maybe camber plates are next. I do plan on getting new Performance Friction pads (01 compound front; 97 rear) for the current rotors and new rotors and pads (maybe Hawk pads with the new rotors) when the current rotors need to be replaced.

 

[oldbossman]

OK, I received my PF01's from LSD Motorsports in California. They also mounted the Nitto NT05's before shipping. They gave me a good deal and would recommend them if you are looking for new wheels.

This is what I ordered:
front 18 X 9.5 35 mm offset in black and 275/40/18 Nitto NT05
rear 18 X 10.5 38 mm offset and 295/35/18 NT05

I have changed brake pads to (perf. friction 01 compound) in front and replaced the brake fluid with Motul. My track event is next weekend and my question to those that have run Nitto NT05 (or NT01) is what cold tire pressures did you run - front and rear?

 

[VoodooBoss]

OK, I received my PF01's from LSD Motorsports in California. They also mounted the Nitto NT05's before shipping. They gave me a good deal and would recommend them if you are looking for new wheels.

This is what I ordered:
front 18 X 9.5 35 mm offset in black and 275/40/18 Nitto NT05
rear 18 X 10.5 38 mm offset and 295/35/18 NT05

I have changed brake pads to (perf. friction 01 compound) in front and replaced the brake fluid with Motul. My track event is next weekend and my question to those that have run Nitto NT05 (or NT01) is what cold tire pressures did you run - front and rear?

If I buy 18" wheels that's the exact setup I'll go with. Let us know how they work for you.

 

[2012YellowBoss]

My track event is next weekend and my question to those that have run Nitto NT05 (or NT01) is what cold tire pressures did you run - front and rear?

https://trackmustangsonline.com/boss-302-technical-forum/taking-a-different-boss-to-the-track-friday/msg17440/#msg17440 read this and further down post 43 is good.

I found I beat the tires up bad at higher pressures and finally found my way down to 30 PSI hot which was about 22 cold. They hooked up and wore nice at these pressures. I know Wayne ran the tires and found a higher pressure worked better for him.

 

[drano38]

My track event is next weekend and my question to those that have run Nitto NT05 (or NT01) is what cold tire pressures did you run - front and rear?

Like Scott just said, low pressure works well for him.
But last Friday, I opened the season in Iowa, and ended up with 40 psi hot. It was cold (45 in the morning, 65 in the afternoon), so that may have been part of it. But I was getting fairly even temps across the tire face.
So pic a number, check tire temps on outer/middle/inner tread as soon as you park, and adjust from there for even temp and/or even wear pattern.
Scott and I have proven that Your Mileage May Vary.
Have fun.

 

[cloud9]

My track event is next weekend and my question to those that have run Nitto NT05 (or NT01) is what cold tire pressures did you run - front and rear?

Like Scott just said, low pressure works well for him.
But last Friday, I opened the season in Iowa, and ended up with 40 psi hot. It was cold (45 in the morning, 65 in the afternoon), so that may have been part of it. But I was getting fairly even temps across the tire face.
So pic a number, check tire temps on outer/middle/inner tread as soon as you park, and adjust from there for even temp and/or even wear pattern.
Scott and I have proven that Your Mileage May Vary.
Have fun.

Did you end up at 40 hot after you started 33 front and 31 rear cold? You should generally be shooting for about 40 hot on street tires.

 

[drano38]

My track event is next weekend and my question to those that have run Nitto NT05 (or NT01) is what cold tire pressures did you run - front and rear?

Like Scott just said, low pressure works well for him.
But last Friday, I opened the season in Iowa, and ended up with 40 psi hot. It was cold (45 in the morning, 65 in the afternoon), so that may have been part of it. But I was getting fairly even temps across the tire face.
So pic a number, check tire temps on outer/middle/inner tread as soon as you park, and adjust from there for even temp and/or even wear pattern.
Scott and I have proven that Your Mileage May Vary.
Have fun.

Did you end up at 40 hot after you started 33 front and 31 rear cold? You should generally be shooting for about 40 hot on street tires.

Gary,
They're now 35 front/33 rear in my 52 degree garage.
At the track, I stopped measuring cold tire pressure thru the day--just kept watching hot off the track. But I drove home w/o lowering the pressures (doh!).

 

[2012YellowBoss]

Gary,
They're now 35 front/33 rear in my 52 degree garage.
At the track, I stopped measuring cold tire pressure thru the day--just kept watching hot off the track. But I drove home w/o lowering the pressures (doh!).

Wayne
At first I pick a pressure to start at, no big deal since I am only looking for correct hot pressure at the track. I only get a good cold pressure after I have found the correct hot track pressure by checking them at home inside a day later. Another thing I keep in mind when adding or reducing pressure at the track is how long the tires have cooled. If they are semi-hot (5-10 mins off track?) I go one pound for every one and a half pounds of hot pressure I want. If they have been sitting for a half hour I will go two to one.

 

[drano38]

Scott,
Thanks for the gouge. I'll keep that in mind as I go thru the summer.
At MAM, since it was new tires, I checked tire temps as soon as I parked, then went around again for pressure.
Once I know what works, I'll spend less time doing that, and do it a few times a day to make sure all is still good (knowing air temp increases thru the day affect the tires).
2 days at BIR 5/6 May should give me a solid baseline for the summer, but it will still be cool up there, so that will affect them some too.

 

[Dean#4AI]

Finally got my Forgestars and Nittos mounted. Also installed the Steeda springs. 8)

 

[drano38]

Looks good Dean.
Do you have MM camber plates?
How much camber did you set?

 

[Dean#4AI]

Looks good Dean.
Do you have MM camber plates?
How much camber did you set?

Yes, I have MM plates but I still need to check how much I have. I had it set last year at 2.3 but I set them at max camber and with the slight front lowering, I think I will have more than that.

 

[adam81]

Looks mean.....Dean...... Can you take a shot of the rear wheels showing how far they stick out with that offset? Thanks. Car is looking great!

 

[PeteInCT]

Looks like I'm going to bite the bullet on the 18's. I am a big believer in not trying to fix something that's not broken just for the sake of doing a mod. I love the handling of the Laguna Seca and do not see a strong need at this time to lower it or make major changes to the stock setup other than the camber plates I already installed. The car totally kicked ass at LimeRock yesterday. That said, the tire availability and cost for 19" wheels is a big issue given the number of track days I do a year and the fact that I want to run on sticky R-comps (about 25, maybe more this year). If I was OK with a non r-comp tire I'd run om Michelin Pilot Super Sports, get great (for a non r-comp tire) dry and wet performance and get the number of heat cycles that a 300 tire wear rating tire can get.

So, I'm going with Gary's suggestion:

Front: Nitto NT-555R-II 285/35R18 on Enkei PF01 9.5" x 18"
Rear: Nitto NT-555R-II 305/35R18 on Enkei PF01 10.5" x 18"

Why:

• Enkei's are cost effective, light (20/21 lbs) and seem to hold up well. My first choice would have been OZ Alleggherita HLT's but they are not available for the Boss.
• Nitto 555R-II have very good grip and a sidewall designed for heavier (muscle) cars. I expect grip not too far off from what the NT-01's can do. Price is reasonable at $314/$346 per tire delivered.
• Gary was already the guinea pig on this combo ;D

Other considerations:

• Stay with 19" stock wheels: Too heavy, limited tire selection
• Stay with the Pirelli Corsa's: They are not bad tires, but even if they were the best tire for the Boss, at $2500 + tax + delivery for the set this is not an option.
• Hoosier R6's on 18": No tire size available for rears
• Hoosier R6's on 19": Great grip but still have the heavy wheels and the anticipated max # of heat cycles make this an expensive option
• Toyo R888 on 18" wheels: Not a bad option but based on Gary's input I suspect they are not as sticky as the Nitto's
• Nitto NT05 on 18" wheels: A Possibility, very cost effective, can't get them as wide as the 555R-II, this is really a street tire so it will last a while but won't grip like the Nitto R-comp tires
• Nitto NT05R on 18" wheels: This is really a drag tire - some guys are using it on road coarses but I suspect sidewall strength may not be optimum for a car over 3600 lbs.

 

[2012YellowBoss]

The Boss looks fantastic Dean!

Sounds all about right Pete. I went with 18's right off the bat to make life easy. While sometimes it is hard to find the correct sizes in what you want it is a whole lot better then the 19's.

On the Hoosier R6's why don't you think the 295's will work. The 295/30/18 is still taller then the conti take off I am running?

 

[PeteInCT]

Are you running square ?