Street n Strip - Strip on Friday

im racing my friend at the Cecil county dragstrip in maryland... i drive a 99 civic HX it is 5spd manual w/ DC-s header, full exhaust, warm air, and a new clutch... he drives an 00 civic LX it is automatic, what should our times be (guestimating) since its auto i dont think he can get the full vtec power outta his engine

i'd be suprised if his car dips into the 17's, and if its an LX, he doesnt even have VTEC. For you, i would guess that if your a decent driver you might be able to hit a HIGH 16, but i'm thinkin low 17's

OH REALLY... HMM OK THANKS

when you go to the track, get those enkeis off and put your stock rims and tires on, at least up front.

i dont have them on yet, actually i dont even have them, i ahve to pick them up, and get performance tires

ORIGINAL: Patrick

when you go to the track, get those enkeis off and put your stock rims and tires on, at least up front.


whys that patrick?

ORIGINAL: Forty04


ORIGINAL: Patrick

when you go to the track, get those enkeis off and put your stock rims and tires on, at least up front.


whys that patrick?


i'm no patrick, but bigger wheels and tires on a stock car reduce acceleration rate, because they require more power to turn them. Also, the stock tires have a bigger profile, which helps on the strip. bigger aftermarket wheels only improve looks and stability at high speeds on an otherwise stock car

a bigger wheel is almost always heavier...a heavier wheel has more rotational mass, thus requiring more effort on the engines behalf to turn the wheels...if you put a 17 inch steel wheel and the exact same car with 14 inch steel wheels, on a dyno, the 14 inch wheels would show a slightly higher WHP...also with a smaller wheel, you effectively decrease your gearing, thus improving your acceleration.

now, if your 17s are, say a composite two piece dirt track wheel, and are very light, they would have less rotational mass than say a 14" stock wheel, so you would be better off WHP-wise, but as for the bottom end, a smaller tire will yield a better 60' time, provided that you get traction...

when i track my slow car, i run my factory 17s on the back, and 15" steelies on the front, with a very low profile tire...and it really helps with the bottom end...even though my 15s may be a bit heavier, the gain in rotational mass is less of a setback than the drop in bottom end is a help...

thanks for the help guys

i would think that you coudl get into the 16s....but you should OWN that auto civic.

Oh ok, i gotcha now. See the only problem I have with that, is that i bought these wheels/tires for grip. I launched my car at 4grand the other day (on a regular street surface) and barely chirpped them. If i were to attempt that with the stockers, i would spin and wheel hop for the first 60'.:D I did have one idea tho. My new wheels came with a set of snow tires (for my 14" steelies), that are very soft. I halfway considered putting those on the stock steelies on front, and taking a run or two that way... we'll see

what size/weight were your stockers, and what size/weight are your new wheels?

ORIGINAL: Patrick

what size/weight were your stockers, and what size/weight are your new wheels?


I don't know about weight on the Enkei, i'll have to get back to you on that.

Stock wheels/tires - 14" 195/50/14 Weight: 33Lbs.
New Wheels/Tires - 5 spoke enkeis at 16" 215/40/16

hmmm...that is about a one inch gain in tire size...depending on traction, the 16s will have decreased your final drive ratio a bit.
the stock wheels are steelies, right?

OH REALLY... HMM OK THANKS


Was that sarcasm? Because he was serious (and right) about the high 16's, low 17's comment.

Post your slips when ya'll get back.

ORIGINAL: Patrick

hmmm...that is about a one inch gain in tire size...depending on traction, the 16s will have decreased your final drive ratio a bit.
the stock wheels are steelies, right?


yeah they're steelies. I didnt get a chance to go out and pull one of the new ones off and weight it last night, but i'll do it when i get home from work today. I'm almost positive its significantly less than the stockers tho..

unfortunately, i dont know the equation of how to figure out the rotational mass, between to similarly designed rims.

WELL I DIDNT GOTO THE TRACK BC THE PRICE OF GAS IS ABOUT $3.50 WHERE I AM...