Wheel purchase strategy...?

NIKwoaC · Apr 13, 2010

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 · Apr 13, 2010

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 · Apr 13, 2010

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 · Apr 13, 2010

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

Shaolin Crane · Apr 13, 2010

NikwoaC said:
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 · Apr 13, 2010

5.0Droptop said:
runs to CL finds wheels........... I bought them.

:crapola: :damnit:

Shaolin Crane said:
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 · Apr 13, 2010

NikwoaC said:
: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 · Apr 13, 2010

Shaolin Crane said:
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 · Apr 13, 2010

Shaolin Crane said:
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 · Apr 13, 2010

90lxcoupe said:
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.

90lxcoupe said:
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 · Apr 13, 2010

NikwoaC said:
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 · Apr 13, 2010

90lxcoupe said:
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 · Apr 13, 2010

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 · Apr 13, 2010

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 · Apr 14, 2010

Mustang5L5 said:
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 · Apr 14, 2010

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 · Apr 14, 2010

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 · Apr 14, 2010

NikwoaC said:
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 · Apr 14, 2010

NikwoaC said:
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 · Apr 14, 2010

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

Wheel purchase strategy...?

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Wheel purchase strategy...?

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