[yourmomshouse]

I'm getting hooked on AutoX. I'm looking for a second set of wheels and tires to daily during the summer and also autox. Doing some research, I'm more confused now than when I began. Currently, I have the OEM ZL1 wheels on all seasons and these will be my winter setup, although I barely drive this car in the winter, maybe once a week if that. I've considered Apex 19 inch wheels or just getting a set of MMR for the winter and using the OEM ZL1 wheels for summer and autox. For tires, if I go with the 19inch Apex, I'm looking at Continental Force 315/295/30/20. If I use the ZL1 wheels for summer, I'm looking at the GY SC3. the 20 inch option is $1,000 cheaper because the tires are cheaper and I can get by with a cheaper wheel for winter. I understand the Contis are more of an endurance tire but are good to go without much warmup, which sounds OK for Autox. OTOH, the GY SC3 seem like a bad choice for Autox and dailying because they take time to heat up and aren't too good until they do.

Any other wheel/tire combos I should consider around the $3k range?

[Cjw]

The new continental is an endurance tire, don’t think it’ll do well for autocross. Look at some apex wheels and tires in a 18/19 if you plan to do it autocross often, you’ll save in the long run. I run 18 x 11/12 with 315/335 and love the set up

[joelster]

Theres way better autocross tire choices with 19" wheels and even more with 18. Apex makes an 18" wheel that will fit over your brakes. Yokohama a052 in 315/30/18 would be the hot tire for your car.

[cdrptrks]

There are only a few competitive autocross tires and you didn't list any of them. You can still have fun autocrossing with other tires just decide if you want to be competitive or not. For street classes limited to 200 treadwear or higher, the only competitive tire options I am aware of are RE-71R, Rival S 1.5, RT660, & A052.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by cdrptrks

There are only a few competitive autocross tires and you didn't list any of them. You can still have fun autocrossing with other tires just decide if you want to be competitive or not. For street classes limited to 200 treadwear or higher, the only competitive tire options I am aware of are RE-71R, Rival S 1.5, RT660, & A052.

Agreed.

RE71 are discontinued and Nankang CR-1 are an option too.

A052 are maybe the best but wear quick and need lots of camber, I'd go RT660 in 315/30/18.

[yourmomshouse]

I've done some more reading. RT660 look to be the best bet so far. I will be dailying(weekending?? I have a separate daily driver) these in the summer as well. I'm not into hauling wheels or swapping for each event. With about 10 AutoX events, 10 30-second runs per event each season, and about 1,500-2,000 miles of street driving per summer how long can I expect these to last? If I run Apex wheels, will 285/30 and 315/30 fit without camber plates or spacers? I'd rather run 19s simply because they will be on all summer, not just on the course. But I'm having trouble finding 305/30 and 285 or 295/30 tires in 19 inch. RT660 does come in 295/35/19 (front) and 315/30/19 (rear). Will these fit without spacers or plates on Apex wheels? I just want something I can throw on in the summer and take off in the fall with good wear and decent performance. I'm not looking to go all out. this is difficult, but I have 6 months or so to make a decision.

[joelster]

To my knowledge the wheel well areas are no different front an SS to a ZL1. The ZL1's run much bigger tires up front.
100 runs and 1500 street miles is about all you could ask of a competitive tire.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by joelster

To my knowledge the wheel well areas are no different front an SS to a ZL1. The ZL1's run much bigger tires up front.
100 runs and 1500 street miles is about all you could ask of a competitive tire.

This ^^^

Even if you haven't corded them or run them down to near-zero tread depth, you'll have heat-cycled much of their improved performance over more durable rubber away. i.e., no longer truly competitive.


Norm

[VR Baron]

Originally Posted by joelster

To my knowledge the wheel well areas are no different front an SS to a ZL1. The ZL1's run much bigger tires up front.
100 runs and 1500 street miles is about all you could ask of a competitive tire.

That’s what I find with re71s over the years. 100, 50-55 second runs. Plenty of tread left but grip is gone.

[kropscamaro16]

goodyear supercar 3s but any summertime only tire will be good at auto x haha

[joelster]

I've talked to plenty of guys who swear you can run "tire x" down to the cords, but from my own personal experience tires will start to fall off after 7 or 8 events. Even if you don't street drive them at all. They can only be heated/cooled so many times before they don't work as good as they used to. I sold my last set of 660's for $100. They still had 4/32nds left but I could tell they weren't as good and I had some important races coming up and a fresh set in the garage.

[cdrptrks]

In my experience Goodyear SC3 tires are hard to heat up and keep warm enough for optimal grip even in hot weather. They are designed to withstand 20+ minute track lapping sessions so they do not produce times that are quite as good as the competitive autocross tires which achieve full grip with little or no warmup and overheat after a fast lap or two on a road course.

Also SCCA street classes don't allow camber arms/plates and limit you to a range of wheel diameter and width compared to stock wheels so keep that in mind. CAM-C class allows for camber arms/plates and other mods.

[Msquared]

I'm not clear: you have an SS without the 1LE package and you're currently running ZL1 (non-1LE) wheels on it, which are 20x10/11? While there's nothing mechanically wrong with that, it puts you in very different autocross classes, depending on which events you're planning to attend. In SCCA, it would move you from F Street to either CAM-C or ESP, which is a very different level of car mods overall. So you need to decide what class you want to run first.

Regardless of that decision, I think the Falken RT660 is the way to go on a Camaro right now, with the Nankang CR1 maybe as a good alternative (reviews and results are all over the map with that tire from what I see). The Yokohamas are very fast, but they won't be happy on a stock or near-stock Camaro, and you'll need heroic measures to keep them cool enough to be happy at an autocross with 10 runs. Everything else that's streetable is slower. I think you'll be able to do 100 runs plus a little street driving on the Falkens before you have to replace them.

If you want to stay in F Street, you need to stay with stock widths and can go down 1" in diameter, so look at 19x8.5/9.5. Then look at the Falken RT660 in 275/35/19 for the rears and either 245/35/19 or 265/35/19 for the fronts (not sure which is the best bet - they don't make a 245/40/19, which would be ideal).

If you don't care about staying in F Street, then go with CAM-C. ESP would be a bad choice, since the only good tire for that class is the Hoosier A7 and that is definitely not streetable. In CAM-C you have to stay with 200-treadwear ratings, but you can run any size you want. An easy choice would be 19x10.5 front and rear with 305/30/19 Falkens or Nankangs. I have a friend running 19x11 on his SS, which would be even better. I'm not sure if he's running camber plates or not, but they don't rub. But in CAM-C, you're going to want camber plates and several other parts to really start improving the car's potential...which then becomes a money pit...which is why I'm not going there any time soon! So consider that carefully.

[yourmomshouse]

Originally Posted by Msquared

I'm not clear: you have an SS without the 1LE package and you're currently running ZL1 (non-1LE) wheels on it, which are 20x10/11? While there's nothing mechanically wrong with that, it puts you in very different autocross classes, depending on which events you're planning to attend. In SCCA, it would move you from F Street to either CAM-C or ESP, which is a very different level of car mods overall. So you need to decide what class you want to run first.

Regardless of that decision, I think the Falken RT660 is the way to go on a Camaro right now, with the Nankang CR1 maybe as a good alternative (reviews and results are all over the map with that tire from what I see). The Yokohamas are very fast, but they won't be happy on a stock or near-stock Camaro, and you'll need heroic measures to keep them cool enough to be happy at an autocross with 10 runs. Everything else that's streetable is slower. I think you'll be able to do 100 runs plus a little street driving on the Falkens before you have to replace them.

If you want to stay in F Street, you need to stay with stock widths and can go down 1" in diameter, so look at 19x8.5/9.5. Then look at the Falken RT660 in 275/35/19 for the rears and either 245/35/19 or 265/35/19 for the fronts (not sure which is the best bet - they don't make a 245/40/19, which would be ideal).

If you don't care about staying in F Street, then go with CAM-C. ESP would be a bad choice, since the only good tire for that class is the Hoosier A7 and that is definitely not streetable. In CAM-C you have to stay with 200-treadwear ratings, but you can run any size you want. An easy choice would be 19x10.5 front and rear with 305/30/19 Falkens or Nankangs. I have a friend running 19x11 on his SS, which would be even better. I'm not sure if he's running camber plates or not, but they don't rub. But in CAM-C, you're going to want camber plates and several other parts to really start improving the car's potential...which then becomes a money pit...which is why I'm not going there any time soon! So consider that carefully.

Good Info here. Thanks.
I think I'll be in CAMC. I'll need to research some more to see how the 305 fit up front. Car is already a money pit. Other than camber plates, what "several other parts" are you referring to? Sway bars? I've already done BMR endlinks, BMR springs, all the BMR arms in the rear, BMR cradle lockout, front ZLE control arms (2 pairs that were replaced: 1 pair was ZLE specific, the other pair were shared among ZLE/ZL1/1LE. I'm thinking I'll do a front Hotchkis and rear BMR bar when I do the wheels and tires.