Teach Me Drag Slicks

Going to look at a cheap set for the challenge z28 camaro. How important is age and tread hardness? Know nothing about what I should be looking for other than I have a set of 15" blaze rims.

Thanks, Dan

They will have wear check points on them that are recesses in the surface. The exact opposite of what you would look at for wear indicators on a street tire. If the little pocket is all but gone, so is the surface of the slick.

If they are a wrinkle wall style slick they'll probably need tubes. If they are radial, you probably can get away without tubes.

The older and the harder the surface, the closer to free they should be. There are some products out there to soften them up some, but for a Challenge car somewhere on the board is a thread on home brewed ways to soften up old slicks.

What's the width of your 15" rims? Depending on the size of the slick, you'll probably need an 8-10" wide wheel.

More info on the setup and I can give you some help.

Trans? Gear? Wheel? Car? Power?

If it's a normal street setup I like the BFG Radial, and MT ET street.

I thought tires were free in the GRM 2014, if not how many passes you need to get out of a pair?

PS I know a few people who used to run the nt555r (drag radial), same as the road course tire but with a softer sidewall, as dual duty road course and drag tire, they just run more pressure on the road course. Its kinda old tech now though, so more info and we can help.

Also dont buy oval slicks. They give them (use) away at same tracks and Ive known a few people to try and run them and they dont work.

Power, gearing, weight? If you have a choice, skip radials and go to a narrow(er) slick. They will be more consistent and easier on parts.

Is the the same LT1 95 Z28 you have the build thread on? If so Id run a 255/50/16 or 245/50/16 on a factory 16" snow flake. Its a pretty common setup for the bolt on cars.

The snow flakes are pretty much hated by everyone and you can pick them up for pretty much nothing. They are the lightest OEM 4th gen wheel

With GTO spares up front.

As far as which slick. If you have close to stock power and stock stall I wouldnt run too good a drag radial because you will want a small amount of wheel spin to get the RPMS up, a stock LT1 with a stock stall doesnt have enough power to carry the car out well from a dead hook.

An NT555R (drag radial its the 555RI IIRC) or the BFG may work. I bet the MT ET street would probably be too much.

Id run a radial because if you run a bias, you also have to run a front bias. Plus at close to stock power a bias really isnt needed.

If you have to run the blazer wheel, I think most are 7" wide. The sizes I know are 275/50/15 and 275/60. With stock power youd want the shorter tire, but Im not sure if you could run the 275 on a 7" wheel, and I dont know what anyone runs in a narrower size.

All this goes out the window if you are gonna spray it out of the hole. In that case, get a 275 et street radial, warm it up, and cut an awesome 60'.

Thanks for the input. Motor, gearing, torque converter will be stock, dont think there will be the budget to change much there.

Plan was to use the 15" blazer rims.

On the cheap a guy has a pair of Micky Thompson ET street slicks, 26x10.50x15lt

If you run bias ply in the rear what causes the need in the front? Handling or rules?

Thanks, Dan

Tube type slicks don't NEED tubes but the tires will go flat overnight.

I personally wouldn't run tubes without rim screws, but people do that all the time.

After rereading this again, it sounds like there might not be much if any of a benefit of running a "drag" tire at stock power levels. Is that correct?

if you spin at the track, yes. if not, no.

dankimber wrote: After rereading this again, it sounds like there might not be much if any of a benefit of running a "drag" tire at stock power levels. Is that correct?

I think even a stock Z28 will see a huge improvement in 60-foot time with dedicated drag tires.

patgizz wrote: if you spin at the track, yes. if not, no.

If you spin just a little it probably helps. If you spin a lot a drag tire will help.