275/35-18 Hoosier Race Slicks!

I’ve been needing to nail-down my track tire situation for far too long. My goal was to fit the widest, stickiest, tire that I could on all four wheels of the car. After way too much research I was finally able to get a test wheel on the car!

The tire is a 275/35-18 Hoosier race slick, mounted on a 18×9.5″ +45mm wheel. That is just about the widest, stickiest, thing available for all four wheels on the G8 (without some major modifications). This will allow me to keep the car balanced and still rotate tires front/rear (unlike a staggered setup).

The main reason for going to 18″ 35 series tires (vs 19″ 40 series tires) is that there are far more tire compounds available (street, R-Comp, slick). The smaller wheels should reduce the unsprung weight by a few lbs over larger wheels (18″ is the smallest wheel that will clear the Baer Brakes). It will also lower the car another 1/2-inch when on track, without having to change the ride height on the coilovers (which would result in needing an alignment).

I’ve had some concern about how well the 275 tire would work on the front with a 9.5″ wheel and a +45mm offset. Fortunately I can also use run a 5mm spacer in the front (effectively making the wheel a +40 offset), but it doesn’t even look like I need it to clear the Coilovers. The wheel also sits perfect on the front and rear… so much so that I might not even need to roll/cut the fenders!

I don’t plan to run a race slick for quite some time, as I need to learn how to drive on a less forgiving tire first, but it’s good to know that this setup will work for all of my track tire needs!