Steven6282

So I ran my autocross today after doing a lot of suspension work to my car. The car handles amazingly now. The steering still has a little looseness that I'd like to work out but it's nothing major and can be taken care of when I get to it.

The next phase that I want to start researching and planning is my wheels and tires. With the new suspension on the car, today my limiting factor wasn't handling so much as it was traction. My engine simply has to much power for the stock size 245 / 50 / 16 High performance summer tires I have on the car. They stick fine going around corners and such but as soon as I touch the accelerator I just start spinning them unless I give it very tiny amounts of gas.

For my class that I'm running (SM), I'm not allowed to modify the wheel well, other than that tires are not restricted. First question is what kind of wheel diameter should I look at? Should I go with 17 or 18 to minimize side wall height (and flex hopefully), or stick with a 16?

Next question is what is the widest tire I can run without modifying the wheel well and without creating problems with turning? I was thinking about 275 or 285s? I've seen pics of 315s which some people have suggested and I just can't see those things fitting without wheel well modifications...

And given the tire size you think would fit and be good, any suggestions on wheels that will fit them and my car? On the wheels here I was thinking something like the replica Corvette C6 wheels that are 18 x 10.5 if I were to go with a set of 275 or 285 tires. The only thing I worry about there is I'd have to run spacers with those and make the wheels poke out a little more, which could cause me to hit cones easier! lol

Thanks for any advice!

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

is this a dedicated track car? do you trailer it or drive ti to the event? stock wheels and slicks will be a drastic improvement, and not be as expensive and large new wheels and tires all at once.

17x9.5 is a good fit, if you can find a set of ronal r15's that would be good. i think they are 5.25 or 5.5" of bs, might need a little spacer up front

Steven6282

No, I'm not dedicating it to the track. I will still drive it for fun on the street, but it's not a daily driver (although maybe it should be. After lowering the car and doing the suspension work + new alignment, I got almost 26 mpg with a T5 in the thing on a 140ish mile trip, ton better than the 16 to 18 my ram 1500 gets haha). The wheels / tires I'm going to be purchasing however will be dedicated to the track. I'll continue to run my high performance tires on my iroc wheels on the street.

As for trailering it, I have not yet, but will be as soon as I finish building my trailer I've been driving it to events so far, but always worry I'm going to break something and have to fix it on site just to get home lol.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

Ive been pretty discouraged when it comes to finding wheels/tires for handling. The drag racers have a lot of cheap, lightweight 15's, but they're just not built for cornering forces. The cheaper 17+ wheels are usually a bit iffy on quality. I've seen pictures on frrax of one that broke at the hub, granted that was in a dedicated race car putting down 700hp. But it still resulted in an accident and did a lot of damage to the car.

And then I dont like the idea of running adapters, for cost, practicality, unsprung weight, and durability reasons. A lot of people have good luck with them but personally I'd rather avoid it. So that rules out fourthgen/vette wheels

So that limits me to wheels that fit out of the box with only maybe a small spacer needed to properly fit it. I also have issues trusting the durability of cheap wheels, and dont have the money for Fikse's or CCW's.

So that limits me pretty much to stock thirdgen wheels.

Best stock wheel is the GTA/TA 16 inch crosslace. Very lightweight. But they're ugly (except painted black on black cars) and technically wont clear LS1 front brakes that i have...

So then... What's left?

I wouldnt mind getting some SLP ZR1's and having them widened one day, but Im not sure if they're cast or forged wheels. I'm guessing they're cast, and I'd rather not widen cast wheels. And for the cost of doing that, I'd probably be better off getting some real wheels.

American Racing torque thrust wheels are sold in some 17x9 sizes that will fit out of the box. Also I rather like the Weld RTS wheels. Those seem, to me, the best "affordable" option out there, but they're still $1500-$2000 a set... But they are available in nearly any backspace/size and are very nice looking wheels.

So again, stuck back at stock wheels.

ROH makes really high quality wheels, and they havent been imported in YEARS but if you can find a set, they're very strong wheels and they made direct bolt on wheels for thirdgens. Most of them are 17x8.5, though. you're pretty much limited to 255/40/17's. You will have a hard time going wider. They are also relatively heavy.

I'm all ears and eager for suggestions for some affordable autocross wheels, but this is just what I've found. Im almost willing to get some of those Cragar soft 8s in 17x9. $400 a set... Kind of ugly, and they're heavy, but they're steel so they're not going to fail on you. And I think they would look pretty utilitarian on a track car with a good stance, I think, which has its own coolness. This is a car with Soft 8s on the rears... Not the way I'd build a car, and it looks like kind of a work in progress, but there are things about the style that I can appreciate with the Soft 8's on it. Not pretty wheels, but for a nasty car that can back it up, it's sort of that cool F-bomb camaro look. They have their perks but are nowhere near a "perfect" solution, but they are an option.







This is just what I've found, Im all ears for suggestions.

Base91

iTrader: (1)

I got a set of used ROH Snypers (17x8.5) with almost new 275/40 tires ($500 for the lot) which seem to fit just fine. The back set is same as stock but I get some rubbing near full lock from the outside edge of the tire rubbing the liner and the wheel well. A small touch of the hammer and removing the liner in the Summer mostly fixes that.