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[ccondo]

I am considering a set of dedicated wheels and tires for the track and I was curious what everyone thought.

[lcrain]

Most go square. It allows you to better manage your tires to maximize life, and coupled with camber plates will nearly eliminate the under steer inherent with the stock staggered setup.

FWIW, I tracked on the stock setup then moved to a staggered apex setup (9.5 front and 10.5 rear with 265/285 hankook rs3 tires). Handling was great and the added grip with the wider, stickier tires was very nice. That said, the car still under-steered noticeably. I recently sold that setup and bought some square apex wheels (18x10et25) to be wrapped in BFG rivals. I am also adding camber plates.

It is a personal decision. I thought I would prefer the added traction in the rear, which I did, but at the cost of understeer. Can't go wrong either way. But I would recommend adding camber plates and going with a square setup.

[slicer]

Square has its advantages - tire rotation being the most significant. I have been running staggered - 275 front and 285 rear. I will say that I have seen a bit of understeer when I turn under hard braking but I also lose traction in the rear when I power out of corners too early. In other words your driving technique is a big factor. In addition your suspension settings and aero can come into play. I definitely recommend 275's in the front.

[kawasaki00]

Originally Posted by slicer

Square has its advantages - tire rotation being the most significant. I have been running staggered - 275 front and 285 rear. I will say that I have seen a bit of understeer when I turn under hard braking but I also lose traction in the rear when I power out of corners too early. In other words your driving technique is a big factor. In addition your suspension settings and aero can come into play. I definitely recommend 275's in the front.

On the 275/285 do you run 10/10.5?

[slicer]

Originally Posted by kawasaki00

On the 275/285 do you run 10/10.5?

My track wheels are 9.5" front and 10.5" rear. My street wheels are 10" front and 11" rear. I think 10" is ideal for 275's but I am running them on 9.5" wheels on the track (I run Advan TC3's which aren't available in 10"). I plan to try 275/295 combo with 10" and 11" wheels next. There just aren't many viable ultimate performance street tire options in 295/35/18. I plan to give the BF Goodrich G-Force Rivals a try in those sizes (one of the few UP tires available in 295/35/18).

[Billj747]

You can make any setup work with corresponding springs and bars but typically tire sizes follow weight distribution and square setups are often more versatile and financially better.

[Malek@MRF]

Both setups work and can be dialed in well enough to cater to the drivers habits, however I feel the staggered setup provides more stability, especially with higher speeds and sweepers.

As BillJ747 mentioned, the understeer can be dialed out with proper suspension calibration and selection.

[Expert@ApexWheels]

It definitely comes down to driving style and preference, but the majority of our customers that track their cars tend to opt for the squared fitment for the neutral handling and reducing the amount of understeer that the staggered setup induces on the M3. The ability to rotate the wheels and tires is always a plus. However, the e9x M3 is known to not push as much as previous M3's, which is why there are a number of people that are fine with the staggered fitment on the track.

[ki__]

Would the 'ideal' setup be squared for the streets and staggered for the track?

[s85e90]

Staggered; as it is intended. I don't get all the understeer complaints as this is easily remedied by alignment settings.

[Craigy]

Originally Posted by s85e90

Staggered; as it is intended.

Yeah I would imagine the engineers who selected the tires got it right.

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by KEYON

Would the 'ideal' setup be squared for the streets and staggered for the track?

Most people would prefer to have a squared setup for track use because it reduces the understeer and makes the feel of the car more neutral, as well as the ability to rotate their wheels and tiers. For street use, the staggered fitment is more popular to provide the wider rear wheel and tire fitment, as well as keeping the staggered wheels similar to OEM. Of course, this really boils down to driving style and what one is looking to get out of the wheel set.

[MFKN3]

Originally Posted by slicer

My track wheels are 9.5" front and 10.5" rear. My street wheels are 10" front and 11" rear. I think 10" is ideal for 275's but I am running them on 9.5" wheels on the track (I run Advan TC3's which aren't available in 10"). I plan to try 275/295 combo with 10" and 11" wheels next. There just aren't many viable ultimate performance street tire options in 295/35/18. I plan to give the BF Goodrich G-Force Rivals a try in those sizes (one of the few UP tires available in 295/35/18).

Take a look at 295/30/18

They are also the better sizing, as the 35's are a bit too tall in that size

[slicer]

Originally Posted by MFKN3

Take a look at 295/30/18

They are also the better sizing, as the 35's are a bit too tall in that size

I completely disagree with you. Take a look at the data below and explain to me how 295/35/18's are too tall.

OEM Rear tire size - 265/40/18
diameter = 26.3"

295/30/18
diameter = 25"

285/35/18
diameter = 25.9"

295/35/18
diameter = 26.1"

There really isn't a feasible size that is any closer to OEM diameter than 295/35/18. 285/35/18's are a close second. A 295/30/18 is more than 1" smaller than OEM. I just don't like the idea of buying 18" wheels and installing tires with a sidewall appropriate for 19" wheels (30 series sidewall on an 18" wheel partially defeats the purpose of going down to 18's). If I wanted to run AD08's I would rather go with 19's so that I could do a 275/30/19 and 295/30/19 combo.

All that being said, I do realize that there are some appealing r-comp tire options that are only available in 295/30/18 (such as the Hankook TD and Michelin Pilot Cup). I would be open to those tires in that size if I were wanting to step into r-comps (and I had no other suitable options). I don't see any reason to run that size given there are other options in street tires.