Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by Tyre Reviews
If you have ever played a game that involved racing cars, you got the chance to pick slick tires at one point, and you noticed a change in the way the vehicle handled once they were on. With that in mind, you have asked yourself what would happen in real life with slick tires. Will they immediately improve performance, or are they just for competition use and race-bred vehicles?
Fortunately for everyone, Jonathan of Tyre Reviews sought out to find out if a stock vehicle gets any improvement with slick tires on the track. He went through all the usual steps, as his test started with performance summer tires, then went on with track day tires, and then moved on to the same compound of slick tires, but in hard and medium formats.
As you will observe in the video, there is an improvement, but it only works on a dry track. Moreover, this improvement comes at a cost, as slick tires are not cheap at all, and a stock vehicle might not take the extra grip too well.
As Jonathan explains, and as it is also (hopefully) common knowledge, getting a car on the track will bring wear to its components. If you choose to go for slick tires, the level of wear is accelerated, and elements like bearings and bushes suffer from extra stress.
Another thing worth mentioning is that switching to slicks, or even semi-slicks in the case of some cars, will open the door for potential driveshaft damage if your driving involves hard launches from a standstill.
Mind you, launching a stock vehicle from a standstill will bring a significant level of wear and tear on its drivetrain components, but doing so with the added grip of semi-slick tires will take things to the next level.
On the other hand, driving a car with slicks on the track is something that any automobile enthusiast should experience at least once in their lifetime.
We just suggest doing it in a rented vehicle instead of your own — unless you crash it. We suggest this because you will be saving money as you will not have to buy a set of slicks, a set of spare alloy wheels for those slicks, as well as dealing with the extra wear on your car brought by their use.
From personal experience, I can attest that there is a significant difference between slicks and road tires on the track. Even semi-slicks are an improvement, but stick to the track to protect your bank account.
It is worth mentioning that you can fit slick tires to stock wheels if that is what you are after, but keep in mind that racing slicks are not meant to be used on public roads (doing so is illegal, and you will get fined if caught).
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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