I bought a C5 Z06 - What Tires?

[Sojourner]

Hey y'all! I haven't been around in a while (and only been to a few autocross events in the past) as I sold my miata last year. Anyway, last week I purchased my first vette, a 2004 Z06! Bought it from Mike Merrill out of Marietta (some of you may know him, he says he knows this group). Anyway, im still a little ways out from making it to autocross, but Im wondering what AS tires guys run these days on a C5Z? Seems several brands aren't available anymore. NT05's are, but I don't know if they are any good?

I'm hoping to make it out, maybe starting next year. The car came with two sets of wheels, so I have old NT05's on the spare set that Mike had on the car, but they are basically shot and 8 years old lol. Maybe I'll come test it with those "rocks" just to get a feel for it.

Looking forward to being more involved next year, assuming things go as planned.
Jason Murphy

[jledford]

I don't know which tires work specifically well on a Vette, but the hot street class tires right now are the following:

Falken RT660
Yokohama A052
Bridgestone RE-71RS

[nickrd10bk]

As Jerry aforementioned, those three tires are the "hotness" for the super 200 tires on the market right now.

I have been running a staggered set of Yokohama AO52's on the back, and Falken RT660 on the front.

I do this because the carcass construction of the Yokohama allows it to have more longitudinal grip, which is important for putting down power.

With that being said, the Yokohama gives up a touch of lateral grip, and you have to keep the tire sprayed down with water to keep it from getting warm. They really get the best grip from 60-90 degrees. After that, the grip drops off. With ambient temps in Alabama summer days being 90+, it can be a challenge keeping them cool. The corvette being light weight for the size tires it has makes it manageable in the hot though.

If it were me, I would buy a set of the Falken RT660 tires.

They should last longer than the Yokohama AO52, and they're more forgiving to higher temps. They still put power down well, and have GREAT response. The Bridgestone just hit the market this past May, and I'm not convinced it is a better tire than the Falken. It produces similar grip, but, I don't think it is as responsive as the Falken. Of course, this comes down to preference. Some drivers don't like the snappy steering feel, as it can be harder to drive at times.

You won't go wrong with any of those 3 tires, but they certainly have their economy of use, and nuance otherwise that you will find things you like and don't like.

The C5Z is a great car, and in spite of most rhetoric regarding A Street classing in the SCCA, I think the car is still competitive in A Street. Billy Damhoff proves this on the national level events with his C5Z.

The car has a deficit of power to the C6Z, but, it is rare for a C6Z to have an opportunity for all of its power, as it has enough grip to carry much speed thru elements, and the C5Z still has a lot of grip, also.

I look forward to seeing you out soon, and maybe we can discuss things further.

[Sojourner]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback! This car does have Koni yellows and a stiffer front bar. Mike pretty much drove the car to autocross events and parked it in the garage. Only has 20k miles. Anyway, ive still got a lot to learn with the car, and need to get some things sorted before i can plop down $1400 for a set of play tires, but hopefully i'll be around next year to start learning how the car feels smashing (I mean dodging) cones . Would be glad to get any advice when I do make it out.

I get it that the C5Z also has a bit of a disadvantage with narrow front wheels.