15x4 inch wheels/tires for the street
11-12-2008, 03:03 PM
#1
On The Tree
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: New York City
Posts: 178
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
15x4 inch wheels/tires for the street Looking into some new Billet Specialties for the street/strip but I am concerned that driving on a small front tire for street applications will greatly compromise the safety and driveability of the car. Since I drive on the street 90% of the time, is there a tire designed for street use in small sizes, and what is the largest front tire I can go with on a 15x4 inch rim?
Has anyone had any braking issues with a small tire?
Thanks,
Dan
Has anyone had any braking issues with a small tire?
Thanks,
Dan
11-12-2008, 04:12 PM
#2
I am now stepping to a 26x4.5-15 M/T ET Front drag tire, since my car will not see the street nearly as much as it used to. However I have had good luck with the Mickey Thompson 26x7.5-15 Sportsman Fronts. They are a treaded tire and the 8ply version handles alot better than most on the street. I daily drove my car on those for quite some time. You just have to learn to turn slower, and brake sooner. You will get the feel of it though, and shouldn't have any problems.
11-12-2008, 04:20 PM
#3
driving in the rain is really not something i enjoy, but for dry weather skinnies are just fine.
if you do alot of highway commuting i would advise against running a skinny setup. driving on city roads at 40mph is scary enough there is a good probability if you get stuck in the rain on the highway going 60mph you might get into trouble. that and dont expect even the best skinny tire to last longer than 6-10k miles. you might want to run a drag wheel out back and a stock chrome 5 star rim upfront and swap them out whenever you want to show the car off
if you do alot of highway commuting i would advise against running a skinny setup. driving on city roads at 40mph is scary enough there is a good probability if you get stuck in the rain on the highway going 60mph you might get into trouble. that and dont expect even the best skinny tire to last longer than 6-10k miles. you might want to run a drag wheel out back and a stock chrome 5 star rim upfront and swap them out whenever you want to show the car off
11-12-2008, 10:17 PM
#4
On The Tree
Thread Starter
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: New York City
Posts: 178
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I never drive in the rain, never. But I am thinking for steering and braking. I mean as a real vintage muscle car guy nothing beats skinnies/slicks but realistically, safety is number one right now. I'll consider the 17inch fronts for safety. Thanks!
11-12-2008, 11:35 PM
#5
I wouldn't consider any 15" slick/skinny setup as a street driver. …Whether it is a street savvy wheel setup like our 15” street/strip wheels or our drag specific wheels.
15's in my opinion are best designed for drag racing. The main reason to use them is for weight advantages and tire selection. I rarely recommend using our street/strip wheels as they are heavy in comparison to our drag components. Our street/strip wheels there are really only losses seen regarding performance. I can’t validate telling someone that our rear 16lb street/strip wheel is far beneficial then our 10lb drag wheel. Sure our street/strip wheels are stronger, but if you can’t really enjoy or use them on the street, what’s the use? I use our drag Bogart’s on the street, but that is only to go to a car show or drive to an event. Even using a wider 15” front wheel/tire combo hinders handling as the large sidewall flexes quite a bit compared to a 16 or 17” selection. This is probably why weld XP’s were discontinued. They were nice, but the weight offered little advantages.
Driving with 15’s makes the car very boring to use as a street setup in my opinion as you cannot drive it, it drives you. Steering is non-existent compared even to stock...and braking is rather useless. Many people use them, but it’s nothing like taking a set of 17x11’s and 17x9.5 and cruising around the curves. Enjoying the handling of the car and being able to stop on a dime is always nice to have. When looking to race whether on the street or strip, the benefits of drag wheels will win every time. So if you’re considering a slick/skinny setup, choose a drag setup. Either consider economy style wheels like prostars which Camaro396 uses which are probably the second lightest drag setup you can consider for your car, or if you want the lightest direct fit drag setup, our Bogart wheels are the choice of many. Using our wheels compared to prostars would be like dropping an easy 50lbs from your car.
Good luck with your decisions!
15's in my opinion are best designed for drag racing. The main reason to use them is for weight advantages and tire selection. I rarely recommend using our street/strip wheels as they are heavy in comparison to our drag components. Our street/strip wheels there are really only losses seen regarding performance. I can’t validate telling someone that our rear 16lb street/strip wheel is far beneficial then our 10lb drag wheel. Sure our street/strip wheels are stronger, but if you can’t really enjoy or use them on the street, what’s the use? I use our drag Bogart’s on the street, but that is only to go to a car show or drive to an event. Even using a wider 15” front wheel/tire combo hinders handling as the large sidewall flexes quite a bit compared to a 16 or 17” selection. This is probably why weld XP’s were discontinued. They were nice, but the weight offered little advantages.
Driving with 15’s makes the car very boring to use as a street setup in my opinion as you cannot drive it, it drives you. Steering is non-existent compared even to stock...and braking is rather useless. Many people use them, but it’s nothing like taking a set of 17x11’s and 17x9.5 and cruising around the curves. Enjoying the handling of the car and being able to stop on a dime is always nice to have. When looking to race whether on the street or strip, the benefits of drag wheels will win every time. So if you’re considering a slick/skinny setup, choose a drag setup. Either consider economy style wheels like prostars which Camaro396 uses which are probably the second lightest drag setup you can consider for your car, or if you want the lightest direct fit drag setup, our Bogart wheels are the choice of many. Using our wheels compared to prostars would be like dropping an easy 50lbs from your car.
Good luck with your decisions!
