Good sticky tires????

[69camarokid]

Went out to the race track for the first time last night in my 69 camaro and im hooked. Cant wait to go back, but first i need new tires as my front ones cant grip for crap and are pretty much done anyways.

I currently am running 275/40R17 Nitto 555s on the back and 245/45R17 Khumo Estca ASXs on the front.

Im looking for new front tires that are
1. Good stiucky track tire, lots of grip
2. Will last at least 20K miles
3. Are cheap.... College student

Ive been looking at NItto 555s forthe front as well as Nitto Invos as ive red good things about both.

Do you guys have any recommendations, or tires youve used you like. Or perhaps know of any deals????

thanks

[Bryce]

i just bought falken azenis from drivers inc. Great price. I will let you know how they perform when I get them installed. they are 200 treadware.

[sik68]

Congratulations on making it out to the track! It is a very big deal so great job for taking it this far. Now that your car is built, it's time for the expensive part, haha.

If you do track days, you won't get 20k miles out of any set of tires. Don't immediately go to stickies (R Compounds or Slicks), as they will make your car faster but won't necessarily make you a better driver at all...maybe even mask some driving deficiencies you may have. At least match up the tires front to rear so you can feel out the balance of the car. Maybe stay with street tires for now because it's easier on the car, more educational for the driver, and nicer on the wallet.

An aggressive alignment is cheap, and worth A LOT of handling capability as well. I went from -1.0 camber to -1.75 camber and my car felt so much better through corners.

[69camarokid]

i just bought falken azenis from drivers inc. Great price. I will let you know how they perform when I get them installed. they are 200 treadware.

Cool, let me know how they work

[69camarokid]

Congratulations on making it out to the track! It is a very big deal so great job for taking it this far. Now that your car is built, it's time for the expensive part, haha.

If you do track days, you won't get 20k miles out of any set of tires. Don't immediately go to stickies (R Compounds or Slicks), as they will make your car faster but won't necessarily make you a better driver at all...maybe even mask some driving deficiencies you may have. At least match up the tires front to rear so you can feel out the balance of the car. Maybe stay with street tires for now because it's easier on the car, more educational for the driver, and nicer on the wallet.

An aggressive alignment is cheap, and worth A LOT of handling capability as well. I went from -1.0 camber to -1.75 camber and my car felt so much better through corners.


Sounds good. I had a really aggressive alignment originally and it ate through my old tires inside of a few months.... not fun on the wallet. The track im doing is once a week and a really small course, sub 1 minute lap times. So i wont be beating the tires too bad. but the track is about 40 miles away and i drive 50 miles from orange county to los angeles alot so i dont want tires that will die too soon and need to be replaced often

[sik68]

Sounds good. I had a really aggressive alignment originally and it ate through my old tires inside of a few months.... not fun on the wallet. The track im doing is once a week and a really small course, sub 1 minute lap times. So i wont be beating the tires too bad. but the track is about 40 miles away and i drive 50 miles from orange county to los angeles alot so i dont want tires that will die too soon and need to be replaced often


Ohh yeah I hear ya. Those small tracks sound like a lot of fun! I have heard that toe kills tires, and not camber so much, which makes sense. I have heard of guys doing real fast alignment from street to track just by knowing how many shims they need, and also marking lines on the threads of the tie-rods.

[Apogee]

Sounds good. I had a really aggressive alignment originally and it ate through my old tires inside of a few months.... not fun on the wallet. The track im doing is once a week and a really small course, sub 1 minute lap times. So i wont be beating the tires too bad. but the track is about 40 miles away and i drive 50 miles from orange county to los angeles alot so i dont want tires that will die too soon and need to be replaced often

Is a dedicated set of track tires an option? You're sort of asking for everything and there isn't any tire that going to give you all of that, but two sets could work out nicely once you get past the initial cost of an additional set of wheels. Save the stickies for track outings and enjoy the performance rather than wearing them out on the street. How many miles do you put on the car annually?

Tobin
KORE3

[69camarokid]

yeah, i am kinda asking for the whole ball oh wax.

An extra set is in the cards some day. Probably after i finish college... its just not doable right now.

I only drive about 15 to 20K miles per year. i daily drive a motorcycle so the car is just when i take my girl out, weekend fun, or need to carry something.

So if i can get like 15 to 10K miles out of the tires ill be happy. I just need something decently sticky to keep up with my new front suspension. The new suspension rocks, but the tires i have are lame and cant keep up

[69camarokid]

this is pro-touring right?

I kinda expected out of all forums that this one would be a good one to find out info on some good front tires.

[Bryce]

Once I get my wheels for my falcon and get the azenis mounted I plan on throiwng them on my 95 mustang. This is my DD which pulls 0.96 G's with 245 sumitomos. So it will give me a good comparison. I will let you know in a few weeks.

[PARKERRS]

The most popular two tires I have seen on the PT cars at events are BFG KDW's or Michelin Pilot Sport II's. They seem to grip well and wear well.

As far as the Nitto 555's, don't do it. I've had them for a long time and just switched to the PSII's. They are "pretty" good when new, but after being heat cycled on a road course a few times or auto-x several times they harden up. Mine wouldn't even maintain traction on a wet road at the RTTH cruise last year. Good tire new, marginal for auto-x and track, not worth a plugged nickel after 2 seasons of use.

[Nessumsar]

Check out the Nitto NT05, really good tire. Driverz Inc has a pretty sweet price on them too.

What are you running for an allignment right now?

[69camarokid]

well, i need to have these tires here by monday so i ordered a set of Nitto 555s at 245/45R17 forthe front. That matches what i have on the back, except 275, and i love the traction i get for the rears.

Ive heard pretty much only good things about this tire so ill test em on the track this upcoming tuesday and let you guys know how it goes and how they work.

BGest lap time before was 52.53... im hopin to drop beloe 50.00. so well see

[LS1NOVA]

15-20k is a lot of miles on a PT car! Id say a second set of sticky tires on steel D hole wheels from Summit. Cheap

[69camarokid]

looked at the other tires recommended...

The BFG KDWs looked good, but i couldnt find them at the place i ordered in 17 inch size, and the michilens is just too expensive for me, nearly 200 a tire.

i looked at the nitto 05, those looke sick and are only 28 bucks a tire more than what i orders... so an extra 56....

im looking into swaping to the nitto05s

[69camarokid]

ok so ive been playin hopscotch all day with tires.

Ill called discount tire direct for the NItto NT05s and they only had then in 255/40R17. I thought ok those should fit itll just be alil tight. After a bit more research i and speaking with Justin at Driverz he let me know they would more than likely rub like a mother.

So after a bit of chatting he hooked me up with a good deal on some Falken Azenis which just look uber badass. So im driving up to pick those up tomorrow and ill have them on before my upcoming track day this tuesday.

Ill let you guys know how the tires do in comparisson to my old ones.

Thank you Justin from Driverz for the help!

[JustinB]

Glad I could help Justin! :cheers:

[Bryce]

ok so ive been playin hopscotch all day with tires.

Ill called discount tire direct for the NItto NT05s and they only had then in 255/40R17. I thought ok those should fit itll just be alil tight. After a bit more research i and speaking with Justin at Driverz he let me know they would more than likely rub like a mother.

So after a bit of chatting he hooked me up with a good deal on some Falken Azenis which just look uber badass. So im driving up to pick those up tomorrow and ill have them on before my upcoming track day this tuesday.

Ill let you guys know how the tires do in comparisson to my old ones.

Thank you Justin from Driverz for the help!

Good choice with the Azenis. I think they will work great!

[Gitter Dun]

Get the Toyo RA-1's and you'll never regret it, way better than the R888's in the rain. You should get 20k miles easy.

[Bryce]

Get the Toyo RA-1's and you'll never regret it, way better than the R888's in the rain. You should get 20k miles easy.

100 treadware is too soft for him. I think 200 was the minimum.

[Gitter Dun]

He said he was running at the track. 200 treadwear on a road course is a waste of time and money.

[JustinB]

RA-1's are great tires but not available is the sizes he is looking to run up front. They are also quite a bit heavier on the pocket book.

[Gitter Dun]

If he can fit 255/40's they are $175.00. Well worth the money.

[69BRRRD]

So far (about two weeks) I love my Hankook Ventus V12evos, but I drive mostly street/commute. I can't afford Michelins, they are the industry standard and I love 'em but...yike$! I'm running 225/45x17 on 8 inch rims front 275/40x18 on 10 inch rear. I had General Exclaim EXPs for the last two years/20k that did well and were cheap. My setup is mild street +4.5 caster and only -1 camber but they stick very well, the sidewalls don't roll over and the ride is much better than the Generals with the same pressures. The Hankooks are a higher speed rating than the Generals and are about the same price. As far as treadwear ratings go remember that a 200 Firestone is not going to compare to a 200 Michelin, etc. These are in-manufacturer ratings that they compare to THEIR other tire models and there is NO cross-manufacturer reference. The 200 Michelin may give you the same treadwear a 300 Kumho, etc. Also watch manufacturing date codes on the DOT number on one side the tire so you don't get old rubber. The last 4 numbers (usually in an oval ring) are the week/year of manufacture. Old tires are dried out and won't give you the same performance and safety as fresh ones.
I've been a TireRack fan for years. Great prices, research results and fast shipping on lots of brands and sizes we use, take a look.

[Driver X]

I was going to pick -up some Falken Azenis 615's but after talking with Justin @ driverz Inc. He set me up with the Nitto NT-05's (235 40 18 front & 275 40 18 rear) Nitto rates them @ 200 tread wear I was thinking of going with NT-05r but these are sticky for a street tire and wanted something i could alittle mileage out of SINCE I DO DRIVE MY CAR TO WORK 2 OR 3 TIMES AWEEK IN GOOD WEATHER ! Thank u Justin for getting me set up > you Know ur stuff :cheers: http://www.nittotire.com/index.html#index.tire.nt05