[ctfarmer]

Originally Posted by sr71bb

Real world Feedback on 305 30 19 Michelin Sport 4S Tires on APEX SM-10 ET22 19 x 10.5 wheels.

I got 20K miles and 15 track days out of this set up. I rotated every 5K miles front to back. And this was done with street setting of -2.2 degrees front camber and -2.0 degrees negative camber on rear and then switching at the track to -3.6 degrees front camber. Tire wear is EVEN across the face of the tire. I actually am still running the tires that were on the front and they have about 4/32's which tells me of course I probably should have rotated every 2K miles (LOL). NO ONE believes me when I tell them this and I wouldnt believe it either had I not witnessed it myself. I think that it speaks to the quality of the tire and the fact that the car had neutral handling with this setup and MOST importantly the ability to rotate.

i will be trying out a NEW setup for this weekend at COTA. It also is a SQUARE setup but with EC7 18 x 11 ET25 wheels and Pirelli 305 660 18 slicks. This of course would be a track only setup but it also DOES NOT have tire poke at the top of the wheel well . I will NEVER go away from a MS 4S tire for daily driving and ALSO for track driving in the rain. This tire is simply the BEST. I will let you know about the EC7 setup after this weekend. On a side note, I DID try TOYO RR 315 30 18 tires BUT that tire runs wide and it would rub on the actual strut body itself on the FRONT. I have a SS1LE so you ZL1 boys have a TAD bit more room to PUSH the tire more to the outside of car so that MAYBE an ET20 would work or a small spacer with the 315 tire setup. In either case though just be aware that slicks run wider in ACTUAL width than the same size NON-slick tire. The Pirellis seem to be slightly narrower than some of the other slicks with same same width designation.

I DO NOT use spacers with either setup but you do have to do some grinding on the strut bracket. Also I DO RUN the GM wheel well extensions that come painted in factory body color and fit on the BACK of the wheelwells. This DOES offer at least some protection against rock chips.

I will eagerly await your response on the performance of the setup, and I also would love to hear about your preference in the APEX line up (ARC-8, EC7, and the SM-10) of wheels. I have been looking at them for a good while as they seem to be the lightest wheels I can get for the car without spending big bucks for a proper forged set. I don't really like the looks of the SM-10 wheels but I've heard they are APEX's strongest offering so I may just have to suck it up.

I have been looking at MRR (FS01, M228, and M755 models), Variant (Krypton and Xenon models), and APEX (ARC-8, EC-7, and SM-10 models). Like I previously said, they appear to be the lightest offering from those three companies so your opinions on them based off of your experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Also, one last thing. If anyone knows where I can find any quality ZLE reps, OR OEM ZLE WHEELS I would appreciate that information too because I love the look of the OEM ZLE wheels. Thanks,

[Mountain]

Originally Posted by ctfarmer

I will eagerly await your response on the performance of the setup, and I also would love to hear about your preference in the APEX line up (ARC-8, EC7, and the SM-10) of wheels. I have been looking at them for a good while as they seem to be the lightest wheels I can get for the car without spending big bucks for a proper forged set. I don't really like the looks of the SM-10 wheels but I've heard they are APEX's strongest offering so I may just have to suck it up.

I have been looking at MRR (FS01, M228, and M755 models), Variant (Krypton and Xenon models), and APEX (ARC-8, EC-7, and SM-10 models). Like I previously said, they appear to be the lightest offering from those three companies so your opinions on them based off of your experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Also, one last thing. If anyone knows where I can find any quality ZLE reps, I would appreciate that information too because I love the look of the stock ZLE wheels. Thanks,

Try looking for MRR "M716". They offered 19x10, 19x10.5 and 19x11. You can sometimes find them second hand and maybe from MRR (they slowed their production on them quite a bit).

[ctfarmer]

Originally Posted by Mountain

Try looking for MRR "M716". They offered 19x10, 19x10.5 and 19x11. You can sometimes find them second hand and maybe from MRR (they slowed their production on them quite a bit).

Actually, nevermind lol The only MRR offerings that are in production and have comparable weights (+ 3lbs max over the APEX ARC-8) are the FS01 and the M755 . And I'd also like to redact my previous statement about not liking the SM-10 style. After seeing them in black, they're stunning with how they look on the 1le's.

[sr71bb]

Originally Posted by ctfarmer

I will eagerly await your response on the performance of the setup, and I also would love to hear about your preference in the APEX line up (ARC-8, EC7, and the SM-10) of wheels. I have been looking at them for a good while as they seem to be the lightest wheels I can get for the car without spending big bucks for a proper forged set. I don't really like the looks of the SM-10 wheels but I've heard they are APEX's strongest offering so I may just have to suck it up.

I have been looking at MRR (FS01, M228, and M755 models), Variant (Krypton and Xenon models), and APEX (ARC-8, EC-7, and SM-10 models). Like I previously said, they appear to be the lightest offering from those three companies so your opinions on them based off of your experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Also, one last thing. If anyone knows where I can find any quality ZLE reps, OR OEM ZLE WHEELS I would appreciate that information too because I love the look of the OEM ZLE wheels. Thanks,

Well I think alot of it has to do with personal preference and if the wheel in question has the proper offset to do what you need to do. I never really cared much for the APEX ARC-8 wheel design so that's why I went with SM-10 for my daily driver setup. I also like the fact that the 19 x 10.5 ET22 wheel pushes the wheel further out towards the outside of the wheel well. The theory here being a wider tracking wheel/tire combination gives the car more stability. The EC7 wheels to me personally are a close second in looks to the SM-10 and for track purposes I will run their 18 x 11 ET25 wheels and 305 size slicks even though technically you could run those same tires on 10.5 in wide rims. The 11 inch rim will provide a little more sidewall support for a 305 size slick which of course is preferable in hard cornering situations. Also 18's will provide for a lighter and smaller in overall diameter resulting in lowering the car's center of gravity.

[ctfarmer]

Originally Posted by sr71bb

Well I think alot of it has to do with personal preference and if the wheel in question has the proper offset to do what you need to do. I never really cared much for the APEX ARC-8 wheel design so that's why I went with SM-10 for my daily driver setup. I also like the fact that the 19 x 10.5 ET22 wheel pushes the wheel further out towards the outside of the wheel well. The theory here being a wider tracking wheel/tire combination gives the car more stability. The EC7 wheels to me personally are a close second in looks to the SM-10 and for track purposes I will run their 18 x 11 ET25 wheels and 305 size slicks even though technically you could run those same tires on 10.5 in wide rims. The 11 inch rim will provide a little more sidewall support for a 305 size slick which of course is preferable in hard cornering situations. Also 18's will provide for a lighter and smaller in overall diameter resulting in lowering the car's center of gravity.

Did you get yours in black or anthracite or silver? I'm just curious because I only ever see the latter two, and I would love to see more examples of black. My car is Shadow Gray Metallic so I'm looking for the best match.

I'm fairly dead set on 19's because I still want good (in my personal opinion) aesthetics to it. So the options for square with this line would be 19x10.5 et22? I assume these would be a direct fit with the hub centering rings? No spacers or studs needed? And I should be able to run 295/30 or 305/30 without issue?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just get so lost in the wheel/tire fitment and with this steering knuckle grinding nonsense lol

[ctfarmer]

In the event that I do need to run spacers, can somebody link the best set? Thanks,

[Redlinez]

I can't see choosing MRR over Apex, especially for tracking.

[sr71bb]

Originally Posted by ctfarmer

Did you get yours in black or anthracite or silver? I'm just curious because I only ever see the latter two, and I would love to see more examples of black. My car is Shadow Gray Metallic so I'm looking for the best match.

I'm fairly dead set on 19's because I still want good (in my personal opinion) aesthetics to it. So the options for square with this line would be 19x10.5 et22? I assume these would be a direct fit with the hub centering rings? No spacers or studs needed? And I should be able to run 295/30 or 305/30 without issue?

Sorry for all the questions, but I just get so lost in the wheel/tire fitment and with this steering knuckle grinding nonsense lol

Both my sets of APEX wheels are SATIN BLACK. I also painted the APEX Center CAPS that come basically GLOSS BLACK with SILVER lettering, SATIN BLACK also so that they blend with wheel. I also run BLACK Gorilla lock lug nuts and black wheel weights.

I have SG3 suspension and with the 305 30 19 tires I believe the aesthetics are perfect. Now you will have to run at least -1.5 degrees camber on the front and probably -2.0 degrees negative camber on the rear to avoid tire poke at the top of the fender but that shouldnt be an issue as the BEST Street settings in my opinion are -2.2 degrees camber in front and -2.0 degrees negative camber in the rear. You will also have to grind a small portion of the strut bracket for proper clearance on the front.

The aesthetics using the 18 x 11 wheels are not bad if you use a 305 660 18 tires because that overall diameter is 26 inches compared to 26.4 inches with the 305 30 19 setup.

[sr71bb]

Just got back from COTA. I am referencing the thread below because I included PICS of the car as it was set up for COTA. You may notice we DID decide to use 5MM spacers to allow for some safety clearance but they DID NOT result in top tire poke to my surprize.

Look at POST #3 for pics of car. We compensated for the 5MM spacer by using a different lug that engages more of the stud threads.

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=593883

[Mountain]

Originally Posted by Redlinez

I can't see choosing MRR over Apex, especially for tracking.

The Apex are better for sure, but the M716 and M755 are JWL and VIA certified, meaning they are certified to an industry standard (JWL) and tested in compliance (VIA). It is illegal to stamp wheels with JWL+VIA.

Apex wheels are JWL+VIA as well, but they design their wheels for a slightly increased load than what the JWL test call out.

[khcoaching]

I just received my 19x11 ET35s which I am going to run square (305/30/19) with a 26mm spacer up front. Hopefully I can get it all together for my next day on July 15th.

[sr71bb]

Originally Posted by ctfarmer

In the event that I do need to run spacers, can somebody link the best set? Thanks,

YEP I have these 5MM
https://zl1addons.com/products/wheel-spacers

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by khcoaching

I just received my 19x11 ET35s which I am going to run square (305/30/19) with a 26mm spacer up front. Hopefully I can get it all together for my next day on July 15th.

+1, My next race isn't until July 18th so I have a while. ASAP tire is coming by on Friday to mount and balance the 305/30/19 RE71s I got from TR. I'll test fit the wheels before then to make it a little easier if I need to clearance the struts...

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by ctfarmer

In the event that I do need to run spacers, can somebody link the best set? Thanks,

I would go with APEX for spacers too.