NEED advise of front tire size for road racing at OTC...

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

Ron,

I think you would be find either way, but two issues not addressed are the fact that you have to drive to each track & the 315s' will be a pain in the butt. The other item for review , is
that with 2.9 degrees in front, you could eat up your tires just driving from track to track. Whereas this works pretty good for on the track, I would hesitate to drive on the street/highway for long distances , as I would expect weird tire wear. Just my thoughts, but I would back down to 2.0 neg. in front, 1.5 in the rear, and go with the 295s. My reasoning is the tires have to last, they won't wander as bad when on the highway, and steering response would be better with the smaller tire, which is still two sizes larger than stock. Have fun !!!

 

[racewheel]

295 35's are to tall and would not be agood fit for the front

 

[Tom Glenn]

Ron, My all time favorite road racing street tire set up is Michelin MXXX 325 x 18 fronts and 335 x 17 rears. Unfortunately these are hard to find. I just happen to have a full set of these tires that were only used once at the Viper Days Finals last year and are in great condition. Since I am running Hoosiers this year they are sitting in my garage. Let me know if you are interested in buying them. I also agree with Bill (ouch! that hurt) on the alignment settings.
Tom Glenn

 

[jcaspar1]

As far as the negative camber goes, you could have the car aligned with the sport shims out and put them back in for the drive between tracks. That would reduce the camber to about 1.9 which would improve tire life

 

[SoCal Rebell]

SSpeed Racer and I are doing the Open Track Challenge, this is 7 tracks in 7 days. We'e decided to go to a larger front tire and have secured a set of 18 x 12 front rims. The car is a pretty much stock 2002 GTS, it has a little brake upgrade and a radical track alignment (2.9 neg. camber in front). As part of the rules we must drive the car (not trailer) to all events (1,400 miles). We are running Sport Pilots in the rear 335/30/18s, we wanted to run 305/35-18s up front but Michilin doesn't make that size, our options are:

295/35-18
315/30-18

SSpeed Racer is FAST, FAST, FAST where as I'm the extra body needed for the 2 man team, if it makes a difference the tracks are:
Spring Mtn., Pahrump
Willow Springs (big track)
Streets of Willow Springs
Buttonwillow (clockwise)
Thunderhill
Buttonwillow (counter clockwise)
Las Vegas Speedway (inside track)

I would love to hear from you knowledgable road racing nut thanks.

 

[safireviper]

I've seen SSpeedracer run -- he is fast. Good luck to you guys.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I've got 315/18 fronts. Obviously it plants a lot better but even so, I could still use a front spoiler.

Don't get in the habit of driving around with the hood partly opened for cool downs. There is no clearance with the larger tires and they will snap the corner of the hood when you turn.

Good luck. Sounds like fun.