Tire and wheel combination used for the strip.

[Mr4G]

Looking to start a discussion on what kind of tire and wheel combination those of you out there are using. Also would like to know what kind of gains, losses, advantages and disadvantages you have experienced. I myself have been doing a lot of reading and have seen that a lot of Evo guys are using motorcycle slicks with very good results!! Anyone out there in a dsm try that? Anyway, lets hear all of your input.

 

[Mr4G]

No input on this?

 

[Bud92gsx]

Slicks.

Yeah I was kinda wondering the same..I think I would do some searching if it were me.

I did check out a set of 18x9's today..They did fit and not rub.

 

[Dyesuperman]

18x9.5s with 255/35 tires...good enough for me . I like being able to drive to the drag strip with the exact same setup I would go out on some curves or drive it every day

 

[SonySlave]

Slicks.

Yeah I was kinda wondering the same..I think I would do some searching if it were me.

I did check out a set of 18x9's today..They did fit and not rub.

Why on earth would you ever consider an 18x9" wheel for the strip? Not looking for very good 60's I guess...

OP, you have to state the desired use of the setup first. Is it street and strip or strip only? Are you running in a class that requires a DOT legal tire? There are a lot of options depending on the desired use. Driving to the track and racing on the same tires is great and all, but will never net you the same results of a strip only tire.

Personally, I run 15x7" Drag DR-17 wheels and 235/60-15 M&H Racemaster Street/Strip DOT slicks. The 15" wheels allow me to use a very large sidewalled tire that will flex and cushion the car on hard launches. I chose these tires because I run in a sport class that requires a DOT legal tire, which these are. They are also bias-ply construction, so they have very soft sidewalls. I can drive with these on the street if I have to, but the ride is very squishy. I would never drive more than a couple miles on them.

P235/60-15

If you don't have a tire requirement and they are strip only, then I'd go with the M&H 24.5"x8.5" 15" slick or 26.0"x8.5" 15" slick depending on power being made, rev range, etc.

8.5/24.5-15
8.5/26.0-15

I personally really like M&H because of their customer service and price. If you mention your car is AWD, they will hand pick the 4 closest matching tires before they send them to you. That's awesome!

 

[11secDSM]

^^ Along the same line, I use a 15" light weight wheel (not sure of the brand) along with a 235-60-15 MT ET Street DR. Street driving is fantastic on them when aired up and they hook great at the track when aired down. At some point, i'll be making the switch to the M&H 26" slick.

 

[pneumo]

I'm using 15x7" Rota Slipstreams with M+H 24.5" slicks. It's very light! Just 27 pounds for each corner, wheel and tire. Typical weight of a street wheel/tire is around 43 pounds per corner. The soft sidewall is great for absorbing driveline shock and hard launches.

 

[jakelandry]

I know this isnt what your looking for but I run street tires. I have 18x8.5 rays wheels with 225-40-18 nitto neo gens (stretched a bit) and I bog a lot of 6k+ 2step launches at the track if I do a burnout first. If I dont do the burnout theyll chirp a little but thats all. Ive cut many 1.6 60 foots with this combo even with it bogging. Honestly i've never got a good launch with these tires as I change my setup so much and mostly run on the street but I really think ill get a 1.5 out of them when it cools down and I make some more passes. I usually keep them around 35 psi and I keep my tokico illuminas at 5 in the back and 2 in the front. Ive honestly been so satisfied with the tires I feel no need to change, but my car is also a dd and i dont feel like switching to slicks after a 1.5 hr drive to the track.

 

[Airsign89]

I don't have experience with them yet because I havent installed tires on mine, but in wheel choice a popular and somewhat inexpensive(I got all four wheels for $250 picked up) choice are stock FD Rx7 16" wheels, I think they weigh 16lbs for the reinforced ones, or 13lbs for the unreinforced ones. They do require spacers but for the cost its still an awesome deal and they look pretty good. I dont know the owner of this vehicle but to give you an idea...

 

[blownturbotsi]

A friend of mine used rota sub zero wheels with m&h 25.5's I believe. He did say that the best 60 he'd ever gotten were on some old Yokohama winter tires in 225/50/16 though. 1.53 if I remember right.

 

[jtmcinder]

Yes, if you don't have a boatload of power, snow tires work well. It's the soft sidewall, mostly. I, too, had my best 60' on snows ... Graspics, in my case.

 

[blownturbotsi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ioqbQYEEM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I believe these were the snow tire runs. Helps a lot having a well prepped track.

 

[garrettjames70]

I think one thing that wasnt metioned anywhere is, what do you have for drive train mods? Take a car with 100K + on it, build some extra boost, throw some slicks on it, go to the track and blow every piece of metal out from under the car, not saying i did this before.... Be careful when switching to super sticky tire and lauching at high rpm's you need a strong drive train.

 

[BOOSTIN21]

^^ I was waitng for this to be tackled.

What inclines you to "NEED" stickier tires?

Be careful of DR's as they arent as sticky as slicks, so they tend to slip and grip which causes a lot of stress on the diff's. Thats how they grenade.

I have a set of Hoosiers wrapped around some FD wheels.

 

[Nate Crisman]

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Volk CE28N 15x7" wheels and MT ET DRAG slicks 24.5x8x15". I'v made runs in my auto car on street wheel/tire and on this set at the same boost/fuel/tune and come out about .200 of ET and 2mph slower on the heavy 16" koenig wheels w/ 225/55/16 all season radials. The car has no traction issues with either tire (deadhook), the performance difference is simply rotational weight alone!

 

[BOOSTIN21]

Nate, you also switched your car to 4 lug from the GVR4, any weight savings there? I cant imagine there really being any, but ya never know.

 

[Mr4G]

I specifically do drag racing but I'm not asking for a discussion for my own personal uses, I'm just trying to discuss it in general so all of us can learn a little more and make a better decision based on all of our experiences.

 

[2fast4ya]

I am looking for a nice set of slicks to run on the track and the street...and i want the tires to have a nice fitment, also i wanna be running like 15's or 16's.....any sugs?