Just receive my Pilot Club Slicks, hmmm..

[HP]

Fast shipping - Seems like I just ordered them yesterday.
Cool looking, and not bad for $65 ea. Got my dremmel tool-
think I'll file off the "for racing only", paint some tread on
them, and try them out tonight....

 

[genXgts]

Hugh,

How ironic I just came in from jumping over the border into Michigan and picking up 4 Club Slicks from my drop off location.

These things look pretty dam sweet, have them peculating in tire dressing on the sidewalls as I type!!

What's your plan with these things? Keeping your stockers up front I presume. I'm not a track rat, just looking for some bite off the line a little more, 5 grand dumps are not part of the equation for me. Should lower 60 foot times big time, I'll go run them as soon as possible!!

Very interested in how they respond to highway driving, and stop in go, rolling them into the garage they picked up anything that crossed their path, could be interesting......

Not concerned with tire life, just hoping at highway speeds the car does not 'wallow' within the sidewall flex like a true slick (M/T) does.......please let me know on this thread, PM, email or I'll call you. Planning a road trip next weekend with the car and would love to run them up there!!

take care,

 

[Paul Hawker]

If my memory serves me right these tires were not designed for use as "Drag slicks" but as roadracing slicks. Michelin was trying to support the ViperDays track guys by supplying slick treaded street tire carcassas. They worked fairly well on the tracks, however they did not wear well, and were a little slower than the Hoosiers. I laud Michelin for trying to supply us with club racking tires, however they did not work out as well as planned.
Now they once again have supported our cars by selling us these tires very inexpensively for us to get some additional bite on the drag strip. They will need to be warmed up well to stick, however at onlyt $65 no one should worry about giving them a good burnout.
If you drive them on the street be warned that they have limited traction till you get them up to temp. Don't worry about the sidewalls, but they will be very dangerous at normal temperatures.

 

[HP]

I have ordered a set of Purner wheels & tires for drag racing,
but I just couldn't resist the price on the Club tires. I don't
have extra rims to put them on(maybe I'll come across something
cheap). My car is not a daily driver, so I thought about
just changing out my Pilots for the Clubs and see if I can
just wear them out. I'm familiar with the history of the
tires, but I don't see it being relavent for what I will be
using them for. I like the way they look, from the side you
can hardly tell them apart from the Pilot-Sports, but from
the back view they look all business(appear a lot wider than
the Pilot-sports even though they are listed as the same size).
Ryan, I had intentions on these tires when they were first listed, but I kind of procrastinated(what's your story). As far
as ride quality, I don't see how they could be any different
than regular Pilot-Sports, since they basically are the same construction, but have no tread and softer rubber. I'll keep
you posted. Maybe I should have bought a full set...?

 

[HP]

Oh, and for great service(2 day shipping, or was it 1 day?)
a shout-out to Luke at Tire-Rack, Michelin, and anyone else
involved in setting up this deal for VCA members.

 

[JH23JOB]

What are the sizes of these tires ?? Will they fit on my 17x13 rim ??

Also, What if these are for road racing, and I used'em at the dragstrip ??

 

[HP]

The only size available is 335/35/17, and yes I'm sure they
will fit any 17" rim in the range of 10 to 13" width. The
fact that they were originally for the oval tract is part
of their history, but they have all the necessary ingedients
for the straight track, or for $65 you could use your imagination. I rolled them around on my carpet, and they seem
to be good for picking up pet hair(kind of like a big lint brush).

 

[GTS Dean]

They are slicks built on the XGT-Z Gen 1 Viper tire casing.

 

[pauls]

OK Now what classes can we use them in? I heard something about a special class for these tires. I bought them for Mod I per the conversation earlier from Wing King. They aren't going to do you any good in Mod II and up.

 

[JonB]

A word of caution here.

As Dean points out, the XGT-Z mold was the basis for these club slicks, but they do NOT have the steel belts of the XGTZ.

These lighter tires have zilch for road-hazard protection. Potholes or sharp stones can and will flatten them.

The soft rubber 'absorbs' sharp debris into it ! They were meant to be driven on swept-daily racetracks, not depris-stremn streets.

Sand and debris collects on centerlanes, even on multi-lane roads. Every time you cross a centerline, you pick up and embedd sand, etc into the tire, like rolling a hot donut in chopped nuts! The surface soon glistens with sand, compromising the traction, and SANDBLASTING your bulging sills and rear wheelwell bodywork. I just had a $200 detail on my 40,000 mile 96 GTS and 'there aint no paint there no more' said the detail guy......after the tire-turds and tar came off, these areas were basically sandblasted clear of paint from 2 seasons of running club slicks on the street.

 

[Frank Parise]

The Club Slick was made specifically for the Viper Days race series in 1998. They were made because the Michelin Pilot was deemed to be inadequate for road racing a Viper that had more than factory stock power.

I purchased three complete sets (12 tires) and had to pay the going price, which was around $1,200 per set at the time. Everyone who tried these tires was very dissatisified because (1)they wore terribly and corded very easily; (2)they were much more expensive than Hoosiers and, (3)they were much slower than Hoosiers.

At $65 per tire, that's a different story! However, it would be very unwise to use these on the street.

 

[genXgts]

hmmmmm, thanks for the input gang......

might use them as nifty supports for a coffee table until I find some rear rims for serious use and keep my OEMs for daily driving!

 

[HP]

Ryan, that's funny about the coffee table, because that's
exactly what I had in mind! Actually, I will put my tires to
use, because I had a purpose in mind when I bought them.
Believe me, there is a niche for these tires to fill, maybe
we could take up a collection and buy Gerald, or Fast Freddie
a couple - for them late night weekend encounters.

 

[JH23JOB]

I just bought a pair of'em for myself on Friday from the Tirerack. I'm guessing they'll be here Tuesday. I want'em for Drag Racing..

TWO Questions:

1. Are these strictly slicks with no tread at all ?? I'm hearing people talking about street driving, and real slicks are NOT to be used for that 'cause of obvious reasons with regular driving traction.

2. Are these Radial Drag slicks ??

 

[HP]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JH23JOB:
I just bought a pair of'em for myself on Friday from the Tirerack. I'm guessing they'll be here Tuesday. I want'em for Drag Racing..

TWO Questions:

1. Are these strictly slicks with no tread at all ?? I'm hearing people talking about street driving, and real slicks are NOT to be used for that 'cause of obvious reasons with regular driving traction.

2. Are these Radial Drag slicks ??



<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, they are radial drag slick, and if driven on the
street you are subject to all the problems that arise with
sticky compound, and these tires have less road hazard protection than a regular tire. But, they aren't flimsy,
I doubt if you could tell the difference by handling them.
They are slick(no tread at all). Steet use? Not on a regular
basis(like JohnB), but if your car has more HP than your Pilot-Sports can handle, and you prep your fenderwell areas, it gives
you another option that you might find tempting, for limited
engagements(of course, this is all speculation-not endorsement).

 

[HP]

A final note, you would never want to drive with these tires-
if the road is wet(or a chance of rain). Due to the lack
of tread and size of the tire, hydroplaning would be
disastrous.

 

[genXgts]

I picked up two sets (4 tires), so maybe I'll bring 2 down to FL as carry-on baggage and give em to Gerald as I want to go for a ride in that bad-boy anyhow.....

thinking of putting 2 on for a weekend of track use and then remounting my stockers after the event, spinning the first 300 feet of the 1/4 is not my bag baby, they HAVE to be better than stock, and if I go thru them after some passes at $65.00, oh well!