Circuit Tyres For Dragging?

[Wonky]

Guys, just wondering what the consensus of those in the know (I'm a novice) is on using circuit tyres for dragging? Can get some Michelin slicks fairly cheap and figure they'd have to be better than street tyres for dragging??? :confused:

Not necessarily after the absolute best times possible, more just consistency for DYO comps. What do you think?

Cheers,
Gary

[DukeZ]

id think they would takew HEAPS to get warm????

interested to see wat others think

[STATIE]

TOYO RA1's are as good as you'll get - they are only available up to 18" though.

They have the same compound as NITTO drag radials & need little to no warm up to work well.

[ILLUSIV1]

If they are a soft compound they will work. If they are hards they will not retain enough heat to get good traction.

[spank]

a softish type of semi comp tyre does help on the 1/4 mile, not as good as a drag tyre obviously but much better thand any normal street tyre, the good thing for you wonky is that you can drive to the track, race, and drive home on the same tyres with out the need for you to have to rely on anybody helping you, just one less thing for you to think about on the day. one thing is i probably would not use full slicks on your car with normal tyres up front and no roll cage, if i were you get a set of 18" wheels and fit a set of soft semi comp tyres to the car, you will be amazed at the level of grip a semi comp can offer even on the road driving normally, i have a set permenantly on my VS and they are great, but as you know its not my daily driver so its your call on how long you leave them on for after the races.

[OMR346]

I have a set of 17" Dunlop semi slicks which i have been using out at Willowbank. There nto to bad, but they take a bit to get the heat in to. This just means you need to do a bigger burnout (hitting limiter in 3rd gear with the wheels spinning at about 220km/h usually does the trick lol).

I have just purchased a set of Street ET's though, so i will be using them now.

[Oztrack Tuning]

They are good up to around 1.7-1.8 60 footers Wonky and then beyond that you need Drag tyres. But unless you have hi stall converter in a A6 or big clutch dumps will the car go below 1.7 anyway.

[Lasoya]

Just be careful using a circuit slick at the drags, the softer sidewall in a circuit slick wont help with steering in a straight line down the drag strip

[OMR346]

My VZ went 12.5 @ 109mph, with 1.8 60' with the above mentioned 17" semi-slicks. 3.07:1 LSD and cam only LS1.

[hRTHSV]

Just be careful using a circuit slick at the drags, the softer sidewall in a circuit slick wont help with steering in a straight line down the drag strip

I thought it was the other way around, seen plenty of drag slicks with wrinkles in the side wall but haven't seen it on a circuit slick, which I might was is designed for corners.

[Lasoya]

I thought it was the other way around, seen plenty of drag slicks with wrinkles in the side wall but haven't seen it on a circuit slick, which I might was is designed for corners.
Sorry yeh your right, i meant the other way around :), drag radials have soft sidewalls to allow tyres to run on low psi

[Wonky]

I figure at $100 ea the circuit tyres are worth a try anyway to see how they go. However, the guy is waiting for more to come in at the moment.

In the meantime any opinions on 245/40R18 Falken RT 615 semi? I can get a pair of them for a reasonable price. :)

[HSV Listy]

I am going to give them a try next outing for the hell of it. I have a couple of sets here so better than buggering my good semi slicks. Then atleast I can do a decent burnout without dreading $1200 worth of two rear tyres.

I will let you know how they go. My car is slow at the drags so wont be much of a comparison as far as grib goes but you never know

[SirNemesis]

I'm finally going to get a chance to test mine out on Saturday. 240/40/18 Michelin circuit slick.

[Delft Maloo]

I'm finally going to get a chance to test mine out on Saturday. 240/40/18 Michelin circuit slick.

Let us know how you go as i have a full set of the same tyres for my ute, although they are meant to be for my next circuit day.

[Wonky]

I'm finally going to get a chance to test mine out on Saturday. 240/40/18 Michelin circuit slick.

Look forward to hearing how they go! I assume they're possibly the same as the ones I'm looking to get. The guy doesn't give a profile, just says 18" x 240 and 650mm high.

My calculations give 18 x 24.5mm (mm per inch) = 441. 40 profile gives 40% of 240 = 96mm. Total height therefore 441 + 2 x 96 = 633mm.

If they were 45 profile total height would be 441 + 2(45% of 240)
= 441 + 2 x 108
= 657mm

So, depending on how accurately he measured and allowing for wear???? the ones I've lined up are probably 45 profile, not 40.

However, in trying to double check I just found a PDF of Michelin slicks on www.europeantechnique.com.au/ and they don't quote profiles on those tyres, so that was all a waste of time anyway!! :doh: Looks like they're probably Michelin 24/64-18 which best fit the description. :D

[SirNemesis]

To be perfectly honest I guessed the height, I'll check it out and confirm tomorrow :)

Hopefully I'll get good results out of them, although I'm very much a beginner at launching a manual so I don't know how well I'll go either way.

[Wonky]

In the meantime any opinions on 245/40R18 Falken RT 615 semi? I can get a pair of them for a reasonable price. :)

Anybody??? :confused:

[RIDE:42]

circuit slick are verry harsh on the driveline due to no give in the side wall

[Djbarnstar]

Anybody??? :confused:

I have not used these but have spoken with a few guys who have said they are good bang for buck but ultimatley not that great as compared with say the RE55s

[Roonstain]

I have a second hand set of Dunlop circuit slicks - at heathcote they were only able to get me a high 2.0sec 60footer
I just couldn't get enough heat into them - 4th gear burnout and still cold when back from the return road

Main thing for me was that i could have fun, do a big burnout if i wanted etc and not worry about leaving enough tread to get home.

Really need to get some M/T's though!

[SirNemesis]

Ahh I forgot to update this thread. I did a 1.7 second 60ft in my manual barge with Michelin circuit slicks mentioned earlier. They work well at the strip as far as I'm concerned, just needed a decent burnout :)

[HSV Listy]

Ahh I forgot to update this thread. I did a 1.7 second 60ft in my manual barge with Michelin circuit slicks mentioned earlier. They work well at the strip as far as I'm concerned, just needed a decent burnout :)

Good to see. What sort of pressures did you use and what sort of burnout time. I have a set all ready to go but I am lending to mate that can do atleast 12 seconds something in the VE. They are 18 inch Avalanche wheels and fit the big VE R8 brakes

[SirNemesis]

I ran 25psi and probably a 7-8 second burnout in 2nd gear. I just stopped the burnout when it made a nice sticky squeak :)

[GenReaper]

Sidewall is everything.
60+ series is the way to go.

In my old race car with 8 inch slicks and 60 series i used to manage 1.23 second 60 foot.

Circuit tyres are just that circuit, hard side walls bugger all flex and give = very little traction.
The larger the side wall the larger the forward footprint and rollout which = traction.
Low profile have wide thin contact patch no good for forward acceleration.

Worth a shot but i doubt the results will be very good.