MetallicaMatt

I bought new Toyo R888's for the rear last fall, 305's and some used ones for the front.

Well the fronts are completely not legal since they were shaved for tracking.

Looks like $500-600 for a set of R888's for the fronts, at 265/35/18's

Can I run a cheaper tire, that'll still perform well, but look good also? I don't track the car, so I don't really see the reason to drop 500-600 on front tires, other than because they match the rears.

I figured I would just try and find something that had an agressive tread pattern.

Any suggestions?

MARSC6

I currently have R888s in the back and Toyo T1Rs in the front. They are not much cheaper but will last a lot longer.

LazyDog

I just put Toyo R888's on as a complete set. I do a lot of canyon driving and want that extra traction. If you mainly drive in straight lines or drag, you might not mind mixing and matching the tires.

PowerLabs

I did, for two sets. The traction was RIDICULOUS, UNREAL. When warm the car would hold on so hard that, coming from street tires, it was downright scary.
The downsides were real though. The fronts wear fast and it starts getting expensive. Wet traction is not great to begin with, and becomes un-manegeable as they go below the wear bars.

Currently I am running R1Rs up front (265/35R18) and Nitto 555R2s on the back (305/35R18). The 555R2s are the exact same rubber compound as the R888s and are also a road racing tire. I can't tell the difference between them and the R888s but they are cheaper, so that's why I run them. The R1Rs are not AS good as the R888s (140 threadwear and a lot more siping) but they are still pretty damn good and they come with full thread depth so I get a lot more life out of them.

Finally, on the topic of traction, I will say that even with the R888s up front the car still wanted to understeer quite a bit at the limit... Those 305s on the back really do not want to let go! Pairing up my factory Z-51 front swaybar with a C6Z rear sway and re-aligning the car more agressively made the handling a lot more neutral while still being safe. I'm completely satisfied with how my car handles now.

SinisterC6

i have them all around, 275/35/18 on stock rims up front and 335/30/18 on widened front 18s out back, still spinning top of second tho

vertC6

Not to get off track but what street tire performs better in Invos or the T1R? Performance, ride, noise, etc.

jbsblownc5

I run 295/30/19 in the back, and 255/35/18 up front on my H/C C6. I too hit the canyon with this tire as well as the roadcourse once in a while. I think having them match and having the uniform traction even if it's for that occational nice freeway offramp, is well worth the money.

Good luck,

JB

PowerLabs

Do a search on TireRack for your particular sizes, there are a few other Maximum Performance tires that can fit a C6; a few different Bridgestone Potenzas, some Pirelli tires, etc...

MetallicaMatt

Sounds like the T1R's are what I need. Like I said, I don't track or anything, just "spirted" driving, and the R888's (upfront) are overkill. But i can still light up the R888's in the rear if I want to

I can't believe I had factory tires on this car when I got it!!

patches228

The T1R hands down! I've had R888's invos and now T1R's! The invo has shallow tread and wears faster than the rating states. The T1R wears very evenly and have deeper tread for better wet performance. They also have good traction for a 280 rating. Overall best option for the price and overall performance!

LazyDog

I'm running this exact size on my stock wheels. I've seen other cars at meetups with 305's on the back and I just don't understand why people ignore both Toyo and GM's recommendations for the proper size.

What tire pressure are you running on your tires? I have them right now around 32 psi at cold temperature. This seems to be the right pressure.

PowerLabs

Why not; they all come with factory tires, don't they?

The R1R is a much better match; 140 threadwear, still full tread depth, but almost as sticky as the R888...

PowerLabs

And I don't understand why people run skinny tires on cars with a lot of power
Also you realize that the combo you are running is not what GM recommends for your car, right? In fact it is further away from being the correct diameter than a 265 / 305 combo

LazyDog

Not according to my tuner Charlie Williams at RPM Motors. Aren't you the guy that recommended doing burn-outs to heat cycle a brand new set of these tires?

PowerLabs

No, I am the guy that, instead of listening blindly to what other people say, called up Toyo and Nitto and got their official word on heat cycling these tires What was your contribution again?

Now, for your information.
STOCK C6 Front, 245/40R18:
25.71 overall dia, 809.0Revs/Mile.
Your front tire: 255/35R18:
25.02 overall dia, 831.3Revs/Mile = 2.7% Smaller than stock
My front tire: 265/35R18:
25.30 overall dia, 822.1Revs/Mile. = 1.6% Smaller than stock

STOCK C6 Rear:
285/35R19:
26.85 overall dia, 774.6Revs/Mile
Your rear tire: 295/30R19:
25.96 overall dia, 801.2Revs/Mile = 3.32% = TOO SMALL
My rear tire: 305/35R18:
26.40 overall dia, 787.8Revs/Mile = 1.6% Smaller than stock

So, like I said, you are further away from GM's recommendations than I. I love how you come saying you "I just don't understand why people ignore both Toyo and GM's recommendations for the proper size.", when in reality you don't even seem to understand tire sizes, since you are running a tire on the back that is over a full inch smaller than what GM recommended... Bravo! By the way, if you were running a 305/30R19 like all the guys at your local car meet with cars that confuse you with their wide tires, you'd only be off by 2.4% instead of 3.32%. Anything over 3% is NOT recommended And, while we're on the subject, 32PSI is a bit too much; you have a higher load rating on the tire but no added load; you can let off a little air and get a better contact patch. I run 30PSI on the street and 25PSI on the track.

Isn't it amazing what you can learn when you actually look this up for yourself? Learn more at the Tire Size Calculator.

Tell Charlie I said hi. He tuned my car the first time around; GREAT guy

Fiss

Do you do everything charlie says?

MARSC6

The 265/35/ZR19 T1Rs I currently have as my front tires have a treadwear of 280 written on the side. I just went out to the garage and checked.

PowerLabs

OPS! My bad. The tires I run are R1R, not T1R. The R1R is the 140-Threadwear Maximum Perfromance summer tire, the T1R is more of a street tire...
R1R: http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/proxes-r1r

LazyDog

Yes....pretty much...

LazyDog

Mainly just a lurker on here. Not a pro like yourself. I just recall your handle from a thread I read a few weeks ago about these tires.

Sorry to the OP for taking your thread off subject.