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Here begins the story of my 2018 1SS 1LE track car.

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Introduction

I’m planning for the 2019 season with the new 1LE. Part of this planning involves selecting tires. It’s not as easy as it seems. There are a number of variables at play including width, size, brand, rules and other things.

Common wisdom is that using a square setup will reduce long term cost because you can get more life out of each set. While true, the cost of going to a square setup must be factored in.

For me, this year will be used to prepare for Time Trialing with SCCA and NASA next year, so my plan contemplates the cost over 2 years and about 60 total track days.

Looking at just this year, I’m planning 30 days at 5 different tracks. This covers 3 test days, HPDE Coaching with 4 Organizations, private data coaching with 6 students, participating in open track days with 3 new groups and Time Trialing with both SCCA and NASA as practice for next year. This also covers a few events just for fun. (that is the point of this, right?)

Based on 30 days I’m going to need somewhere between 5 and 15 sets of tires costing anywhere between $7k and $24K depending on tire choice. I want the maximum performance for the minimum cost.

The first decision is what size tire to run and whether to run a square or staggered setup.

Staggered vs Square

There are basically two reasons to move to a “square” set up. Tire lifespan and front-end grip.

It’s a common assumption is that a square setup will extend tire life by allowing the rotation of front and rear tires. In my experience with BMWs, this is certainly true. However, the life extension is typically only an extra day or two (4-8 track sessions) for a set of tires.

Let’s look at that math. If I do 30 days this year and get 4 days from each set of tires, assuming I start the season on a new set, I’ll need 8 sets of tires. If I run the same tire in a square setup and get 5 days, I’ll need 6 sets. A staggered set of Goodyear Eagle Supercar 3s (the OE tire on a 1LE) cost $1180 delivered here in CA. Mounting and Balancing is $50/tire so a season on staggered tires is $15k.

If I opt for a square setup the tires are a little more expensive for four 305/30-20s at $1239.96 a set for a total of $11,350. The difference is $3800.

To run this setup, I will need a set of wheels. Most people converting to a square setup also convert to 19” wheels. This is my plan, so I’ll use then pricing for 19s. A set of Apex SM-10s in 19 x 10.5 ET22 wheels and high-quality spacers and 10 longer lug bolts is $3900. So it takes 30 track days for converting to a square setup to pay-off. Obviously, there are less expensive wheels and other variables, I’m just pointing out how many track days it takes to break event when converting.

The other reason to convert is front-end grip. The Camaro is particularly well set up from the factory and isn’t plagued by the understeer that many performance cars are, so I am less concerned about this factor.

Which kind of R-Comp?

Now we reach the 2nd big choice, drivable street/track tires or full-on R Compound track tires. There is much less info about pricing because if you are buying R-Comp tires, money is not the primary factor in your decision making.

The OE Goodyear Eagle SC3 is quite affordable for such a large tire. A set of four 305/30-20s are only $1239.96 delivered. They are an excellent choice for anyone looking for a tire that can be dtreadwearvents, tracked and driven home. These 200 tread-wear tires often last as long as 8-10 track days (4-5 weekends). If you are driving to the track it’s really hard to beat this choice. This is our cost benchmark.

If you do convert to 19s, the only tire that is close to them in price is the Kuhmo ECSTA V720 which is about $70 less for a set of 4. These might also be a good choice for HPDE drivers with 19” wheels.

On the other end of the tire choice price and performance range is the Hoosier R7. One of the fastest DOT tires money can buy. Unfortunately, the Hoosier doesn’t come in a 305-19, it does come in a 295/30-19 – which might be the perfect size to Time Trialing as I will explain later. The Hoosier also comes in 285/305-20 OE sizes so a spare set of stock 20” wheels would be one option. Hoosiers are really sticky, have almost no tread at all and should not be driven on the street.

This brings us to another major tire-selection factor to consider. There is no possible way to jam 4 305mm wide tires into a Gen-6 Camaro. If you are going to run Hoosiers or any other full R-Comp you either need a roof rack or a trailer.

Street R-Comps

There are a couple of tires in between the SC3 and the Hoosier R7s that would make good choices.

Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s and Goodyear Eagle SC3Rs are kinda drivable on the street and provide very good grip. In 305/30-19 the PSC2s are $1849 and the SC3R is $1379.96. In both cases 19" tires are quite a bit more expensive than 20" tires so there is no saving to be had converting 19s. I don'ttreadweart of data on the life of PSC2s but as the tread-wear rating of 180 makes them a little softer than the SC3 and a little harder than the 100TW SC3R. Both tires will wear rapidly on the street and really should be reserved for the track.

Track Only R-Comps

Hoosier R7s are generally considered to be the fastest tires available short of racing slicks. They are also the most expensive at $1700 a set and only provide about 8 heat cycles (about track 2 days) before aging out. NT01s are a little slower but work much longer. On my 2600lb M3 I would typically get 10 days (40 sessions) from a set. On a Camaro I would hope for 6-8 days depending on the track. I’m going to test a set of NT01s mid-summer to measure how they wear in hot temperatures. Based on the results I may use them as my TT tire. The truth is that Hoosiers are probably worth a second or more over an NT01. My choice will likely depend on how competitive the TT events are this year and how well I do.

Here is why the Hoosier in 295 might be the best tire choice. Typically, Time Trial events are organized so that the first session of each day is used to create the "grid" for each subsequent session. Here in CA, the race tracks typically heat up dramatically during the day, so that the second session of the day almost always produces the fastest lap of the day. By the third session (typically run after lunch) the track surface is too hot and lap times increase.

When the cars are released for the critical second session they go out based on lap times with the fastest cars released first and with a 15-20 second gap between cars. After the TT group is released a group of HPDE cars then released.

What am I going to do?

I’m probably going to use the OE SC3s on stock wheels and maybe the SC3Rs on 19s for coaching and “fun” days. The price is simply too good to pass up. For Time Trials I think the SC3Rs on 19s, and test the Nitto NT01. If that’s not fast enough, Hoosiers.

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[x_jarhead]

Earlier this week I took the 1LE in to an alignment shop to convert it to track settings. Like many others, the tech had some trouble setting the camber to 2 degrees negative. After showing him a couple of posting from Camaro6 he finally used a bolt in the threaded camber adjustment hole and tap it with a hammer get the last bit of adjustment, he got it all the way to the correct setting.

Also like many others the camber, castor and the setting were pretty far off as delivered from the factory. My toe was 1/16 in Left, 1/8 in Right and camber was .4 degrees Left and .7 degrees Right. I ended up with 2.2 degrees negative front and 1.7 degrees negative rear camber and static toe set to 0. After adjustment the steering is much lighter.

[WCKD 1LE]