Racing Drag with 14" Rims? - Racing Forum

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Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Saturday, March 19, 2005 1:15 PM
Somebody can help me, I have the doubt if I replace the front stock wheels of my 96 Z24 (16" alloy wheels) with 14" wheels I can down my 1/4ET? I gain HP or Torque?
thanks for the help

Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Saturday, March 19, 2005 5:32 PM
you should pick up a little bit cuz your making the unsprung weight closer to the center of the rim it also depends on the tire size cuz you could be altering the gear ratio abit if you go with a lower profile tire



Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Saturday, March 19, 2005 7:44 PM
I went from 15s to 14s on the front of the 97 Cavalier I used to drag race and picked up about .1 in the quarter-mile. With low-profile tires it changed the gearing slightly; the car got into second and third (in an automatic) slightly quicker. I made the switch more for reaction times; smaller wheel and tire makes for quicker reaction times because it takes less time for the tire to get out of the beams.


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Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Saturday, March 19, 2005 7:52 PM
Somebody can help me, I have the doubt if I replace the front stock wheels of my 96 Z24 (16" alloy wheels) with 14" wheels I can down my 1/4ET? I gain HP or Torque?


You dont gain Hp or Torque.


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Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Sunday, March 20, 2005 9:30 AM
you dont gain anything.
its less rotating mass. you go faster



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Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Sunday, March 20, 2005 9:38 AM
not to mention bigger sidewall is better for drag racing, big side wall + low PSI = lots of traction (when compared to say a stiff side wall 45 series)



Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Sunday, March 20, 2005 10:10 AM
i have tried both my 17's and a set of 15's

225/45/17 and 195/60/15

I run 15.7@85 on the 17's and 15.3@89 on the 15's the massis closer to the center of the rim making them spin easier and use less hp and torque to spin them making you go faster



Re: Racing Drag with 14
Sunday, March 20, 2005 5:46 PM
cafpz24 wrote:Somebody can help me, I have the doubt if I replace the front stock wheels of my 96 Z24 (16" alloy wheels) with 14" wheels I can down my 1/4ET? I gain HP or Torque?
thanks for the help


Less rotating mass does not make horsepower.

What "it" (less rotating mass) does, is not lose what's already there.

On an inertia style dyno, which is what most aftermarket shops use .... a smaller, lighter wheel & tire will show more horsepower.

Put on the lighter wheels and tires, but the tires should be as good (and sticky) as the bigger ones.

Old school rule of thumb... 1 lb of rotating weight equals 7lbs of static weight.

But....... like I said, it's very general rule of thumb, and does not account for the diameter that is rotating. It's safe to assume tires are the largest diameter though...

As popular as large diameter wheels are for show cars, etc. they are a bad idea for drag racing. I run really light 13" rims up front with slicks @ 200 ish HP N/A, and suspect the rims alone are worth at least a tenth.

Didn't Super Street Magazine run an article not so long ago that showed light wheels were worth 17HP on some asian badged car? Bahh.. it could have been one of those tuner car TV shows, but never the less its fact.

BFG makes a good drag radial for a 14" rim as well.

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Project S-Bird
Re: Racing Drag with 14
Thursday, March 24, 2005 4:23 PM
here's a question.....not trying to post jack, but it'd be pointless to make a new thread on this since it realtes to this topic. what are some good gripping tires that I could get for my 14" steelies to use at the track? normal size on these is 195/70/14





Re: Racing Drag with 14
Thursday, March 24, 2005 11:30 PM
http://www.performanceplus.com/Qstore/Qstore.cgi?CMD=011&PROD=1107453362

thats the tire i currently run on my Cavalier when i'm at the strip, its a 15" rim though. performance tires are going to be more difficult to find for a 14" but they are out there.


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Re: Racing Drag with 14
Friday, March 25, 2005 8:10 AM
i have a question: would a larger diameter rim that weighs around same weight as a 15 inch diameter rim go faster? if its just as light as the 15 inch and is larger, then 1 revolution on the larger diameter would travel a greater distance with less weight...... this theory has been bugging me any answers would be appreciated.

Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Friday, March 25, 2005 8:20 AM
VIPERREDZED wrote:i have tried both my 17's and a set of 15's

225/45/17 and 195/60/15

I run 15.7@85 on the 17's and 15.3@89 on the 15's the massis closer to the center of the rim making them spin easier and use less hp and torque to spin them making you go faster


how much do your 17's weigh
and how much do the 15's weigh?



Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Friday, March 25, 2005 5:05 PM
Actually the 17's have more weight towards the outer diameter, adding to the inertial weight. Moving the weight in(as in a smaller diameter rim) reduces the inertial weight, allowing for quicker acceleration.





Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Saturday, March 26, 2005 8:29 PM
BFG makes a good drag radial for a 14" rim as well.

G-Force T/A Drag Radials: P215/60R14, fits 6-7.5" rims(8.7" section width on a 6" rim) with a 24.2" diameter(stock is about 25" dia)





Re: Racing Drag with 14" Rims?
Sunday, March 27, 2005 6:55 PM
i never weighed my rims.............

my buddy also tried my 15's on his car my 15's are 2lbs heavier with rubber than his 17's

with 17's he went 16.0

with 15's he went 15.69@91 (smcavalier the fastest 2.2 on the .org)



Re: Racing Drag with 14
Monday, March 28, 2005 3:42 PM
red04cavy wrote:here's a question.....not trying to post jack, but it'd be pointless to make a new thread on this since it realtes to this topic. what are some good gripping tires that I could get for my 14" steelies to use at the track? normal size on these is 195/70/14


Falcon Azeni's are relatively inexpensive, sticky, but a bit heavy.

BFG drag radials are a better solution. KillerQuad4 (Jake) has run them with very good results.

Neither tire is great on wet pavement, but then again they are not meant for daily driving.



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Project S-Bird
Re: Racing Drag with 14
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 1:14 AM
I have the Falken Azenis Sport ST 215s on 14s and I love them. I havent been drag racing with them but I plan on going sometime this year. They are great for Autox though.





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