Drag slicks walking and wandering

[TexasBlownV8]

Can anything be done to reduce the walking/"wandering" effect of drag slicks? Or do you just have to get used to it? Does it matter what tires you run up front?

I'm running street radial tires up front (stock Pirellis's), and M/T ET Drag Slicks out back (26/10-15s). About 1/3-1/2 way down the track they try to walk or drift from side to side, and it lasts all the way through the finish (1/4 mile track).

Of course using DRs is an option, but I just ditched them for traction issues. Of course no more traction issues with the slicks, but they do walk and make driving more challenging down the track.

(I did a search and found nothing helpful.)

 

[jp's performance]

how wide are your rims.that has alot to do with it,and to low air psi.i was running 17x9 rims with 26x11.5 et streets bias ply at 10 psi and got no walking at all.what ever you do do not try to correct it or you will crash.play with the air psi to see what works best.

 

[NotQuik]

how much air are you running in them?

 

[Matt D]

You can't run a reg radial on the front with a biasply mickey on the back.

 

[j-stang]

You can't run a reg radial on the front with a biasply mickey on the back.

well you can your just not supossed to. ha,
my car moves around like this too its just something i'v gotten used to an try you best not to correct it. i hear that running bais plys up front will help it because the tires react the same way to the track.

 

[Freaknazty]

You can't run a reg radial on the front with a biasply mickey on the back.

ding...ding.....ding we have a winner

 

[Matt D]

well you can your just not supossed to. ha,
my car moves around like this too its just something i'v gotten used to an try you best not to correct it. i hear that running bais plys up front will help it because the tires react the same way to the track.

Well you can but then you run into the problem he is trying to solve

 

[Matt D]

ding...ding.....ding we have a winner

What do I win Johnny!? lol

 

[Freaknazty]

What do I win Johnny!? lol

A new car !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
























ok not really you get to be smart guy of this thread for a day lol

 

[don_w]

how much air are you running in them?

That is the key IMO. If I change the tire pressure by as little as 1 psi, it makes a huge difference in the wobble factor.

 

[91trunk-edtootall]

As stated before, get a set of fronts runners if you don't already have them. If you have them, add a half pound of air at a time. If your tire pressure is too low, it makes the dance more pronouced. Make sure you don't white knuckle the steering wheel, over correcting will get you into trouble. Lastly enjoy the top end dance, it's something you will get use to. There is nothing better!

 

[TexasBlownV8]

Well I've always heard that you're not 'supposed to' run mixed radials/bias at the same time, just not specifically for race tires. I guess that's why!

Ok, a little more info for y'all. The rear tires are 15x8 rims. I tried various pressures, 14-17 psi in the slicks. The slicks have no tubes in them either.
The front radial tires are 27" tall, while the slicks are 26" tall.

The slicks seemed to handle better at higher pressures; 17 psi had less wandering than 14 psi.

And, the 'dancing' didn't seem to be as noticeable to me at the very end, more problematic like a little past the 1/8 up to about 100 yds before the end of the 1/4. (probably due to the track itself)

Also, and this might affect it too, I'm not sure the tires are balanced very good. There would be a little vibration at the end of the 1/4, but also, that's when the walking seemed to be less pronounced.

When I was correcting, it was very little and gradual, nothing erratic or quick; just enough to slightly get back in line without fish-tailing.

And lastly, the track is not the best in the world, either, especially past 330'. That has to cause some of the walking, too, as uneven as it is.

Thanks for all the great info and advice!!!

 

[jroc07gt]

I noticed with my setup that if the front tires are aired up too high above 35psi they will wander. The same also happens with my nitto drag radials, 26psi seems to be the magic number with them.

 

[US-1]

Can anything be done to reduce the walking/"wandering" effect of drag slicks?

Yup. Run a drag radial.

 

[fin1]

I could be your stock radial fronts with slicks. I run a skinny radial up front that "moves" just as much as the slicks do, from side-to-side, given it's small footprint.

As for the car wandering, that's the nature of running slicks. 90% of my passes are uneventful but sometimes the car moves around. I've learned to not over compensate but just let the car wander a bit as long as I'm in the grove. Any steering inputs I do make are minor just to keep out of the rough stuff. I've only had to lift once and that's when I hit oil at the 330' mark and the car moved way out of my "comfort zone".

 

[psfracer]

Well, I used to run the M&H drag radial and at 15 psi cold it was always stable. Now with the Goodyear slicks, it wanders a little bit, but not much at all, as I run 13 psi cold in the slicks. I sure if I were to run 10 psi in the slicks it would wander alot more. My thinking is, run as much air pressure as you can while still being able to hook. No since of running 10psi if you can hook at 13psi, and get alot more stable ride out of it.

Also, I run the Moroso PS2s up front.

 

[matt texass]

Try the Hoosier DOT bias plys that have come out with a stiffer sidewall.

 

[TexasBlownV8]

Different front tires will be the most helpful I beleive. And I will run the slicks at higher pressures, too, up to a point of course. Or yes, even try the drag radials one more time.

And +1 on the overcorrecting; it can be easy to do. You do just have to gently nurse it and get it back straight! I got used to that really quick.