[All throttle n bottle]

Friend is thinking of putting some slicks on a 15 sec car.

My concern is it will be too tough on his trans?

Has a decent trans with superdiff and sidecover. Close 3,4th

Is the risk of damage to the trans worth it?

Just curious what are the pros and cons of this experiment?

 

[Jason Lindquist]

Bad idea I think. I think he would be better off playing with the tire pressure. It might bog pretty hard off the start and won't be very good for his super diff or r&p.

 

[ErikTheRed]

Nope, don't do it. The risk vs. return just isn't worth it on a 15-sec car. Just think-- assuming everything stays together, which it probably will for a time, the almost-certain bog off the line will hurt his ET and make it even worse while putting alot of unnecessary stress on the trans-- alittle wheel-spin could be his best pal. A 15-sec car simply doesn't have the power to take advantage of slicks. Tell him to think about slicks when he gets deep in the 13's.

Oh, and pleeeeeease tell him not to roll through the waterbox and burnout on his radials. Pointless. And gay.

 

[Greg Urrutia]

I would overall have to agree with Erik on this. Not a great idea to run slicks on a 15 sec car.

With that said it can be done successfully with an professionally built Transaxle and a disciplined driver.
Lynn Urrutia has consistently raced her 70 Karmann Ghia running Firestone 26X6X15 Drag Slicks.
She has won 2 NASA Race's this year and currently leads the point race.

Her numbers in Eliminations at NASA Race 5 (7-19-2008):
Round 1
15.20 Dial In
.234 Reaction time
2.068 60 Foot
17.329 E/T
61.292 MPH
Note: Opponent red lit and she cruised the track when she saw her win light.

Round 2
15.20 Dial In
.224 Reaction time
2.012 60 foot
15.250 E/T
84.282 MPH

Qtr Finals
15.15 Dial In
.160 Reaction time
1.958 60 Foot
15.157 E/T
87.072 MPH
Note: She felt her car getting faster as the temps went down and changed her dial in. This was her best run of the race.

Semi Finals
15.15 Dial In
.302 Reaction time
2.000 60 Foot
15.292 E/T
85.954 MPH

Final
15.15 Dial In
.019 Reaction time
2.044 60 Foot
15.283 E/T
86.888 MPH

Benefits of running the slicks are documented by her reaction times and consistent 60 foot times. Lynn is constantly checking her tire pressure and makes adjustments as necessary. She does a modest burnout just to clean the tires. Her Ghia is a heavy car and is using an IRS set-up. She can still pull the front wheels up if she really wants to. To her benefit she is not a hardcore aggressive driver and she has a sweet sponsorship with a Transaxle builder.
For Lynn, these results are typical. Your results may vary.

So Yes, you can run slicks on a 15 sec car or even a 14 sec Bus that does wheelies for that matter. But without careful set up and planning you are asking for disaster.

 

[so67vw]

WHY??? I know I'm not the only one that has ran a 12 second pass on a street tire with a good 60ft time.... People don't understand how dangerous slicks are.....

 

[Hotrodvw]

My buddy was running 13.60's @ about 103-104mph yesterday @ Woodburn on DOT slicks. No burnout, no water box. His lights were in the .670-.690 regions...........don't remember what his 60' times were though. He does leave fairly easy, and no power shifting. Burnout isn't necessary even w/ DOT's. He said it still hooked good.

 

[JC Quick]

Oh, and pleeeeeease tell him not to roll through the waterbox and burnout on his radials. Pointless. And gay.


so true so true

 

[Hotrodvw]

But doin' smokey burnouts is fun! =)

 

[Bill Shear]

But doin' smokey burnouts is fun! =)

:w00t: :w00t: :w00t:

 

[MagOO]

Yeah, nothing like the sound of a street car doing a smokey .. WheeerrriiireeerrrCheeiirrpp...Clank...

 

[Tom Simon]

Pointless...

I disagree... if the point is to completely hose the starting line for the faster cars, please oh-oh-PLEASE drive your street car into the water box start your burnout IN THE CENTER OF THE PUDDLE flinging water everywhere, then drag all that water trapped in the street tread of your street tires up to the starting line with you. The faster car drivers will love you for it. You get extra super-dee-duper style points if your car is dripping water from the rear fenders while waiting for the tree to come down. And the track staff will remember, I promise, but not the way you'd like to be remembered. :clown:

Every time I see that I want to pull my hair out... of course, if I did, I'd look like Magoo in no time! :scare:

PS: The term super-dee-duper is a registeed trademark. All applicable protection apply. Not available in some areas. may not be a legal phrase in DE, NV, MO, or BMF. Especially BMF. :surrender: