At what point do rim screws and/or tubes become a necessity? I have never used either. I'm wondering if my tires are spinning on the rim now at this power level. Never marked the tires/rim to check. Also, do tubes have any affect on 60 ft. times?

Thanks,
Rob

 

I use screws, no tubes. I think you can't use the two together. And I have marked my tires on many occasions.

Running 14's, I marked my 17" tires and they actually moved a little!!! I was only 60'ing in the 1.9's too.

Running in the 10's, I've noticed usually after a couple passes, i'd have about 1" of movement on both tires.

Running high 9's, one time only one tire moved about 1" on one pass, and the car was sent sideways. That sold me on getting rim screws.

 

Where do you get the screws and what is the recommended number of screws to use per rim?

Thanks,
Rob

 

I got my screws from Summit, Moroso makes them. I would do 8 screws on each side of the rims, so 16 per rim.

MOR-90100 $11.95

 

i use screws and tubes

 

does it leak? and does the track ever say anything about not having metal valve stems?

 

I use 16 screws per side for a total of 64.

 

You can use screws with or without tubes. If you don't use tubes it is possible that the tires will leak, some don't, some do.

To help avoid tire shake use 16 screws per side minimum. If you're not worried about it then use 8 per side.
I think 16 looks kewl!

ks

 

Thanks guys.

Kevin, (or anyone) any knowledge of tubes improving/hurting 60 ft. times?

Rob

 

I was always told that tubes don't allow the tire to get planted flat on the ground... And I am still wondering if tech would bust balls about not having a metal screw in valve stem with a tube.

 

They Should

 

tubes do have metal stems on them. i have used quite a few sets of slicks both with and without tubes, and used ET Streets, Hoosier QTP, and ET Drags with normal, S, and W sidewalls. whether i have tubes or not, i always use screws. i never cared much about leakage, but FWIW when using tubes i never had any tires leak air. had a few that would lose a few lbs daily without tubes.

in general, tubes will improve top end stability, and allow you to run a couple less PSI before starting to sway at high speeds. cars with clutch/t-brake and suspension setups that hit the tires hard will usually benefit from tubes as well, though you could also run a stiff sidewall tire if they offer it in the size and brand you prefer. the tube makes the slick act like it has a little stiffer sidewall. also the bigger your sidewall is, the more likely it is that the tubes will benefit you.

with all that said, i always preferred running tubes in my tires even though it was added rotating weight. the car just seemed to like it a lot better, though this was on a 95 firebird that hit the tires pretty hard. i never bother with tubes when running a 26" tire though, just on the 28" tires

i also felt a little better going 140+ through the traps knowing that if i hit some debris it would also have to puncture the tube before blowing out the tire

 

by the way, you MUST run screws with tubes. if the tire rotates with a tube, it will cause it to wrinkle, and can eventually cause the tube to rip at the vavlestem as well


i always used 8 screws on each side of the wheel. never had any movement problems with mid-high 1.2 60's on a 3550lb car

 

Rob,
We've done some experiments on cars running mid/low 8's and ranging from 2800lbs to 3700lbs and didn't notice any difference in 60's or ET's but the stability was better with tubes.

chevyguy3 made a good point that I forgot about. If you run tubes w/o screws and the tire spins it could rip the stem off the tube and cause a blowout..

ks

 

TurboSN95, you can see the metal stem here

 

Thanks, you guys cleared up a lot of questions that i had.

 

Yeah, thanks guys. Good info!

Rob

 

also forgot to mention, if you go with tubes, be sure to have your tires mounted by somebody who mounts slicks with tubes on a regular basis. they have to take care to get the tire mounted without the tube being wrinkled, and also should use the right powder on the tube to help keep it from clinging to the slick so it wont get a wrinkle later. if you get a wrinkle in the tube, it will vibrate/shake like all hell. i have only gotten a wrinkle once, and it was that way when it was mounted, didnt develop on its own. shook horribly going down the track. you can usually tell just by looking at the sidewall if a tube has a wrinkle

 

chevyguy3,

Do you balance the slicks when mounted with a tube?

 

yes