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Hi all, I'm brand new here and got the car a while ago. I searched for this topic but didn't find anything relevant, feel free to bash if it's already been done 100 times.
I used to have all BMW before -- last one was Infiniti G37 and now the car below.
I have a 2019 GS350 F-Sport RWD. I want to take it to a track day / HDPE.
The wheels are 19" (image attached).
I'm looking for dedicated track capable but street legal wheels/tires (maybe do winter tires in the future too).
.
Can I get 18" wheels and tires to be cheaper and have a better selection? how would that work?
What are the consequences (ODO inaccurate, alignment/bad wear, etc) -- or is that a common approach?
What are good solid but cheap (<$300 per unit) track wheels?
What are good sticky track-capable tires that people like to use? (wear rating <300, ideally <$250)
Any other advice to do with a 2nd set of tires and wheels for spirited driving
You are going to be hard pressed to find anyone here that has tracked their car enough to have purchased a dedicated set of wheels and tires.
This is a heavy car - you may cook your brakes.
What is your experience level/run group? If you are not Group 3+, I would spend my money on pads and fluid and run stock wheels and tires until you have familiarized yourself with the at-limit dynamics of this car. This is a heavy car so you are likely to cook your brakes.
Your 18" wheel limitation will be your front calipers, and may require some test fitting. It may be cheaper to get a set of factory 19" takeoffs (someone's curbed set, perhaps) and purchase new summer tires for them at the outset. If you are committed to getting lightweight wheels and R-Comp tires, there are a wide variety of various offset wheels that may fit your car, in various widths for various tire sizes. Not all tires are sold in the same outer diameter as the factory 19s, but in most cases the difference is negligible. There are several 18" tire sizes which match the rolling diameter of the factory 19" tires. For track wheels and tires you're going to want to go square (same wheel width and tire size front and rear), whereas your factory wheels are staggered (235 tires on 8" front, 265 tires on 9" rear).
Wheel and tire diameter do not affect tire wear; alignment does. Make sure your car is properly aligned before your track day.
Do you want to leave your track wheels and tires on in all conditions? Do you need to drive in the rain? Do you care about noise?
You are going to be hard pressed to find anyone here that has tracked their car enough to have purchased a dedicated set of wheels and tires.
This is a heavy car - you may cook your brakes.
What is your experience level/run group? If you are not Group 3+, I would spend my money on pads and fluid and run stock wheels and tires until you have familiarized yourself with the at-limit dynamics of this car. This is a heavy car so you are likely to cook your brakes.
Your 18" wheel limitation will be your front calipers, and may require some test fitting. It may be cheaper to get a set of factory 19" takeoffs (someone's curbed set, perhaps) and purchase new summer tires for them at the outset. If you are committed to getting lightweight wheels and R-Comp tires, there are a wide variety of various offset wheels that may fit your car, in various widths for various tire sizes. Not all tires are sold in the same outer diameter as the factory 19s, but in most cases the difference is negligible. There are several 18" tire sizes which match the rolling diameter of the factory 19" tires. For track wheels and tires you're going to want to go square (same wheel width and tire size front and rear), whereas your factory wheels are staggered (235 tires on 8" front, 265 tires on 9" rear).
Wheel and tire diameter do not affect tire wear; alignment does. Make sure your car is properly aligned before your track day.
Do you want to leave your track wheels and tires on in all conditions? Do you need to drive in the rain? Do you care about noise?
Thanks for the awesome reply! I have to go look at what's left on the tires, they are the first set since the car is low miles. The curbed 19" are a great option... I have to see what the delta is between the 18 and 19 inch tire prices. Makes sense the front upgraded brake calipers are the fit limit. I drove some twisties on it with the brakes getting hot but I didn't hit obvious fade, but may have burned some up. Might get more aggressive pads and it can use fluid.
Is there brake fluid you like? Specific tires? Wheels? I noticed you have a similar car, just curious what GS heads like.
Not much water to worry about -- I just wanted to preserve the "expensive" street tires and buy some cheaper Kumho, Hankook, etc like I used to on other cars. But that doesn't really seem to exist in 19". I don't really care about noise.
Thanks for the awesome reply! I have to go look at what's left on the tires, they are the first set since the car is low miles. The curbed 19" are a great option... I have to see what the delta is between the 18 and 19 inch tire prices. Makes sense the front upgraded brake calipers are the fit limit. I drove some twisties on it with the brakes getting hot but I didn't hit obvious fade, but may have burned some up. Might get more aggressive pads and it can use fluid.
Is there brake fluid you like? Specific tires? Wheels? I noticed you have a similar car, just curious what GS heads like.
Not much water to worry about -- I just wanted to preserve the "expensive" street tires and buy some cheaper Kumho, Hankook, etc like I used to on other cars. But that doesn't really seem to exist in 19". I don't really care about noise.
Brake Fluid - Motul RBF600 is pretty standard for high temp fluid.
I believe RC350 F-Sport wheels fit with no issue. This is a GS350 F-Sport RWD with them on.
You could pick these up and then wrap them in your choice of 235/40/19 or 245/40/19 Extreme Performance Summer tires (The tires all seem to be around 300 bucks a piece, except for the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 Connects, which are like 377.) Going with the same size all around will allow you to rotate and even out tread wear. The only tire in that class I have experience with is the Sport Cup 2s, and not on track.
The Yokohama Advan A052 is a 200TW Extreme Performance Summer available in 235/40/19 from Tire Rack for $264ea. This appears to be more of an AutoX tire, but I did read the following review from the owner of an Audi S6 who uses them for track days. That is a 420hp, 4400lbs AWD car, and he is running 255, so the experience may be somewhat analogous to your 311hp, 3725lbs RWD car on 235 tires.
“First of all, this size tire on my Audi S6 was made possible by the special and specific purchase of 034 Motorsport Forged Wheels measuring: 19" x 9.3" width, with a 35mm offset. The fit within the wheel well, and around the calipers is perfect for these wider-than-stock tires. The weight savings per tire/wheel combination is 5 pounds (compared to stock configuration). Secondly, this tire/wheel combination is used strictly for the track, or only on the street going to a nearby track. My track experiences on these tires did not include any wet or damp weather. My understanding of these Advans is in comparison to the now unavailable Bridgestone RE071R. 255-35/19 tires. Simply enough, I found the Advan A052 to be a tire to be repurchased. Though given the choice to select the Bridgestones, I would prefer them for slightly better dry traction and handling. Just the same, I am thrilled by the additional traction and capability that this tire & wheel added width provide to my track experiences. BTW, with this heavy, stock high-HP Audi, the tires have held up over a total of five track days (there likely remains two more days), whereas the Bridgestone set lasted through nine track days (and that included "flipping the tires on the rims" to wear the "other" outside shoulder.“
Last edited by GrandSedanFan; 08-26-22 at 06:58 PM.
At the risk of sounding like a real jerk, you should have bought a GS F. It comes with everything you need for 20-25 minute HPDE sessions right off the showroom floor.
At the risk of sounding like a real jerk, you should have bought a GS F. It comes with everything you need for 20-25 minute HPDE sessions right off the showroom floor.
GS-Fs command an extra $15-25k over similar year/mileage/condition GS350s. In terms of responsible budgeting, that's a car for someone in a higher tax bracket.
Hi all, I'm brand new here and got the car a while ago. I searched for this topic but didn't find anything relevant, feel free to bash if it's already been done 100 times.
I used to have all BMW before -- last one was Infiniti G37 and now the car below.
I have a 2019 GS350 F-Sport RWD. I want to take it to a track day / HDPE.
The wheels are 19" (image attached).
I'm looking for dedicated track capable but street legal wheels/tires (maybe do winter tires in the future too).
.
Can I get 18" wheels and tires to be cheaper and have a better selection? how would that work?
What are the consequences (ODO inaccurate, alignment/bad wear, etc) -- or is that a common approach?
What are good solid but cheap (<$300 per unit) track wheels?
What are good sticky track-capable tires that people like to use? (wear rating <300, ideally <$250)
Any other advice to do with a 2nd set of tires and wheels for spirited driving
I had an instructor at an HPDE suggest using standard fluid primarily as a safety valve. If the fluid gives up before the pad, you can still have some brake left, but if you cook the pads first, you're in for some fun you didn't plan on when you woke up that day. Don't get me wrong, I have Brembo LCF in my IS F (just did a refresh because I needed a new brake booster and just about everything has to come out to do that job) and I've had VDIM cook my Carbotech XP12 pads for me (mostly because I'm better off with the stability controls off than on - too much motorcycle road racing makes me do bad things in cars), so I've definitely experienced total loss of braking power on track and it's not fun even a little bit.
I think we pm'd aboutr this or in a thread before, but I did the Skip Barber school, and ran WERA at Road A years back. The other thing that come into play on the Track would be if the Brake Rotors get cooked. Not what should happen but it does happen to many. I also agree with you the Traction Control on is Not Track action. I like to be my own Traction control.
GS-Fs command an extra $15-25k over similar year/mileage/condition GS350s. In terms of responsible budgeting, that's a car for someone in a higher tax bracket.
Yeah I got it for $43k before tax with 15k Mi. I looked hard at GS-F, IS-F and RC-F, they were going in the same condition, mostly with front end hidden damage that wasn't disclosed for $67K+. In worse condition it was $59K+. I decided I didn't want to take the depreciation hit going into a recession, extra brakes, extra tires, extra *****, extra insurance, extra possible ire of cops, etc etc. I also didn't want an LS or a slow small IS (similarly slow to the GS 350 I got). So that's exactly how I landed here, with responsible budgeting I didn't want so much to go towards a car that is going to cost $ instead of making it in this crazy car market.
Will review more tonight, thanks for all the replies!
08-25-22, 07:26 PM
Track day wheels/tires for 2019 GS350 F-Sport
