need 165R 15's for my skinnys!

[jackchan]

I need 165R 15's for my skinnys. Should I run radials or bias ply? also where can these be found in radial reasonable?
thanks
Jack

 

[slow93]

i got 165r15 radials on mine..costs me 30 bucks each

 

[90mustangGT]

Most tire stores should be able to get them. It's a VW Beetle tire.

 

[Rick 91GT]

Your only allowed radials in the rear right? Then it is best to use a radial in the front, to prevent the car from being pushed. However if you look I think you'll find most of the track only F/S cars runs Moroso DS2's, if the car needs to see ANY street duty it need a radial.

I use to get my Kelly Metric 165 R15 from Pep-Boys $30 each, the wore a lot better then the Dunlop, Goodyear tires I tried up front. They are a lot heavier then a drag bias ply tire.

 

[Michael Yount]

If the car needs to see any street duty, you're doing yourself and all the rest of us driving out there a dis-service by having skinnies on the front. The problem is primarily one of significantly limiting emergency braking capability. With skinnies on the front, your emergency stopping distances are SIGNIFICANTLY lengthened. Put 'em on for track use only.

Check Tire Rack (www.tirerack.com) -- a quick check revealed a Kuhmo tire in 165/80/TR15 for $30 a piece. I'd also be careful of the speed and LOAD rating of any much smaller tire you use on the front for racing purposes - be sure they're up to handling the weight and speed they will see. Those Kuhmos are rated "87T" -- weight rating is 87, and the speed rating is T. That weight rating corresponds to a maximum of 1201 lbs. per tire - that should be sufficient for a racing Stang. The T speed rating is 118 mph -- I suppose you'll know whether your trap speeds will be consistently exceeding that or not.

 

[jackchan]

I'd love for my trap speeds to exceed that. THat would be a chance I would love to take! There isn't very many in FS that will exceed that mph. Not after the rule changes this year.

this car will not see ANY street use. The wheels I plan on running are not good for the street.
Jack

 

[04sleeper]

If you are trying to get everything out of it for F/S then I would look into Front Runners or something alike. Unless the rules specify different.

I have heard all sorts of crazy things just to gain a little bit in a class. Like 80-100 PSI in the front tires, loose front bearings with synthetic grease, etc...
Just to have a little less rolling resistance.

Not sure if I would do it but I have seen it before.

Good Luck.

 

[jackchan]

yea I just got thru with my wheel bearings last night and I am running the synthetic, I however did not see any advantage to it. The rotor's on mine are not loose, but aren't hammered tight either.
Jack

 

[Michael Yount]

I ran synthetic grease in my road racer -- but the operating conditions the rotor/bearing saw in road racing conditions were entirely different. HUGE lateral loads and extreme temps from braking components for 1/2 hour, 1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hours at a time all pointed towards synthetic grease in the bearings. Never had a failure -- once I riveted straps onto the hubs to hold the grease cups on. I lost more than a few during the middle of races -- makes for a real nice mess on the wheels....and you're lucky if you don't toast a bearing once the grease cup flies off.

 

[jackchan]

I ran synthetic grease in my road racer -- but the operating conditions the rotor/bearing saw in road racing conditions were entirely different. HUGE lateral loads and extreme temps from braking components for 1/2 hour, 1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hours at a time all pointed towards synthetic grease in the bearings. Never had a failure -- once I riveted straps onto the hubs to hold the grease cups on. I lost more than a few during the middle of races -- makes for a real nice mess on the wheels....and you're lucky if you don't toast a bearing once the grease cup flies off

didn't know you ran road race. That's pretty cool in itself. I just don't have the funds for tires for a class like that. Plus once I paint up this drag car...if I'm lucky, then it won't need any body repair for a long time (hopefully).
It's always good to draw information from as many people as possible. That is one reason I love forums like stangnet.com.
thanks
Jack

 

[Rick 91GT]

I'd run a DS2 front tire since it is not going to see any STREET USE. The guys are right, you need to check everything and find all those grey ares if you want to be competitive in F/S, EVERY little bit helps.