295, 305, or 325/30 front wheel fitment

[sanguissaevus]

Evening gents. Thought I'd poke my head out of my shell for a touch of advice. Looking to purchase some new wheels/tires and am trying to finalize the size details. We're talking 2000 RT-10 and it will be mostly street with once or twice a month autocross use at most. Everything is stock as of right now but it will recieve coilovers and dropped at least an inch if not a few inches, so whatever I purchase must accomidate a lowered car and hard cornering. I'm going 19's all around and I am thinking I want to go with Michelin Super Sports becuase they appear to be one of, if not, the best performing street tire out right now for the Viper. As far as the rears are concerned I have decided on 345/30-19 on a 13 or 13.5 wide wheel. The fronts are a bit more fuzzy issue. As far as looks, I love the 275/35-19 look like Bushido's Viper. It has a meaty look that fills the wheel well nicely. Though, on the advice of many who track their cars, I would like to go to a wider tire. The Super Sports have 295/30, 305/30, and 325/30-19 sizes and from what I can see, a 325/30-19 would be as close as I could get to a 275/35-19 side wall ratio but I'm guessing this would have fitment issues. The 295/30 would loose too much side wall, I would think, which leaves the 305/30 as an alternative to both. As far as wheel width I'm calculating a 295 and 305/30 would need an 11-11.5" wheel and a 325 would need a 11.5-12" roughly. Finally, there is the question of offset. I'm not sure if all or any of these options need an offset adjustment. With all that said, what do you think would be the best choice for a balance of fitment, performance, and the look I'm trying to achieve. Cheers.

 

[dave6666]

I use the PS2 295/19 on an 11" wide wheel on my non lowered '01 GTS. It get's close but fits well. Slightly bumps the hood on one side when opening and closing. Have had zero rub issues.

 

[GTLaser]

On my 285/19 PZero's it would rub when I opened the hood but my 275/19 Nitto's does not. Not the Michelin's but might give you some guidance and my GTS is lowered on KW V2's.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

305's and above will rub on the insides during street driving when the steering wheel is turned all the way to the left or right. For the track you don't expect to use that much steering input so that is why people put them on for the track.

 

[SoCal Rebell]

On my 2000 modified but not lower I've run 295, 305, 315, 325 and even 335 on the front and they all worked. 335 was a bit much and you had to make sure the wheels were straight before closing the hood. I ran a street tire 325 at the Open Track Challenge because rules stated I had to run street tires and they worked well. The best combo I found was running Hoosier R6s in a 305 or 315 size on an 11" or 12" rim, you may want to run A6s if you're thinking auto cross. You are wrong about the best "street" tire to run that would be Michelin Pilot Cups at and 80 treadwear rating compared to the 300 treadwear rating on the Super Sports they have much more grip and a full tread pattern, they are one step below the 40 treadwear rating of the Hoosier R6 or A6 but again have a full tread pattern.

 

[Jack B]

The cups are more for competition first, street second, you will not get any wear out of them on the streets. The super sports will be a far better street tire if you factor in wear.

On my 2000 modified but not lower I've run 295, 305, 315, 325 and even 335 on the front and they all worked. 335 was a bit much and you had to make sure the wheels were straight before closing the hood. I ran a street tire 325 at the Open Track Challenge because rules stated I had to run street tires and they worked well. The best combo I found was running Hoosier R6s in a 305 or 315 size on an 11" or 12" rim, you may want to run A6s if you're thinking auto cross. You are wrong about the best "street" tire to run that would be Michelin Pilot Cups at and 80 treadwear rating compared to the 300 treadwear rating on the Super Sports they have much more grip and a full tread pattern, they are one step below the 40 treadwear rating of the Hoosier R6 or A6 but again have a full tread pattern.

 

[sanguissaevus]

Thanks for the feedback. All good info. Yes, SoCal, you are correct about the cups being street legal but I purposefully ruled out all R rated compounds due to the wear vs. cost issues. If I was running more with them on the track and had the money to support it I would go the R compound route. Thank you for the suggestion though. Thanks for that point Hoosier. I wonder if offset adjustments would rectify this. Has anyone had the experience of playing with the offsets? So far, everyone posted hasn't lowered the car save GT laser and he is saying rub was only not found on 275's. What are your spring rates GT Laser? How far did you have to drop it before you got rub on those 285's? Do you by chance know the offsets of your wheels? Good stuff. Anyone else, feel free to comment. Thanks again.

 

[sanguissaevus]

Dave, have you cornered ******* that setup? I'm assuming they are a 295/30-19 as opposed to 295/35 correct? I ask because the super sports come in a 295/35-19. I think I saw this setup you're talking about. Do you have a blue GTS with black wheels like Bushido? I'd really like to hear from Bushido or anyone who has talked to him on if his 275/35-19's rub. Though it is 275 wide its overall diameter is roughly an inch bigger than stock.

 

[sanguissaevus]

Nevermind Dave. Found your pics. Red with chrome wheels and 295/30-19. very nice looking.