Best Slicks for a Truck, Look inside!
 

Well, I just got off the phone with Tom, an engineer at M&H Tires (Interco).
After speaking with him about the below pictured Nostalgia Slick, it sounds like it is a perfect fit for my application, and others as well.

The Nostalgia Slick is 31.83 inches tall, has a 12" wide contact patch, and will mount on any wheel between 8-12" wide! :)
It is rated to go over 250 mph's! :eek2:
IMO, This is the "PEFRECT" Truck Drag Slick! and is also M&H's recommendation for truck use.
Why is this the perfect Truck Drag Slick? Glad you asked :devil:

It is constructed with several beneficial characteristics for Truck use.
1. The side walls are stiffer than the average Drag Slick which allows the tire to handle the weight of a truck during launch (i.e. weight transfer), as most trucks are considerably heavier than a typical 1/4miler.
2. The Compound used on this Slick is softer than the typical Drag Slick, which really helps our light in the ass trucks hook up! :drive:
3. In addition, these tires can be air'd down to 7psi (at 250+ mph), for a wrinkle wall effect and added traction if needed. However, they can also be run at standard air pressures.
4. This is the tire that M&H recommends for for the Desiel crowd as they are able to handle the very high torque these powertrains put down.
5. They can and are used in a 4 wheel configuration as well.

Looks like I know what I'm getting :judge:

http://www.intercotire.com/Slick-08-600.jpg

1200/16*Nostalgia
Size: 1200/16*Nostalgia
P. Code: MVD-004
T. W: 12.0
S. W: 13.6
Cir: 100.0
Rim: 10.0

Now what about when the slick grows in size is it going to rub the fenders on some lowerred trucks like mine
Is this compound better than the et street 28.12.5x16 slicks ?

Your call on that. It's got a 13.6 section width so as long as you can fit that, which I think you can, you could start at normal air pressure and slowly work your way down to see if it distorts the tire enough to rub.

The info above is just a starting point, fitment issues will need to be worked out by the individual user.....hopefully those users will post ther pitfalls and success stories.

Sounds like the perfect truck tire. M&H has been around a long time. I think they know their stuff.

I agree, hence the post. I'm really looking forward to these bubbas :drive:

OMG I am soo ordering a set of these!!

I am really wanting to try and run my truck in 2wd to see if I gain anything by not wasting energy with 4wd mode.!

Thanks Grippy!!!!

Figured you'd like those :drive:

As fast as some of the trucks are getting, I wouldn't be suprised if one of the major companies come out with a tire like this especially for the full size truck drag scene. Some of the really heavy old cars could probably benefit from it as well. But putting the word "Truck" in the name of the tire would help it sell to that audience, even if it is the same as the Vintage tire you are looking at.

Why 31.83"? 27"-29" would be nice.

Because there are already a bunch of tires in the 26-28" range. For guys with 20" rims or us 4x4 guys having a 31-32" tall tire is perfect. Our stock rim/tire combo is about 31-32" tall and having a 27" tall tire would look silly AND throw off our calibration.

Bingo;)
It also helps the traction impaired folks, turning a larger Slick allows 100" of Cir., 12" wide rubber to bite into

How wide is my stock rims I have an 03 2wd 1500 16'' alum wheel

Plus it looks good on Front Engined Dragsters with mag wheels and whatnot.

I'm pretty sure they are only 7" wide. Thats what my stockers were. I wonder if I could score some 16x10s that match my 20's......hmmmm.

This tire looks to be very promising, its just missing a price tag! :)

I think they should be white walls too. :jest: Now that's nastalgic!

Did you ask them about "Slick Walk" with that tall of a tire on the big end of the track?

Anybody that has drag raced with slicks and Z rated tires up front knows what I mean.

I would think that slick that big would be a little sketchy with your street rated tires up front.I for sure would swap out the front 20's for the stockers when you track the truck.

Thoughts?

here ya go:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...=272264&page=2

I would run your stock 16's up front.

He described slick walk a tad and I think he has stock wheels up front.Your BFG's might be a little too grippy.

Just advise from drag racer to drag racer.

who said I was a Drag racer, I haven't done anything like this, on four wheels, in over a decade.

I've searched google for slick walk, no go, what's the deal?

I'm not sure of the exact definition of Slick Walk but I assume it has something to do with mixing a bias-ply tire with a front radial tire and the wobbly, unsafe movement you get on the big end?

I noticed this in my T/A when running ET Streets and 17" Z rated tires up front. Not bad at low MPH but after 120mph and with only 10-12psi in the slicks things tend to get a lil "funny" up top and could easily send a newb into the wall if they start trying to correct for the side to side swaying.

Is it a speed issue or a mixed tire issue or both?

I

He got it on the nose.

On the top end of the track you will get a sway from the rear of the truck due to the front tires following grooves due to there tread design and the rear being a floaty softer walled tire.

I don't want to scare you into thinking it's a definate danger but I have felt/seen it with my own eyes.

I think the reason alot of the diesel guys get away with it is because they are running in 4HI and the front is still being pulled down the track?

I know on Oxidizers truck he has to actually drive the truck down the track to keep it straight.He runs 26" ET Streets and he thinks this helps him due to the rear lean and keeping the weight on the rear tires.

My guess would be that bigger the tire 28,29,31,etc.. the worse the sway will be.

I am not quite sure what your truck is going to be running at the track or what your future plans are but this may only be an issue over say 90-95 mph.

I Like to run skinnys on all of my cars I run with a full slick to avoid the front tires moving the rear out of position.

Maybe some of the faster 2wd guys can chime in that run street tires on the front and slicks on the rear?

I know on my truck I plan on running skinnies up front so I don't have to worry so much. That top end sway can be a lil unerving at times. I've actually seen one guy in our car club crash his SS because he tried to correct when it started to sway. :bang:

On low MPH trucks with a decent amount of air in the slicks I don';t think there will be much problem but for the guys trapping 110mph plus it could definately get kinda scary if you air the tires down too much. That's A LOT of sidewall to be bouncing around on..

Skinnies are pretty cheap AND light though ;)

I run a H rated tire up front on my truck, not the stockers. E Load tires are not good for 100+ MPH drag passes.

The slick walk as you describe is due to the soft slicks and most often too narrow a rim for the tire. The nostalgia tires on a 16x10 rim wander all over the place above 80 to 90 MPH because they balloon. On a 16x12 rim they would be much more stable.

The cheaters I run on the 16x10 rim are perfectly sized. They don't crown or balloon and are very stable. They feel just like the H rated tires I am running at high speeds, you cannot tell a difference. As long as you are running a properly sized tire height and width wise for your application there is no problem mixing a street tire up front with a slick out back.

The M&H Racemaster cheater (MHD-11) in 30/14-16LT on a 16x10 rim is a fantastic track tire for our trucks.

Width 14.02" (356.00mm)
Sidewall height 7.01" (178.00mm)
Overall height 30.02" (762.40mm)
Circumference 94.30" (2395.15mm)

Here they are next to the OEM E load tires for comparison:

http://bmdmax.u27.infinology.net/images/slick.jpg

http://bmdmax.u27.infinology.net/images/slick2.jpg

The "slick walk" he is refering to is caused mainly by 2 things. Running a wide tire with a large contact area (slick) and low air pressure (like less than 15lbs or so, the less air pressure the worse it becomes) cause a vehicle to feel like it is skating around abit. The faster (mph not ET) you are going the more noticable it becomes as well. As far as running a bias tire such as a slick with a radial tire mixed in the front....I'm sure this can add to the feeling/danger. I know for a fact that a dump truck with mixed tires (radials and bias tires) can turn itself over..but I believe that is if they are on the same axle! I had M/T 29x15.5x15 rear tires on my Oldsmobile aired down to 11psi mixed with 195r15's (radials) on the front and at 11.61@123mph it was scary. I think the tires were junk, but it moved around quite a bit...especially when I let off the throttle going thru. I switched out the front radials to 8ply M/T's and it helped. Here is what the tire "experts" say about mixing.
http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip6.html#2

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/s...rofile_ss.html

http://www.musclecarclub.com/library/tech/tires.shtml

Very good info given to help the truck guys out.

I am not saying something bad will happen by mixing tires just know what your doing and take the steps needed to make it safe.

Also the picture that Devin posted in the first post looks like a full slick where as the tire posted above looks like a better option.

if you are looking to drop the et. get a shorter slick, it will give you more gearing to get out of the hole, just my $.02

I'm looking for some traction right now, I'll work on my ET after I can hook.

roger that

Anyone that has not experienced "slick walk" really should sometime....it's ABSOLUTLY TERRIFYING the first time it happens at 110 miles an hour, the front stays glued to the track and the rear starts swaying like a hula-dancer !!!, it gives you a real respect for the speed you are going and the fact that the concrete wall is right beside you doesn't help much either !!!, I used to run a '69 Nova that would do it something awful....I ran 28x12.50-15 MT's on the rear and 225/60-15 Cooper Cobra's on the front,

I have a concern about the weight rating of these tires....a slick isn't the strongest tire to begin with and by design only has a single ply sidewall, while this is GREAT for drag-racing I wonder if throwing these things on a 6000lb truck isn't just a bit too much for them, I'd hate to see a slick blow at the big-end while going 100+mph because you are 2000lbs over the reccommended max capacity of the tire


just concerned.....that's all

The Nostalgia is built to handle it, read first post.

I asked Tom about Slick Walk, he's never heard of it, as I've not either, however, I understand the dynamics of a very flexible side wall and low psi, however, this seems not to be the condition referenced, rather, the largish front tires staying planted while the rears do their thing.
Not only am I familiar with this in a 4 wheel application, but a 2 wheel as well.
I'm just not sure what Slick Walk used to be called so I can link up the two terminologies.

Anyway, what did I just say and what good was it? I don't know :bang:

I run heavy duty tubes in mine with no trouble. I have over 100 100+ MPH 1/4 mile passes on my M&H tires with rock solid stability at a 7,300 pound raceweight.

I would not be concerned if you make your rim, tire and tube choices carefully.

Ok I know I'm digging some ooooooold $hit up from the dead but has anyone ever used these slicks on a gasser. If so what wheel, with what backspacing, how did they hook, and some pics would be awesome.

I run racemasters, 1.5 sixty foot wit 130ish et, just sayin.

I have these on some custom made steel wheels(all that was available at the time). These 16" wheels just clear my brakes by a hair. Offset may be different for my Avalanche due to the outboard shocks. Unfortunately they haven't made it to the track yet due to all the trans issues I've had. Stay tuned...just getting the roll bar done.

They are a tall tire, but look tiny in this pic before I dropped the rear of the Av.

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They look like they tuck pretty well on your Avalanche. I'm not sure how good of a comparison it would be to my truck with the suspension differences like you said. Also I have a feeling your style Avalanche with the flared out wheel wells is a little wider than my 2005 Silverado.

I know it's a taller tire. I plan on running a 305/50/R20 on the street and these won't be too much shorter. I only have a 2" drop shackle on my truck so I could probably get away with a tire that doesn't fully tuck. I just don't want something that's going to stick out to far.

Hopefully someone has some pics of them on a NBS Silverado.

You got any pics with what size tire, what wheel, and what kind of truck?

They do stick out a touch... wouldn't clear the sheet metal if the truck sat that low. But they are just about touching the upper part of the shocks, so couldn't go in any further. Tread is 11.5" wide. Height is about the same as my Nitto street tires.

What size are those on the avalanche DrX?

Same as described in the first post of this thread and in this link. 12.00/16 Nostalgia