wider tire and traction

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SRT_DSTRHOLC

SRT_DSTRHOLC

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Do wider tires going from a 15x8 to a 15x10 make a difference in traction, both on the road and the street? The reason I ask is Im looking for a track tire to get a mid to high 11 second car to hook. Of course looks are good for the street as well. But I want to know so that I can decide what size of Drag wheel to get as the weight in wheel changes with the width. 15x8 are around 12 and 15x10 are 14. I just put in a 8 3/4 so I would be getting either ET radial or a real Slick
 
It depends on how wide a tire you are going to go with. A good rule of thumb is the tire should not be more that + or - 2 on the tire size. IE 8 inch rim for a 6-10 inch tire.
 
15x8 would probably have a 9in tire and 15x10 would have a 10in tire
 
You don't want to put to wide a tire on to skinny of a rim or it will suck the sidewalls in and you will have less tire on the ground then with a wider rim. Most tire manufacters will give the rim size you should use with that tire.
 
Ya, I already have looked at that. Right now on the car I have a 15x8 with 275/60/15 which is 9in wide and I would go 28x10.5x15 which is for a 10in rim and is 10in wide
 
the question is for the track which gives the best traction. I have read in places that sometimes a wider taller doesnt give more traction, but a taller one does. And Im asking everyone to what they think on which would give the best traction for a 11second high or low car
 
Height being equal, the wider tire gives more traction every time.
 
As far as slicks go, most Stock racers that are limited to a 9" slick use a 10" rim. This allows you to use more air pressure while still maintaining a full-width footprint and not wadding-up the sidewalls, which is not good. Of course, each application is different and you have to experiment with air pressures for your particular combo. I've heard pressures range from 14 to 30+ lbs! But it seems most are in the 18-22lb range. Radial slicks seem to like a pound or two more pressure than bias ply.

But you will get better results by experimenting/tuning your suspension than simply going wider. But it may not be cheap. There are a lot of Stock class cars in the 9's and 10's with 9" slicks.
 
daredevil said:
unless its wet outside. and a taller tire will have a longer footprint, so the wider and taller the better as long as you got the gears for it
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I was speaking of dry traction of course.
 
i dont see a 9in slick for a 15x8 in wheel and i think i will go 15x8 for the track because of the lighter wheel and 15x10 for the street for lower RPM with the 4.10 gears
 
If your looking for a good street and track tire that hooks on the track AND the street??? The Hoosier Quicktime Pro's are by far THE BEST hooking street tire out there!!!!
I use a 15x8 rim with 28x11.5 QTP's on my 72 duster. I am thinking of trying the Hoosier Drag Radial though...Good luck!!
 
74Burntorange said:
i dont see a 9in slick for a 15x8 in wheel and i think i will go 15x8 for the track because of the lighter wheel and 15x10 for the street for lower RPM with the 4.10 gears
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A wider wheel will not lower your RPM. A 275/60R15 looks pretty silly on a 10 inch rim. A 10.5 slick will work on a ten inch fine. The difference in weight between the two wheels is in ounces=not much difference. IMHO your car is a street/strip car and I would buy one tire and wheel set up. A 275 drag radial is more than enough and if you cant get an 11 second car to hook on it then something is wrong with the car.
 
turbodart68 said:
A wider wheel will not lower your RPM. A 275/60R15 looks pretty silly on a 10 inch rim. A 10.5 slick will work on a ten inch fine. The difference in weight between the two wheels is in ounces=not much difference. IMHO your car is a street/strip car and I would buy one tire and wheel set up. A 275 drag radial is more than enough and if you cant get an 11 second car to hook on it then something is wrong with the car.
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I know this. I was going to go 15x10 on the street with a 29in tire to lower RPM. And because the wheels are lighter with 15x8 I was thinking of just staying 15x8 for the track with a 28in tire and prolly a M/T ET street slick not a full slick but more of a radial or the m/t Radial, Which ever hooks better.
 
74Burntorange said:
I know this. I was going to go 15x10 on the street with a 29in tire to lower RPM. And because the wheels are lighter with 15x8 I was thinking of just staying 15x8 for the track with a 28in tire and prolly a M/T ET street slick not a full slick but more of a radial or the m/t Radial, Which ever hooks better.
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I have used a lot of M/Ts in the past and have just started using the Hoosier Quick Times. I (and I did say I) think the Hoosiers hook a lot better. You might want to check them out.
 
You may have to look at how much room do you have under the rear quarters. The wider the tire you can go, the more traction you can get, most of the time. Depends on the suspension set up. I run the M/T DOT slicks 28 x 13.50s at 12 PSI. They hook real good for me. i am running 12.00@113MPH with mufflers on.
 

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Locomotion said:
As far as slicks go, most Stock racers that are limited to a 9" slick use a 10" rim. This allows you to use more air pressure while still maintaining a full-width footprint and not wadding-up the sidewalls, which is not good. Of course, each application is different and you have to experiment with air pressures for your particular combo. I've heard pressures range from 14 to 30+ lbs! But it seems most are in the 18-22lb range. Radial slicks seem to like a pound or two more pressure than bias ply.

But you will get better results by experimenting/tuning your suspension than simply going wider. But it may not be cheap. There are a lot of Stock class cars in the 9's and 10's with 9" slicks.
Click to expand...

I learn something every day from here. If you have ever seen those stock class racers leaving wheels up on 9" slicks you would be impressed. Myron, Thanks for sharing.
 
Wow, I really need to do my homework. It has been a long time since my Mopar days (1970s) and I am relearning a lot.
We had a Firestone Tire manufacturing plant in the City of Commerce where you could go and order tires and specify the rubber compound (formulation) for whatever stickiness you wanted for your setup. Of course, the stickier the tire the less wear resistant it was.

Can you still get different rubber compound formulations?

I imagine that it would be expensive because most, if not all, of the tire companies have moved their plants overseas.
We used to run two sets of wheels and tires. One set was for daily driving and the other was for racing (street or strip). I guess some things were cheaper back then.
 
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