Bias ply slick

[Jday14]

So I am looking to cut better 60 times and feel the only way to do that is run a sticky in the rear. I have a 13 5.0 m6 car and from all the reading and research I have done it seems as though bias ply is the way to go as they will cushion the blow to the drivetrain better than a dr. So my question is will I also need to run a skinny up front? I had hope to get away with just purchasing two rear drag wheels and tires for now to keep cost down. I have read that with bias ply in the rear and radial up front steering could be a concern and even dangerous, but I also read that this happens at higher speeds. I will be running these on the track only and the track I go to is only an 1/8 mile track. My trap speed with street tires is around 92-93 miles an hour. I would like to hear y'all's opinion on the matter! Obviously a radial would be easier but if I am going to spend the money I would like to get the most out of it. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give a track noobie.

 

[Shiken_Feddas]

If you run a slick in the rear, you can't run a radial up front. You would probably hit the wall.

 

[manolith]

If you run a slick in the rear, you can't run a radial up front. You would probably hit the wall.

That's not true at all. I have seen hundreds of passes with soft wall slicks in rear and radials up front. Unless you don't know how to drive or only hold the wheel straight you won't have an issue. The car will move around but that's why you have a steering wheel....

 

[Jday14]

That's not true at all. I have seen hundreds of passes with soft wall slicks in rear and radials up front. Unless you don't know how to drive or only hold the wheel straight you won't have an issue. The car will move around but that's why you have a steering wheel....

Ok good to know what slick do you run? Have you ever ran a dr on the rear with a manual transmission if so how much better is the slick? Sorry so many questions just wanna make sure I got all my ducks in a row before I buy anything. The goal is to run mid to high 7's consistently all motor right now my best is 8.1 with a 2.0 sixty on street tires. Would a dr help me reach my goal without braking anything or would I be better of going with a bias ply slick?

 

[manolith]

I have drag radials on my car but I had a set of soft slicks on my mach 1 with radials up front. Reason I have drag radials on this car is because it rains a lot here and I drive in the rain sometimes. The little thread of the drag radials kind of works in the rain. You could get a 1.5x 1.6x with drag radials without breaking the drivetrain but you need to slip the clutch on launch a bit. Its a bit tricky.

 

[Jday14]

I have drag radials on my car but I had a set of soft slicks on my mach 1 with radials up front. Reason I have drag radials on this car is because it rains a lot here and I drive in the rain sometimes. The little thread of the drag radials kind of works in the rain. You could get a 1.5x 1.6x with drag radials without breaking the drivetrain but you need to slip the clutch on launch a bit. Its a bit tricky.

Nice a 1.5 1.6 would be awesome and I would be able to put the dr on and drive to the track without worrying about having to lug a jack around with me. I will only be using these for the track so if you were me would you go dr or slick also what dr are you using et streets?

 

[manolith]

I am using Et street drag radials. 295/55/15. They work great and are very nice for street racing if you are into those sort of activities. But if you are only going to be using them for track duty and nothing else I would go with the slicks. By the way don't think that because you have bias ply slicks you won't break stuff lol.

 

[Jday14]

I am using Et street drag radials. 295/55/15. They work great and are very nice for street racing if you are into those sort of activities. But if you are only going to be using them for track duty and nothing else I would go with the slicks. By the way don't think that because you have bias ply slicks you won't break stuff lol.

Lol yeah I know just trying to sway the odds in my favor I guess. I am just so torn slicks make the most sense but don't wont to have to worry about being all over the track. Might just go radial for the convenience of mounting them at home driving to track and demount when I get home. I don't do any serious racing just test and tunes two or three times a month. Just wanna get better times without breaking the bank and I don't won't to regret my decision later. Would like to hear some others thoughts on the situation what would you do and why?

 

[JUIC3D]

Radial in back, bias ply up front=ok
Bias ply in back, radial up front=not a good idea

Can you run them like that? I suppose, but it's not a good idea if you're making any kind of power. It's not a very comfortable feeling when the front end is all over the place at over 120+ mph..

 

[Jday14]

Radial in back, bias ply up front=ok
Bias ply in back, radial up front=not a good idea

Can you run them like that? I suppose, but it's not a good idea if you're making any kind of power. It's not a very comfortable feeling when the front end is all over the place at over 120+ mph..

So you would say if I go bias ply slick in rear I would need bias ply front runners as well? Seems like I would definitely be spending some money to go slick in the rear might be more practical to go dr. Will I notice a huge improvement with a dr vs a nitto street tire? I know this has all been covered and I spent hours reading about it last night but feels more personal when actually talking to you guys about it lol.

 

[JUIC3D]

So you would say if I go bias ply slick in rear I would need bias ply front runners as well? Seems like I would definitely be spending some money to go slick in the rear might be more practical to go dr. Will I notice a huge improvement with a dr vs a nitto street tire? I know this has all been covered and I spent hours reading about it last night but feels more personal when actually talking to you guys about it lol.

I wouldn't personally risk putting my $30k car into the wall because I was too cheap to buy front runners.

If you want to run your stock wheels/tires up front, then I would strongly suggest a drag radial.

For a stick car though, a bias ply slick will be a much better choice for you which will necessitate getting a proper front tire to match.

The added benefit is the fact that lighter front wheels/tires with less contact patch will also show up as positive gains on the timeslip. It's not like you'll be wasting your money. Skinnies up front are worth about .1 and ~1-2mph.

Cost:gain ratio is very favorable with them.

 

[Shiken_Feddas]

That's not true at all. I have seen hundreds of passes with soft wall slicks in rear and radials up front. Unless you don't know how to drive or only hold the wheel straight you won't have an issue. The car will move around but that's why you have a steering wheel....

Maybe so, but the OP has never run a slick. That in itself is a whole new animal over a DR. Couple that with running a radial tire up front is going to make for an interesting day at the track. My own experience dictates that it's unsafe to mix the two.

 

[Jday14]

Maybe so, but the OP has never run a slick. That in itself is a whole new animal over a DR. Couple that with running a radial tire up front is going to make for an interesting day at the track. My own experience dictates that it's unsafe to mix the two.

Obviously safety over fast times is my main priority I love my car and don't wont to hurt it if I can help it. The way it's going seems like the dr may be my best bet,if I am running a 60 series dr would that much sidewall not help lessen the blow vs running a dr on a 18 inch rim with not as much sidewall.

 

[manolith]

op runs 1/8 mile. his runs won't be doing more than 95mph on the big end. again I would go with slicks if its only track duty.

 

[Shiken_Feddas]

Obviously safety over fast times is my main priority I love my car and don't wont to hurt it if I can help it. The way it's going seems like the dr may be my best bet,if I am running a 60 series dr would that much sidewall not help lessen the blow vs running a dr on a 18 inch rim with not as much sidewall.

While a taller sidewall will help lessen the shock over a shorter one. If you notice how slicks like to wrinkle on a launch, that's the tire absorbing the shock and energy of the launch, which it releases shortly thereafter. A radial's sidewall does not allow the tire to absorb near the amount of energy and the drivetrain feels that shock on a hard launch.

 

[manolith]

You can eliminate most of the shock from launch with a line lock but your clutch will suffer a bit.

 

[Shiken_Feddas]

op runs 1/8 mile. his runs won't be doing more than 95mph on the big end. again I would go with slicks if its only track duty.

I agree, slicks are better. But running a radial up front is too sketchy. 95 mph is still fast enough to total your car.

 

[Jday14]

op runs 1/8 mile. his runs won't be doing more than 95mph on the big end. again I would go with slicks if its only track duty.

Right on could always go slick if it's all over track get front runners later?

 

[manolith]

Right on could always go slick if it's all over track get front runners later?

You could try that. See how it feels on a couple of easy passes. If you are not feeling good about it the go get some front runners. By the way the car will still move around with bias fronts especially without suspension work but steering inputs will be more forgiving than with radials.

 

[Jday14]

You could try that. See how it feels on a couple of easy passes. If you are not feeling good about it the go get some front runners. By the way the car will still move around with bias fronts especially without suspension work but steering inputs will be more forgiving than with radials.

I appreciate all the feedback I am still torn though part of me feels dr may be the easiest way even though it may not yield as good of results as a slick would. Any thoughts on a 275/60/15 dr my thoughts were that with that much sidewall It would help cushion the blow of the launch.