Slicks vs. drag radials on lower classed car?

[Joe Toller]

Just a thought I was having, would there be really a difference at all between using a drag radial vs a true drag slick on a lower class (V for example) car? It seems that you'd probably not overpower the tire, and you have some more choices as far as tire diameters. Am I nuts, or what say the group?

[Robert Swartz]

Originally Posted by iraceitall

Just a thought I was having, would there be really a difference at all between using a drag radial vs a true drag slick on a lower class (V for example) car? It seems that you'd probably not overpower the tire, and you have some more choices as far as tire diameters. Am I nuts, or what say the group?

I'm about to try my first set of DR's on the Achieva. Honestly, I would rather have slicks. I was kind of pigeon holed into the DR's. Needed a shorter tire. Most of the short slicks, there aren't many to begin with, are made for 13" rims. To do this for our car, requires you to do a lot of work converting the front brakes to smaller diameter discs. Hence, I went with the DR's to maintain the 14" stock wheels.

Probably be next week before we can see if they yield any positive results.

[Todd Boyer]

I used to bracket race my '69 Dart. Car ran in the 12.9 to 13.3 range and first ran Mickey Thompson Sportsman Pro bias street legal tires. Switched to MT slicks and saw zero difference in 60' or ET. The slicks may have been a little more consistent on a marginal track, but were no faster. Obviously not drag radials, but I feel a worthy comparison.

[art leong]

Originally Posted by Robert Swartz

I'm about to try my first set of DR's on the Achieva. Honestly, I would rather have slicks. I was kind of pigeon holed into the DR's. Needed a shorter tire. Most of the short slicks, there aren't many to begin with, are made for 13" rims. To do this for our car, requires you to do a lot of work converting the front brakes to smaller diameter discs. Hence, I went with the DR's to maintain the 14" stock wheels.

Probably be next week before we can see if they yield any positive results.

M/T has slicks. 15 x 8 x 22 M&H makes 15 x 7 x 23 and 15 x 8 x 23.
BF goodrich used to make a drag radial that was 22 inches tall for a 14" rim
If your bolt pattern is 5 X 100mm There are tons of cheap wheels out there both used and new. And some are pretty light 11 to 13 pounds.

[Robert Swartz]

Originally Posted by art leong

M/T has slicks. 15 x 8 x 22 M&H makes 15 x 7 x 23 and 15 x 8 x 23.
BF goodrich used to make a drag radial that was 22 inches tall for a 14" rim
If your bolt pattern is 5 X 100mm There are tons of cheap wheels out there both used and new. And some are pretty light 11 to 13 pounds.

Art,

The DR's I bought are the M/T P205/50R14's. They are listed as 22" tall. For now, I'm looking at these more to lower the final gear ratio. No more power than I anticipate this current engine making. It has 120K on it. The DR's should be a passable alternative.

I saw the listings for the shorter 15" tires. I need to look around and find a list of the 5 x 100 wheels. My concern at present, would the car make enough power to utilise a set of slicks? I've used slicks on cars that didn't have a lot of motor, we countered that usually with deep gears. This FWD automatic car doesn't have a lot of gear.

[art leong]

Originally Posted by Robert Swartz

Art,

The DR's I bought are the M/T P205/50R14's. They are listed as 22" tall. For now, I'm looking at these more to lower the final gear ratio. No more power than I anticipate this current engine making. It has 120K on it. The DR's should be a passable alternative.

I saw the listings for the shorter 15" tires. I need to look around and find a list of the 5 x 100 wheels. My concern at present, would the car make enough power to utilise a set of slicks? I've used slicks on cars that didn't have a lot of motor, we countered that usually with deep gears. This FWD automatic car doesn't have a lot of gear.

Try to get hold of Ray Golonka. They ran a Quad 4 in stock.
Most of the FWD cars don't have much gear. I'm running a 3.90 final drive ratio in my superstocker. I run a 20" tall tire Tried a 22" tire recently and the short time was almost the same (but the 14"tires were shot). The car lost 3 mph and 2 tenths though.
I've got one new set of 14 x 8 x 20" slicks, Going to use them this fall. Against the 22" tires

[Robert Swartz]

Originally Posted by art leong

Try to get hold of Ray Golonka. They ran a Quad 4 in stock.
Most of the FWD cars don't have much gear. I'm running a 3.90 final drive ratio in my superstocker. I run a 20" tall tire Tried a 22" tire recently and the short time was almost the same (but the 14"tires were shot). The car lost 3 mph and 2 tenths though.
I've got one new set of 14 x 8 x 20" slicks, Going to use them this fall. Against the 22" tires

Don't know if you've heard of him or not, Ron Seibenek in neighboring Ohio runs both a stocker and a SS'r Quad 4. I've exchanged a few messages with him via another MB. I need to give him a call, just haven't had the time. He also makes a killer header, just haven't made up my mind if I want to sink that much cash into this car, yet.

This car is a turd off the line, 60 ft times are 2.5. MPH is average of 60, have to dig out the time slips but runs 59.3 to about 60.2 or so. The shorter, wider tires may help this underpowered car. Sounds like in your case, the tire hurt your final drive, badly. The street tires currently on my car are almost 25" tall, so, these DR's should be a big help. I'm also realistic, I don't expect phenomenal gains.

[Robert Swartz]

Well FWIW, the drag radials are on my car now. Don't know when I'll get thte chance to get back to the track. My Saturday work schedule is starting up again. So, may be a couple weeks before I can try them out.