Good tires for Boost & Autocross / Track Days?

[Mr Notorious]

I just bought a 2013 ZL1 bone stock, 30k mikes. It came with BFG G-Force Comp 2's, which is a 400 tread wear. They have some good life left, maybe 65% tread still left. But I'm not overly impressed with the tire's traction, at least they have a good speed rating and ride smooth.



I bought this car for a weekend cruiser and an autocross & track car. I live in Florida and I won't be driving it in any temps below 60 degrees. No plans to drive it in the rain, but could get caught in a rain storm heading home from the track.



Previously I had a 2011 SS for 10 years, put about 150k miles on it, and I ran Nitto Invo's religiously (260 treadwear). I felt they were a good match for the SS, it was rare that I would lose traction under power. They held up good at track events, Sebring, and of course on-ramps.


But for my Zl1, I can't decide if I should buy a 2nd set of wheels and track tires (100-200 tread wear) and swap them for track days, or if I should just get a 200-250 tread wear tire and see how that goes? What do most folks do?


Is it possible / beneficial to run a 18/19" wheel without any modifications?

[acammer]

R888R's have been a great all around tire for higher horsepower cars. We're using a set on a buddy's 750whp ZL1 and it hooks admirably for a tire you can still get some mileage out of, and still corner with. Definitely a tire to add to your list of "possibles".

You can run an 18" wheel on a ZL1, just gotta tie the e-brake cable back. 19" stuff is, IMO, not worth the trouble of trying to find tires for, unless you're a dedicated circuit race guy and really think that's the optimal size for your combination. Personaly, it doesn't sound like you're chasing hard core stuff, just fun stuff, so I'd be inclined to keep the 20's on there and get a good compromise tire. Anything will feel better than the Comp BFGs, I'm sure those won't take the power of even a mildly tuned ZL1.

[FasNuf]

I have the Toyo R888r and am impressed with the grip as long as the tire is on a warm surface.
I wouldn't drive them in the rain or bother trying to get traction in temps lower than 60*F. They growl a little while driving but my exhaust drowns that out somewhat.

They're expensive, but probably one of the best. I haven't tried the Cup 2.

[joelster]

R888's are below tw200 and will put you in SM classes for autocross. Not to mention they aren't as good as a legit Falken 660 or Yokohama A052 for an autocross event. You'll never encounter a competitive driver/car on r888's unless it's a poorly represented local event. The tires are old tech plain and simple. I would rock some 19'switha 315/30/19 Falken rt660. If you can get 18's then you open up your choices a bit to the Yok A052 in 315/30/18.

[Z28Ruthless]

If you are wanting to continue to run the 20" stock wheels, I would recommend the Bridgestone RE71RS. Successor to the RE71R and are available in 285/35R20 which is the stock tire size on the 5th Gen 1LEs that share the same wheels to the ZL1. I currently have the Yokohama A052s on my stock wheels for my 15 SS 1LE, they make for a very good autocross tire as they are gripping from cold, but for lapping they fall off and become greasy in a sense. Both the RE71RS and the A052 will give you pretty good wet traction for being 200tw tires.

I personally run 2 sets of wheels, one set for summer/weekend cruising with a 280 tw tire (I live in MN) and the stock set for track/HPDE/Autox.

[z28lt1]

The stock ZL1s came with Goodyear Supercar G2 tires, now out of existence and replaced by the generally better Supercar Gen 3 tires with a 220 tread rating (there is also an "R" version of that tire that gets great reviews, but I have no experience with it).



I don't autocross anymore, but I'm very happy with the Supercar 3's as a street/track tire combo. They seem to hang on a little longer on the track than other similar tires during a session, are very predictable, and are a great street tire. As expected with the shallow/limited tread, you'll need to be a little more gentle in the rain on the street, but they are certainly manageable in the wet.

[Fanch1LE]

Originally Posted by Z28Ruthless

If you are wanting to continue to run the 20" stock wheels, I would recommend the Bridgestone RE71RS. Successor to the RE71R and are available in 285/35R20 which is the stock tire size on the 5th Gen 1LEs that share the same wheels to the ZL1. I currently have the Yokohama A052s on my stock wheels for my 15 SS 1LE, they make for a very good autocross tire as they are gripping from cold, but for lapping they fall off and become greasy in a sense. Both the RE71RS and the A052 will give you pretty good wet traction for being 200tw tires.

I personally run 2 sets of wheels, one set for summer/weekend cruising with a 280 tw tire (I live in MN) and the stock set for track/HPDE/Autox.

What size A052's are you running? For track only, I am planning to put 295/30/20 on all 4 corners on my stock 1LE wheels. If that's what you have, any issues with fronts rubbing? I hear the A052's run wide.