Dbluegoat

ok I got my slicks on. They are the MT ET Drags 26x8.5-15. I took it for a little drive a mile down the road and back. At around 60+ the rear seems to want to sway back and forth and near 80 its almost scary. Is this how it will feel at the track? and is this because I have regular radial tires up front? or is it because they still have 20psi in them?

I almost afraid to try them at the track for fear of losing control above 80 and going into the wall.

any help would be aprreciated as this is my first time on full slicks.


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OnyxZ

I might be wrong, but its probably a mixture of not on the track, radial's up front that are on a different size wheel, and because they have 20 psi in them. But like I said, I maybe wrong, I dont know a whole lot about slicks.

SJM Manufacturing Inc

iTrader: (5)

mixing slicks and radials are not a good mix. Always stay with similar manufactured tires front/rear.

What you are feeling is typical when guys mix the two.

Steve

MonsterZ28

Why does mixing the tires matter?

SJM Manufacturing Inc

iTrader: (5)

Different tire construction. Both MT and Hoosier warn about mixing different tire construction. A radial has a much stiffer sidewall design and reacts differently under stress.

69TA

iTrader: (263)

Were you driving around town taking turns or just gunning it down a straight away?

I once skipped my GTO like a basketball by lifting on and off the gas with drag suspension and 28x10.5 slicks. Scared the crap out of my friend. What I am trying to say is you get use to them but always bear in mind drag slicks are not meant for anything other than going straight. So point that sucker straight and don't do anything that will upset the suspension otherwise it will bite you in the a$$.....

TN94Z

iTrader: (14)

That is typical, I guess because of the mixture. And yes it will do it at the track too. One thing to keep in mind if you take them to the track though, when it starts to sway back and forth just hold it straight and don't try to correct it.

White.Lightning

iTrader: (53)

I have radials in the front, and Hoosier QTP DOT 27x11.5 in the rear. It seems to sway a little but not bad. A concern I had when I first mounted them up was that the one tire had slightly more pressure in it than the other. As I would accelerate, the car would radically push to the left, meaning the right tire had more PSI in it. I run them at 15psi. Being a bias ply, there is always going to be that "skating" feeling at high speed but it is the tradeoff you pay for having traction. My car wouldn't hook on the street to save its *** until I mounted these QTP's. I would recommend checking the tire pressure before you "test" them and learn to live with the feeling. From a dig, your performance outweigh's the feeling you get at high speeds. But remember one thing, street racing is illegal! hehehe Good luck

Andy

skippytheloon

iTrader: (14)

hehe, yea thats what they feel like when you mix a hard and soft sidewall tire. skinnies on the front will balance them out so theyre both wobbly/soft sidewall tires and cancel each other out some.

Dbluegoat

I had tested them on a street going straight only......I went to the track later that day and was basically scared shitless about going into the wall so I babied it off the line but got her up to 110 in the 1/4 and felt it. I made only 2 passes due to weather but I was a little relieved to feel it out and know what to expect next time.

It was a little floaty like you were on ice but I held on tight and made no corrections just kept her straight.

Thanks for your advice guys.

69chevy

Launching it off the line shouldn't be a problem. It's once you get going down the track. A friend of mine with a chevelle has street tires up front and slicks out back. He launched hard but once he got further down, it started to sway on him.

By the way, your car looks pretty wicked with slicks on it.

shaZZam

iTrader: (12)

Glad I found this thread, same thing happened to me. I just put SFC's/LCA's on, and put on a set of MT street radials on an extra set of 16" wheels (for the track). Went for a shakedown run to make sure everything was tight before going to the track. Nailed it from a stop on the on ramp and by the time I got to the merge I was SHITTING MY PANTS. I thought for sure I had f'd up my suspension. On a hunch I put my street tires/wheels back on and the problem resolved. These were brand new tires, does this problem get better/worse with tire wear?

Wyckedcamaro

iTrader: (2)

I had Mt Et Streets with nittos upfront and swayed all the way down the track

Suck it up and slam the gas.. Just hold on.

I figured it was good practice for my 9 second runs one day. lol you ever see them sway? OMG!

Anyways.. everyone in my club with mt's sway.

Thats why people went with the mt drag radials.. it stopped that mess.