I've been thinking about wheel size and slick reactions to those wheel sizes, hence the start of this thread.

I'm going to base this off of a 15" wheel and a M/T 26x10

Here are my thoughts....
15x9 wheel w/ 26x10 M/T slick
Pros: Greater tire stretch (larger OD when you gut up on the tire), less rotational weight,
Cons: Possibly less contact patch due to narrow wheel, lower aire pressure could mean sidewal deflection

15x10 wheel w/ 26x10 M/T slick
Pros: Best contact patch, less sidewall deflection
Cons: Tire won't stretch as much (OD when you get up on the tire), more weight

Now tire pressure is going to affect things as well. With the 15x9 wheel I would assume that a lower pressure needs to be run to get the best contact with the ground. Since the 15x10 wheel is wider it's going to want more air because it doesn't have to fight the more "unnatural" shape. Can anyone chime in on this?

I'm just taking the little I know to try and make the right decision later.

 

I don't now about smaller tires but on a 15x10 wheel when you send it in for beadlock, its an option to make it 15x11 depending on how much material they leave when preped for beadlock. hmmmm seams like alot of drag racers like to stretch the tire. Cause they still run a lets say 28 x10.5 tire which has a suggested 10'' rim from the tire manufacturer. Can't say for sure but I believe thats what some of the faster fwd cars were doing a couple years ago. I know I'm gonna try it out. Run a wider rim that is.

 

stretchin tyres, all the VW guys are doing it.....


is there any particular reason you posted the M/T tire? im guessing thats what u will be using?

 

That is the tire that most run. Always had good luck with M/T. I didn't really care for the M&H's I had a few years back. It's funny you posted that pic because I just bought a set of BBS RS's for my GTI. Same as those posted, but not that bad. lol

Steve, if you look at the Top Fuel and Pro Stock guys they all run a tire wider than the the rim so that they can stretch the **** out of it.

 

look at outlaw drag radial, they stretch the **** outta radial tires for the same purpose, i guess thats the answer ur looking for.....you can trry to dig and find the technical side of why not to do it, but who cares, tried and true right

 

While I agree this could save time and money. lol

I know I can try it, but with the price of wheels I was curious if anyone else has tried or thought of this....

Anybody have any back to back comparisons?

 

After the tire "talked to us" we thought it said run a wider rim.

 

what wheels are you going to run now?

 

i'd say go with the 10, more contact patch, more traction.

 

My buddie had lensos and switched to weld 10" rims same tire on both rims... car picked up about .08 on the short time and about .15 in the 330. I know with the lensos the tire would grow so much during the 1st- 2nd shift that it would actually throw the tire off the track.

 

i dont a damn thing about getting a car down the track but if i had rediculas spending moneys, i would try out a 15x11, and possibly a 15x12 (beadlock of course) the way i see it, is that you get a flater/wider contact patch . just my uneducated opinion

 

There has to be a trade off though, Dave....

I understand your logic, but when is wide too wide? Doesn't it start to distort the contact patch when you run a wide wheel like that?

 

ive got a set of beadlocked and non bead locked (screwed) 15/11.5 wheels with brand new MT 26's stretched on em, come get em and try them out since my car will never run again, then you can teach all of us

 

Ive been told by a 10.5 guy..that the rim should be 2" wider than the tires width

I would give the 9" tire a try.....the width of the tire doesn't affect the "rubber on the ground" no where as much as the hight.

Also....just a theory of mine......a skinnier tire will bite the track harder that a wider tire. Because the weight of the car on the tire is focused on a smaller point....of course only if you keep things in moderation...

 

.

 

You're not good at explaining yourself.... at all.

 

Edit.

 

From what i remember from working on the GM Hot Rod\Pro FWD teams we use to run a 15x12 wheel and ran either a 28x10.5 on the hot rod cars or a 29.5x10.5w on the pro fwd.

 

Thanks for fixing that. lol

I wouldn't run a skinnier slick. I'd like to get the contact out of the hole. My teg is a heavy bitch.

Thanks for the info E Town. Do you remember why they ran them like that? I'm sure there is a legit reason....

 

From what I remember on the MT 24.5's and a 8" wide rim....

The contact patch was mostly in the middle of the tire. Towards the edges I never saw that much "peeling" of the compound. So I can understand why people want to run the wider rim. We ran a lower pressure to try and compensate for that, but still never got full contact, especially at the big end....

Now, it seems as though most people in outlaw are running a 15x10 rim while using the MT 26x10 slick. I remember Millers car looking pretty even across the tire in terms of wear. Can anyone comment on what they see?

 

We ran them to strectch the tire out and get the most contact patch out of them. We usually would see a nice even flat wear even with the lower tire pressure we ran.

 

Good info. Thanks Ricky