Stretched/undersized Tyres... Your Thoughts?

[GTAAAH]

stretching = less tyre on the road as well which is a good thing at the back when your talking drift.. although not so much the front, but i'm assuming they dont stretch em as much up front? If you want good grip you don't want to go stretching for exactly that reason, less footprint on the road = bad, like overinflating your tyres.. If you want less sidewall flex go lower profile not thinner tyres that don't fit

Hard to find proper tyre joints that will stretch too but, i like the look, looks sick

[alwaysdreaming]

i used to rip the tyres off my dirt drifter all the time because as it went sideways the tyres dug in a bit and just peeled off.

if i had of stretched them then they have less change of peeling off,

thats one reason that i have found and been told about.

dont do much circuit/track so cant comment on that.

interested to find out more tho.

cheers

Gezza

[GTS4WD]

I too am a fan of the stretched look.

I have run 225's on a 6.5in rim and a 205 on a 8in when drifting.

With the stretch it does feel tighter and more responsive in the rear. I think thats the only performance benefit. Less sidewall flex.

The bonus is of course their also cheaper. Drifter pushing a decent amount of power will go through 5 or 6 PAIRS of rubber in a drift day and still need more. It becimes very expensive. So even a little bit of saving due to smaller sizes adds up

[WhitePrincess]

this is nice what type of mags are these?

I like the look of a slightly stretched tyre...

I have 18x8.5 225/40 Front and 18x9.5 235/40 Rear...

Sorry about the dark/dodgey pics...

Cas.

[NZM.031]

they look like the good ol drifteks.

flicking through a few, well, alot of hpi mags last night and found quite a few time attack entrants go the stretch.. some do, and some dont.. these guys arent cheap kmart boys.. and can destroy a set of big dollar semi slicks within a few laps.

something else to think about.

cheers

Linton

[djr81]

they look like the good ol drifteks.

flicking through a few, well, alot of hpi mags last night and found quite a few time attack entrants go the stretch.. some do, and some dont.. these guys arent cheap kmart boys.. and can destroy a set of big dollar semi slicks within a few laps.

something else to think about.

cheers

Linton

Alot of cars int he hpi mags (& others) claim to be time attack but it is clear from looking at them that they have either never been near a track or if they have are hopeless. Brakes that look like brand new, hopeless spring rates & no negative camber are just some of the things that give the game away. If you look at an R compound after it has been used properly it is a very ugly tyre. Be aware also that some of the workshop cars will be on what are basically show rims/tyres ie not what they run at the track.

Tooling about seconds off the pace does not make a good track car. Just like stretching a road tyre does not make a good track tyre. Any half decent track car will use the correct tyres - either a r compound or a slick. Both of which have the carcass construction to obviate any need to stretch anything.

Look if you want to do it because you reckon it looks fully sik then go ahead. But please don't advocate it as a preferred alternative to anyone who is in any way serious about a good lap time.

If people want to use them for drifting then good on them.

[NZM.031]

it was not feature car article... it was in articles about time attack events, at tskuba and the like.

and track cars aside.. what if i dont want to go to the track.. what if want something that will tear something like the putty road apart.... this is why i started this thread.. and compared it to wrc cars on tarmac... as they arent on a race track, they are on an average road.. you already mentioned the reasoning for some of them having stretched tyres.. i just made the mention of d1 teams and time attack teams to combat the "kmart" response.

cheers

Linton

[nisskid]

as far as safety goes: not an issue unless ur going over like a 18x10 with a 215/45 range, some will be fine, but it depends on each tyre and rim, some tyres are better at stretch, some rims are better at stretch (bead seat design). but for most stretch like a 215 on a 9", ull be fine.

looks: personal taste

performance: can provide less traction (as opposed to a same size tyre on a thinner wheel), but will firm up the sidewalls, hence it is popular for drift, it means u dont have to run high end tyres to get a tyre with a solid and predictable sidewall. afterall drift is about control and predicability, sacraficing a bit of traction/speed for more predictability often makes sense

ride/comfort: there will be a slightly harsher ride, as well as tracking as there is less sidewall compliance, no different to performance tyres with hard sidewalls tho

[nisskid]

btw for the record most of the high end drift cars run non-stretched tyres as they are supplied with proper performance tyres and there is no need to run stretch.

[NZM.031]

from the pics ive seen... they arent stretched, as like you say, a 215 on an 18x10... but they appear to be slightly angled in as opposed to straight up and down and inline with the edge of the rim.. hence my reference to them.

cheers

Linton

[djr81]

as far as safety goes: not an issue unless ur going over like a 18x10 with a 215/45 range, some will be fine, but it depends on each tyre and rim, some tyres are better at stretch, some rims are better at stretch (bead seat design). but for most stretch like a 215 on a 9", ull be fine.

looks: personal taste

performance: can provide less traction (as opposed to a same size tyre on a thinner wheel), but will firm up the sidewalls, hence it is popular for drift, it means u dont have to run high end tyres to get a tyre with a solid and predictable sidewall. afterall drift is about control and predicability, sacraficing a bit of traction/speed for more predictability often makes sense

ride/comfort: there will be a slightly harsher ride, as well as tracking as there is less sidewall compliance, no different to performance tyres with hard sidewalls tho

Good writeup but you missed one of the key things needed to set a good lap/stage time.

Lateral grip.

Now despite all the hype this is obviously going to be less of a consideration in a drift car than a track car. So one of the fundamental concerns for anyone on a track setting times gets ignored. Stretching a tyre does nothing for lateral grip.

Stuffing as much rubber under the guards as you can does help. If you ever get the chance to look under a touring car running unrestricted rubber you will see the guards are a mess of black where the tyres are in contact over bumps etc.

[cas.cc]

this is nice what type of mags are these?

Thanks ... They are infact, the good ol Drift Teks...

[nisskid]

Good writeup but you missed one of the key things needed to set a good lap/stage time.

Lateral grip.

Now despite all the hype this is obviously going to be less of a consideration in a drift car than a track car. So one of the fundamental concerns for anyone on a track setting times gets ignored. Stretching a tyre does nothing for lateral grip.

Stuffing as much rubber under the guards as you can does help. If you ever get the chance to look under a touring car running unrestricted rubber you will see the guards are a mess of black where the tyres are in contact over bumps etc.

not sure how i didnt cover that, pretty sure i mentioned grip, including lateral grip.

grip is very important in competitive drift, being able to carry more speed into the corner, as well as through the corner and out of the corner, saying that having a tyre that flops around takes a lot of feel and response out of the rear end, especially on change of direction etc. is pretty shit to drift with.

u can get away with a bit of a faint rear end with racing, as long as overall lap time is better, but drift is a different story.