This is a summary of tire options that fit the various generations of Dodge Viper. It mostly focuses on street tires in part 1, and tires able to take the abuse of use in racing, track (HPDE, time attack, time trials), autocross, and other similar applications in part 2.

There are two sections to this guide:

Section 1 is tires that are factory/stock replacement sizes for Vipers, and similarly sized tires that may be considered with aftermarket wheels in typical sizes

• Examples of non-stock but common aftermarket sizes: switching from 18" front and 19" rear stagger to 18" or 19" square, and/or running a 315 wider than stock front and 335/345/355 rear)
• Overall tire diameter is important when looking at alternate sizes, to preserve the rake angle, steering clearance, and general handling of the car. Models that have ABS and/or stability control are especially sensitive to tire diameter differences.
• My recommendation is to always determine what tires you want to run on your car, and then select wheels that allow you to run those tires. Especially with a limited tire selection on a rare car like the Viper, it's important to pay attention to the rubber before the rims!

Section 2 focuses on tires that are relevant in competition use, or good endurance compounds with high levels of grip and durability.

• Most of these will be non-factory sizes, just because there are limited good compounds available in the rare sizes a Viper typically runs.
• These tires will not be the best option for street use, especially in cold or wet conditions!
• My personal car runs 18x11.5 wheels all around, with 315/30R18 tires for track use. Several other autocross competitors and track day enthusiasts do the same.
• A good compound can increase maximum traction over a wider tire in a worse compound, or provide a more economical tire for HPDE/lapping for practice or driver skill development.
• The 315/30R18 size comes in some of the popular 200TW compounds such as the Yokohama Advan A052, Falken RT660, Continental ExtremeContact Force, and more.

 

Section 1: OEM/Stock Dodge Viper tire sizes

Gen 1 (SR I) (1991-1995) Dodge Viper RT/10

Stock 275/335 17" sizes:

• Unfortunately, the stock 17" size is essentially unavailable anymore.
• The most recent option available was the Michelin Pilot Sport 2, or PS2. It may be possible to find them new, but be careful of the tire manufacturing date. They are manufactured infrequently in batches at this point.
• While you might find the front 275 size in other tire models, finding a matching 335 rear is impossible.
• There is availability of 335/35R18 tires in drag radial models, such as the Nitto NT555R, Mickey Thompsons, Hoosiers, etc -- be certain you need these before you buy! They are not ideal for typical driving.

Alternate sizes:

• The best and most popular option is to move to 18" Gen 2 (SR II) sizes. See below for details.

	Front	Rear
G1 OEM 17"	275/40R17	335/35R17
Common alternate: OEM G2 18" sizes Other alternate sizes used by G2 will also work (see G2 section)	275/35R18	335/30R18

 

Gen 2 (SR II) 1996-2002 Dodge Viper RT/10, GTS, ACR

Stock 275/335 18" sizes:

In the 18" stock sizes, our recommendation for general use is the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02, a ultra-high performance category summer tire that is still acceptable in the wet. It is the best all-arounder that can be driven on in almost all conditions, and as of this writing is currently produced and available.

Other options you may encounter:

• Toyo R888R, an old tire compound intended for track use that is commonly available and popular with the roll racing crowd.
• As a track tire it has a reputation for not having much grip for its category, and of course exhibits poor traction in the wet or cold.
• Nankang's CR-S has recently become available in the 335 rear size, and is available in both the 275 and 315 front widths.
• This is a top-tier 200tw track tire option for time attack or similar competition. It warms up fairly quickly, so it may be good for autocross too.
• It does have all of the drawbacks of tires designed for the track, such as fast wear, poor wet and cold performance, and potential damage if used in below-freezing temperatures.
• BFGoodrich g-Force Rival S 1.5, another track tire popular with time attack, track day, and autocross drivers.
• This will be have generally fast wear, poor rain performance, and they are not designed to be used in below-freezing temperatures.
• As a track tire, it is generally inferior in outright pace to tires such as the CR-S, A052 or RE-71RS, but most of those aren't available in Viper sizes.

Alternate sizes:

•  The Gen 2/3/4 front is the same 275/35R18 size, which is good for tire availability.
• An alternate 18" front size that is fairly commonly used is the 315/30R18.
• This overall diameter is fine, and the width will fit with appropriate wheel offset. A different wheel width may be necessary to fit the tire compared to a 275.
• Some people use the stock Gen 5 front size, 295/30R18. However, we don't recommend this due to the overall tire diameter being significantly smaller.
• If you do want to use it, the ride height should be adjusted to compensate and keep the vehicle rake within specification, which may make the wheel to fender gap look large.
• The Gen 3/4/5 rear is a 19", with a 345/30R19 for Gen 3/4 and a 355/30R19 for the Gen 5.
• Both of these rear sizes fit and work well on the Gen 1 and 2 Vipers, but of course require an appropriate 19" wheel.

	Front	Rear
G2 OEM 18"	275/35R18	335/30R18
G2/3/4 18" front, Gen 3/4 19" rear	275/35R18	345/30R19
G2/3/4 18" front, Gen 5 19" rear	275/35R18	355/30R19
315 front: Similar diameter, fits w/correct wheels	315/30/R18	*
G5 front: smaller diameter/not recommended	295/30R18 (not recommended)	*

 

Gen 3/4 (ZB I / ZB II) 2003-2006, 2008-2010 Dodge Viper SRT-10, ACR

Stock 275/345 18"/19" staggered sizes:

In the 18"/19" stock sizes, there are a couple of options available, but none are particularly recommended for general street use. Moving up to the Gen 5 355/30R19 rear tire size is recommended, so you can run the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02.

• The Continental ExtremeContact Force (ECF) is a 200tw track-focused tire that happens to available in the stock sizing, and is known for being an endurance tire with better longevity and heat tolerance but lower grip (longevity for a track tire -- it will still wear extremely quickly vs. true street tires).
• The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 is another track-focused tire, with all the typical drawbacks (wears out fast, poor wet and cold performance, potential tire damage in below-freezing temperatures). A lot of people do run these for street use in the wet with caution, so it might be a reasonable option depending on your driving conditions.

Other options you may encounter:

• With a jump to the Gen 5 355/30R19 rear size (typically no new wheels are needed vs. Gen 3/4 19s), you can run the ExtremeContact Sport 02.
• This would be a great all-around tire that can be used in most street conditions, and still can keep up with older endurance tires such as the Hankook RS4 on track.
• Toyo R888R, an old tire compound intended for track use that is commonly available and popular with the roll racing crowd.
• As a track tire it has a reputation for not having much grip for its category, and of course exhibits poor traction in the wet or cold.

Alternate sizes:

•  Similar to the Gen 2, it's possible but not recommended to run the Gen 5 front size of 295/30R18.
• It's also possible to fit and run the 315/30/R18 front, which can be a good option if one wants a wider front tire.
• The Gen 5 rear in 355/30/R19 is a great alternative, and allows the use of the Continental ECS02.

	Front	Rear
G3/4 OEM 18"/19"	275/35R18	345/30R19
G2/3/4 18" front, Gen 5 19" rear	275/35R18	355/30R19
315 front: Similar diameter, fits w/correct wheels	315/30/R18	*
G5 front: smaller diameter/not recommended	295/30R18 (not recommended)	*

 

 

Gen 5 (VX I) 2013-2017 Dodge Viper SRT-10, ACR

Stock 295/355 18"/19" size:

The 5th generation used 18" front and 19" rear wheels, except for the ACR which used 19"/19".

• Gen 5s also have ABS and stability control, so they are much more sensitive to tire diameter differences than previous generations -- both diameter differences from stock sizing in general, and front to rear diameter stagger (difference in F to R diameter).

The Gen 5 has 3 commonly available options in OEM sizing:

• Our all-around Viper favorite, the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 (ECS). For the reasons previously mentioned, this is a good tire for street cars and can even withstand use on the track.
• The highly regarded Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (PS4S). This would have to be our pick for best all-arounder for the Gen 5, due to its 4 season capability and high performance, but it does come at a cost.

Stock ACR 295/355 19"/19" size:

The ACR front is 295/25/R19 instead of 295/30R18, and tire availability is rarer as a result.

• The tire developed specifically for the Gen 5 ACR, the Kumho V720 ACR is still available at times. It is an extreme performance summer category tire, so it does have those typical drawbacks (wears out fast, poor wet and cold performance, potential tire damage in below-freezing temperatures).

Alternate sizes:

•  Due to the sensitivity to tire diameter plus the availability of good tire options in OEM sizing, we don't recommend changing from the OEM Gen 5 sizes unless you have a good reason to.
• If you have an ACR that you want more tire options for, moving to the 18" front could be a good option.

	Front	Rear
G5 OEM 18"/19"	295/30R18	355/30R19
G5 ACR 19"/19"	295/25R19	355/30R19

 

The real tl;dr:

In conclusion, the best thing for all-around street use is to find a set of wheels that will let you run the Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 (ECS), regardless of Viper generation ;)

It is available in diameters that fit all generations' OEM wheels except for the 17"/Gen 1, and exists in a sweet spot of performance, longevity, and wet capability.

 

 Section 2: Coming Soon

In the meantime, this is a raw list of tire models, sizes, approximate pricing that I have collected that may work on Vipers.

Big tire table link: https://www.revzerors.com/blogs/information/dodge-viper-the-big-tire-table