Thread: Slicks vs. DR decision

i've been googling like crazy for a week, trying to find some good advice on this issue. i'm finally giving up and asking the best(thats you sr20-forum )

my car is a 96 200sx with a highport 10:1, the basic I/H/E so probably somewhere between 130 and 140hp to the wheels(pulls hard, butt dyno says 140 lol)

i've been hitting the local 1/8 mile lately and having wheel hop issues. launching at anything above 3k yeilds very hard wheel hop. so i have to launch at 3k, with a smooth clutch release(very little spin). my best time was a 10.6 with a horrid 2.59 60ft. and before you say it, lowering the tire pressure to 22psi barely helped if at all.

i WAS on bald kumho tires, now i have cheapo wynstar 195/55/15. same thing with both sets.

the car launches like butter on the street at any rpm, not one bit of wheel hop. the previous owner experienced the same wheel hop at that same dragway, and told me that at a different strip, he had no wheel hop issues and was running 10 flat! ?

i considered the motor mount insets and even the solid front mount, but i'm not about to throw that much money at the car if it may not even fix the issue. my motor mounts dont show signs of wear and after all, its only happening at this one track.


So, i'm getting either drag radails or slicks. the cheaper route is nitto drag radials since i already have 14" NX2000 rims sitting in my closet, and these will fit nicely.
Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct

BUT!!! my concern is that the drag radial will only make the wheel hop worse instead of better.
Is this true? anyone have experience with these tires?

the other option is buying 2 new rims(no slicks that fit the NX wheels that i can find) and slicks, which will cost me about $500 total. and seeing how my wopping 140hp car doesnt need slicks to get decent traction, i'm leaning against it.
also, having to jack the car up and change to slicks at this hectic track(where most parking is gravel!) may be an issue. where as i can drive to the track on DRs.

Sorry for the long post, i just like to be thorough

i'd like to get some people to weigh and help me come to a decision before i make the wrong one.


also, if anyone wants to speculate why it only happens at one track, feel free. would it have to do with it being a newer track?

I guess the short version is... will Drag radials help wheel hop issues? i know slicks will probably eliminate wheel hop altogether

Those DR's are pretty good. I raced a mustang cobra that had them and that punk hardly even spun his tires... (the guy lied and said the whole body was converted to cobra and it was v6 LOL)

Hey maybe this will help you out
http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/drag-racing-52/official-difference-between-slicks-drag-radials-156000/

thanks, nice find. that makes me lean towards the slicks. these are the slicks i want:

M&H MHR-21 M&H Racemaster Drag Slicks

,small yet appropriate for my setup i guess. i wouldnt have to worry about wheel hop, not to mention, once i got comfortable with them i can probably dip into the 9's

since i race 1/8 mile(closest 1/4 mile is 3 hours away), wholeshot is a bit more important. which makes the slicks apealling(unless someone talks me out of it).

if only they made a 14" slick that fit my NX rims, i wouldnt even be writing this.

and please tell me you beat the v6 mustang lol!

A poly torque set could do you a world of good. Why not give a try instead of relying on tires to solve a more fundamental issue? A front lower control arm brace (like White Line) also helps the dreaded wheel hop. Be careful with wheel hop or you might crack your tranny case.

A little info on braces is available here:

http://www.sr20-forum.com/suspension/1801-b13-b14-b15-suspension-information.html#post24091

Get new motor mounts. Aka Prothanes or scoop out the OEM rubber and fill them to window weld.

Put your front tire PSI at around 15-20.

You are not putting down enough power to deal with traction loses, at least not of yet.

Wheel hop in your setup is probably shot engine mounts. Are you still using stock engine mounts?

I broke a transmission form wheel hop when I had less performance parts than what YOUR car has listed. Motor mounts are one of the BEST bang for your buck as far as regaining lost traction during hard launches. It is easy to do and super cheap.

What happened to the stock USDM low port engine that was in there? Highport heads do not flow as much air as lowports do, this is why I ask. Yes you have larger compression ratio pistons, but the head does not have as much volumetric efficiency.

yes it's still the stock mounts. and a previous owner swapped in the highport, im guessing he blew up the lowport motor. i'm gonna have to pay someone else to swap the mounts if i do that, i dont have the tools(nor garage) to do that. i'll consider it though.

thanks for the input viprdude!

do the mounts.. you can sometimes pick them up on here for ok prices..

Sometimes you can find mounts already pressed in and all you have to do is wrench a couple of bolts, drop the cross member and wrench a few more bolts. Very simple and easy to do.

I did it the hard way and bought prothanes and installed them myself in the stock mounts. After I figured out a method to doing this on the first one, the rest were easy. But damn that first one was difficult. Lots of sweat and swearing.

the front one is easy an can be done with hand tools and a jack..

i just got an extra rear motor mount and a extra trans mount and my buddy took the rear one to work an pressed it in.. took a few hours with a hammer an chisels tho to get the old thing out.. he's going to just take the trans one to work an press it out, laughed when i said it took me 2 hours to get the other one out lol.. i will have these installed on my car VERY soon.. oh an im taklin about prothanes.. cause as of right now my setup consists of, passenger side nismo / jwt mount front is the prothanes an driver an rear are stock.. but not for long lol