Slicks
 

Who here has bought slicks? Brand of slicks and wheels? What do you recommend?

Thanks :)

For road racing or drag racing?

I don't have slicks yet but my reccomendation is go with a 17 inch wheel (easier to find tires that fit a 17, and cheaper) that is fairly cheap and strong.

If you are drag racing, you can usually get a really good deal on slicks when they are on clearance on tire rack. sometimes they'll have a set of only two tires at an extremely discounted price since they can't give a set of all 4, and thats all you need.

For road racing, keep in mind that slicks have a pretty limited life, so don't break the bank on them. I would honestly recommend going with a grippy street summer tire over slicks until you get very seriously into road racing. Slicks will cover up sloppy driving and you'll develop bad habits. You'll learn more on street tires.

Sorry I should have clarified: drag racing. I would be purchasing a set of two wheels for two slicks just on the front of course. I am purchasing Azenis for everyday use this summer - nice for twisties :D

I have never even looked around online for slicks so I dont know which wheels are best.

As far as specific brands go, these are the tires I'm lookin at for drag:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....FA+Drag+Radial

in 225/45R17

^ I had those open as an option for DD tires, but decided against them due to road noise. My buddy uses those on his srt-4 while drag racing.

Dont do 17".. for slicks to be effective, they need a TALL sidewall. So, you need to be looking at 16" slicks. Talk to Drive311 about his setup.

Is that true of drag radials as well as slicks?

(looking at 16" wheels now... gotta find me a deal!)

DR's are weak and a waste of money. You can buy Mickey Thompson ET DOT Slicks for less money to run on the street.

Hrm. Where's the best place to purchase race compound tires?

All I've really seen is tire rack, but I haven't looked around too much. Theres a shop by me that sells Hoosier tires, but other than that, I have no idea where to find these things.

Youre looking at the wrong places bro...

summitracing.com
jegs.com
hoosier.com
mickythompson.com

And im sure a slew of import places carry the smaller sized for these type of cars.

Hoosier quik time pro 26s this year on rota slips
Last year I ran an h@r 2inch spacer and 24inch m@h slickson 15inch trak lite wheels . 1.80 60ft.

Thats a drag radial.... Well dot approved slick. Im trying to find some damn steelies to throw slicks on... Our offset is 52.5mm correct?

I just cant find steelies for sale stating their offset anywhere.

Why go steel? youre going to add unecessary weight.

I guess I just cant justify spending $400 on two wheels :dunno: used just for track days

if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

Ageed.

$200 is nothing to get a lighter wheel. When we swtiched from the steel wheels to the LW wheels we picked up 4 MPH in the 1/4 mile. Its more then just adding tires. You can add more MPH if its done right.

Are the 26" an over kill for a stock mazdaspeed3?

What offset on the 16s?

311 do the new wheels need spacers? I want to run some slicks this year but I do not like running spacers. I would even take a 17 incher if there is something light weight out there that doesn't need spacers.

I thought he went to a set of Rota's, so i dont think he is running spacers, but i could be wrong. It was a while ago when he talked about it at the other place.

he is running the same wheel i am and you dont need any spacer.

Rota slipstreams 13lbs

16's or 17's? I have coil overs on my car so I should be able to fit more tire under there as well. 24 x 8.5's or bigger???

Link or part number for these wheels. I need a set here very soon.

24's wont do you justice. Go 26", no lower. 8.5 should be good but depending on your offset on the wheels, as long as the tire sticks out of the fender instead of rubbing the inner coil/strut mount, you should be good to go.

Wheeldude.com

Thank you.

I thought with slicks you wouldnt want anything over 15" wheels because the whole point is to get the sidewall to wrinkle.... And 26's with 17s wouldnt that make your front end way up in the air? lol

They are 16x7 rota slipstreams, typical honda wheels 45 offset, you will be just fine with coilovers.

1500hp monster, of course you want 15" wheels! lol. Besides 15" slicks have the most selection in sizes, but 16" is no longer a slouch in this area either.

sweet deal.

http://www.bogartracingwheels.com/ I was told to go here for the lightest wheels possible with nearly every size offset possible etc. I gotta call some local shops to get prices. :D

I have custom bogarts for my truck... they were NOT cheap, i will tell you that right now dude, lol. My front runners which are 4.5 wide were just as much as my 12 inch rears... Very light, forged, billet alumn. Nothing out there is better if you got the cash.

$400 to $500 per wheel. Custom and they will not be able to make a 15" wheel fit. The calipers are going to hit no mater how light and thin you make the wheels unless you get a negitive offset.

They are great wheels but your going to have to go with a 16" wheel.

No spacers needed with the rotas. When I ran the 15inch trak lites they needed spacers. That way you can run 24s. But wasnt enough tire for ME> would work great for 90percent of the people. More expensive to do it though. Only a select few wheels will work. I tried 5 and only the trak lites worked. OH well they are hella lite. 9lbs. :beerchug:

Do you have the part number for the Rotora's? I have money in hand and need to get a set of these ASAP.

Someone asks for a part number which is very specific, then you send him to the page with every possible size lmao

its not hard to figure out. 16x7 rota slip streams with a 45 offset. 5x114 obviously I didnt think it woudl confuse people.

See, always helps to be redundant on car forums :)

The specs work just as well, thank you.

its gonna be REAL close to the caliper, but it works lol

Someone should make a FAQ and sticky it... No more redundancy!

They also offer a 40 and 48 mm offset

40 will stick out way to much and rub the fenders. 48, the 255 slick will probably rub the strut.

The 26in slick every1 plans on running is something along the lines of 255/50/16, thats not a small tire lol

A member of mazda3forums.com installed a set of 245/45/17 Nitto DRs and claims they don't rub. They aren't slicks but are very wide and sticky.

what wheel offset? Got a link?

i got the 26x9.5x16 hoosiers too. i am going to run them on stock late model mustang V6 rims, which are 16x7 with a 39mm offset. i ran the rims with the factory mustang rubber which was a 215 but was also 27" tall !!! they did rub a tad on hard turns so i expect the same result with the slicks. the slick are a full inch shorter but also about an inch wider, so for down the track they should be fine.

man these forums RULE!!! you can actually post a link with out abunch of stupid rules....

I need slicks.... especially if I keep going to that damn 1/8 mile track....

how bout the 16x8 rota slips? will those work better or worse with the slicks or maybe some 3rd gen rx7 rims

well my slicks are ready.....now all i need is a track to go to ! i went to great lakes a few weeks ago, but the slicks were not mounted yet. then i planned on hitting route 66 last weekend but it got rained out. i got to get there soon !!
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...t/P4170005.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...t/P4170006.jpg

Are those mustang wheels????

How much did that setup set you back??

Anyone heard of any issues launching with slicks?? (breaking anything)

truboost will let you know lol. I know driver went out on slicks and the next day he was at the dealer getting his tranny replaced lol

so what about 16x8 for slicks

yes they are mustang wheels. 2005+ V6 stang wheels are perfect !

16 X 8 should be fine with this slick.

Input shaft or what?

Glad I havent bought slicks after hearing that...

i didnt hear about that either, i havent heard anything from driver recently.
it wont stop me though. you just gotta drive it right. dont just drop the clutch, give it a quick slip. and i wont powershift the 1-2 shift. its just to much shock to the trans. the rest of the gear changes will be WOT though !

I can't wait to see the outcome.... either way, LOL!!!

I think Driver is done with this car and probably wont hear from him much, if ever again.

why not?

Anyone running slicks with cobb springs? just took a bunch of measurements and it looks like the 1 inch drop makes it a bad idea to run the same setup you guys are. Anymore developments on if slicks will break stuff...I don't think they would but you never know till someone trys!

Man I'm curious to see what kind of abuse these axles can take.

Me too.. but ugh, i dont want to be the test mule. That's what we have Loosh for.

fuck that, im not snapping an axle 2 hours from home.....ill perfectly happy being the street tire champ

LOL, ok I guess TRU will be the honorary mule then.

If you think about it though, wheel hop usually kills axles right? At least, it does on Terminators and other high HP cars using "half shaft" style axles...Hell, even Jeep Wranglers w/ solid rear axles pop them when bouncing during rock climbing.

So it would stand to reason that as long as you don't wheel hop, you're fairly safe. or at least, you'll find the next weakest point which might be the trans itself as driver311 found out.

Ok, Tru it is... mr map clamp himself.

hey, i have no fear !! if the axels snap i already have a place that TRZ set me up with that makes aftermarket shafts that are rated to 1300 HP !! and if the motor pops, i'll get a forged set-up from PG !! you have to look at the positive side fellas !! if one thing breaks you get to replace it with something better !!
i think the axels will last on this car. they are pretty beefy. i have launched it from 3500-3800rpm about 10 times now on the slicks and no harm done. also there is ZERO wheel hop on slicks. the real test will be next time i go. we'll see how it holds up with the 2 step !!

Tru, be pro-active and gets us some strong axles, NOW.

Any more developments...anyone else running slicks? I just went to the track yesterday and decided these RE050's are the worst performance tires in history. Need to figure out the best setup with cobb springs.