MY next move is ?????????????

[bottlesempty]

befor ebeing paralyzed the 1980 malibuwasn't hooking I'l list known issues then wait for some help the car has adjustabe uppers and lowers was runni ngwith front sway bar on had15x7 wheel with really buulged10.5 slicks only60' in th1.7's whats first 8"wheel or drag shocks or removing factory front sway bar?only went11.70 at 118MPHwhich makes mebelieve from MPH she could go11.40's All info will be appreciatedthanks

[sc racing]

Im guessing your like most of us and your on a tight budget so I would take off the swaybar first ( ITS FREE !! ) second how old are your slicks? If your in need of new slicks soon you might want to look into some 8.5" or 9" wide and keep the 15x7 wheels. Im not suggesting your car is slow but there are guys running a lot faster with smaller tires. If you dont need tires yet buy some shocks a better suspension is probably woth more than a wider wheel. Of coarse this is just my way of thinking , I could be wrong.

[wheelken]

I'm new to drag stuff. I've been in wheels and tires for the last 30 + years. Most recently as of the last 10 months I've been working in drag wheel industry, super comp, promod and sportsman and or bracket racing wheels. Anyhow one rule of thumb has been to match the actual tread width of the tire to the wheel (tire) bead area or at most match the tire tread width to the overall rim width. If you have a 15x7, the overall width will be 7 7/8" measuring outside edge to outside edge.
The previous reply is correct, drop tire width or increase wheel width. Hope this helps if I'm not too late.

[big block nova]

Need to no a little more about your comb. Engine/trans/gear ratio,lots of smart guys on this site and willing to help you get headed in the right direction,on that note I would definetly increase timing 3 or 4 degrees for starters.

[want-a-be]

I was told years ago by some high end racers that you get the best tire rim combination if you run a rim that is 2" narrower then the tire size. It's suppose to allow the tires side walls work better. With a slick, the side walls are very important to getting good traction.

Don

[John_Heard]

I was told years ago by some high end racers that you get the best tire rim combination if you run a rim that is 2" narrower then the tire size. It's suppose to allow the tires side walls work better. With a slick, the side walls are very important to getting good traction.

Don

Maybe that depends on the application? On the small tire cars it appears the trend is in the opposite direction, for example 12" rim with a 10.5" tire (slicks). Some are up to 14" on 10.5" tire.

[Craig W.]

A 10" rims works very well with a 26x8.5, so I'm going to have to disagree with the narrow rim approach (at least on cars with a good bit of power).

I tried 7" rims with a 26x10" tire and it was dangerous to drive. A 8" rim was a ton better.

With the 8.5s I run on, I stared with a 7" rim way back in the day, moved up to 8" and then on to 10". 10s work much better on both ends of the track.

[hugger73hatch]

A 10" rims works very well with a 26x8.5, so I'm going to have to disagree with the narrow rim approach (at least on cars with a good bit of power).

I tried 7" rims with a 26x10" tire and it was dangerous to drive. A 8" rim was a ton better.

With the 8.5s I run on, I stared with a 7" rim way back in the day, moved up to 8" and then on to 10". 10s work much better on both ends of the track.

Not meaning to hijack the thread here, but Craig, do your 10" fit under the stock wheel wells ok or did you have to mini tub the car? If it fits what backspacing are they?

[Craig W.]

They fit with the 26x8.5s but not with anything bigger. All I've done to fit tires on my car is cut out the fender lips. All else is in the stock location, including the shocks.

The backspacing is 5.5" on my 10" wheels.

[want-a-be]

I have to admit that I do not have any experience with 10 tires. The conversations I've had in the past were with guys like John Lengefelter, (spelling?), and Mike Sullivan. Others also... have made the same comments. But they were on cars running 12" tires and larger. Most of my experiences are with 14x32 tires and up. So if you're running anything smaller then you need to disreguard anything I have had to say on the subject.

Sorry for any misdirection,...it was not intended.

Don

[Bob West]

No problem, that was old school, and I resemble that remark, well...I used to Most tire slick mfg'rs want the rim/tire to be within 1" of each other now. I run a 9" radial slick on a 15x10 rim, gets all that tread on the ground. I used to run a 10.5" radial slick, dropped to the 9" slick and didnt miss a beat. My car hooks on occasion

[bottlesempty]

I'm thinking ditch front swaybar and maybe some aafco shocks 8''wheel 275/60MT ETdragradialfiberglass front bumper and tubular radiator support move battery to trunk lighten front to create more favorable weight bias hopefully allow car to transfer weightmore effectively

[sc racing]

I'm thinking ditch front swaybar and maybe some aafco shocks 8''wheel 275/60MT ETdragradialfiberglass front bumper and tubular radiator support move battery to trunk lighten front to create more favorable weight bias hopefully allow car to transfer weightmore effectively

Thats heading in thr right direction.

[CDR Performance]

I'm thinking ditch front swaybar and maybe some aafco shocks 8''wheel 275/60MT ETdragradialfiberglass front bumper and tubular radiator support move battery to trunk lighten front to create more favorable weight bias hopefully allow car to transfer weightmore effectively

That is all in a good direction. BUT, if you can run slicks run'em. Slicks are more forgiving on the track.

Can you fit a larger wheel in the car?