308 wheel upgrade | FerrariChat

308 wheel upgrade

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by chrismorse, Mar 23, 2004.

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  1. chrismorse

    chrismorse Formula 3

    Feb 16, 2004
    2,150
    way north california
    Full Name:
    chris morse
    I have acquired a 77 308, a very clean low mile car. I am a very serious car nut and I am going to frequently drive this car very hard, take care of it myself, read chat articles on the john in the morning - seriously involved.
    So, with that bit of foreplay out of the way, I need some advice on wheels, the tires are a no brainer, get the best tire rack ultra high performance summer tire and you will have a good tire; PO#3 or Goodyear F1s.
    I think I can fit an 8x16 or 17 rim all the way around, I am a cheap mofo and would like to rotate the tires for wear, as I will track the 308 and do a lot of street driving. This means that I will fry the outside edges on track day and slowly do the inside edges around town. So, I want to try to even out the tire wear.
    I have heard that the 308 might plough or push a bit, so I thought that a same size tire front and rear might help reduce that tendency. I know it is fashionable to install bigger tires on the rear, but if the thing ploughs, screw looks, get the job done - make it neutral. Trailing throttle oversteer is exciting -back off, ease into it to controll the overstear and plant it to come out of the turn -yeehaw... sorry, got caried away a bit in anticipation.
    As a Side note, did you hear the derfinition of oversteer/ understeer???
    Oversteer is where the passenger is scared and understeer is where the driver is scared.
    Lowest weight is desireable from an engineering standpoint, as is rigidity, (& reliability), however, I would like an open-wheel design for looks, (and brake cooling) - that's my justification foir wanting a hot looking wheel like the 360 rims sloan has on his silver B.
    I also cannot budget mucho bucks, So, what is a good choice for 16-17x8 rims.

    Help me out here guys

    chris
     
  2. pma1010

    pma1010 F1 Rookie

    Jul 21, 2002
    2,559
    Chicago
    Full Name:
    Philip
    The disadvantage to an 8 inch rim on the front (and commensurate tire size) is going to be the "tramline" tendency.

    I don't think you want to go to much wider than stock so you can rotate the car at the track.

    There are a lot of options to balance (u/o steer) the car with whatever tires & sizes you choose.

    Some of your objectives are likely to be in conflict. For example, I run Kumho V700s (DOT legal, comp tires). I thought they'd do a season. I'll be lucky to get 5 or 6 track days out of them plus 500 - 800 street miles. You might try Yoko comp rubber (which I am told are noisy but wear well) or Toyo RA1s (both of which I'll look at next).

    My advice is to buy the lightest, "least" wheel you can afford/like. Lightest for unsprung weight. Least for maximum heat dissipation/venting. Whether a "new look" wheel/tire looks right to you on a 20 year old car is personal taste. I run a set of BBS wheels which look like a wheel option of the day.

    HTH
    Philip
     
  3. mk e

    mk e F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    12,899
    The twilight zone
    Full Name:
    The Butcher
    Same size tires front and rear seems like a bad idea on a car wiht a 35/65 weight split.

    I bought a set of Ferrari 550 wheels on ebay for $900, I think they look pretty good, although I had to do a little work in back to get them on. They are 18x8.5 with 225-40 and 18x10.5 with 285-35. The 360 wheels are an easier install I'm told. I'd guess 355 wheels are also an option. Ebay is the place to shop from my experience. If you want it to handle, you might want to think about springs/shocks, it makes a big difference.
     
  4. Ira Schwartz

    Ira Schwartz Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    May 20, 2003
    1,961
    Brooklandville, MD
    Full Name:
    Ira Schwartz
    I ran Compomotive 7.5"x17" wheels on my former 308 GT4 track car, and they worked well. I too wanted to be able to rotate tires, and wasn't anxious to spend a fortune on wheels. Compomotive will make whatever size you like- just provide specs re. bolt pattern and offset. Cost (4 years or so ago) was about $1050 for a set of 4, and they were nice folks to deal with. Don't know if this particular design suits you, but see attached photos for a look at mine.
     
  5. pogibm

    pogibm Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    103
    Washington
    Full Name:
    Randy Madamba
    Ira i have the same wheels on my Mondial but 8" all around, the first set of TS modulars Allen sent me was rubbing with the front brake calipers.
     
  6. Ira Schwartz

    Ira Schwartz Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    May 20, 2003
    1,961
    Brooklandville, MD
    Full Name:
    Ira Schwartz
    When I sold the GT4, the buyer decided to keep the Compomotives on it even though he probably won't track the car often (ever?), but he did take the original 7.5"x14" Campy star wheels too just in case. I think I convinced him that he'd have trouble buying any decent tires, even strictly for the street, in a 14" diameter.
     

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