Time For 7" Tires Again?

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by Bob Mulry

And don't forget the M & H 120 and 140 compound tires.....

8 PSI on a 4" rim with an 8" long footprint...

The only problem was going though the lights with the rear end wagging like a dogs tail......BUT don't touch the steering wheel to try and fix it, because the rear tires are going straight it's the rim moving from side to side inside the tires...

Just sayin'

PS:
I still can't figure out how I managed to get old??????

I ran the M&H tires until Sonny Bryant put me onto the Firestones. They were a little wobbly in the lights on 4" wheels. LOL

Bob, I think we have just failed to die, so far.

[Ed Wright]

Anybody here racing on the 7" Firestones? Called "Wrinkle Walls"? And, they certainly wrinkled on 4" wheels. After a couple of races tubless, they began to leak at the wrinkles. Leave tubes in them, they pinched holes in the tubes. Learned to carry an air tank. Air tanks weren't real common back then. I made one from an aluminum Freon tank like used for home AC units. Think 30lbs? Found painting inside the tires with latex wall paint slowed that down a lot. Still had to air them up at least once a day. Everything simpler today. Have not used tubes in a race car tire since.

[Coleydog]

Back in the day one had less to work with, and had more secrets, you figured it out or went home early.

[bigshow2966]

I used to have a couple sets of the 7" Firestones. I used a 5" wheel. It was an interesting ride about the 1/8th mile mark.

I thought the rules mandated a 9" tire now. Can you run smaller if you want?

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by bigshow2966

I used to have a couple sets of the 7" Firestones. I used a 5" wheel. It was an interesting ride about the 1/8th mile mark.

I thought the rules mandated a 9" tire now. Can you run smaller if you want?

5" wheels are the stock width on a '55/'57 Chevy. I ran Stock wheels on my old '56 Chevy Jr Stocker until Keystone gave me their wheels.

Why not smaller tires? That 9" is the max, right? If you have a real low hp car, you can surely run smaller tires?

[jmantle]

Originally Posted by bigshow2966

I used to have a couple sets of the 7" Firestones. I used a 5" wheel. It was an interesting ride about the 1/8th mile mark.

I thought the rules mandated a 9" tire now. Can you run smaller if you want?

Narrower is ok but probably not a good idea on some of the faster cars.

I went from a 9" to an 8", car picked up a little. The car seems more consistent, doesn't slow down as much after they spray the track. I would run something even narrower if I could find something the right diameter.

Jim Mantle V/SA 6632

[Ed Wright]

Jim, a halfway decent working 14.50 to 15 second car should prefer tubeless 7" tires on light, narrow wheels, to 9" tires. Run all the air you can, and still hook it.

[T Pogue]

I've run 13.90's with the M&H 9.00x15's on a 6 inch rim with 20 lbs. of air and that's with 1971 technology.

[Ed Wright]

Originally Posted by T Pogue

I've run 13.90's with the M&H 9.00x15's on a 6 inch rim with 20 lbs. of air and that's with 1971 technology.

My old '56 210 2dr sedan ran N/S, set the record three times, ran some 12.90s in killer air, ran 13.0s about all the time. Side stepping the clutch @6000, picked the tires up about 4", thought I was doing wheelies. LOL Held the record @ 13.10 when NHRA did away with Stock, forcing us to go to Super Stock. No more 7" tire rule. Bigger tires, bigger cams, broke more three speeds. My best 3 speed trans had a cut & welded cluster gear for the gear ratios I needed. Not as much fun breaking like that.

[Chad Fergen]

Originally Posted by older racer

bucrons were first tires we ran back in 65. I remember , most heavy hitters used them, they were soft, for their time was a good drag tire. chevron stations had them is stock , lol. BTW , you could run em white walls or black walls, lol

That is an awesome memory! I wish I could have been there!