The Official Forced Induction Tire/Wheel Thread

I wanted to start a thread for fellow FI enthusiast to inform and educate them on wheel and tire setups. We all know that TRACTION is the biggest issue with FI cars, and we need to know what's worked and what hasn't to save us from wasting money on rubber. This will be a learning curve for me as well because I never owned a 400+ whp car, and would like to know what has worked for people with high powered cars.

Please decribe your experiences with tire brands, sizes, etc. along with wheel specs (offsets, widths, size). I would like to know more info on street tires since I DD my car, but feel free to talk about track tires as well.

I'm currently running staggered OEM 19s wrapped in Michelin Super Sports 245/35/19 and 275/30/19. I plan on buying Apex Arcs-8 18x9.5 et22/18x10 et25 or 10.5 et27. I'm not sure on rear wheel widths yet as I come to you guys for guidance. With this setup, I would like to run 255/35 fronts and 285/35 rears. Any input would be great!!

Tires that have been suggested toward my setup (street, DD, and works well in rain): Nitto NT05 and Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s.

Alright guys.. School me and others

You need new tires. Judging by my ride in Commanderwiggens car NT05's are the bed bang for your buck. I'm sure there there is
Some better rubber out there, but you'll be paying for it.

Originally Posted by dallasberry

You need new tires. Judging by my ride in Commanderwiggens car NT05's are the bed bang for your buck. I'm sure there there is
Some better rubber out there, but you'll be paying for it.

Yes I know!! I wish I did more research before buying those tires, but they are fairly new and can probably sell them. NT05s have been a popular choice.

Originally Posted by nnacpil

Yes I know!! I wish I did more research before buying those tires, but they are fairly new and can probably sell them. NT05s have been a popular choice.

Most of the Local R35 GTR's run the NT05s.

I personally haven't tried the RE-11's but I have driven several track days and over 20,000km on NT05's in the last two years...love these tires. Like Dallas said...best bang/buck ratio. Someday I may try the RE-11's...but probably not And yes I DD my car and the NT05's are great in the rain.

Went from 19" ZCPs to 18" x10.5 rear. Offset was subject of much debate. Worked with John at CCW in Fla, extremely knowledgeable and makes great wheels. Went with 38offset. Most think too deep but it's not. John insisted there was more room on inner/backside than most think. He was correct, about 20 min of pounding back side of wheel well with small hammer and no contact whatsoever on back. Minor contact on outer, but I am running 305s. Best tire for straight line is MT ET street. Currently running Nitto 555. Mine is stage hpf 2.5 making 700whp. I have solid traction in second with minimal spin with MTs and slightly less traction with Nittos, but they last a bit longer.

I'm running 255/30/19's T1R's in front and 305/35/18's MT ET Street Sports in the rear. I love this set up! I hoop in 2nd gear with over 800 rwhp! I have over 8,000 miles on my rears with 25% thread left!

Originally Posted by JakeR

Went from 19" ZCPs to 18" x10.5 rear. Offset was subject of much debate. Worked with John at CCW in Fla, extremely knowledgeable and makes great wheels. Went with 38offset. Most think too deep but it's not. John insisted there was more room on inner/backside than most think. He was correct, about 20 min of pounding back side of wheel well with small hammer and no contact whatsoever on back. Minor contact on outer, but I am running 305s. Best tire for straight line is MT ET street. Currently running Nitto 555. Mine is stage hpf 2.5 making 700whp. I have solid traction in second with minimal spin with MTs and slightly less traction with Nittos, but they last a bit longer.

That's good news on the nt555. Are u able to hook 2ndon those or just the MT?

I've rode with CW running the nt05. I was surprised at just how well they hold traction with his power level. I would get a set of those for DD if they made my size.

R888's.. I put R888's on Kenton's car after driving on his NT05's.. it was night and day. But they're noisy and wear fast, not to mention expensive.

Originally Posted by MarcusLSB

R888's.. I put R888's on Kenton's car after driving on his NT05's.. it was night and day. But they're noisy and wear fast, not to mention expensive.

Never owned them..yet.
But apparently the R888's seems to be one of the best choices for a trade off of wear(sort of), handling and traction. The tires do almost everything well except deep standing water so I have heard. I think they do just fine in normal light rain. Is that correct?

They dont come in every size and aspect ratio, but they make a lot of High HP car owners very happy. You can street them, HPDE them(specialize), and even hook up OK for an occasional trip down the strip.

They run a bit less expensive than similar sized Re-11's or Dunlop Star Specs....maybe 30 dollars a tire cheaper. At least on Tirerack.com.

They may not be the best choice if you live in Washington State or other rainy areas.

How scary are they (or not) in a downpour, Marcus? Its not like you cant pull over. Heck i have done that with my RE-11's which had deep rain grooves.

I have NT05's on the front, RE-11's on the back atm, likely will go all NT05's all around when these rears go, there just isn't enough difference that I can tell to make up for the cost. Still have the stock Dunlops on the GTR, they are good so far but very loud.

Originally Posted by mbdarkwinter

I have NT05's on the front, RE-11's on the back atm, likely will go all NT05's all around when these rears go, there just isn't enough difference that I can tell to make up for the cost. Still have the stock Dunlops on the GTR, they are good so far but very loud.

RE 11's have gotten too expensive. No sales. I like the Dunlop Star Specs a lot but they are no bargain either. I just cant believe sometimes how much tires cost. Its one of those purchases that just didn't ever seem like any kind of good deal.

I am quite pleased I went to 17's in the rear now. I finally am buying some pretty nice rubber at a lot more reasonable price. 315mm tires for 200 a piece feels great.

So strange. BMW owners have an abject phobia of using 17 inch wheels as if they were somehow inferior, when just the opposite is true when fitting 300mm plus tires in the rear. Big HP cars on other sites dont bat any eye when fitting wide 17's. It just so practical I cant believe all the resistance to doing it. There are even acceleration advantages to keeping the tire diameters small/short.

I have to modulate throttle a bit with 555 in 2nd but still pretty solid pull. I have consistently pulled high 3 second 0-60 with them on Vbox.

Originally Posted by JakeR

Went from 19" ZCPs to 18" x10.5 rear. Offset was subject of much debate. Worked with John at CCW in Fla, extremely knowledgeable and makes great wheels. Went with 38offset. Most think too deep but it's not. John insisted there was more room on inner/backside than most think. He was correct, about 20 min of pounding back side of wheel well with small hammer and no contact whatsoever on back. Minor contact on outer, but I am running 305s. Best tire for straight line is MT ET street. Currently running Nitto 555. Mine is stage hpf 2.5 making 700whp. I have solid traction in second with minimal spin with MTs and slightly less traction with Nittos, but they last a bit longer.

All the pounding etc is not needed to run the mt 305/35

Sent from my PG86100 using Bimmer App

Originally Posted by Bdave

Never owned them..yet.
But apparently the R888's seems to be one of the best choices for a trade off of wear(sort of), handling and traction. The tires do almost everything well except deep standing water so I have heard. I think they do just fine in normal light rain. Is that correct?

They dont come in every size and aspect ratio, but they make a lot of High HP car owners very happy. You can street them, HPDE them(specialize), and even hook up OK for an occasional trip down the strip.

They run a bit less expensive than similar sized Re-11's or Dunlop Star Specs....maybe 30 dollars a tire cheaper. At least on Tirerack.com.

They may not be the best choice if you live in Washington State or other rainy areas.

How scary are they (or not) in a downpour, Marcus? Its not like you cant pull over. Heck i have done that with my RE-11's which had deep rain grooves.

Rainy in washington state? Just the west side of the mt's

Sent from my PG86100 using Bimmer App

Originally Posted by JakeR

I have to modulate throttle a bit with 555 in 2nd but still pretty solid pull. I have consistently pulled high 3 second 0-60 with them on Vbox.

WOW! That is really incredible. Nice!

Double post

Originally Posted by Commanderwiggin

I personally haven't tried the RE-11's but I have driven several track days and over 20,000km on NT05's in the last two years...love these tires. Like Dallas said...best bang/buck ratio. Someday I may try the RE-11's...but probably not And yes I DD my car and the NT05's are great in the rain.

I have NT05 in mind because it's good in the rain (from reviews) and that's crucial where I'm located. CW, what's your wheel specs and tire sizes if you don't mind?

It was in mine, there were a number of contact points on back side