Staggered vs Square for track dedicated wheels?

[Niart906]

Hey guys, looking for some guidance on a dedicated track wheel/tire setup for my M3 comp. I'm going to run my first couple of track days on the stock 666m wheels with stock tire sizes to get a feel for the car. But eventually I'd like to switch to a dedicated track setup. I'm leaning towards a set of 18's in either EC-7's or SM-10's, but I can't decide if I want to go square or keep a staggered setup.

On my previous 335i track car, I ran with the stock 225/255 staggered setup. But from what I've read a lot of guys prefer to swap to a square setup for a more neutral feel.

My concern with the F80 is rear grip. Staggered means I could run 305's in the back compared to something like a 275 square setup. Think the added grip is worth going staggered? Or is the more neutral feel on track worth the trade off?

[USSEnterprise]

Square setups are more for tire rotation and getting more life out of a set of race tires than about neutral feel. More tire is always better, so staggered setup with maximizing tire width is better, with the downside of not being able to rotate tires.

[Niart906]

Originally Posted by xxaarraa

Square setups are more for tire rotation and getting more life out of a set of race tires than about neutral feel. More tire is always better, so staggered setup with maximizing tire width is better, with the downside of not being able to rotate tires.

I'm okay with not rotating.

It looks like Apex recommends 275/305 stagered:
Front: 18x10" ET25 with 275/35-18 tires
Rear: 18x11" ET44 with 305/35-18 tires

[BlueBottle24]

Does running square mess w the cars electronics since we are changing the overall diameter ratio from stock?

[SYT_Shadow]

Stock wheels with sticky tires will work for a surprisingly long time. Unless you are tracking a lot and are very fast, I would just keep a dual use tire on your OEM wheels and just use that everywhere.

That said, 10.5 fits square without any issues in the F8X cars. I would not use a 10" front wheel when I can easily fit a 10.5" wheel instead.
You 'can' also run an 11" up front, but the ET is different than the rear so you won't be able to rotate.

I feel like a 10.5 ET36 square setup is plenty wide. If you are having issues coming out of corners, try setting the throttle to 'efficient' for a more linear feel.

[MaX PL]

If you plan on keeping DSC on, don't go with square setup. You can only run square with DSC off, or you'll have a much slower car.

[Niart906]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

Stock wheels with sticky tires will work for a surprisingly long time. Unless you are tracking a lot and are very fast, I would just keep a dual use tire on your OEM wheels and just use that everywhere.

That's the plan in the short term, but realistically the 666m aren't an ideal track wheel. Plus 18" tires are a lot cheaper than 20's.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Niart906

That's the plan in the short term, but realistically the 666m aren't an ideal track wheel. Plus 18" tires are a lot cheaper than 20's.

For sure, I would not want to track 20" s

The electronics work fine with a square setup

[Gomeler]

Originally Posted by SYT_Shadow

You 'can' also run an 11" up front, but the ET is different than the rear so you won't be able to rotate.

Spacers my dude. Works fine w/ 18x11 ET44 front/rear.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Gomeler

Spacers my dude. Works fine w/ 18x11 ET44 front/rear.

I was trying to fit an insanely large michelin slick... couldn't even with a big spacer. Sad but true

[burnrbr]

Originally Posted by Gomeler

Spacers my dude. Works fine w/ 18x11 ET44 front/rear.

What tire and suspension are you running? Pictures would be great.