[Kmeleon]

My dilemma is this: I'm going to buy a wheel/tire package for my SS 1LE to keep on my trailer for rain next year. What it comes down to is what width is optimal for the rain?

My choices are:

1. Buy an additional set of take off or aftermarket MRR 1LE wheels with PS4S tires (more expensive for sure)

2. Or save some money and go with a set of take off SS 8"/9" with PS4S tires.

I don't really care what they look like, I just want max performance in the rain
Will the reduced width give me an advantage/disadvantage in the rain compared to the 10"/11" stock wheels. There's two ways to look at this, yes a narrower wheel should cut through puddles better but will have less tire contacting the ground and may reduce grip on acceleration.

Whats the general consenus? Money is not everything, but I would prefer to save the cash considering I just threw out a crap ton of $$ on a trailer

[Norm Peterson]

From other threads I'm assuming that this is for HPDE purposes.

I'd keep the 1LE wheel widths and go with slightly narrower tires. I think if you're maintaining the same 20mm tire size stagger as OE the best pairing overall would be 265/35-20 front / 285/35-20 rear on the 10" and 11" wheel widths, respectively. That's within wheel width recommendations, essentially consistent with the Load Index ratings of your car's OE tires, and about the same amount taller than your OE sizes (0.5" & 0.7", so no ABS or Stabilitrak concerns).

Tire grip in the wet is going to be much more a function of tire tread width than wheel width. If anything, keeping the wider wheels might actually be better for separating the feel of incipient tire sliding from the feel of lateral tire distortion relative to the wheels.

I see that you run at NJMP, so I'm also assuming that you know where all the puddles and streaming water places are.


FWIW, I run 285/35 wide tires on 11" wheels on my GT - it's a max-recommended fitment just like the sizes I'm suggesting here. But it's a fitment that has worked rather well in the wet, including heavy rain. Camera shake on the downhill run on Lightning's main straight after T10 starts at about 110 mph.




Norm

[weemus]

Tire tread/design matters more. I would design around tire sizing costs as some larger tire sizes that have higher sales volumes are cheaper. Oddball sizes are always $$$

[Kmeleon]

Yes for HPDE purposes.

Good info, I have not driven in the rain other than at Pocono so far. But my plan with this trailer is to travel to a few far away tracks each year and because of the distance, chance of rain, etc I need a rock solid wet track plan.

[Kmeleon]

Originally Posted by weemus

Tire tread/design matters more. I would design around tire sizing costs as some larger tire sizes that have higher sales volumes are cheaper. Oddball sizes are always $$$

It's a great point, the ps4s tires for the regular SS 20" wheels are $100 a tire cheaper than the 1LE sizes. And I can obviously get a set of SS wheels much cheaper than 1LE/ZL1 Rims.

[Msquared]

Another point in favor of narrower wheels/tires for wet conditions is getting them warm. PS4S actually work pretty well in cool (but above-freezing) temps, so I don't know if this is a big issue or not in this case. But the narrower tires on SS wheels will generate more heat faster than the wider ones on 1LE wheels, and most performance tires work at least a little better with some heat in them. FWIW, I am looking at a Street-class-compliant set of wheels for the 1LE, which locks me in to 10/11 widths and 19" or 20" wheels. If I go with 19s, I will strongly be considering 275/35 and 295/35 tires instead of 285/30 and 305/30 for this use.

[20Bluezl1]

I'm listening as I need to buy a set for wet track days also. I heard PS4S are really good in the wet.

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by 20Bluezl1

I heard PS4S are really good in the wet.

Those and Continental ExtremeContact Sport are the two rain/cold tires of choice for track or autocross driving.

[5.M0NSTER]

Agreed on the tire choices. I’ve done a handful of tracks in the wet, all on the wrong tire for the job. Best example was a wet day at Nurburgring on Cup2’s. Expected but also unexpected slippage.

Right tire matters a lot more than size.

[Kmeleon]

Originally Posted by 5.M0NSTER

Agreed on the tire choices. I’ve done a handful of tracks in the wet, all on the wrong tire for the job. Best example was a wet day at Nurburgring on Cup2’s. Expected but also unexpected slippage.

Right tire matters a lot more than size.

I really think I want to go with the smaller 8.5"/9.5". It saves close to $400 on a set of tires and the Rims can be had for several hundred cheaper as well. Then I will go with the ps4s's.

[Wontspeak]

Driving in the wet sucks, no matter the tire.

[Kmeleon]

Originally Posted by Wontspeak

Driving in the wet sucks, no matter the tire.

Obviously I prefer dry weather but that's just not always possible. Now that I'm
going to be traveling further with a trailer I'm eventually going to get caught at a track day in the rain. Especially when Alot of these HPDE groups you run with require registering well in advance. After running the car on 1/3 tread SC3's in the rain and dealing with it.... I figure a nice new set of PS4S's will do MUCH better and will still alow me to enjoy the day.

[Kmeleon]

Originally Posted by Kmeleon

I really think I want to go with the smaller 8.5"/9.5". It saves close to $400 on a set of tires and the Rims can be had for several hundred cheaper as well. Then I will go with the ps4s's.

If I do go with a set of OEM SS 20" wheels, should I run spacers? If so, what size?

[20Bluezl1]

Originally Posted by Kmeleon

If I do go with a set of OEM SS 20" wheels, should I run spacers? If so, what size?

What size tire are you thinking?