What size tires should i get for AutoCrossing?

[Mozen]

I have the stock 18s and they did fine. I will be upgrading brakes in the next few months but as soon as i saw these for sale by Vividracing my heart just about stopped and i decided i want em!

Issue is do i get the 18s? or 19s? what would be better? Ill admit ive only autocrossed a few times but once this deployments over i plan to hit either an event or track every 2 weeks

Any advice would be appreciated!!

[Cmike2780]

I've haven't done any autocross events, but in general as far as tire size, the 18's will be a little less expensive and offer more sizes. As I mentioned in another post, I think 18" is the sweet spot for performance, and 19's for looks. Not a huge difference but still a difference. If you plan to upgrade to bigger brakes in the future as you mentioned, I would watch out for clearance issues with the 18's. It would all depend on your setup. Wider tires is gonna effect the handling more than anything. The Enkei stock 18's are fine for autocross by the way.

I would buy these for street use and slap racing slicks on the stock rims.

[cossie1600]

275 all around if you dont want stagger (on stock power)

[Mozen]

Ok so what size would y'all recommend?

18x9.5 +15
18x10 +20
18x10.5 +15/+22
18x11 +18

These are the sizes Phil at Vividracing lists as available. Should i try the 18x9.5 +15 front and the 18x10.5 +22 in the back? These are going to not be flush with the side of the car tho? because stock is what +30? Grr wish i knew more about rims lol. Thanks guys!

[cossie1600]

If you care about look, you probably want to get stagger rims rather than the same on all 4

[Mozen]

Originally Posted by cossie1600

If you care about look, you probably want to get stagger rims rather than the same on all 4

I like looks, but performance matters as well. For now ill be putting summer dry tires on them since my stocks already have a set of winters on em.

My big issue is fit / flush. Will i need anything else with the 18x9.5 +15 front and 18x10.5 +22 rear?

[kevin.z]

front is good, rear needs more offset, probably +15.

[BGTV8]

You don;t have enough offset for the fronts ... ideally, @ 18 x 9.5 for the front, you want +45 (ET45) offset ... with only +15, the outer edge of the rim will be at least an inch outside the fender ... and the tyre will rub ...

Factory 19" wheels are 19 x 9 ET47 and rears are 19 x 10 ET30, so if you are going for 18 x 9.5 for the fronts, you will need something like ET45 but this would still need to be checked to make sure the tyre does not foul on the fender. 18 x 10.5 ET2 should be OK, but again, a trial fitment is required to make sure .....

Your choice of premium track-day tyres is much, much broader in 18" wheels - check the range of Bridgestone (RE055), Yokohama (A050, A048 and the new Neova AD-series), Dunlop (Direzza series) or even Hoosier if you want to support a US-based manufacturer.

RB

[Mozen]

Originally Posted by BGTV8

You don;t have enough offset for the fronts ... ideally, @ 18 x 9.5 for the front, you want +45 (ET45) offset ... with only +15, the outer edge of the rim will be at least an inch outside the fender ... and the tyre will rub ...

Factory 19" wheels are 19 x 9 ET47 and rears are 19 x 10 ET30, so if you are going for 18 x 9.5 for the fronts, you will need something like ET45 but this would still need to be checked to make sure the tyre does not foul on the fender. 18 x 10.5 ET2 should be OK, but again, a trial fitment is required to make sure .....

Your choice of premium track-day tyres is much, much broader in 18" wheels - check the range of Bridgestone (RE055), Yokohama (A050, A048 and the new Neova AD-series), Dunlop (Direzza series) or even Hoosier if you want to support a US-based manufacturer.

RB

Ok, sound like what others have been saying. As usual i found something i liked and wanted to buy it...then found out its not quite what i need. Im taking a small break from modding i think, brother needs to borrow a little cash to go to attend a family funeral and ill be loaning him the $$ since i cant attend (deployed)

Since i backed off tho ive noticed the RPF1 Type RC and the SSR SP3 (much more expensive tho!!) Luckily ive had a few very knowledgeable dealers pm me and i appreciate all their help and the responses here.

Thanks again!

[IMWEZL]

You might want to check what class you will be running in if you change your wheel size. I think you maybe able to stuff the biggest tire you can onto the stock rims but changing the wheel size usually throws you into a different class.

I think the Z is now in CS...used to be in BS. I know BSP in Hawaii was insanely competitive.

Since you're just starting off in Auto-x I would recommend staying stock for at least one whole season just to see where the limits of the car and your driving skills are at.

Other than that have fun!

[Mozen]

Originally Posted by IMWEZL

You might want to check what class you will be running in if you change your wheel size. I think you maybe able to stuff the biggest tire you can onto the stock rims but changing the wheel size usually throws you into a different class.

I think the Z is now in CS...used to be in BS. I know BSP in Hawaii was insanely competitive.

Since you're just starting off in Auto-x I would recommend staying stock for at least one whole season just to see where the limits of the car and your driving skills are at.

Other than that have fun!

Yep! i had a long talk with quite a few very helpful people and although im actually on hold due to a family issue needing the money i set aside for the wheels, Ill be waiting either way. For now i am going to upgrade suspension, sway-bars, and brakes but keep stock rims/tires for the first few months so i dont screw my learning curve. If anyone else is looking to do what im doing i can quite happily recommend having a chat with Scott from Relentless Autosports in CA.

Also! A big thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and the others ive posted along the same lines

[AutoX Z]

If you're going to BSP I would get some 18x10's square and get 315's or 335's all around...

but that's just me.

[cossie1600]

Originally Posted by Mozen

Yep! i had a long talk with quite a few very helpful people and although im actually on hold due to a family issue needing the money i set aside for the wheels, Ill be waiting either way. For now i am going to upgrade suspension, sway-bars, and brakes but keep stock rims/tires for the first few months so i dont screw my learning curve. If anyone else is looking to do what im doing i can quite happily recommend having a chat with Scott from Relentless Autosports in CA.

Also! A big thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread and the others ive posted along the same lines

I am sorry, but you are doing it completely backwards. You should do tires before you touch any suspension pieces. Suspension won't do you much good if your tires are stock, there is a reason why BS and CS classes are faster than most ST classes.

My car has 1900 miles, my suspension is all stock and I bought my RE11 at 700 miles. It's working out pretty good so far as I can hold my points lead

[Scott @ RA]

Originally Posted by cossie1600

I am sorry, but you are doing it completely backwards. You should do tires before you touch any suspension pieces. Suspension won't do you much good if your tires are stock, there is a reason why BS and CS classes are faster than most ST classes.

My car has 1900 miles, my suspension is all stock and I bought my RE11 at 700 miles. It's working out pretty good so far as I can hold my points lead

What I understood after talking directly to Mozen is that he is looking to get more into REAL track days, HPDE's, and some sort of Time Attack and time trials, etc.
Autocross is one thing, but actual track events are completely different.
Brakes become MUCH, MUCH more important when tracking... not only from a performance and repeatability standpoint, but more importantly from a safety stand point as well.
Suspension (ie: sway bars, coilovers etc) also become increasingly important when tracking, compared to coned off parking lots. There is MUCH more speed and corner speed carried on tracks and the need for better brakes and suspension vs tires goes way up when dealing with the higher speeds.

Although in steps, I would put proper wheels and tires right up there as a very close third on the to-do list, right under brakes and suspension.

[Scott @ RA]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

If you're going to BSP I would get some 18x10's square and get 315's or 335's all around...

but that's just me.

Really, can you please show me a 370Z that is running 18x10's with a 335 or even a 315 all the way around??....