What are the widest tires I can use with my wheels?

[nsxtasy]

Are those tires listed in your order of preference? I stockpiled a few sets of F1-GSD3s a while back and I am about to mount up my last set of rears. I tend to go through 2 sets of rears for one set of fronts. Now that the GSD3 is extinct, I'm soon going to be looking for its successor for Charlotte. Since you know how much mileage I do and that it rains a lot down here in the summer I'm curious as to which tire you'd recommend. My early inclination is to go with the Star Specs.

Well, that depends on what you're looking for. As you're already aware, the F1 GS-D3 was exceptional because it provided pretty good treadlife and excellent rain traction, along with dry performance that was excellent - not quite up there with those extreme performance tires, but pretty darn close. Now that niche in the market is occupied by the Continental ExtremeContact DW, which is available in 215/40-17 and 265/35-18. (Incidentally, for some reason the Tire Rack does not show this tire in 215/40-17, but it is definitely available in that size from other retailers including Discount Tire Direct.) So for your situation, that's what I would recommend.

For the ultimate in traction, all three of the extreme performance tires I listed in the post you quote are excellent (differences are minor, but if I had to choose only one, it would be the Star Spec). But their downside is that they wear relatively quickly, more so than the ExtremeContact DW or the F1 GS-D3.

HTH

 

[EAC]

Thanks for all the information. Myself personally don't care about wet performance as I don't drive when it's wet out.

Right now, I mainly care about short straight line bursts and the occasional on/off ramps.

 

[BATMANs]

It's painter's tape. I've seen people run it at the track, either to cover up glass lenses, or to protect body panels in exposed areas, or just for the sake of appearance.

There must be something better than that.

I've had friends peel off the masking tape only to find that rocks have penetrated it.

 

[Hugh]

For the ultimate in traction, all three of the extreme performance tires I listed in the post you quote are excellent (differences are minor, but if I had to choose only one, it would be the Star Spec). But their downside is that they wear relatively quickly, more so than the ExtremeContact DW or the F1 GS-D3.

HTH

Thanks Ken. I have a little time to make a decision. My GS-D3 fronts only have 10,000 miles on them and will make it to 25K. The current set of rears is approaching 12,000 and will be replaced soon with my last set of rears which will go bye bye at about the same time the fronts will be done. So I have about 3 months of driving left on the Goodyears until it's time for the big change.

 

[Hugh]

There must be something better than that.

1) Get a dedicated track car.
2) Deal with the realities that occur when you track a street car.

I've had friends peel off the masking tape only to find that rocks have penetrated it.

d0h!

 

[SuperSonic]

Just my input but wildness isn't everything if it won't hook up. My new wheels with Yokohama don't stick nearly like my z1 stars. I'd get the largest d1 star spec. You will like them.

 

[costa]

MY WEELS ARE 18x9.5 i have toyo r888 295-30-18 launch the car at 6000rpm and i bearly get weel spin ..look at my video were the camara is on my back weel and you can hear all my shifts and how litle i spin the weels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Ob7EkPJEQ&fb_source=message

 

[SOURCE 1]

I was just having this conversation with a local guy yesterday. He runs 315/25/19 on a 11 in wide HRE. He loves that his tires are that wide but the tires he has are on some backorder and most likely will be discontinued. We were discussing options and I explained he just needs a 295/30/19 with a better compound. He is running a Falken 452.. Not the best tires but worked for him thus far. On a 9.5 inch wheel I would stick to the 275/285 range but seeing that you love to drag race maybe that 305/35/18 Mickey Thompson is best?

 

[SOURCE 1]

Thanks Ken. I have a little time to make a decision. My GS-D3 fronts only have 10,000 miles on them and will make it to 25K. The current set of rears is approaching 12,000 and will be replaced soon with my last set of rears which will go bye bye at about the same time the fronts will be done. So I have about 3 months of driving left on the Goodyears until it's time for the big change.

Hugh, One issue I just ran into on the Star specs is that Tirerack.com is the ONLY place I could find them. Every other vendor said they were no longer in production but Tire Rack had hundreds of them? That tire is incredible though. For the price unbeatable. The set I just got for a customer was about 165ea front and 283ea rear. 2154017 and 2753518 rear I think.

 

[nsxtasy]

I was just having this conversation with a local guy yesterday. He runs 315/25/19 on a 11 in wide HRE. He loves that his tires are that wide but the tires he has are on some backorder and most likely will be discontinued. We were discussing options and I explained he just needs a 295/30/19 with a better compound. He is running a Falken 452..

That's a perfect example of someone who doesn't understand that stickier tires are far more important than tire width. He could switch to 275 Star Specs or RE11 and they will give him way, WAY more traction than the FK452.

Hugh, One issue I just ran into on the Star specs is that Tirerack.com is the ONLY place I could find them. Every other vendor said they were no longer in production but Tire Rack had hundreds of them?

Tire Rack sometimes makes deals with tire manufacturers to be the exclusive distributor of a certain size tire. I believe Tire Rack is (or, at least, was) the only place you could get a 205/50-15 Star Spec, too.

 

[blodi]

That's a perfect example of someone who doesn't understand that stickier tires are far more important than tire width. He could switch to 275 Star Specs or RE11 and they will give him way, WAY more traction than the FK452.

+1 I had the FK452's on my car for a few years. Just a couple weeks ago I put on Star Specs. Now, I did actually go up from a 265 to a 275 on the rears, but the grip is so much better with these tires and I haven't even gotten them worn in yet. Before I would spin the tires through 1st easily on a roll on. Now it just hooks and goes with no drama. It actually stunned me the first time, because I hadn't been putting all the power down to the ground before. Really good looking tire too. Even though the front I got are the same size, I swear they look wider on the car.

 

[HockeyGoalie]

I think you're totally missing the point here. As Jim said, what really matters for traction is the make/model of the tire

Assuming you have 17's on the front, here are extreme performance tires that are available in 215/40-17 for the front and 265/35-18 for the rear:

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec
Yokohama Advan Neova AD08
Falken Azenis RT-615K

I have the Yokohama Advan AD08 on my Cayman S and also had them on my 911. Fantastic tires, best street tire in my opinion. My friend had the Azenis and they got real loud as they wore down.

 

[EAC]

Well, I almost bought the 305's, then almost bought the 295 R888, but ultimately decided on the NT01 275/35/18.

Supposed to ship tommorow.

 

[Hapa88]

Another alternative to look into is the Federal 595 RS-R which is avaiable in NSX friendly sizes of 215/40/17 and 265/35/18.

I purchased a set of used wheels & tires for my Mazdaspeed3 with these installed after finishing off a set of NT01s and was EXTREMELY impressed by how well they handled on the track. They were definitely comparable in performance at least for the first 5-7 laps. The wear slower too & are much cheaper... so this might be a better option for the street.

http://www.federaltire.com/en/images/products/20120711232529671.pdf