Skinnies?

**pajeff02** · 01-26-2010, 08:25 AM

I am contemplating a dedicated set of track wheels and have been looking at different makes and sizes. DR's in the back have already been discussed at length on here, so my question is up front. What would be a good tire to run on the front assuming I maintain a 17" rim and drop down to a 5" (or so) tread width (on an appropriate width rim)?

**pajeff02** · 02-07-2010, 07:09 PM

**FASTEDDIE Z** · 02-09-2010, 02:39 PM

I dont think they make a 17x5 front wheel .Try a search on drag wheels to see what everybody has . Sorry I couldnt be more helpful . Good Luck

**Mr. Luos** · 02-09-2010, 03:12 PM

What is the budget?

**Firebirdjones** · 02-09-2010, 03:30 PM

When you say skinnies,,,I think pizza cutters.

With that in mind the only skinnies that I use and seem to be the norm with other street rodders and racers,,,are wheels that are about 4 inches in width.

Don't know of any 17 inch wheels that are skinny, although I never look for them. Because most successfull drag setups will use a 15 inch wheel as the norm.
A common size for a 15x4 would be a 165x15 tire. Same size tire/wheel standard on the VW's from the 1950s-70's. They are also a very inexpensive tire, usually found for $50 a piece.

I have 15x4's in 2 different types of wheels, one set I use the 165x15 inch tires on. The other set I run a 205/75-15, which is about as wide as I would recommend for that width wheel.
The 165x15's are 26 inches tall. The 205/75-15's are 27.1 inches tall.

As far as front tires go,,,,the taller and skinnier the better. Taller gives you more rollout in the beams, and skinnier gives less rolling resistance.

15's are by far the cheapest route to go, with less weight too means less rotating mass = quicker ET's.

**pajeff02** · 02-09-2010, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

What is the budget?

No set budget. See reply below.

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

When you say skinnies,,,I think pizza cutters.

With that in mind the only skinnies that I use and seem to be the norm with other street rodders and racers,,,are wheels that are about 4 inches in width.

Don't know of any 17 inch wheels that are skinny, although I never look for them. Because most successfull drag setups will use a 15 inch wheel as the norm.
A common size for a 15x4 would be a 165x15 tire. Same size tire/wheel standard on the VW's from the 1950s-70's. They are also a very inexpensive tire, usually found for $50 a piece.

I have 15x4's in 2 different types of wheels, one set I use the 165x15 inch tires on. The other set I run a 205/75-15, which is about as wide as I would recommend for that width wheel.
The 165x15's are 26 inches tall. The 205/75-15's are 27.1 inches tall.

As far as front tires go,,,,the taller and skinnier the better. Taller gives you more rollout in the beams, and skinnier gives less rolling resistance.

15's are by far the cheapest route to go, with less weight too means less rotating mass = quicker ET's.

I have two full sets of rims for our car -- one is in really nice shape, the other is in ok shape. The plan is to run the really nice set on it with the street tires and use the other rims for the track. The back will most likely get BFG drag radials, while the front rims will be shipped out to be narrowed -- but only if there is a decent 17" frontrunner 5-6" in width. Call me strange, but I dig the stock look and it has a certain stealth factor to it.

**Mr. Luos** · 02-09-2010, 06:03 PM

Have to verified that you can take down the stock wheels and still have them clear the calipers?

**pajeff02** · 02-09-2010, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

Have to verified that you can take down the stock wheels and still have them clear the calipers?

The stock wheels are flat across the entire inner circumference. Since I would not be changing the setback there should be no problem clearing the calipers. Good point though, so I will look this over again to be sure.

**Johns00Z28** · 02-10-2010, 08:39 AM

Doesn't Billet Specialties make a rim 17 inch street strip rim for our cars?

**Hi-Po** · 02-10-2010, 09:09 AM

Originally Posted by Johns00Z28

Doesn't Billet Specialties make a rim 17 inch street strip rim for our cars?

Sure do:

http://www.billetspecialties.com/ite...d=251&pid=1009

I LOVE the Street Lites. Wish I had the coin for them, these are the ones I have bookmarked for daily pron viewing

http://www.speedinc.com/cont.cfm?cid=C0000987

Favorite look hands down.

**Johns00Z28** · 02-10-2010, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by Hi-Po

Sure do:

http://www.billetspecialties.com/ite...d=251&pid=1009

I LOVE the Street Lites. Wish I had the coin for them, these are the ones I have bookmarked for daily pron viewing

http://www.speedinc.com/cont.cfm?cid=C0000987

Favorite look hands down.

Yeah they are great looking rims. I plan on looking at a set of 15's of those and Bogarts for the strip.

**Hi-Po** · 02-10-2010, 09:21 AM

I want a set for the strip AND the street

Great looking rims.

**Firebirdjones** · 02-10-2010, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by Hi-Po

Sure do:

http://www.billetspecialties.com/ite...d=251&pid=1009

I LOVE the Street Lites. Wish I had the coin for them, these are the ones I have bookmarked for daily pron viewing

http://www.speedinc.com/cont.cfm?cid=C0000987

Favorite look hands down.

Unfortunately, the 17's he is looking for are not made "SKINNY"
They skinniest they offer is a 7 inch. Not really skinny for the front as far as a drag package is concerned.

A 15 inch wheel is the way to go for a drag setup. Not just the skinny front's to consider, but you also need to keep in mind sidewall height on the rear.
More sidewall height on the rear takes more shock load and hook better. with a 15 inch wheel you can fit a 28 inch tall tire on a 4th gen without cutting, which gives a nice 6 1/2 inches of sidewall cushion.
The taller the rear wheels, the less sidewall you have. There have been some new drag radials now made for 17 inch wheels that are 28 inches tall, so you get some of the sidewall back,,,,but it still won't be as effective as a 15.

**Firebirdjones** · 02-10-2010, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

No set budget. See reply below.

I have two full sets of rims for our car -- one is in really nice shape, the other is in ok shape. The plan is to run the really nice set on it with the street tires and use the other rims for the track. The back will most likely get BFG drag radials, while the front rims will be shipped out to be narrowed -- but only if there is a decent 17" frontrunner 5-6" in width. Call me strange, but I dig the stock look and it has a certain stealth factor to it.

That is where the problem lies. I'm not aware of any 17 inch tire that is skinny enough to work on the front. Which is probably why the aftermarket wheel manufacture don't go any smaller than a 7 inch width on a 17 inch rim.

**Johns00Z28** · 02-10-2010, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by Firebirdjones

That is where the problem lies. I'm not aware of any 17 inch tire that is skinny enough to work on the front. Which is probably why the aftermarket wheel manufacture don't go any smaller than a 7 inch width on a 17 inch rim.

Well a 7 inch rim is probably a bit safer for the street and with a set of 10-11 inch wide rears you can still accomplish a nice drag look for the street.

**pajeff02** · 02-10-2010, 09:38 AM

Damn... those Billets are really nice. And expensive! I was hoping for the stealth look, but if it is not feasible then I will try something else. I agree 100% that a 15" rim is the way to go for all out drag. Since our car is more street than drag, I was just looking for a little more bite and less rolling resistance.

Thanks for the replies!

**Firebirdjones** · 02-10-2010, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by Johns00Z28

Well a 7 inch rim is probably a bit safer for the street and with a set of 10-11 inch wide rears you can still accomplish a nice drag look for the street.

Eh, I've had daily drivers with 4 inch front wheels and 165/15 tires,,,not a big deal at all.
Actually better for snow and rain, as they don't tend to ride "ON TOP" of the water and snow.
I drove them in all kinds of weather without a complaint.

The only real problem would be high speed cornering. But of course the cars I have them on aren't meant for corners anyway, know what I mean??

You just can't go flying down the highway at 80 mph and jump on an off ramp and expect to turn without slowing down to a more reasonable speed, especially when you have a big block over the wheels,,,,but I think this goes without saying. I never corner fast even with wide wheels on the front anway.

I currently have 2 cars with skinnies on the front, I drive them anywhere without a worry...

**Johns00Z28** · 02-10-2010, 09:55 AM

Well cornering would be one aspect of safety but I was more referring to breaking. I had a set of weld prostars on the front, 15x3.5s and breaking was sketchy at best. I had to leave quite a bit of breaking distance compared to my stock wheels. My TT2's feel like they break even better and probably so due to the 9.5" width. I guess it's all what you can put up with and what you like.

**pajeff02** · 02-19-2010, 06:31 PM

I found a 17" frontrunner that sort of fits what I was hoping to put on the car. M&H Tires has a tire with a 6" section width, 4.5" tread, and a 26" diameter that is "DOT certified". The site does not state whether these are radial or bias ply tires, and for the intended application I am not sure if it matters. I do plan to run DR's on the back. Any idea if this would work, or am I barking up the wrong tree? Link to tire: http://www.mandhtires.com/store.php?...on=show_detail

**Firebirdjones** · 02-20-2010, 05:58 AM

Those appear to be bias ply. I've been looking at their front runners for 15 inch wheels and getting close to buying a set. But I need 28 inches tall and they only come in bias ply as well.

I can get skinnies for 15 inch wheels in 26 inch tall in a radial,,,but any taller and they make them in bias ply only for the added sidewall strength. So I'm going to wind up with bias ply. They don't drive as bad as people have made them out to be.

With that said I would think you could find skinnies for the 17 inch wheel and only 26 inches tall in a radial,,,since there isn't much sidewall there to worry about. Just thinking outloud.