thanks for your input cossie. yeah I'm not a fan of the 275/35. Too short for my liking but unless using slicks I'm pretty limited on street tires for the 18's and autocross. the shorter tires for shorter gearing could be useful in some cases if they stick well enough for me to lay the power down....

I dont understand why none of you guys are running R888's. I have never had issues with these tires, grip so well at the track. They are inexpensive and come in A LOT of different sizes. And I have driven with them in monsoon rains on the highway.

You have suspension on your car, you can definitely go stagger and get a wider rear tire like Shamu said. Yet it would be a waste to not get a big front tire for autox. With the stock diff, you will most likely get the one wheel spin anyway.

One of the problem with the R888 is that it is a tweener. It is not fast enough to compete with the R6/Z214, it isn't streetable enough to compare to the Pirelli Corsa/Trofeo/Pilot Cup. Also R888 is marketed as a RA1 replacement. For those who ran the RA1, they can tell you how much longer the RA1 last and how much more consistent they were. You might be getting what seems to be a long life on your R888, but there is a huge dropoff in performance after the initial couple cycles that makes them not worth while buying or keeping. New R888 is faster than new RA1, but old RA1 is faster than old R888.

I bought three sets of used R888s and then I finally woke up and decided it wasn't worth it. I did test a set of old R888s and a set of Z1s, I think I was 2-3 sec faster with the R888 at VIR off the top of my head. A guy running a set of BFG R1 was 2 sec faster than me in the same car with about 15 more HP.

With my tune and bolt ons I have the same whp and tq figures. I have RS3 square, RE11 staggered, and NT01 square. Obv NT01 is fastest, RS3 has 4 seconds a lap over the RE11, (full track) even at 285 vs. 305 width. RE11 has less grip now than when I got them, about 30% left on the rear and they scream and slip, it's strictly a street tire now. RS3 is good nearly to the cord. We all run them out here, nobody wants to be at a disadvantage. Nobody we know runs Dunlops... Martin82 tried R888's and he fried them in about 2-3 days, times were on par with the RS3.

You have coilovers! Good corner balancing will get you to near 50-50 weight distribution, that should make a huge difference. Take the rear sway off for AutoX. Soft hotchkis is still stiff- our cars have a super quick camber curve and if you let them sit down easily you'll get gobs of lateral grip. Don't overdo the rear camber, mid 2's to start will quickly become high 3's to 4+ when compressed. You can probably get there without twiggy arms, the stock setup with a drop usually nets you 2.5 rear. 3-ish up front is good. Front .10 toe out each side, .10 toe in for the rear.

isnt he making NA power?

RS3 is the fastest street tire bar none

R888's in my opinion are peaky, good in a narrow temp range, good when new, but after that they fall off hard. I much prefer the NT01s if your looking at 100 treadware entry level r comps

Hmmmmm RS3's are the way to go then. Now to decide whether being a bit faster is worth the $350 extra when I'm not competing nationally..... I can get RE-11's for $1k and the RS3's will cost me almost $1,400 to get out to Hawaii. Re-11's I wouldnt need to pay shipping since I can just get through Costco.

All depends on tire you use. I usually assume ax/track means people are using stiffer sidewall tires. It's not a stretch to do 285 performance tire in front on 9.5. Our cars are very heavy in front and can use grip. Honestly responsiveness on 295 Hoosier on 9.5 is excellent. Don't think you'd see top CStock solo 370z on 295 up front if a 265 was better. :tiphat:

I have run 275 front and 285 rear setup and was just not enough tire for ax with my 325 WHP NA car and when I went to 478 WHP with supercharger I'd put the skinny setup on if I just wanted to drift a lot.

If one is looking at street tire like bfg rival or Dirennzia I'd go with at minimum 285 rear 275 front. Ideally 295 rear and 285 front with streets.

With Hoosiers you can get away with stuffing big tire on smaller wheel without losing too much responsiveness so you can go a little bigger. 315r/295 f.
Here is my car on 285 front and 295 rears on 9.5 and 10.5 wheels. Very little float.

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Cl...8/JR1N2161.JPG

With that being said Shamu, would I benefit more with a 285/35 square setup over a 275/35 and 285/35 staggered setup? if you recommend a 285 on front but I don't have a 295 option on the rears for the RS3's. Or will the stagger benefit me more with turn in over a wider front?


Thanks everyone for all your input so far!

what front lip is the one on that picture?