tire tubes in race slicks

fishman · Post by **fishman** » Wed May 09, 2007 10:24 am

I have a question, i was thinking about yesterday....i was talking to a guy and i had told him that i had put tubes in my slicks and he told me that it would slow the car down by 1/10 in the 1/4...and i asked him why he said to me more moving mass......i have been pondering this trying to decide if i agree with him........you guys input would be great.........thanks

MileHighMan · Post by **MileHighMan** » Wed May 09, 2007 10:48 pm

fishman I agree. tubes almost double the weight of a slick. I think your car will slow down. Good Luck. Dan.

badss540 · Post by **badss540** » Thu May 10, 2007 6:13 pm

it very well can and will, your adding alot of weight to the rear of the car, however i am a proponent of tubes in the slicks,to me it's safer especially at 150mph

trikesrule · Post by **trikesrule** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:07 am

What sort of racing are you doing fishman? Tubes will build more heat and quicker than a tubeless. But if your circuit racing the tyres will go 'off' quicker because of the extra heat. They can be pressurised accordingly to compensate. So tubes can be a good thing or a bad thing. What do u need them to do?..........trikes

fishman · Post by **fishman** » Tue May 22, 2007 12:16 am

I am 1/4 drag racing i installed the tubes in the other slicks i had because they would not hold air, had to keep adding air but i have installed new tires figuring that i don't need them anymore....the reason i was looking at this is the tubes probably wieght is 5-7 lbs and adding moving mass robs horse power...so i figured by removing them i will be able to go faster but how much faster is the question

steve szuch · Post by **steve szuch** » Tue May 22, 2007 11:53 pm

I've always heard as a general rule of thumb, that loosing 100 lbs will drop you 0.1 seconds off of your time. Using this "rule of thumb" you can ratio the weight savings and the time to get a reduction of 0.014 seconds. Since the tube is a small percentage of the tire weight, and an even smaller percentage of the total car weight, I wouldn't expect to see great gains from removing the tubes alone.

Ed-vancedEngines · Post by **Ed-vancedEngines** » Wed May 23, 2007 1:23 am

Tubes increase rotating weight resistance but they can also make the sidewalls seem stiffer too.

THey can help or hurt all depending on the car.

Ed

Cammer · Post by **Cammer** » Wed May 23, 2007 8:31 am

fishman

Racers commonly use a variety of substances to reduce air loss in slicks.

Asking members what they use may make for some interesting conversation.

Safety is also an issue in this matter. Flat tires at speed can add to the excitement of racing for the spectators but pose problems for the racer.

Are your rims drilled and slicks secured with screws?

How are your slicks stored between races?

___________________

badss540 · Post by **badss540** » Wed May 23, 2007 2:07 pm

Put the tubes in and go up one jet on the giggle juice .now your safer and faster...

fishman · Post by **fishman** » Thu May 24, 2007 11:39 am

don't use giggle juice....and my rims r screwed to the tires........i will keep usuing the tubes.....but was just curious on everybody elses take on it................thanks

Mike Peters · Post by **Mike Peters** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 1:50 pm

Tubes are safer? Hmmmm.....well-known chassis builder Rick Jones says the opposite. Rubber stems don't seem to add safety to the situation and if you rip one out of your tube, you're in for a flat tire fast while under acceleration and that's pretty dangerous. Plus, tubes can be pinched by sidewalls and ripped causing another dangerous situation if the slick hasn't been properly prepped to hold air.

Ron C. · Post by **Ron C.** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:54 pm

Been a drag racer for over 40 years with door cars to dragsters. Have never run tubes. Rotating mass effects the car much greater than static mass. Also tubes do not allow the drag slick to operate as designed. There are some exceptions.

If your bracket racing and repeating a certain number is more important than going as quick as you can then it's not an issue.....sorta!

That's my experience anyway......blessings..... Ron Clevenger.

Beretta · Post by **Beretta** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:32 pm

Never used tubes.........anyway there not cheep.......Take fix a flat and spray the inside of your slicks then mount and balance....go racing

Bubstr · Post by **Bubstr** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:24 pm

If it'a a poll. I'd have to go along with the No tube guys. If the tire says tubeless, that is how the manufacture designed them to work. Fix a flat or dish soap inside and screws or bead locks outside if you need them. I always figured that Goodyear, Hoosier, and M/T payed the engineers the big bucks to make these decisions.

af2 · Post by **af2** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:50 pm

Bubstr wrote:If it'a a poll. I'd have to go along with the No tube guys. If the tire says tubeless, that is how the manufacture designed them to work. Fix a flat or dish soap inside and screws or bead locks outside if you need them. I always figured that Goodyear, Hoosier, and M/T payed the engineers the big bucks to make these decisions.

My non tubed tires are at 7 lbs after 8 months. Never went low or flat for that matter. Screwed also. I could be lucky but was advised to run them tubeless!