Tires..what can the handle?

Hey..this may be a dumb question but ive never really thought about it before so i figured why not ask

What can tires handle..speed wise, i never really took it into consideration till now, i was online lookin at some and they had top speed ratings of like 110-120mph and so on..should i be taking this into consideration? Im planning on building a street/strip car that will be running about that fast.

Thanks
Jimmy

 

It all depends on the speed rating of the tires, I know for a fact that Falken Ziex tires can hold at 140 on our highways.

 

what could happen if you exced the speed ratings...will they blow?

 

yep, and if you are going fast enough to blow them then expect some spinning and maybe some flipping to follow.

 

From what I understand about the top speed rating of tires that is the speed the tires can be run at for 6 hours straight. Short bursts of speed over that shouldn't be a problem

 

The Tire Racks web site has some pretty good tech info on speed and load ratings etc. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=35

 

Check your tires, they should have a letter.
S=112
T=118
H=130
V=149
W=168
Y=186
(Y)=above 186
Z=168-above 186, should also show W or Y

 

Speed ratings are for sustained speeds over the rated speed. So 149+ for a sustained period of time. For short bursts like the drag strip you are not gonna have a failure. Drag racing tires aren't even speed rated.

If you ran S rated tires at 120 mph for too long you would have a failure. If you ran a S rated tires up to 140 for a minute and then slowed down, the chances of a failure are extremely low. I wouldn't even second think it.

It's really about heat. Plain and simple. Tires get hot when they turn. Friction is a bitch. Heat breaks down the tires bonds.

 

Oh boy do ya...I blew a Hoosier Slick on my Gt3 Porsche at about 140 or so. Spin city. Scared the Shit outta me!

 

The rating deal is good to know. Looking back to the mid-60's and bias ply Stones on a 340 horse Corvette it's a wonder I survived my misspent youth. And the 427/435's came with a slightly upgraded version of that tire, They were scary!

Charlie

 

not to mention with the stock suspension... going over a hundred was like driving a brick with tires...