Slicks on heavy cars???

[BillyGman]

I'm about to begin the building of a new project car, and I'm making decisions on the drivetrain. This car will be another heavy weight just as our Marauders are, and I had planned on running slicks at the dragstrip. But I'm hearing stories of someone having trouble on the track with the use of slicks on a 4,000+ LB car because of the thin sidewalls making things very unstable to the point of being scary and out of control.

Has anyone here run slicks on a 4,000+ LB car at the track? And if so, how did they work for you??? I see that M/T slicks come in special models for heavy cars, but they don't come in very many sizes at all.

[martyo]

Get stiff wall slicks or you will be in for the ride of your life.

Ask me how I know.

[Dragcity]

I dragged 1/4 mile with a fully dressed '78 T-Bird (12.8 @ 115 MPH) on 10" X 32" tubed wrinkle walls, 12 PSI. It is inded a scary ride at the end. Feels like riding on a damp sponge. Gotta make sure you keep it straight. Car hooked up real good though. Had 3.90:1 in the rear end, and that was all it needed.

This was 18 yars ago, so I don't know what they are making now. I had the slicks that had a steel ring where I screwed them through holes I drilled in the rim and into the sidewall lip of the slick. That's what kept the slick from spinning off the rim.

What a ride...

[Shankin]

Stiff sidewalls will help and so will the tubes. I would just put on a set of m/t drag radials for what you are doing and let it ride.

[CRUZTAKER]

Get stiff wall slicks or you will be in for the ride of your life.

Ask me how I know.

I am quite familiar.;)


I still get the occational PM and email questioning the slicks I use at the track. I always have to do my own search to find my original post to answer the questions.

Allow me to clear some things up regarding these tires.

The tires I use now are the E/T Streets, nylon, black, tube type sized 28X11.50-16LT. Overall diameter is 28, and circ. is 88. Foot print is 8.7".
The fit is very good.

My car, running 14.x et's and trap speeds averaging 109, gets a bit wobbly 3/4 of the way down the track. I am ok with it, but it leaves MUCH to be desired. The white knuckle holding on is getting old. Any faster and I would NOT be comfortable with these bias ply tires.

What I WANT is : Mickey Thompson E/T Street RADIAL. There is a size issue however. There isn't a 16" tire in our desired heigth and dimension. There is a 15" however, but that means I need rims now as well. The size is 275/60/15 which = 28X11.5-15R. Overall diameter is 28, circ is 87, and footprint is 9.2.

CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE MORE INFO (http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/racewheels.html)

I guess the only question I have is, how close to the shock towers will these be. And that really cannot be answered until I find a 15" wheel that somewhat fits our MM's.

BTW: Summit beats everyones prices so far at $159.00 each.

[thePunisher]

billy i run slicks on the lightning forever now...its not the heavy car that is the problem...its running a bias ply slick with a radial up front...it can cause a slight sway at high speeds...ive been doing it forever...i dont really see it as a big deal....you can run tubes to help it out a bit....i myself am not a fan of the stiff sidewall slick....the old school slicks give you a nice weight transfer at launch....

[Andras]

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/18791/mts2.jpg

I'm running MT ET Streets at 13psi and don't have a problem. The car will wander a little, but it's easy to keep under control.

[Blown3.8]

I'm with Andras. We run 26x10.5x16 M/T ET streets no tubes at 16 psi it sways a little but nothing out of control.

Car runs 12.39 at 109
Weighs 4300#'s with me in it

[Andras]

Cruztaker, I just reread your post and wanted to let you know I used to use BFG 275/60/15 DRs and I never had a problem of control with them. I went as low as 14psi. I got 1.74 60's on the BFGs. I switched to the ETs since they are 26" instead of 28" o/d.

[BillyGman]

Here's the thing....I'm sure that it isn't that hairy with the slicks when you're still in the 12's. In fact, I think that most cars don't even need slicks if they're in the 12's or slower. But what about when you run faster than 12's? I think that might be when you have a greater need for slicks. but if you have a heavy car, and you're running faster than the 12 second bracket, perhaps that's when things begin to get hairy with.

I appreciate evryone's feed back here, but I suspect that it might be a differnt story with a heavy car running slicks that's faster than 12.0 in the 1320. And as far as running stiffer sidewalls, then that might defeat the whole purpose of using wrinkle wall slicks in the first place (which ofcourse is getting better traction than you would with drag radials).

So maybe it's like "Punisher" stated. Perhaps the lack of control that I'm hearing about with slicks on heavy cars might be soley due to the simultaneous use of radial tires in the front of the car.

What about it Marty? Did you have bias ply tires on the front when you had the slicks on the back, or did you leave the radials on the front while you were running the slicks? The "Punisher" might have a good point there. Please, more information.... :)

[martyo]

What about it Marty? Did you have bias ply tires on the front when you had the slicks on the back, or did you leave the radials on the front while you were running the slicks? The "Punisher" might have a good point there. Please, more information.... :)

We were still running radials up front. We are working up some other options (read "skinnies") for the front and I will let you know how we make out.

Perhaps I can get Shankin to chime in here again since he was at the wheel.

Shankin?

[thePunisher]

i was going low 11s with the radials up front...then i switched to a skinny bias ply in front and the truck was straight as an arrow....big difference. the lightning weighs near 4300 #s

[martyo]

i was going low 11s with the radials up front...then i switched to a skinny bias ply in front and the truck was straight as an arrow....big difference. the lightning weighs near 4300 #s

That is likely the direction we will head with my car.

Swapping wheels on the front end could help pull another 80 - 100 pounds off of my 4,800 pound car.

The problem will be finding skinny wheels that will fit over the big Baer brake set up.

[CRUZTAKER]

Cruztaker, I just reread your post and wanted to let you know I used to use BFG 275/60/15 DRs and I never had a problem of control with them. I went as low as 14psi. I got 1.74 60's on the BFGs. I switched to the ETs since they are 26" instead of 28" o/d.

First off; I am shooting for the opposite, I want 28" rather than 26".

Second; Thanks dude. I have no idea who you are, but welcome. I am glad you stopped by.;)

Hey Billy. My existing slickies will be available next year if you want to just try them a few times.

[CRUZTAKER]

We were still running radials up front. We are working up some other options (read "skinnies") for the front and I will let you know how we make out.

I love how some of us have completely different agendas. :D

I love the idea of skinnies in the front. But the last thing I need is having to change FOUR tires everytime I hit the track. I am tired of lugging these around.

The radials would allow me to drive to track with them on if so desired. And that's what I desire. My back hurts...and I don't have a 'Race Team' yet like Marty.:P

[martyo]

...and I don't have a 'Race Team' yet like Marty.:P

That's no race team, that's my posse!

As hard as it is to believe, I lost sight of the car a long time ago, and now I just have fun hanging around with those guys who hang out with me. That there is my posse! :D

[BillyGman]

Barry, I think it's a matter of how fast your car is. Atleast with our Marauders, if they're merely in the low 12's (like my Marauder is) or slower, I don't see there being a great advantage to slicks, because drag radials work great on my car, and they've allowed me to turn consistent 1.6 second 60' times at the dragstrip.

But with a car like Marty's which has the potential to get into the 10 second bracket, slicks become a higher priority. As far as your offer, are your slicks 15" diameter? because I'll be using 15" wheels. But that hasn't anything to do with my Marauder. It has to do with my project car that will be starting very soon, and will be finished in the spring. I'll be looking for 15"x28"

[CRUZTAKER]

28X11.50-16LT

I must be honest. I have never tried drag radials of ANY manufacturer.

But to pull a 1.6 60' as you say. I shudder to think. That's the hook I aim for.

[BillyGman]

28X11.50-16LT

I must be honest. I have never tried drag radials of ANY manufacturer.

But to pull a 1.6 60' as you say. I shudder to think. That's the hook I aim for. Keep in mind Barry, that 1.6 second 60" times weren't just an isolated occurence for me either, and I'm no pro drag racer. The last time I was at the strip, I turned 4 60" times in the 1.6's, and the time before that I turned a 1.6 in 2 out of the 3 passes that I made. Yes, the 4.56 gears help with that, but the point is, that the Nitto drag radials will do it, so slicks are NOT mandatory for accomplishing that. And I hear that the M/T drag radials hook even better than the Nitto DR's do. I also hear that the M/T DR's are even worse in the rain on the street though. So I guess you just can't have it all.