Wheel purchase strategy...?

[NIKwoaC]

So I've been looking around waiting for a deal to pop up on a second set of wheels that will be track-only for my car. Well today, I found a guy locally selling a set of OE 17x8 wheels with 275/40 DRs on the rears and street tires on the fronts for a good price. It sounds like the DRs are tired, but have a few passes left in them.

My question is, is there anything I should look out for on a used set of DRs? Is it a bad idea to run used DRs?

Also, I may buy all 4 wheels, but I'm not sure what I'll end up doing with the fronts if I do. It sounds like he is hesitant to only sell 2.

Any advice is welcome.

 

[90lxcoupe]

what kind of track use are you talking? If its the dragstrip you might be better off with a set of 15's.

What kind of drag radials are they? The only thing i would try to find out is how old they are and how long they've been sittin for. You can run drag radails till they have the chords showning if you really wanted to.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Sorry, yes dragstrip. I'll ask about the age. How old is too old?

I have to run the taller wheels because of my Cobra brakes. Can't run 15s, and I don't want to grind anything or use any spacers to make it work. I may "downgrade" to GT brakes in the rear in the future just so I can run 15s, but right now that's irrelevant. Kind of wish I would have thought about this when I did the brake swap, haha.

The tires are M/Ts, but I don't want to give too much away until I get a chance to go check them out tonight. Don't want any lurkers on here going and buying them out from under me.

 

[5.0Droptop]

runs to CL finds wheels........... I bought them.

 

[Shaolin Crane]

Sorry, yes dragstrip. I'll ask about the age. How old is too old?

I have to run the taller wheels because of my Cobra brakes. Can't run 15s, and I don't want to grind anything or use any spacers to make it work. I may "downgrade" to GT brakes in the rear in the future just so I can run 15s, but right now that's irrelevant. Kind of wish I would have thought about this when I did the brake swap, haha.

The tires are M/Ts, but I don't want to give too much away until I get a chance to go check them out tonight. Don't want any lurkers on here going and buying them out from under me.

your braking geometry will be way off if you downgrade to GT sized brakes in the rear

 

[NIKwoaC]

runs to CL finds wheels........... I bought them.

:crapola: :damnit:

your braking geometry will be way off if you downgrade to GT sized brakes in the rear

I have an adjustable brake proportioning valve, so I think I can make it work. I'm pretty sure I've seen it done before.

 

[Shaolin Crane]

:crapola: :damnit:



I have an adjustable brake proportioning valve, so I think I can make it work. I'm pretty sure I've seen it done before.

i dont know if the adjustable valve will add that much pressure to the rear, im not saying it hasnt been done but you can get away with 16's in the rear IIRC

 

[NIKwoaC]

i dont know if the adjustable valve will add that much pressure to the rear, im not saying it hasnt been done but you can get away with 16's in the rear IIRC

Yea, and I've been looking for 16s, too. You just have better tire selection in 17s, and this looks like a good opportunity for 17s.

I don't know, I may just keep the brakes and buy go fast parts instead to compensate for the heavier wheels.

 

[90lxcoupe]

your braking geometry will be way off if you downgrade to GT sized brakes in the rear

Care to explain? GT and cobra calipers are the same thing

Also you would be better off with 16's, the more sidewall on the tired the better with a stick car at the track

 

[NIKwoaC]

Care to explain? GT and cobra calipers are the same thing

The difference in rotor diameter may affect how much line pressure you need to run to get the rear brakes to match the fronts, being that you have less mechanical advantage with the small dia GT rotors. That's my guess.

Also you would be better off with 16's, the more sidewall on the tired the better with a stick car at the track

Good point. Which would make for an even stronger argument for running 15s in the future.

Did you see my question above? How old is too old for the tires?

 

[90lxcoupe]

Did you see my question above? How old is too old for the tires?

hard to say, anything over 4 or 5 years i'd stay away from, but it depends on how they have been stored, i think if you just use your better judgement you will be fine, cause most likely somebodys just gonna tell you what they think you wanna hear

 

[NIKwoaC]

hard to say, anything over 4 or 5 years i'd stay away from, but it depends on how they have been stored, i think if you just use your better judgement you will be fine, cause most likely somebodys just gonna tell you what they think you wanna hear

Sad but true.

 

[Mustang5L5]

x3 on that. 4+ year old tires...stay away. I really hate when people say. "That's just the tire companies wanting you to buy more tires. I put my tires in the shed and they are fine even though they are 8 years old."

Oxygen breaks down the rubber as well, so unless the tires are stored on the moon, they deteriorate just sitting in a dark warehouse.


BTW, i ran Cobra fronts with Gt rear brakes on my '03 for 3 years. Other than the ass end going sky high in a hard brake, wasn't really any probs. But i had sticky rubber and good ABS

 

[NIKwoaC]

Well, the deal fell through. The tires were showing belts so they were pretty much done. He was a decent guy, but the tires IMHO were unusable, and the price he wanted didn't justify it. Would have been a good deal if the tires had life left in them.

Booo. I guess I'll keep shopping around.

 

[Shaolin Crane]

x3 on that. 4+ year old tires...stay away. I really hate when people say. "That's just the tire companies wanting you to buy more tires. I put my tires in the shed and they are fine even though they are 8 years old."

Oxygen breaks down the rubber as well, so unless the tires are stored on the moon, they deteriorate just sitting in a dark warehouse.


BTW, i ran Cobra fronts with Gt rear brakes on my '03 for 3 years. Other than the ass end going sky high in a hard brake, wasn't really any probs. But i had sticky rubber and good ABS

yeah maybe in straight braking but when you're entering or exiting a turn it could cause an understeer affect

 

[90mustangGT]

You can be alright with 3-4 year old tires, but check for little cracks between the treads as that is an indication of dryrott. Don't go too much older than that.

I had a blowout recently. I traded my old wheels for the new one's, the front skinnies were 165R15's. I looked at the DOT's and the last numbers were 02 so I figured they were a bit old, but not that old. I was driving and one went flat. While removing it, I noticed the dot's were a 11 digit number... making those tires old enough to vote.

 

[tannerc91gt]

my vote is for getting a set of lightweight 15's man. IMO, if you're looking to have some drag-ONLY wheels, weight should be a concern. also,it offers you a better selection of DRs, and slicks if you ever go that direction, whereas 17+ size wheels pretty much limit your selection to 555r's and a few other tires.
not sure if you've ever held a weld wheel and a Cobra r(for example) at the same time but the difference is HUGE.
a pair of 15x3.5s up front definitly wouldnt hurt weight transfer either.
just something to consider



also, i would be careful mentioning any CL ads for slicks/DRs in the area, as i have a set of draglites im trying to get tires for

 

[tannerc91gt]

Can't run 15s, and I don't want to grind anything or use any spacers to make it work. I may "downgrade" to GT brakes in the rear in the future just so I can run 15s, but right now that's irrelevant.

 

[Mr. Rustypwnz]

Well, the deal fell through. The tires were showing belts so they were pretty much done. He was a decent guy, but the tires IMHO were unusable, and the price he wanted didn't justify it. Would have been a good deal if the tires had life left in them.

Booo. I guess I'll keep shopping around.

haha, were they tribars? was teh guys name corey?

if so they was my old tires lol i got my use out of em

 

[Mr. Rustypwnz]

oh seen the AD, yep they were mine, this idiot knows nothing of what he says, wheels have 10k miles (genuine ford) and the front tires have 5K on them, not half tread..

GAWD morons... man i wanted those fronts to put on my 03 kewbra's