Has anyone tried...

[v6en]

Road legal semi slick tyres?

if so, any good as i'm considering trying some for the 1/4 mile. so if anyone's had the experience let's hear ya

jacq.

[Wobbly Dave]

I asked Hamish this very question and he said dont, not unless you are willing to sacrifice my car (transmission) to go all out for the win. He has a point. It might be that I am on the limit of what my car will do. So you might be OK. There again your car might go bang?

[Mrsmopp]

Dave can you give us a bit more info as to why a car might go bang with semi slicks on?

x

[Wobbly Dave]

My car is hard tuned - to about the limits of what it will do. There is a limit to where I can go now with the engine as it stands. It has been safely tuned with the traction of road tyres. Semi-slicks will give me far better grip on a 1/4 than standard road tyres. This means that there will be an additional load/strain on the parts just cos the tyre traction is increased - Newton's 3rd Law of Motion, i.e. for every action there is an equal an opposite reaction.

To be honest I am not willing to take the risk by employing "possibly" destructive lengths just to be the fastest on the day. It is after all, my road/daily car. I would have to stop caring if the car* blew up or not, to go all out for the win. I care too much so I wont.

However if I had less tune e.g. RICA stage 1, and wasnt quite as close to the reliability boundary on the internals - slicks wouldn't be an issue, as you are not taking those components over the limit.


*most likely the transmission

[M44K TS]

A mate of mine has semi slicks for track use on his 106 Rallye (quick a quick lillte car and corners as if it were on rails) they are great for track/1/4 mile use but on the road, they wear out too quick due to them having a softer compound.

[After_Shock]

I had semi's on the C70 best thing I ever bought for the car,obviously couldnt use the car in the wet but stunning in the dry.

Im sorry dave but what you have been told makes virtually no sense at all, a tyre destroying a perfectly well tuned road car!

[After_Shock]

Mark your mates 106 isnt a bright solid blue colour that hangs around with a silver FTO by any chance??

[p fandango]

i've got 2 spare T-5 rims, just waiting till i have some spare pennies to buy total slicks

[After_Shock]

Naughty naughty, cant use those on the public highway!

[p fandango]

Naughty naughty, cant use those on the public highway!

wouldn't dream of it officer, purely for the quarter mile

[After_Shock]

Good to hear, unless of course its dark and dry and you fancy trying them out!

[p fandango]

but it would be alot easier to fit the slicks at home than once at the track, saves me having 2 spares rolling around in the boot when i race aswell

[M44K TS]

Mark your mates 106 isnt a bright solid blue colour that hangs around with a silver FTO by any chance??

it's one of my mates yes, (Andy Snailham) but not the one that had the cut slicks, (iatleast i think it wasn't)

And yeah, the guy with the FTO is another mate of mine

[After_Shock]

I only ask as went to a cruise quite a while back now in the C70 and was parked up with a few mates and a blue 106 rallye and a Silver FTO were driving around the car park for ages however slowed down to a crawl everytime passed me and my mates, then as we left the 106 and the FTO conveniently followed through the roads in Durham onto the A1 and things got a bit silly speed wise!

[M44K TS]

that sounds like them 2, the guy with the 106 was in court today for speeding.

Where abouts were you when you seen them?

[After_Shock]

The car park was at the Arniston centre, then they followed out onto the A1 and followed me off the A1 towards the Tyne Tunnel, dont know what the road is called.

They stayed behind at first until the last stretch of dual carriageway were the chester le street round about is then they both overtook so I gave chase up the slip road onto the A1 and overtook both of them, however I slowed at they both came back for another go so I left them standing again and then they backed off, however when I took the tyne tunnel turn off I saw both their headlights lift up in the distance and they had a long run at me. The 106 pulled up alongside at about 130mph at which point I changed into 5th gear and left him again but slowed right down as didnt want to loose my liscence!

Was good fun in a way, just wanted too happy with the way they kept slowing down when driving past in the car park was a bit weird.

[v6en]

Well thanks for the replies, i'm not worried so much about the engine as the driveshafts, or i wasn't anyway lol. will let you know how it gets on.

jacq.

[Ross9]

Hmm, never heard of tyres killing engines before, I see the theory, but if somethings going to go it'll be driveshafts, cv's, gearbox, clutch etc, drivetrain takes the strain of the tyres not slipping as much.

I find it hard to accept an engine could be tuned to the point where simply getting traction would pop it, each to their own opinion though.

Will see how we get on.

Ross

[After_Shock]

Sorry for going off topic however getting back on topic, try them if your wanting to try the 1/4mile of want that extra grip on the front end.

The front tyres having extra grip will have no adverse effects on your engine or driveshafts or anything else for that matter, if anything the extra grip will reduce wheelspin and prevent as many vibrations going through the drivetrain theirfore probably protecting it more than on normal tyres, with regards to the engine they have the same rev limit regardless whether on slicks or not so I have no idea how having more grip can threaten that either!

[Wobbly Dave]

Maybe I am wrong, but I'd rather not take the risk. To be fair I never actually specified which bit. I have been back and edited and I agree with Ross9 - it would most likely be driveshafts, diff or tranny.