# Widened Steelies ON THE TRACK - Stretched Slicks: Good or Bad?



## Transeunte (Sep 22, 2009)

Hello dear friends of the Euro/JDM/Stretch scene, need your opinion on this.

Besides looking good on the street, my plan is to have a good looking car on the Tracks as welll. I currently have a set of brand new 15x6" steelies that are about to be widened to 9":










I am definitely going for THAT look (15" x 9" on 195-45 tires):

















..my plans include using those same rims on trackdays with 15" slicks (185-565 spec - something close to the regular size of 185-55).

So I ask you: *Is it ok to run a 9" wide rim on a 185mm slick tire?* 

I know that a 7" wide rim is ok, seen some friends with this setup already.. But would 9" be ok? 

Should I stay with a more conservative approach of 8,5" (or maybe even 8" wich I think is too mild







) just to make sure my slick tires will be ok?

...or should I forget about the widened rims, leave them with the radials and buy another set of "straight OEM steelies" (6 to 7 inches wide) to run mys slicks on?









The reason I am asking this is because I have seen so many "euro" and "JDM" cars with stretched tires.. But I am yet to see this kind of wheel setup on the track. But I recall lots of vintage cars from the 60's/70's running on stretched slicks, wich made me confused.









PS: Sorry if this question has been already posted before, I made some searches without success for anything relating track usage to stretched tires. 

Any advice would be highly apreciated. Sorry if wasnt clear since english is not my native language. My best regards, Thanks.


_Modified by Transeunte at 3:03 PM 9-22-2009_


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## felixy69 (Aug 1, 2008)

wtf is wrong with u. 
why bother stretching slicks ? u wont grip 
go with proper tires if u go to the track


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## cjw245 (Jul 9, 2009)

When on the track you should be less worried about the appearance of your tires/wheels and more about the ability to plant your power to the ground.


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## teutoned (Jul 29, 2008)

*Re: (cjw245)*

if a stretched tire improved your lap times, you'd see all the f-1 drivers, gt and nascar guys doing it. their billion dollar budgets and engineers have probably determined that stretching the tire ONLY looks cool.


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## MusicCityGTI (Feb 19, 2004)

*Re: (teutoned)*

I hope your joking or maybe you've watched one too many drift events.
I also run 9" wheels with slicks and have used several different sizes on them with the narrowest being 205-50, but 185-55 would be just stupid. The sidewalls on slicks are so stiff that IF you could get the bead to seat properly you'd likely have to run so much pressure that your traction would be terrible. For the safety of those around you, dont do it.
If you want to hit the track with slicks, do it right and listen to people who have done it. I seriously doubt even one credible person will say what you are wanting to do makes any sense or is even safe.



_Modified by MusicCityGTI at 4:27 AM 9-24-2009_


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## Run_Rabbit_Run (Apr 8, 2009)

Good luck getting a slick to stretch, the sidewalls are really stiff. I had to mount a set of Hoosier slicks at work and it was a lot trickier than doing normal tires, and there was no stretch involved. And also the guy at the tire shop will most likely want to kill you since he just spent an hour trying to do your stretched slick. Ive been that guy,not with a slick but others. They might not even want to do it for you.
And I agree with above poster(s), If your gonna use slicks do it right, stretching a slick will severly affect the handling of your vehicle and it doesnt look cool when your stuck in a gravel pit.


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## UTdubbin (May 4, 2007)

*Re: (felixy69)*


_Quote, originally posted by *felixy69* »_wtf is wrong with u. 
why bother stretching slicks? u wont grip 
go with proper tires if u go to the track

That about summarized my post.


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## khemiicalz (Mar 25, 2009)

*Re: (UTdubbin)*

what about a 225?
very slight stretch?
just curious


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## JDriver1.8t (May 20, 2005)

*Re: (khemiicalz)*

still stupid on a track wheel.


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## Tony Lane (Dec 1, 2007)

Only someone on Vortex would make this thread.


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