coff! coff!.. I'm italian, maybe you don't consider us european too!

considering you can get toyo R888 from UK at half the price of PS cup... a lot of people with GT3 are quite happy with them.

I moved to the states a couple of years ago.. I'm pretty sure if you bring some americans to an open pit lane in europe, they will run away cause the incredible "poor safety".... they don't know how we are used to drive on regular roads (at least in Italy)

and damn it.. you have rijeka, A1 ring, spa, hokenheim, nurburgring quite close. (one day driving distance)

 

yeah that whole, lower center of gravity and stiffer suspension, less body roll and less weight transfer idea is for the birds.

stick with wheels and tires

 

I think his point was that factory shocks go bad much faster when you lower the car and use higher than factory spring rates. They aren't designed for that. I read somewhere that most factory shocks are not a perfectly straight tube for the plunger to slide in. That they narrow towards the ends to add addition friction to supplement the viscosity of the oil and make the car "feel" sportier than it is. This wears out the plunger prematurely when you lower the car. I can't remember where I read that, but it kinda makes sense.

 

TCO awesome brake cooling idea you all in Germany have! Where can one purchase the backing plate funnel, or better yet the whole kit.

 

@aturo: hmmm, all GT3 i saw until now have michelin pilot sport cup ... i think they are mounted factory-provided ... but okay i will set limits ... everybody in europe besides italian ... btw i am from carinthia 1h left from the boarder to italy and austrian and italian drive ... *aaah* yes ... a little bit faster on regular roads

@beau: thank you ... yes i meant it in that way ... but i had problems to express myself in english ...

in the last issue of "sportauto" (the reference magazine for cars in german speaking area) they tested a new audi tts on the little track of hockenheim ... they improved the time for 2 seconds by using semislicktires (dunlop direzza) in combination with lighter wheels (both same dimensions like stock) ... than they used a kw3 cup + kw swaybars with stock wheels and factory-provided adjustment and they didn't improve time ... although the tester said that the car turns in quicker and they feeled subjective more faster, but the clock told them the opposite ...

and for this reason i thougt to ask here in hope to get the experience of the us racers ...

sooooo ... but now back to topic ... what should i do ... first a new wheel setup?! and if yes ... which dimension

 

for what I know.. in europe you can find 2 kind of michelin sport cup.
the "sport cup plus" that's the original equipment for porsche (and besides the thread design is a high performance tire) than the "sport cup" that is "the reference". about the performance, the toyo R888 just falls in the middle.
they told me the pirelli pzero corsa has a bad history of failure when driven with more than 2 deg of camber.

about your rims, I have a set of LMGT4 right now (staggered setup) but I put 245/40R18 all around, so the car doesn't understeer.

I don't know the rules in austria (in Italy you can only use factory approved tire sizes..), in germany you should have it approved by tuv... (for insurance coverage driving on the road, and some tracks don't allow you in with different measure)

"the best" setup for the Z looks like is with a rim 9 to 10 inch wide, 17 or 18 inch diameter and offset between +35 to +25 all around with 275/40R17 or 275/35R18 all around, to have a neutral handling car and maximum grip.

 

I have a totally stock suspension with 18x9 +30 with 275/35/18 Kumho Ecsta XS on all 4 corners. The car handles extremely well with very little understeer. It's very predictable at the limit. My alignment is Front 0 toe and -.8 camber. Rear is .02 toe IN and -1.7 camber. For a stock suspended car with a near factory alignment I would always do a square setup. I can't even imagine how much understeer I would have with a traditional staggared 245/275 or 275/305 setup.

 

I like everything you've said except for "Kumho Ecsta XS on all 4 corners". That tire is complete pooh.

 

Compared to what? I've been very impressed with them so far.

 

hi!

today i tested some setups referring to your suggestions ... and so i find at http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp 2 interessting setups that have nearly the same dimensions as the stock wheels ...

1. F: 255/40/18 + R: 275/40/18
2. F: 275/35/18 + R: 275/40/18

in fact that's not the same setups you told me, but what do you think about that?! i could read out from your posts above, that a square setup harmonise better with the stock suspension because it eleminates understeer ...

or am i off base?!

 

Setup #2 is what I have but with a larger diameter rear tire to satisfy the VDC. Obviously that would be my choice.

That is a really slick whee/tire comparing tool!

 

I have the Advan RS wheels also and I love them. Price is steep but worth the money. Front-18x9, 29mm offset ... Rear-18x10, 25mm offset 255/45-18
285/40-18
I really hate to correct Jetpilot because he's damn near always right and I've personally learned alot from his suggestions and comments. But I believe the Advan's are made by Mackin/Rays.http://www.mackinindustries.com/md/y...aoriginal.html


Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Kumho Ecsta XS tires are fairly new. I would like to now how they are "complete pooh" since I plan on running them in the future. (sorry for thread jacking)

 

really?! i tested the setup with the wheel-tool referred to any problems with the VDC ... and 275/40/18 goes with the stock diameter of the 245/45/18

@bighungrydewees: very nice combo ... the advan rs are my first choice ... do you have some pics, where i can see, if your combo stay out of the fender?!

btw. is there any page in the www where i can check the weight of the advan wheels?!

 

you wont touch the fender. I run 285/30-18's with a +25-ish offset and i'm no where near it even when the suspension is compressed.

 

www.wheelweights.net has almost all the wheels currently manufactured and accurate weights.

 

My setup is 275/35/18 on all 4 wheels. The tire choices you indicated were a 35 series front and a 40 series rear, so the rear would be a little taller to keep the VDC from activating. My car is a base model, so I don't have to worry about VDC and tire hight issues. As you probably already know, there needs to be a 3%-6% difference in tire diameter to keep the VDC from acting funny. At least that is what I have commonly read on here. I would go with the 275's on all 4 wheels if you want to stay with a similar to stock alignment and suspension for now. It still understeers a little in slower corners, but it's very neutral at high speeds. It trail brakes great and rotates very well. Once you get used to it, it's a joy to drive. To each his own of course, some people don't like square setups.

 

*aaah* sorry beau ... but just now i understood your posting *shameonme* ... okay ... now i have a decision for the tiresize (F: 275/35/18 and R: 275/40/18 ---> no problems with VDC), but which kind of rim dimension should i take ...

first i have to say that in austria it isn't allowed that the rims and tires look out of the fender like this extreme pic of a s2000 shows:



the wheel and the tire has to stay under the fender and the wheel has to clear the oem brembos ... so what kind of dimension and offset should i go ... my favourite rim is the advan rs or rz ...

thanks

 

My 18x9 +30 is easily inside the wheel well with about 5mm to spare, maybe slightly more. I have Rota G-Force's that look pretty similar to the Advan RS's. May be a copy, but I don't know for sure. Found them on Ebay for $630 + shipping... I think a single (1) Advan costs more than that.

 

Doesn't scrub.

 

@bighungrydewees: yummy ... look's great, but i think the rear wheels are to widely ... hmmm ... what offset of the 8x10 do you drive?!

@beau: thank you for your pics ... really nice car

now i know that 9x18 with offset 30 and 275/35/18 fit with no problems in front ... and in austria so that setup will be allowed because they don't stand out of the fender ...

hmmm ... what do you think about the rear ... is there any benefit if i go with a wider wheel like 10x18 and 275/40 or is this regardless?!

i think beau's setup has the idea behind, that he can interchange his wheels from rear to front and so on ... because i will take 275/35 in front and 275/40 rear (so that i have no problems with the vdc) the benefit of the same width is zero ...