I asked a question in the tire section, but thought I would seek direct feedback from more owners with race experience.

Is the preferred track setup for a 140 tread wear tire (RS3) staggered or square?

Is it personal preference or is there a proven formula?

465whp

Thanks

 

How much track experience you have?

At that power level, I would say staggered for better rear traction and a more confident feeling going around the corners.

Square may be faster but requires greater car control skills, the car is more netural, and feels like oversteering all the time. Some people don't like this feeling and actucally drive slower with this setup.

At the end, it's all about the driver preference, imo.

 

My experience is very limited...i.e. two track days.

However, I'm a pretty quick study. I also really want to avoid buying a tire set up now that I need to upgrade from in the next 12 months.

Given that I'm just learning how to drive track, I would rather start with the drivers preferred configuration and learn best practices from the start.

Debating between 265/285 or 285/285.

 

Square is faster. 285/285 all around will yield the best lap times if the car can be driven consistently at the limit.

 

Agreed! This is also my current setup, but my car is not even close to 300whp. Not sure about the 285s are able to handle his 400+ whp tho

 

Considering Mike B with the Berk 1 series set the street class lap record with the 265/285 combo, i would say that should be your setup. That also factors in the easier to drive with the stagger. If you have lots of track experiance, 285/285

 

While I mull over tire set up, I figured I could safely get my RPF1s ordered up in 10.5" (+15) configuration as this would allow a stagger or a 285 square set up.

Make sense?

 

I'm thinking about grabbing another set of 10.5's for the front, i've already mounted the 285's up front for testing. They will require -3 or slightly more camber to keep from rubbing. 275's on the 10.5's will work perfect, and i could keep my camber at -2.8 as i run it with the 9.5's.

Right now i run a 275/35 front and 285/35 rear in RS3's on a 9.5/10.5 +15 RPF1 setup.

 

Even on hoosiers I didn't need 3 deg to keep from rubbing....2.7 was plenty.

 

I hated my staggered setup (255/275). The car had too much understeer during trackdays/autoX. Difficult to control without camber arms etc IMO.

I switched to square 275/35, 275/40. I'm still adjusting but I love how the car feels planted on hard cornering. Can't wait to bring it to the track.

But for 465 whp car, I think it's better to go for staggered. Not Sure..

 

My 9.5 +15 RPF1 with 285 RS3 are slightly touching my 10 mm extended Seibon fenders during hard corners. +2.5 Negative cambers. I dunno how a 10.5 +15 with 285 tires. will not rub on stock fenders...

 

A Square setup is good for financial reasons, you can rotate the tires to any corner and get better tire wear...

And I like the feel of a square setup on a near stock Z Car

I run 17x10 et 25, and 5mm spacers in front to clear the front suspension upright...and 275-40-17 Hoosier R6s

 

Surprised that you run the 285 on a 9.5" rim - I thought you really needed a 10.5" to run that tire size optimally.

It seems by your comments, though, that I need to reconsider my offsets. I just visited Enkei's site and my options are not extensive. The 10.5" rim is only available in the +15 - I guess that means this size cannot work for me.

There is a 10" +38. And in the 9.5" there is a +15,v+38, and +45.

I'm not looking to push the limits of fitment...I just want the best possible performance. Can someone in the know shed some light on my best course of action here? This is getting less clear for me the more I read.

Thanks everyone for the comments/feedback! At least I won't be buying the wrong stuff.

 

Can your coilovers adjust for ride height?
Can you make camber adjustments?

I think the bottom line on performance is, get as much rubber on the road as you can make fit. That is what I would do. Tires are the most important aspect of grip racing.

255/255<255/275<275/275<275/285<285/285<285/305 etc

Then you can adjust your coilovers to suit your preferences and dial out some of the oversteer or understeer.

Square is great for neutrality on lesser powered cars, it's also great for rotating tires, but at 465 rwhp you are a foot twitch, or uneven surface away from inducing oversteer.

 

Thanks, 2TH, but the question remains...

How do I know what will actually FIT? I can't just take a chance that what I buy will work. I need to know with some certainty that my parts will be compatible.

The 285/285 plan came about for the value of tire rotation and for the fact that this is the largest RS-3 they make in an 18". And, by all accounts, the RS-3 seems to be the best tire available for track (that you can drive there on!).

[confused] But now another poster is suggesting that the +15 will cause rubbing. [/confused]

Yes I can adjust ride height on my coils. And, yes, camber is adjustable via SPL front arms and Eibach on the rear.

Thanks

 

scotts 300 and others run square 285s all the time.
It will all be in the alignment and ride height.

 

285's on 10.5" +15 wide wheels on all four:



No problem.

 

Exactly the response I was looking for. Thanks!

Orders well be placed tomorrow - can't wait for spring!

 

You do need to roll the rears and have some front camber. 275's would work just fine as well...

 

How much camber is that? I have 2 10.5" +15, but afraid to put it in the front since my 9.5" +15 are already touching my fenders.