18" BBS Wheels and Pirelli Slicks

[Blue Streak 21]

I think I remember a forum member writing up that there are 18" BBS wheels available with Pirelli slicks (same used on GTS cars). I searched the forum and come up empty. Maybe I was dreaming the whole thing.... Can anyone help me find the thread, or let me know who is selling this wheel and tire combo? I'd like to go this direction since 18" slicks seem to be more readily available than 17".

[DrBro]

From what I have found, you can find 17X9" BBS wheels all day long, but nothing for the 18X10" or 11". I agree there appears to be more availability for 18" slicks. If anyone has an idea or source for reasonable (meaning cheap) 18X10 wheels, please chime in.

[panoz302]

You can get 17 pirelli d3 slicks from Riley Panoz in CT for 150 each, he has a bunch in stock. I have them they are excellant. They are a little old but he kept/ stored them properly and they are perfect. BBS sold me new 17s for 500 fo a set.18 inch wheels and tires are a whole new story, wheels are in the 400 price range each, unless you get the enkie and tires are over 300 each. For trackdays no big deal. You can try wirewheel.com but he was old out. I will go with the new R888 next in 17.

[tccoupe]

Wirewheels Had Some For Sale A While Back. Gary Jones Motorsport May Have Some As Well. Both Of These Guys Bought A Lot Of The Bits And Pieces From Panoz

[GTS#25]

17" BBS Wheels on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PANOZ...spagenameZWDVW

[Cobra4B]

Yep... 17" = cheaper + better effective gear ratio + lighter! We got a fresh set of 17s from BBS for $500 and are running Nitto R2s because at the end of the day we're not racing and want something that will last a long long time.

17" race slicks aren't that hard to come by.

[boothkc]

In our 2 GTS cars and our 1 GTRA car we run 17" Hoosier R6s (275-40-17). I have run up to 315s on the rear of the GTS cars, but you trade grip for push and the lap times are actually slower.

I think the Hoosiers are a great tire for the GTRA cars (you will need to reinforce the frame for these slicks) and the 275s provide great grip and wear. The GTRA cars dont have enough power to need more grip...I dont think. I would bet you will get 8-10 track days on a set of Hoosier R6s on a GTRA.

I also tried the GTRA with a set of Victor Racers (used as rain tires on the GTS) and they were pretty good, but wont last as long. Grip is quite a bit less but safer for novice drivers.

I remember that the 18' Pirelli slicks were supposed to offer "1 second better lap times (at Road Atlanta?)" over the 17" so you have to be a pretty good driver to appreciate this.

Have fun.
Kevin

[Blue Streak 21]

Thanks guys. I have a second set of 17" rims that came with the car. So if 17" rubber is easy to find then I'll stick with that size. 18" tires are everywhere, and I have establish contacts, hence the desire for the larger diameter wheels.
The tip on Riley Panoz in CT is great. Many Thanks. Getting new rubber for $150 per tire is a great deal, even if they are a couple of years old.
I've used scrub slicks on my Z06 for several years. I could find VRL and Cup tires that had a few heat cycles on them. The tires retained 3/4 to 2/3rds of thier rubber. They would give me 3 to 4 track days per set. At $75 per tire I thought it was great bang for the buck. Sure beat $300 per tire new.
I was hoping to do something similar on the Panoz initially. Get decent scrubs to test and tune with, and then see what to do for race rubber. In addition to the Pirelli slicks, I'll continue to look for additional sources for scrubs.