Who is running 285s up front?

[Champale]

Curious as to what, if any, issues you might be having with clearance. There is a user named Neema who was running 285/35/20s up front (and 315/30/20 in back Toyo R888). I am contemplating the same tires - they are about two thirds of an inch taller overall but obviously a good bit wider. I have KW V3 coilovers and MM cc plates so I have some adjustability there.

Also, for those of you running the 285s in front, what offset are your wheels?

Thank you!

John

 

[cloud9]

I've used 285/645/18 slicks, 285/35/18 Nitto 555RIIs and 295/30/18 Hoosier R6s up front on an 18 x 9.5 +35mm offset wheel. I do use a 1/8" spacer with the 295s although not 100% sure I need it. I ground down the hex head end of the sway bar link so it's behind the strut body just for peace of mind.

 

[Brandon302]

I run 285's up front on the stock 9 inch rims and they are fine, no rubbing and I have no spacers to push it out.

 

[13Boss#3328]

I am thinking to run Enkei PF01 18X10.5 either from Sam Strano or Cortex ( +47 offset) with spacers up front.
Tire choice will be 295/35-18 all corners BFGoodrich Rivals
I like narrower tires on wide rims more than wider tires on narrow rims.
I am not sure though, shall I get Sam or Cortex? The offset is different. I will also have to APR wheel studs.

 

[neema]

Curious as to what, if any, issues you might be having with clearance. There is a user named Neema who was running 285/35/20s up front (and 315/30/20 in back Toyo R888). I am contemplating the same tires - they are about two thirds of an inch taller overall but obviously a good bit wider. I have KW V3 coilovers and MM cc plates so I have some adjustability there.

Also, for those of you running the 285s in front, what offset are your wheels?

Thank you!

John

John, I used to run 305/35/18 Nitto NT01s with a 3mm spacer up front to clear the strut on 18x10.5 et38 Enkei PF01s (on KWs). I now have cortex struts, so I can run the same wheel/tire and take the spacer out with plenty of clearance. I realize the tire is only 26.3" tall (shorter than the 20" Toyo), but it's significantly wider than a 285. I never noticed it, but it lightly rubs the fender liner at full lock. Nothing I would worry about. You can run roush steering limiters for peace of mind.

I am thinking to run Enkei PF01 18X10.5 either from Sam Strano or Cortex ( +47 offset) with spacers up front.
Tire choice will be 295/35-18 all corners BFGoodrich Rivals
I like narrower tires on wide rims more than wider tires on narrow rims.
I am not sure though, shall I get Sam or Cortex? The offset is different. I will also have to APR wheel studs.

The 47mm Cortex version is great for fitting the rear wheel under the fenders, but (like you said) you'll need to run a spacer to clear your strut and/or swaybar end link stud up front. If I had a 285 on my et38 wheel, I could run them with no spacers and it would clear the strut (not the endlink stud--that would need to be trimmed). With a et47 wheel, you would need a 10mm spacer to (almost) mimic the same wheel placement of the et38 wheel, which barely clears.

With the 38mm wheels, your front would fit without spacers, but your rears would stick out. With the 47mm offset wheels, the rears would tuck into the fenders, but the fronts would need 10mm spacers to fit the strut.

If you're okay mixing and matching, 47s in the rear and 38s up front will bolt straight up with no drama.

 

[cloud9]

Good info on the 18 x 10.5 +38 on the front neema. I may have to try that and stiffen up my front swaybar to run square 18 x 10.5 all around. I basically have two staggered sets of 18 x 9.5 +35 and 18 x 10.5 +38s. The 1/8" spacer I'm running with the 295s is equivalent to the 3mm you're using.

 

[13Boss#3328]

Great info neema!
If mix and match is done, I will lose the ability to rotate the tires all around, because I will need a spacer when I put the rear +47 up front

Apart from the look, what is the benefit of tucking the rear tire under the fender with +47?? Performance at the track is what matters only.
If there is no real performance benefit, I would rather go +38 all corners with only 5mm spacer up front.

 

[Champale]

Wow, excellent information from all of you guys! Thank you very much.

Neema - can you give me some feedback on the R888s? My car is a sunny day backroad thrasher so mileage and wet performance aren't concerns for me. It seems like the 888s might be a good option.

 

[cloud9]

Wow, excellent information from all of you guys! Thank you very much.

Neema - can you give me some feedback on the R888s? My car is a sunny day backroad thrasher so mileage and wet performance aren't concerns for me. It seems like the 888s might be a good option.

I've run quite a few sets of R888s on my GT500 and they are o.k. Might not be a bad "all around" tire for what you are describing. It would rank behind R6s, slicks and Nitto NT01 or 555RII in terms of lap times from my experience. They really get greasy after about 4 or 5 laps on our heavy cars. That said they would be one of the more durable of all the R-comp tires I've run.

 

[neema]

Great info neema!
If mix and match is done, I will lose the ability to rotate the tires all around, because I will need a spacer when I put the rear +47 up front

Apart from the look, what is the benefit of tucking the rear tire under the fender with +47?? Performance at the track is what matters only.
If there is no real performance benefit, I would rather go +38 all corners with only 5mm spacer up front.

Well, the purpose of mixing and matching would forfeit the possibility of rotating wheels for the sake of eliminating spacers up front. You could run a 295 or 305 which may necessitate the spacer, but if I were to buy tires again for these wheels I would actually try going with a slightly narrower tire.

The only benefit of tucking the et47 is mitigating tire rub at low ride heights. I think that in most cases, the bump stops (even when trimmed a little) will keep a rear tire no bigger than 26.5" from getting up into the fender, so there shouldn't be contact, but there are always those rumble strips that are big enough, or tires tall enough, or ride heights/springs that are low enough to really stuff a tire into the fender, and that's when a et38 with wider/taller tires will rub.

Wow, excellent information from all of you guys! Thank you very much.

Neema - can you give me some feedback on the R888s? My car is a sunny day backroad thrasher so mileage and wet performance aren't concerns for me. It seems like the 888s might be a good option.

For backroad thrashing, the tire will be great. It gets noisy with tire wear, but that's probably because I'm cheap and don't get my car aligned as much as I should. I never drove the R888s on track unfortunately. I DO remember that the straight line acceleration was something I happily got used to. Corner exit was a lot of fun.

 

[Champale]

Thank you Gary and Neema!

Philosophically, I have a problem with going to 20 inch 'dubs' on a sportscar (even though 911s, GTRs, 458s, etc use them) and I am trying to stay at roughly the same OE tire diameter and a good, sticky tire. The 305/35/18 NT01 is an interesting idea - listed at 26.4". Also, the 305/30/19 R888 is listed at 26.5". Both are about 1/2" shorter than OE which is about as small as I would want.

I have been contemplating running a square tire setup (even if the rims have different offsets front to rear) because I find that I get a little bit more understeer than I prefer, especially in faster corners.

Just so that I am clear, an 18x10.5 or 19x10.5 front wheel with an offset of 35mm should be ok with a 305 tire, right? And an et47 for the back should be ok, too, right?

Thank you again.

John

 

[neema]

Yes. Your only fitment modification will be your sway bar end link stud, which sticks out a ton and will probably come into contact with your tire (in an 18" config). You can either trim it, or space it back with some washers behind the strut. Both easy solutions.

I have to say, if you're going for different offsets front and rear, may I suggest an 11" front and rear. 50-54 offset in the rear and ~28 offset in the front. Camber is required though, so I wouldn't recommend this for a daily driving car, but it would be great for a weekend car or track car. 11" wheels support the 305/35 better (if that's what you're going with). Hell, I'd use 11.5s or 12s if it were possible.

 

[13Boss#3328]

Thanks again!

 

[VoodooBoss]

I'm looking forward to running the NT01's this season although I'll use the 275 on the front with stock sway bars. Don't forget the Jonbloed wheels from Cortex. I've seen these in person several times and they are nice looking wheels. I don't believe you need centering rings with them but you'll need wheel spacers up front.

http://www.cortexracing.com/shop/jongbloed_700/

The BOSS in the photo belongs to a BMO member.

 

[13Boss#3328]

I am debating between the Enkei PF01 18X10.5 all corners vs Forgeline F14 18X11..
I care about quality/durability and weight too.

 

[Champale]

Thank you for that info, Rick and Neema. Excellent ideas them all.

The R888 in 305/30/19 all around might be my best option at 26.5".

Do you think the NT01 in 315/30/20 would fit all around? It's a 27.5" tall tire, 12.6" wide. I don't mind running 2+ degrees of negative camber.

Sorry for all of the questions - it seems like every time you guys answer one, I think of 5 more. Thank you again - this is such a helpful forum!

 

[VoodooBoss]

I am debating between the Enkei PF01 18X10.5 all corners vs ForgeSTARline F14 18X11..
I care about quality/durability and weight too.

Of the wheels discussed in this thread and in their price range my impression is the Enkei's are the lightest and highest quality. Only negative is you use centering rings and as I've found out that's not as big of a deal as I thought it might be. I've been to both SCCA World Challenge and IMSA Grand Am races and I was surprised how many teams use Enkei wheels. I think the Team Dynamics, Forgestar and Jongbloed wheels are all nice and should work fine. If you want 11" wide wheels then Forgestar is just about the only game in town at this price point.

Cortex states that you can run 315's all around using their front dampers with their built in offset but that's on 18" not 20". I suspect you'll run into clearance issues with 20"'s.

 

[neema]

Thank you for that info, Rick and Neema. Excellent ideas them all.

The R888 in 305/30/19 all around might be my best option at 26.5".

Do you think the NT01 in 315/30/20 would fit all around? It's a 27.5" tall tire, 12.6" wide. I don't mind running 2+ degrees of negative camber - I've run that on my Evos in the past with no ill effect.

Sorry for all of the questions - it seems like every time you guys answer one, I think of 5 more. Thank you again - this is such a helpful forum!

the 315/30/20 will fit in the back with no issues, but it'll be tight up front and at full lock. 27"+ OD tires get heavy too, not to mention 20" wheels. It all adds up quickly.

the 305/30/19 should go on easily.

I am debating between the Enkei PF01 18X10.5 all corners vs Forgeline F14 18X11..
I care about quality/durability and weight too.

Both Enkei PF01 and Forgestar F14 are flow formed and commonly used on track. Weight is around the same (low 20 lb region) for 10"+ widths, so it's really a matter of style and brand preference. Forgelines are a totally different price point, and a much nicer wheel to boot.

If either of you are thinking of 305s, consider at least an 11" wheel. On a 10.5" wheel, I'd say to enjoy the cost savings of a 285. You'll probably experience a tread contact patch of nearly the same as the 305. BFG makes the rival in a 295/35/18 that is a nice option as well.

Look here for some pictures on 18x11s with 295/35/18s: http://www.s197forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109859

 

[VoodooBoss]

For those that care about this here's where the wheels are made:

Enkie - Japan
Team Dynamics - UK
Forgestar - China
Jongbloed - China?

 

[93 LX 5.0]

FYI

I am running Conti DWS 295/35/18's on SVE Drifts all around and have only a slight rub on left front, in reverse only at full r/h lock iirc. It is rare for me to go full lock so I am not sure which direction.