A friend of mine has a W211 E55 with a full Kleemann Stage 3+ kit and he wants to take it to the strip (1/4 mile) to see what it can do. He has run it numerous times at the strip when it was stock, on stock wheels and tires. The car is still running stock wheels and tires. He is looking to pick up a set of rear wheels/slicks for runs at the strip. Do any of you have any idea what size he should be looking at as well as what type of wheels for mounting slicks?

Any ideas for where to get them would be much appreciated as well.

 

Tell him to get a 82mm Throttle body as well.

 

And take me for a ride in it when I'm in Sonoma in July!

 

He doesn't need slicks. He needs a decent pair of drag radials. Look into those new Nitto NT05s. A pair of BF Goodrich drag radials or even the Hoosier drag radials. Have him buy a pair of wheels for them.

If you can provide me the size of his rear wheel, I can give you a more detailed answer for this.

 

The car is making low 500's rwhp & mid 500's rwtq if that helps with tire rec.

Currently has 9Jx18 wheels with 265/35x18 tires on the rear.

 

You can fit a lot of tire on a 9" wheel. But!!! You are limited by space. In my opinion he should stick with a stock sized drag radial.

Nitto's NT05 comes in that exact size. 265/35-18.

Mickey Thompson's Street Radial II comes in a 265/40-18.

BF Goodrich GForce KDW is also available in a 265/35-18.

These won't need him to do any real heavy smokey burn outs. Just enough spin to make sure the tires are warm. Maybe a little smoke.

 

Thank you for the info. If he is looking for a set of "swap-out" wheels/tires to put on for the strip, then do you think going to a 16" or 17" wheel with a taller drag radial would be more effective?

 

I second the Drag Radial route.

True slicks can put some serious strain on the drive train of the car. This is when you strat breaking axles, differentials and transmissions.

You should be able to easily get into the 1.6 60' times with a well prepped track and a set of sticky drag radials.

 

Check to see if the brakes will clear on a smaller wheel before you go down that route.

 

Thank you all for the advice as well as the warning about driveline strain with slicks. Stock motor and tires, it runs consistent mid 1.9 60' times with 12.5x ET's

With the added power and traction, that should be able to dip well into the 11's, especially with a 1.6 60' time. The E55 motor makes crazy low end power, and with the mods it pulls strong and hard to 6,500 in every gear, as opposed to the stock motor that ran out of breath above 5k.