Now that my stock 17's can be retired from daily use I'm considering some sort of slicks. I don't know a damn thing about slicks so any basic information would be great. I did a search and ended up at Brenspeed's website looking at their drag pack combo of some stock 17's and some MT size 26x11.5x17.

Now, perhaps I'm not understanding, but isn't 11.5 way too wide for a 17 inch rim? Do standard measurements not apply to slick tires compared to street tires? If I take some 26x11.5x17 MT's to a tire shop to get them mounted will they just look at my funny?

 

Slicks are sticky racing tires. There now you know something.
For an 11.5" slick you will need wider rims for them to perform optimally.

 

Those particular tires he references fit perfect on that wheel. 1.60 or better 60' can be had by those who can drive and have the proper set up. Thye perform very well at the track and outlast any DR I can think of.

Those are not tires designed to be used every day. They are bias ply and will make your handle very poorly on the street if you drive them with radial tires in the front. They also do not hold air very good. Some people use tubes with them, but that particular size and our rim width and lip, Mickey Thompson says a tube is not needed.

Very good race tire.

Not a street tire.

 

They look absolutely correct on the wheel. They don't have a true 11.5 tread, it's more like 9" and change. I think the 11.5 comes from when they are not inflated and the over all width, sidewall to sidewall.

 

I run that exact combo at the strip and get consistent 1.6xx 60' times. Don't use them for street tires unless you like replacing your tires every 500 miles and skidding sideways into light poles, but for a cheap drag tire, there is no better option.

 

This is what they look like on my car
definitely not for street use



off the car



next to a stock tire/rim (I think)



what the look like on my car, launching off a transbrake with 20+ lbs boost.

 

Looking "absolutely correct" and "performing optimally" are two separate things. Appearance-based choices/preferences tend to fall in line with what everybody else in that activity has always done in the past, and can leave some performance on the table. "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got".

I looked them up - this tire is somewhere between a 275/40 and 275/45 if it were given in street tire sizing, and is listed for 8.5" - 10.5" wheels. Best dragstrip performance should happen with wheels that fall at or slightly below the middle of that range rather than outside it (the OE 17" wheels are only 8" wide). Probably best with 9" or maybe 9.5" wheels.

On 8's, experiencing a slightly woozy feeling up around 100 mph would not surprise me.


Norm

 

Oh, believe me, it would. It still surprises me every time.