CAMARO6 - View Single Post - The perfect budget minded track day wheel/tire combo

cozog · 09-23-2024, 09:22 PM

APEX ARC-8 19x10 ET 20 - $1816
Toyo RR 295/30/19 - $1200

I've done the racing thing (https://drivenasa.com/road-racing/ca...tang-challenge) and unfortunately, don't have time for it now. But I still love being on the track, foot matted to the floor, then braking as late as I can into T1. It's my therapy. But there is no trophy, no prize money, not even bragging rights and the end of the day in an HPDE weekend. So I don't care if I'm not "the fastest" guy on track. I just want to have fun and go the fastest I can given the limits of my car set up and my skills.

This set up checks a lot of boxes for me, most of all "cheap", new race tires. At $300ea, nothing else seems to come close. Other sized Toyo's are min. $400-$480. Hoosiers are $500-$600 in various 18"-19" sizes. And used race tires are $200 (unless you get a goo deal somewhere) and are USED. This means you have no idea how they will perform or how long they will last.

The 19" wheels bolt right on. No grinding. No spacers. No replacing studs. Note that the clearance of wheel to strut is about 1/4". Yes, it's super tight, but that is the only downside to this set up and that 1/4" won't change.

The square setup using new "slicks" will allow rotating and flipping on the rim. I'm hoping this will help make these tires last at least 3-4 track weekends, thus reducing my tire budget significantly. I'm giving up 10mm of tire patch (295 vs. 305+), but reducing tire cost by 25%-50%.

I tested a 3mm spacer to get more clearance, but this only gave me 4 threads on the lug bolts which is just not enough. Without the spacer, I had 7 threads to work with, which I think is adequate.The tire size is only off by 2%-3% compared to stock, so the computer has no problems dealing with it.

Suspension is set to -2.5deg camber front and -1.5deg rear.

I ran at Mid-Ohio for 3 solid days. I think about 15 sessions total. 90+deg temps. Tries to keep pressures high (38-40) to preserve tires and it worked well. The little wear indicator dots/holes along the outer edges of the tires are still there. I wasn't taking it light either. I messed around and did a 139.89 on Sat. and I'm leaving a little time on the track. I'm convinced that proper rotating/flipping will get at least 3 and probably 4 track weekends out of 1 set of tires.

This is just my experience and YMMV. But if you're like me, knowing there's no prize money to win and you want to maximize your track budget, I don't think there is a better solution.

09-23-2024, 09:22 PM	#1
cozog Drives: 2024 2SS 1LE Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Avon, IN Posts: 16	The perfect budget minded track day wheel/tire combo APEX ARC-8 19x10 ET 20 - $1816 Toyo RR 295/30/19 - $1200 I've done the racing thing (https://drivenasa.com/road-racing/ca...tang-challenge) and unfortunately, don't have time for it now. But I still love being on the track, foot matted to the floor, then braking as late as I can into T1. It's my therapy. But there is no trophy, no prize money, not even bragging rights and the end of the day in an HPDE weekend. So I don't care if I'm not "the fastest" guy on track. I just want to have fun and go the fastest I can given the limits of my car set up and my skills. This set up checks a lot of boxes for me, most of all "cheap", new race tires. At $300ea, nothing else seems to come close. Other sized Toyo's are min. $400-$480. Hoosiers are $500-$600 in various 18"-19" sizes. And used race tires are $200 (unless you get a goo deal somewhere) and are USED. This means you have no idea how they will perform or how long they will last. The 19" wheels bolt right on. No grinding. No spacers. No replacing studs. Note that the clearance of wheel to strut is about 1/4". Yes, it's super tight, but that is the only downside to this set up and that 1/4" won't change. The square setup using new "slicks" will allow rotating and flipping on the rim. I'm hoping this will help make these tires last at least 3-4 track weekends, thus reducing my tire budget significantly. I'm giving up 10mm of tire patch (295 vs. 305+), but reducing tire cost by 25%-50%. I tested a 3mm spacer to get more clearance, but this only gave me 4 threads on the lug bolts which is just not enough. Without the spacer, I had 7 threads to work with, which I think is adequate.The tire size is only off by 2%-3% compared to stock, so the computer has no problems dealing with it. Suspension is set to -2.5deg camber front and -1.5deg rear. I ran at Mid-Ohio for 3 solid days. I think about 15 sessions total. 90+deg temps. Tries to keep pressures high (38-40) to preserve tires and it worked well. The little wear indicator dots/holes along the outer edges of the tires are still there. I wasn't taking it light either. I messed around and did a 139.89 on Sat. and I'm leaving a little time on the track. I'm convinced that proper rotating/flipping will get at least 3 and probably 4 track weekends out of 1 set of tires. This is just my experience and YMMV. But if you're like me, knowing there's no prize money to win and you want to maximize your track budget, I don't think there is a better solution.