Wheel/tyre Choices For R35 (circuit Use)?

[LSX-438]

I've been monitoring the USA forums, and they seem to be using CCW or Volk/Rays TE37 or RE30 rims for circuit work. Apparently the TE37 18x9.5+22 and 18x10.5+15 rears fit ok. This would possibly yield the option of using an 18" RE55 (i wonder if 295's would fit ok?). Otherwise the 19" RE30 with say a Toyo 19" R888 305 or similar? Any other ideas? Are there any decent 20" tyres avalable? I would prefer to have a dedicated track wheel/tyre because of a) better performance and b) to save weight and c) then use the factory rims/tyres as backup (at events) and for the street. I believe there is a total 40kg weight saving with the RE30 option (wheels and tyres) which is significant. I plan on going through a lot of tyres over the next 24 months (i would say 6 to 10 sets) so i dont want to pay $1000+ for a 20" tyre which has sub-standard performance vs say an RE55. Anyone have experience with an RE55 vs a R888? Don't forget the R35 is a heavy thing, so would be good to hear from people who have R888 experience in a heavy car.

Any ideas? Who would be the best people to talk to (in Australia) about buying some rims mentioned above?

thanks!

[GGTTRR]

I've heard similar comments, this is a quote from one of the forums:

I'd heard that Nissan engineers have said the R35 GTR would be faster on 18's than they are on the stock 20's but for "symetry" reasons they had to go with the bigger wheels.

So some guy in the US has done a track day recently with the standard wheels and then back to back on some 18" TE37's (one of the few 18s that will fit over those brakes) which were fitted with Michelin Sport Cups (so probably better than the standard tyres but still IMO aren't a brilliant R comp tyre).

Anyways the results were 2 fold. One the car looks stupid so I can understand why they said they wanted the bigger wheels. But secondly the car took 3s off of its lap time on the smaller wheels on a track with around a 1.30 lap time. That's a huge jump so I might have to keep my second set of R34 GTR track wheels handy incase I ever decide to take the R35 on the track! Apparently the fronts were 18x9.5's (+22) with 265/35/18 and the rears were 18x10.5's (+15) with 295/30/18

[LSX-438]

I've heard similar comments, this is a quote from one of the forums:

I'd heard that Nissan engineers have said the R35 GTR would be faster on 18's than they are on the stock 20's but for "symetry" reasons they had to go with the bigger wheels.

So some guy in the US has done a track day recently with the standard wheels and then back to back on some 18" TE37's (one of the few 18s that will fit over those brakes) which were fitted with Michelin Sport Cups (so probably better than the standard tyres but still IMO aren't a brilliant R comp tyre).

Anyways the results were 2 fold. One the car looks stupid so I can understand why they said they wanted the bigger wheels. But secondly the car took 3s off of its lap time on the smaller wheels on a track with around a 1.30 lap time. That's a huge jump so I might have to keep my second set of R34 GTR track wheels handy incase I ever decide to take the R35 on the track! Apparently the fronts were 18x9.5's (+22) with 265/35/18 and the rears were 18x10.5's (+15) with 295/30/18

Marek! it's Duncan here (from Supersprints - the red monaro) did you end up ordering an R35?

Edited February 7, 2009 by LSX-438

[scathing]

Are there any decent 20" tyres avalable?

In the S-Comp range, Michelin offers the Pilot Sport PS/2 in 20" sizes. Not sure of the diameters etc though. I don't know of any R-Comps in 20" yet. Those tyres are good enough to get a ZR-1 around the Nordschleife faster than the GT-R, so they can't be all bad at gripping.

For 19" wheels, there are more choices. Michelin's Pilot Sport Cups come in 19", as do Pirelli P-Zero Corsas. I can't find info on any other R-Comp in 19" though, aside from your mentioned R888s.

The Sport Cups are meant to be one of the best R-Comps on the market, but damn you'll be paying through the nose for them. They're the OEM tyre for the old M3 CSL, and the Porsche 911 GT3 and sometimes on the GT2....and apparently the CSL's tyres were a grand each.

Pirelli's P-Zero Corsas are meant to be on-par with the Michelin Sport Cups, and I expect they're priced to match, and they offer a P-Zero C which, from the literature, appears to be a more focused dry-weather circuit tyre that happens to be street legal (not sure if it's street legal in Australia, though, the brochure is from an overseas site).

Anyone have experience with an RE55 vs a R888? Don't forget the R35 is a heavy thing, so would be good to hear from people who have R888 experience in a heavy car.

RE55s are noticably better, performance-wise. The RE55s have stiff sidewalls, which would make them more suitable for heavy cars.

Who would be the best people to talk to (in Australia) about buying some rims mentioned above?

As for the rims, any RAYS reseller should be able to source them directly from the factory in Japan. SAU has got plenty of sponsors - I'd assume at least one would be able to order them in. I personally got my Volks from mxfly.

[LSX-438]

Well it seems Enkei 18" GTC-01's clear the R35 brakes, these rims in 18x10" only come in 22mm offset, which apparently is all good.

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?sh...c=29400&hl=

These rims are relatively cheap in the USA (about $350 each)

Anyone know of a good dealer to source Enkei's in Australia?

Or else if anyone has a set of GTC-01's in 18x10" they want to sell, let me know

[handbrake]

I have no track experience so please excuse my ignorance.

Is it the reduced unsprung mass of an 18" wheel that improves the time or the better range of tyres. If better tyres are coming at 20" I'll keep the stock wheels for the track (just ordered some HRE 590R 20" 9.5 front and 11 rear as a street wheel). Otherwise I will sell the stockers and go the rays RE30 (popular on NAGTROC as stated above) or similar. I will not be tracking as hard as others posted above but would like to get out every 3-4 months.

I realise that the biggest impediment to fast track times in this car currently is me. working on that. Any guys in Brisbane/SEQ looking to get their R35's out and about? would love to hook up for track days/ exchange/experience etc.

[handbrake]

Adam from 'The Tuners Group' sorted me out for the HRE's BTW. Put up with a long decision making process.

Thanks mate.



[GGTTRR]

Well it seems Enkei 18" GTC-01's clear the R35 brakes, these rims in 18x10" only come in 22mm offset, which apparently is all good.

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?sh...c=29400&hl=

These rims are relatively cheap in the USA (about $350 each)

Anyone know of a good dealer to source Enkei's in Australia?

Or else if anyone has a set of GTC-01's in 18x10" they want to sell, let me know

This looks like a good find .

Will you have your car for the next SS?

[LSX-438]

This looks like a good find .

Will you have your car for the next SS?

Not sure about the next round. It's at least a couple of weeks until delivery, probably more. So looking a bit iffy

[Marlin]

I'd suggest contacting Giant. I know he has something available and perfectly suitable for you right now.

[Beer Baron]

yeah 19s are probably the best choice. 18s are a bit small imo and could cause you some ground clearance problems... a 19 semi with right size sidewall will come in about the same overall diameter as the standard 20s with their low profile street tyres.

plus they look so silly on 18s!

[LSX-438]

they certainly do look goofy on the 18's

but i reckon the rubber available in 18's (say RE55 or the dunlops) is ultimately going to be quicker than the R888's

[N1GTR]

Well it seems Enkei 18" GTC-01's clear the R35 brakes, these rims in 18x10" only come in 22mm offset, which apparently is all good.

http://www.nagtroc.org/forums/index.php?sh...c=29400&hl=

These rims are relatively cheap in the USA (about $350 each)

Anyone know of a good dealer to source Enkei's in Australia?

Or else if anyone has a set of GTC-01's in 18x10" they want to sell, let me know

Thats USD, right?

[LSX-438]

Thats USD, right?

yes correct, USD. And that was a special price i think. Normally they are north of $400.

I've been shopping around for aussie dealers/prices, and they are about $600~$800 each here.

[seamonsta]

If you want to ultimately go the fastest round a race track 18" will be the way to go, admittedly it looks a bit wierd (well quite a bit weird) but the tyre technology in 18" race type tyres is way ahead of 19" or 20" ones currently. That is going to change in the next couple of years though as more 19/20" technology catches up (as well as the demand for them). Given how fast Haltech and others have gone on 20" road tyres you would need to be a gun driver to get the most out of an 18" wheel/slick tyre upgrade in any case.

[God_speed]

If those are 18"s on that red 35 they don't look quite as stupid as I thought they would. Obviously the effect would be minimised by having black wheels instead of silver ones.

FWIW I also bought my Volks from mxfly and they are RE30s 18x 9.5, I weighed them without tyres at just over 8 kilos each (about 8.4kg from memory).

I'm not sure about the new R35 wheel without tyres but according to this site they are 30kg with the stock tyre.

http://www.2009gtr.com/2008/02/r35-gt-r-re...eel-weight.html

[LSX-438]

If those are 18"s on that red 35 they don't look quite as stupid as I thought they would. Obviously the effect would be minimised by having black wheels instead of silver ones.

FWIW I also bought my Volks from mxfly and they are RE30s 18x 9.5, I weighed them without tyres at just over 8 kilos each (about 8.4kg from memory).

I'm not sure about the new R35 wheel without tyres but according to this site they are 30kg with the stock tyre.

http://www.2009gtr.com/2008/02/r35-gt-r-re...eel-weight.html

The Nittos on the red 35 dont look that bad because they are a tall tyre (275/40's) at about 26.6" whereas the stocker wheels/tyres are about 28" - a set of 285/30/18's (more common, say RE55) would be only 24.7" tall in comparison, which i am guessing is too short.

[Beer Baron]

The Nittos on the red 35 dont look that bad because they are a tall tyre (275/40's) at about 26.6" whereas the stocker wheels/tyres are about 28" - a set of 285/30/18's (more common, say RE55) would be only 24.7" tall in comparison, which i am guessing is too short.

yep, exactly. you loose about 2 inches of ride height/ground clearance which can be too much. especially on tracks where you need to grab some kerb/ripple strip to be fast. nothing worse than tearing out something from the underside of your R35. and the floor pan is quite low with the flat floor.

[LSX-438]

Well i bit the bullet today and purchased a set of 18x10 Enkei GTC-01's with 295/35/18 RE55's (in SR compound) for my R35. These are about 26.1" tall - so should be ok (i am hoping!). Plus i can swap these front the back and left to right (I dont care about the directional thing with these tyres really). All up the cost is reasonable, wheels + tyres together are about $1k less than a new set of TE37 rims alone. Hopefully running 295's front and back will help correct some of the understeer too.

[Beer Baron]

well I drove a 35 on 19inch TE37s with toyo semis at the weekend. ride height was definitely a concern but was ok around oran park. the car felt good. I didn't really do too much kerb hopping but it was ok on the big bump at turn 4.

the 19inch TE37s are probably the best looking 'downgrade' of wheels i've seen so far. definitely look better than the 18inch options out there.