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An 8" rim and a lighter car will likely effect this.  However, I find the 295's to be better than either 285's or 275's on the Mustang (wheels are 18x8.5's, car w/o big driver is 3436).  They wear better, and I don't think many would argue they aren't fast. 

 I started on 275's, went 285's and now 295's.  I have no plans on dropping back sizes.

As for compound, the A6 on something like a Solstice should be the choice.  Again, if an R6 was going to work it'd be on a heavier car.  And it might.  I have no reason to try, so I can't tell you, but the idea is not new and nobody I can think of has really run R's against A's if speed was the goal. 

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Sam Strano
Owner--Strano Performance Parts
800-729-1831

Thanks Sam. 

You probably won't remember, but you and I have met at Beaverun.  I used to run a white Porsche 912E.  I've also been through Brookville quite a few times back when I used to be at Penn State and would have reason to drive through the middle of the state from time to time.

 Thanks again.

Dave

(now in San Diego)

I have run the 295's on my ZOK and I do not like them. Data shows almost no lateral grip improvement(.1G occasionally) over the 245 Kumho and the 295 does not launch as well according the data which seems counterintuitive. Kumho's are much more precise while on course too. I increased my front camber to max setting and it helped the H a little bit. My next set of tires, if I keep the car and don't get the Cobalt SS will be 245 Kumho's. I've learned to be better at driving the Hoosiers but it took LOTS of coneage to figure them out.

Take that for what it's worth...

FM

 

Come to think of it I think the AS GXPs would be better off running the 225/40-18 R6 :)       Or at least I'd like it that way :)

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David Hedderick
Pearland (Houston), TX
01 CRG YZ125 (FOR SALE! $2500)
08 Mazda 3s
02 Mazda Protege (automatic tow vehicle)
92 Miata SE - Fun half-arsed STS2 Car

Mike,

 Why would you ditch the Z0K for a cobalt?  Just curious.

Dave

We tend to only run cars for a couple of years(3max) up here.

I want some power.

I like FWD.

I have serious issues with letting the MS-R in.

I have never liked softops

Track day stuff in the Cobalt would be fun.

Same size tires as the Solstice so my rains will fit.

STX is the backup plan if the SEB puts the car into AS or it can't compete in DS. I can just take 2 good tires to most events and drive the car to them saving mucho money on fuel. Fuel and towing are starting to be a "real" expense to me. Still not as much as a my red wine weekend bill or dance club evening but it is starting to add up.HAHA..Seriously, I think the car might be good in STX with some camber plates and suspension.

Um...Lets see....I don't have much left to do to the Solstice in regards to car setup without going hog wild with a built motor or cheating with other stuff so it probably is time for it to go.

Heinricy did set up on the Cobalt. Heinricy knows stuff...

I can come up with more....

FM

 

 

Fastmike:

I can come up with more....

FM

You forgot DS has a good PAX right now.

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STS2 - 1990 Mazda Miata
Borrowing BS - RX-8

Heinercy also has special parts ;)   And he ain't too bad of a driver.

I like FWD too man.......but I never saw this coming :)

i think you just got tired of being in a class where the guys in 1st and 2nd are half the weight of everyone in the class :) 

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David Hedderick
Pearland (Houston), TX
01 CRG YZ125 (FOR SALE! $2500)
08 Mazda 3s
02 Mazda Protege (automatic tow vehicle)
92 Miata SE - Fun half-arsed STS2 Car

I disagree with FM's assessment of 295s on an 8" wheel, but am only driving a torqueless wonder RX-8 in BS ...

I made the switch after observing the 295's on Dahl's A Stock GXP Solstice, otherwise my experience mirrors Sam's

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"Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you." --Anonymous

Please disregard any earlier advice of mine in this thread.  After the DC pro, I now think that I have no idea which tire is actually better.  Further testing will commence shortly...

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Dave Heinig

07 GXP Z0K (Thanks Rob!)

DaveH:

Please disregard any earlier advice of mine in this thread.  After the DC pro, I now think that I have no idea which tire is actually better.  Further testing will commence shortly...

When you guys swapped tires over the weekend were you swapping sizes as well?  I didn't look...too busy trying (and failing) to to keep track of my own "ass" 

clyde

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clyde
#198 AS Boxster S - in need of SpinGuard
TeamWTF?!

clyde:

DaveH:

Please disregard any earlier advice of mine in this thread.  After the DC pro, I now think that I have no idea which tire is actually better.  Further testing will commence shortly...

When you guys swapped tires over the weekend were you swapping sizes as well?  I didn't look...too busy trying (and failing) to to keep track of my own "ass" 

clyde

Yeah, we ran the 275/35s on Saturday and the 295/30s on Sunday.  I don't know if the couple of tenths I found were from better driving or better tires though.  I think I've figured out what the difference between the two is.  On the 295s the rear of the car moves a couple of inches more on turn-in.  It felt great at DC, but when we ran them at Devens it was really skittish.  We are starting to come to the conclusion that the right tire depends on the course, which sucks because we then need to have 2 sets of fresh rubber for Nationals.  So, in an attempt to avoid that, here's my new theory on what happened:

We set up the shocks earlier this year on 275s, and haven't really touched them since, so the car is really dialed in on that tire size.  I think the 295s may require a little less shock in the rear (or maybe more in the front) to get that same behavior, which means whenever we put the 295s on, the car was just a tad too loose for something like Devens.  At the pros in Atlanta and DC, where everyone was messing with shocks to get their car a little looser, we just put the 295s on and voila, we have a better setup. 

I'd like to test this theory out at the next Warminster event.  I want to try the 295s there and see if doing some minor shock adjustments gets rid of that loose feel.  It would be much better to just fiddle with shocks a little than to have to haul around an extra set of tires.

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Dave Heinig

07 GXP Z0K (Thanks Rob!)

clyde:

DaveH:

Please disregard any earlier advice of mine in this thread.  After the DC pro, I now think that I have no idea which tire is actually better.  Further testing will commence shortly...

When you guys swapped tires over the weekend were you swapping sizes as well?  I didn't look...too busy trying (and failing) to to keep track of my own "ass" 

Yes, we swapped from new (that event) 275s to less fresh (Atlanta Pro+Tour, Devons Sat) 295s.  We both picked up time on those courses on those tires.  We've been thinking it's course dependent for a while but haven't been able to get back to back testing with sets of fresh-ish tires. 

...and Clyde couldn't find his "ass" if it was sitting on the door of John cars... 
 

 

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Rob Leone

'07 Solstice GXP in AS
'87 Toyota Corolla in EP
ex - '91 MR2 Turbo in SM2 <- If you can't set a good example, serve as a horrible warning.