[69redbird]

Hey,

But I have a question about front runners tires. I talked to Discount tire and they said that the most popular tire is the( Goodyear) Arizonian 165/85s/15. But they told me that they are going to discontinue them due to being unsafe? and that some tracks have outlawed them beacuse they are a unsafe tire at high speeds. Some say the are not good over 105 mph, and some say over 120 mph. Has anyone herd of this? Please let me know.

[rumair]

let me get this straight....you're going to discount tire looking to buy a tire to run at the track? i think you'd be better off at your local speedshop unless there is heavy street driving involved.

[INJUNTOM]

how fast are you going to be going?

much more than 105?

BTW, the 165/15s are volkswagen tires from way back

[455firebird1969]

The 165/85-15 is a size that became popular due to the Volkswagon beetle, they are VW tires. This size tire happens to be 26" tall and narrow, which is great on 15 x 3.5" wheels for drag racing...

You can normally find different speed ratings available per any given size tire, so you may need to shop a different tire store for a higher quality tire, that will have a higher speed rating, in the size you want...

Any bottom bulb footbrake car that launches decent (mid 1.7's 60' or better)will need a taller tire (more rollout) to prevent red lighting. Check the tires being used next time you go racing, most cars have pretty tall front tires, on some the front tires are taller than the back tires...

I am sure there are other ways to launch consistantly with a 26" front tire, that is why you will still see lots of these VW tires on the front of race cars...

Box class cars run smaller tires, since they can adjust reaction times using the delay feature, these cars have real racing tires, since they are normally running big MPH numbers...

[D. Miles]

We have been running the 165R-15 tire that the Pep Boys sell for years on a couple of our cars @ 130+ MPH. It is a steel belted radial tire handles great and last well on the street too.

[cgeise]

D-MILES - doing something -- and doing it right are two different things -- be safe - use a tire made for that kind of speed and weight - I doubt the tire u have is made for what u are doing -- is a crash - and or injury worth the price of a coupe front tires - or worse - when u end up in the other lane - and hurt someone else- A lot of us underestimate the potencial that these cars have - and how fast they can get u in trouble -- dont skimp on the important stuff --

[Region Warrior]

Have a letter chart for max speed ratings.

Ex;
H=110 mph
L=120
V=135

I'll post tonight or tomarrow when i find it.

[Ron H]

I bought Nankang 165 75 R 15 on the front from Big O Tires. They are a S radial. I drive alot on the street, well idle around mostly. They are rated to 120 if I remember correctly and 1750 lbs.

[Region Warrior]

Speed rating from goodyear(does not include off road racing tires), so take that into consideration.
This is a industry standard.

Q=99 mph
S=112
T=118
U=124
H=130
V=130 Without service description
V=149 with service discription
Z= above 149
W* 168
Y* 186
Z above 186

* subcategories of Z speed rating

Any lower letter are considered 70 mph or less.

BTY, this is from 3yrs ago, but probly havn't changed, since it was introduced in the 90's.

[Skip Fix]

Definitely something to look at is the load rating also, some of those smaller tires can't handle the load of a nose heavy 3700 lb car.

[Rob B]

FYI, I just replaced my "volkswagen" Radials on the front of my car with some MT Sportsmans 8ply last week.
One of the VW tires literally separated the tread from the belts and chunked the tread. These tires were a few years old and that could have been part of the problem but there was no dry rot cracks whatsoever in the tires and they had plenty of tread. I happened to catch it one night in the garage by accident and I'm so glad I did.
My car pulls the front about 4-5" equally and runs in the 123-125mph range and weighs 3460lbs with me in it and that could have been the main cause of that happening since the tire wasn't made for that kind of abuse.
I won't run them again on a car that runs the way mine does. Not worth the risk.

[SCOTT ESTERLE]

I made Rob buy the 8 ply even though he wanted the taller 4 ply tires. Better to be safe than sorry.

[Region Warrior]

Thats the way i figure too.
If your plan'n on going 130, get ones rated 150.

[DiamondJim]

I have the MT sportsman fronts(8ply) on my GTO and really like them, smooth as silk at 120. -Jim

[Pitch 400]

On the MT 8-ply tires, are they radials? I bought a pair of MT Sportsman S/R 26X8.00R15LT 4-ply tires for the fronts. I don't see a speed rating on them though. Anybody got an idea? Thanks. Pitch

[Rob B]

Originally Posted by Pitch 400

On the MT 8-ply tires, are they radials? I bought a pair of MT Sportsman S/R 26X8.00R15LT 4-ply tires for the fronts. I don't see a speed rating on them though. Anybody got an idea? Thanks. Pitch

The 8plys are Bias, Call Scott Esterle at Summit, he can answer your questions.
1-800-230-3030 ext 6225

[Pitch 400]

Rob B, I called Scott and left a message on his machine. Waiting for a response. Thanks

[69redbird]

Well the guy at discount tire screwed me, they sold the tires that they had for me to pick up today, so I called summit and ordered front runners. Oh well!!

[Ryche400]

I have been running the 165/R15 for years as well. Im not saying they are the safest out there. But for more of a street car, they have worked well for me. BTW, If I were to race it, I would buy a tire rated for the speed I was planning to run... I remember when i bought my first set about 15 years ago. I bought some new Drag Lites for my Monte Carlo I had at the time. People thought I was crazy for using those on the street. Ive had them on every sports car Ive had since then without incident....

[Doug Christie]

Just for what it's worth. The speed rating given to a tire is the "sustained" speed rating. So if your running a tire rated at a "T" rating, taking it up to an "H" rating for a second or so isn't a major no, no. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

I'm just working on a friends low 10 second Fairmont with 165/85/15 fronts. Been on there for years going 135 mph. But haveing a good look at them today, I'll be selling him on the idea of running some MT's, as the program will be stepped up and he should be going 9's next year.