Using bald street tires as slicks...

Redbird · 07-17-2002, 08:11 AM

... it ain't ever gonna work. Just because a street tire is bald, does not make it a slick or a DOT race tire. Totally different compounds of rubber and differently designed sidewalls. Just an FYI for newbie drag racers or racer wannabe's!!

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notgetleft · 07-17-2002, 10:55 AM

I think most people would use relatively bald street tires as their race tires to save wear on their real street tires. Sure they're not slicks, but at least you're not burning up tread you need to save your life in rain/snow/etc.
As long as there aren't belts showing, and as long as they are still hooking, exactly what is your beef?

KTamez · 07-17-2002, 12:44 PM

The beef is, that if you're so worried about your life you won't use worn out tires when you're going 100+mph.

Besides that, bald tires are not going to hook for you. Good Street Radials will barely get the job done, let alone a set that have been heat cycled and belong in the junkyard.

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Redbird · 07-17-2002, 03:10 PM

Yeah... what Kurtis said!! Thanks Kurtis!

HInk

jp2002ls1 · 07-17-2002, 04:00 PM

I did a few practice runs with some old relatively bald tires to practice my shifting points and although I lost .35 seconds because of loss of traction I still felt it was good practice and being that the wear marks were far from showing the Z rated tires still had enough left in them to be safe. I wouldn't use them at a busy track trying to get a good time but cuz even my regular street tires did better but I saved the wear on them for my practice runs. I had fun smoking my worn out tires and not worrying about wearing them out.

Black Sunshine/ 00SS · 07-17-2002, 04:15 PM

Thanks for the tip pal, now I gotta go & buy new tires just to satisfy you...

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notgetleft · 07-17-2002, 04:58 PM

I'm not talking about tires that are worn to the belts or into the cap material. Clearly thats unsafe

But a tire that is past it's wear markers but still has real rubber to burn on it is not inherently a deathtrap like you paint it to be.

And thanks for the tip that they don't hook. I'll have to annotate all my 1.85 60' timeslips that i got on my last set of bald dunlops to reflect that i must not have been hooking up

I'm sorry if everyone doesn't have an 11 second car that runs 1.5s and needs ET streets or other race rubber, but to say they can't hook is just plain ignorant. I mean, have you ever gone 1.85 on real street tires with a stock suspension car? Oh, thanks for the tips on hooking up then.

But like the other guy said. I guess since you guys are so cool and special that you have dedicated race rubber and wheels, everyone else should too right?

TedH · 07-17-2002, 05:09 PM

Hey, if the tire is "safe", then I don't really care on a street car. The issue that I see raised often is how to get a car to hook up with street tires...

It seems like many folks are perfectly willing to buy shocks, springs, trailing arms, subframe connectors, and all kinds of suspension goodies and then complain they can't hook up on bald street tires.

It just doesn't make sense to me.

My '99 Sebring with a 2.5 in it can squawk the street tires. I saw a friend of mine squeal to a 2.8 sixty foot time in a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am...

It took me all of one week after going to the track for the first time to ordr a set of drag radials.

My hunch is that the people wanting to hook on street tires are basically doing test and tune nights and some grudge racing. Those of us that bracket race and run points series simply can't tolerate inconsistency. That is my theory. What do the rest of you think?

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Redbird · 07-17-2002, 06:26 PM

Take it easy boyz... my whole point WAS...
a bald or worn tire does not a slick make!
Even roundy round SLICK tires are not the same as a drag race slick! People who write in here thinking a nearly bald tire is the same as a race slick as far as, traction or safety are concerned, ARE MISTAKEN!

But... those whom still think they are just as good... please look me up first round... I need an easy round kill!!

Harold... you ain't gotta satisfy me, go run on some inner tubes if you like, they outta be slick enough for you!

Guy running 1.85 sixtys on bald Dunlops... you outta be suspension tuning Pro/Stock cars man, you are a true WIZZARD!

HInk (I can get mean too)

[This message has been edited by Redbird (edited July 17, 2002).]

KTamez · 07-17-2002, 07:31 PM

I give up. You're right I'm wrong. You're smart, I'm Dumb. You're Good looking, I'm....

Use whatever works for you. BALD Hankooks, D1 Compound Goodyears, or TSL Superswampers its your car...... I'm just some 12 year old Internet-Rambo moron. Don't everlisten to anything I say.

-K

sfGi8nt · 07-17-2002, 11:53 PM

"Can I pull a 1.8 60' on my best friend's, dad's, uncle's, son's 1974 Camaro tires"

Yeah, sure, go ahead

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Best E.T. : 13.64 @101.50 w/ 2.04 60'
w/ Drag Radials : 13.56@100.80 w/ 1.97 60'
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Steve in Seattle · 07-18-2002, 12:19 AM

Hmmm... guess that would explain my inability to break that 2.000 60' barrier.

My Nitto 555R's have no center tread left, and the outside blocks are less than 1/16". Guess it's time to slap those new Nittos on the rims.

Do ya think 25,000 miles is good for a drag radial?

Strange how the first 20,000 was only about 1/2 the tread... guess those passes at the track did it in.

P.S.
If you plan on using Nittos as your dialy driver tire, make SURE you set them to 25psi. Running 35psi will be noticablly hard, and running 30psi (like I did) will still make them wear unevenly in the middle. 25psi on the street... 23psi at the track

(22psi breaks the posi

)

s_willis · 07-20-2002, 07:08 AM

Just wondering what kind of numbers you'd run with a 1.85 60 foot time?
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