a steelie isn't a good rim lol....and there are no 7" steelies, they're al 6.5". get a decent pair of rims so they don't weigh 45lbs each, as that slows you down. there are lots of cheap rims out there, just watch the weight.

 

okay awesome thanks for all the help....got it...cheap lightweight 7" rims...

 

how well do slicks actually grab? How high can you hold you rpms while your at the tree and have the tires grab well at launch? How long should you do the burn out for to get the itres good and sticky? what tire pressure should slicks be at for best traction?

 

slicks grab extremly well. most of the time you can cut about .5s off your times with them.

you need to launch from a high rpm with slicks. i launch from about 5k.

the burnout on slicks isn't as picky as with dr's. you can burn the hell out of them, or just do a small one, they'll be ok. i usually go until i see smoke over the hood, then let her out of it.

tire pressure is going to vary on slick size and the car. i run my slicks as 12.5psi cold, and will drop them back to that after each pass.

 

wow 12.5 psi really....that seems low...but i dont know what the max on a slick is either....i was running 20psi on my street tires...maybe coulda went to 16-18 for a lil better grab...

 

12.5 is low? ha i ran 8psi in when i had my hoosiers! these are wrinkle wall slicks, they need a lower psi to get them to work properly lol

 

Yeah uh... 16 is probably too low for a street tire. Depending on profile and make etc. At about that pressure, I was spinning my tires on the rims. Not good! Plus, you will start to "cup" the tread which reduces the tire contact which is also not good. I would stay around 20 or more.

Also, you need not just cheap + light rims. You need cheap, light + strong rims.

 

most of the light wheels are strong, it's actually the heavier ones that are usually crap. to make them light they have to use better materials and processes.