LS1TECH - Camaro and Firebird Forum Discussion

Chevrolet Camaro 2010-Present: High Performance Tire Reviews

Searching for new tires can really become quite the hassle. So instead of letting you browse through all those forums and websites, we decided to put together a chart informing you of the best and worst tires out there.

By Jacob Stumph - March 23, 2016

This article applies to the Chevrolet Camaro (2010-present).

So you're looking for some sticky performance tires? Well, you have come to the right place. We are going to cover a few options, from the street-driving and back-road burning enthusiast, to the weekend warrior auto-crosser and track day fiend, to the Camaro driver who wants to rule the drag strip. If any of those sound like you, then keep reading to get the scoop on the wheel and tire options to suit your needs.

High Performance Tire Reviews
Continental DW
Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G2
Hankook RS3
Toyo R888
Nitto NT555R
Price
 $850 for 4 $1,150 for 4 $1,300 for 4 $1,500 for 4 $575 for 2
Sizes

245/45/20 (F),

275/40/20 (R)

285/35/20 (F&R)

285/35/20 (F&R)

285/35/20 (F&R)

305/35/18 (R)
Intended Use
 Street Street/Track Street/Track Track Day Drag Radial
Treadwear Rating
 340AAA 220AAA 200AA 100AAA 100AA
Best Performance: Toyo Proxes R888/Nitto NT555R

Best Value: Continental DW

Continental ExtremeContact DW

Price – $850

Sizes – 245/45R20 (F), and 275/40R20 (R)

Intended Use – Street

Treadwear Rating – 340AAA

Getting us started in performance rubber is the Continental ExtremeContact DW. This is Conti's most performance-oriented summer tire that they sell. For the sake of this comparison, we spec'd them in the OEM Camaro SS tire sizes of 245/45R20 and 275/40R20, respectively. The 340 UTQG treadwear rating means that despite being a relatively grippy tire, they will easily last 30-40,000 miles, which amongst this group, is impressive. The trade off is obviously in terms of ultimate grip, these tires are nowhere near the level of the others. Also, compared to the others in this test, these are substantially more capable at handling rainy and inclement weather. To summarize, this is perfect for the Camaro owner who wants to keep their stock wheels and upgrade to some nice performing rubber.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G2

Price – $1,150

Size – 285/35R20

Intended Use – Street/Track

Treadwear Rating – 220AAA

These tires are the OEM equipment tire for the 1LE and ZL1 Camaros, and has also made appearances on a few Corvette models over the years. Chevy spec'd this tire for their high performance models to be both track and street capable. The asymmetrical design allows for a stiffer outer tread block to better handle shoulder wear from hard driving, while the inner tread block is still decently able to evacuate water and not hydroplane. Forum users advise that these tires will last approximately 20,000 miles depending on how hard you drive.

You may have noticed that these tires are a different size, at 285/35R20, front and rear. If your looking for a set of track-ready tires, it may be worth your time to upgrade to a spare set of wider wheels, a la 1LE OEM wheels. While the regular SS wheels are 20"x8" (F) and 20"x9" (R), the 1LE/ZL1 wheels are 20"x10" (F) and 20"x11" (R). Those wider wheels can fit wider tires, which means a wider footprint for the car, which results in more grip. Simple!

Hankook RS3

Price – $1,300

Size – 285/35R20

Intended Use – Street/Track

Treadwear Rating – 200AA

You're looking at one the most commonly used track day tires in the United States. The 200TW Hankook RS3 has long been a favorite in the track community, as the tires can very happily be driven on the street, to the track, set an awesome lap time at the track, and drive home again. The Hankook is available in many different sizes from 15" to 20"+, which means that regardless of your wheel and tire setup, Hankook most likely has you covered.

Compared to the Goodyear, the Hankook will produce comparable, if not slightly faster lap times, at the expense of a slightly lessened treadwear rating. With a heavy car like the fifth gen Camaro, you can expect about 15,000 miles of service out of a pair of RS3's. Additionally, while the Goodyear works well with near stock suspensions, the Hankook works best with stiffened suspensions and cars with more negative camber dialed into their alignments. If that sounds like your car, the Hankook is your tire.

Toyo Proxes R888

Price – $1,500

Size – 285/35R20

Intended Use – Track

Treadwear Rating – 100AAA

The R888 is a track day tire, let's get that right out of the way now. They need heat to work right, and will wear out very fast if used as a street tire. It can be and is street driven, but usually it's a case of simply driving to and from the track. That said, they are an entry-level track day tire, versus a slick, so they are more forgiving to drive than an actual racing tire would be. At 100TW, these tires are about 2-3 seconds a lap faster than the Hankook RS3 around a two minute lap, which is considerable, but about 2-3 seconds further behind an actual competition tire. As you could also expect at 100TW, you'll get about 5,000 miles out of these if you're lucky, or about 5-6 track days if that is your preferred measurement. If these sound like an intermediate tire, you would be correct! A racing tire or slick has a very narrow range of operating temperatures, and tend to not like a lot of slip angle (simplified: over driving) and respond poorly. A more forgiving tire will accept some of these mistakes without snapping or experiencing a severe fall off in performance. If you are looking to go faster than a street tire is willing to go, but don't want to step up to a Hoosier slick or comparable, these are the tires for you.

Nitto NT555R

Price – $575

Looks – 305/35R18

Intended Use – Dragstrip

Treadwear Rating – 100AA

The Nitto NT555R is an entry level drag radial. Unlike the other tires in this comparo, which are focused on street use or the road course, this tire is made for the drag strip. If you want a tire that will help you hook up and have traction going down the 1320 while still being able to be used on the street (albeit in a limited capacity), these are your tires. Because they don't have the outright grip of a Mickey Thompson E.T. Street or other brands of more focused drag radials, they tend to be much more palatable to the aspiring drag racer who doesn't want to trailer their slicks to the track. These tires are available in a lot of sizes, including 20" if you wanted to use your stock wheels. For the purpose of drag racing, going to a smaller wheel and a tire with more sidewall is preferable. 18" wheels fit on the rear of the Gen 5 Camaro and clear the brakes, so we've picked a 305/35R18 tire for this comparison.

While the other tires in the group have firmer sidewalls for superior cornering, a drag radial has softer sidewalls to allow more deflection as the car goes off the line; this aids grip and reduces 60' times, which if you're set on drag racing, is a big deal.

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