jay45dee

I am going to be doing a few track days at Heartland Park Topeka this year and have been looking around for wheels and tires. I don't want to spend 2k on wheels and tires so figured I could get good advice here.

I was thinking of 18X9.5 wheels but the tires are pretty expensive. (i am looking for a road racing tire that is street legal)

Does anyone run smaller wheels? Maybe 16's? If so, can someone get me on the right path to find an affordable wheel tire combo that will handle well and not break the bank?

Thanx in advance..

06GT

If you do not have brembo brakes installed, you can run 17s. 16s will not clear the stock caliper--so don't bother.

You can get 17x9 knock-offs pretty cheap but you'll have to keep an eye on them for cracks etc. Most companies that make cheap wheels don't test them for track use--so beware.

Once you get a wheel figured out, you should look into some 275/40/17s, they are a common size and widely available. If you want a tire that's streetable, check out the Dunlop Direzza Star Spec or Nitto NT05.

jay45dee

Alright thanx.
Looks like I need to find some 17's or 18's.
I want the same stagger all around. You think 10" is too wide all around?
Maybe 9 or 9.5?

06GT

10s will fit with the right offset, but 9.5s are a safe bet and will easily fit a 275. So will a 9.

You ever done track days before? Might just want to run on street tires for a while if you're new to this. R-compounds can mask too many bad driving habits and prevent you from learning proper car control...also they are much less forgiving at the limits. (The NT05 and Star Specs should be fine though).

jay45dee

I road raced karts for 10 years. This will be my first time in a full size car.

I will look for 9.5's. Thanx for the tire suggestions, I will check them out.

I don't want to use my stock 19" wheels and street tires though, they have very little grip and are getting worn out.

CaptDistraction

A good cheap entry would be to find some older gt500 takeoffs in 18x9.5. I just bought some with new tires on them for 800. They're Goodyear street tires but that's fine because I really want to spend time practicing/learning to use throttle to drive the car through a corner. So I don't mind giving up traction for this round of tires to better learn car control at the edge

Stinger1982

18x9.5 or 18x10 (if your class allows, disregard for juts doing open track days)
275/30-18

MontrealStang

The stock 2011 GT calipers have the same DIAMETER clearance as the Brembos ... bottom line ... have fun finding some 17" that will clear them. I have some but only clears by less then 1 mm. I even had to grind my calipers so they wouldn't rub !

FYI, they are 5Zigen fn01r-c 17x9 35mm offset

Here is a picture WITH Brembos

jay45dee

thanx for all the info! Looks like 18" GT500 take offs are the right way to go for me. I will start shopping around for some.