I would like to hear some feedback from FD owners who run both a stagger tire setup and a square setup on the track or very aggressive driving. And also what suspension (coils, sway bars, swaybar mounts etc)

Pros of stagger
-more rear grip
Cons
-Can't rotate tires
-Understeer? (must be adjusted with sway bars)

Pros of square (lets say for example 255's all the way around)
-Rotate tires (cheaper on the wallet)
Cons
-Less rear grip
-Offset limitations

I should have close to 400whp which for most of you guys is nothing. This car will see A LOT of track duty, and possibly some competitive hillclimbs and Solo1 (our version of time attack up here)


Lets hear some first hand opinions?

What way would you go?

255/17 all around?

or

275ish rear
245 front

 

In my opinion symmetrical all the way. I'd rather dial things back then force things to work the way you need them to.

Say you're running 255's in the rear and 225's up front. I still believe the rear will have the same limitations which you probably won't approach due to the "understeer".

Now if you go square with 255's front it improves your front grip and steering response incredibly that you might feel like the rear has less compliance when in actuality you're simply being able to use all of its potential if not exceed it. I hope that made sense to you.

Alternatively if you end up running stiffer rear bars you're taking away from the actions of your independent suspension. Toe in, stock rear bar or no bar, great tires, and dial in your spring rates to maximize grip.

A lot of it can also come down to your power band, power delivery, and type of racing. Driving style can have a big play as well. Do you late brake? Do you like to have more predictability/understeer and then compensate with "power over"?

A lot has to do with what wheel you have in mind? If you moved up to an 18" wheel you might not be asking this question because there's a larger selection of wider tires in proper FD diameters than 17". i.e. 255/35 up to 285/30 all conducive to stock fenders.

Rishie

 

I am most likely looking at some 17x9.5 +38's all around with 255/40/17 R888's.

I DON'T like unersteer. I would much rather have max grip through the corner and not have to compensate with oversteer (my track has MANY walls and you get black flagged at any sign of stepping out).

I understand what you mean by reaching max grip on a 255 while running a 255 up front as well.

For my power outputs, I think it will be more than enough.

I drove my friends R32 GTR with 580AWHP on 255/17 R888's at the track and AutoX and they were great, so they should be more than enough for my 380rwhp.

 

I went a square setup for my car because I will be driving it on the street with the r888's as well and I am anticipating some uneven wear patterns directly related to my right foot

There are so many other factors that determine the balance of the car than having 20 more mm of contact in the rear compared to the front. You could have a staggered setup and still be wildly loose.

Also...you really shouldn't expect too much more bite from 20 mm. A 255 vs 275 is only 2 cm. Its not going to be a dramatic difference that will define the handling characteristics of the car.

 

I prefer symmetrical as well 255 all around sounds dandy to me!

 

I have run both and I prefer staggered, my powerband is different than most here. I don't really notice much more understeer, but I only have a 20mm difference front and back.

 

I run 245/45/16s on stock rims all the way around on the street, but I'm considering going to 235/45/17 in the front and 275/35/17 in the back just for some traction in first gear. I'm sure I'll have to fiddle with the Tokicos to dial down the understeer with that combo, though.

 

Can you fit a 275 tire on stock rims? Only 8 inches of width, doesn't sound like much rim for all that tire.

 

do they make a 275 16? either way, theres not really a point. you can fit a big *** tire on a small wheel, but the sidewall will be nowhere near vertical, making the tire pretty mushy. you'll also only be using a portion of the tread. the only advantage to this over a properly sized tire (245-255 for 8) is heat capacity

 

My Sumitomo HTRZIII 285/30s on all 4 corners ride much better than the Nitto NT555 235/40 & 265/35 setup I had before. I don't rub with the new square setup, but I haven't taken the car to the track yet. I do drive aggressively around corners and I feel a lot more confident in the new setup.

 

Square

 

As much tire as possible...and then balance for understeer / oversteer from there. In my case, I've got 255/40-17 in the front, and 275/40-17's in the rear, with a lowered car, under stock fenders. No problems with understeer, good power down on corner exits.