What is NHRA rules on tire tubes? Do they need to have metal valve stem or not? All I can find about valve stems pertain to TUBELESS tires, nothing about the use of tubes.


5:1
Tires will be visually checked for condition, pressure, etc. and
must be considered free of defects by the technical inspector
prior to any run. All street tires must have a minimum of 1/16-
inch tread depth. Temporary spares, space saver spares, farm
implement or trailer tires prohibited. Metal, screw-in valve stems mandatory in tubeless tires, front and rear, on vehicles running 11.99 or quicker; unless OEM tire pressure monitor sensor is used. Chemically treating and physically altering (e.g. lightening, etc.) a tire in any manner is prohibited unless such treatment or alteration is performed by the original manufacturer.

You want the metal ones with tubes.. too easy
to have them spin and rip the tubes if you dont
have them

If running tubes with slicks, I'd use bead screws as well. Chances are good that a slick or sticky tire will move and it can still tear a tube with a metal stem.

Are you asking about front or back?

Rear slicks..I've been running rubber vale stem tubes for years with bead screws and haven't had a issue "knock on wood'. At the track yesterday a fellow racer told me I needed metal valve stems per the rule book. Just wanted to clarify if it is indeed a rule, since I couldn't find it in the rulebook.

Metal valve stem in the wheel for tubeless tires is all I know.
I would try to run tubeless, they are a PIA and weigh too much...tubes. Why tubes?

If you must run tubes, spreading baby powder in the tire is an old trick to help the tube move around a bit and not get pinched during mounting or running.

If you try tubeless and lose air over time, you can coat the sidewalls with dishwashing soap to help clog the pores in the rubber. I'd suggest an off-brand dishwashing soap. I heard that the formulations may have changed over the years and the name brands may not be as effective now. Haven't used it in many years so I don't know the latest "best" brand.

Tubes for me anyways seem to make my lights more consistent and help the sidewalls last longer. I tried to run without tubes a few years back, but my light grouping seemed to be worse. So I put the tubes back in and my lights came around and the car ran the same et with and without the tubes. Granted at the time it was a SB 12 second car with a 11" slick, so it was overtire for the HP it was producing so that maybe why it ran the same ET.

I got sick and tired of airing up my slicks every
other day without the tubes.. I soaped them up I
think 4 times.. with the tubes.. never did again
plus the tubes made the car hook much better

My M/T's will hold air for over 6 months with the sidewalls soaped. That being said I'm going to try tubes to stiffen them up at the next pair of tires.
Doug

I can go all Winter without adding air to my M/T slicks. When new I mix up Dawn and a little water and totally coat the inside of both slicks. I let it dry for a couple of hours and repete. I used to see them leaking around the screws but now that I use HighTac to glue them on they never leak. The screws were pushing the slicks away from the rim even after I drilled into the slick.

A proper racing tube typically has a metal valve that clamps to the wheel. Not cheap.

Years ago when I bought my car ir had truck tubes in it with the long stems. When I went to have new tires installed I was told you had to have the tubes with the screw down valve stem and I had to go buy two which as stated were not cheap. I assume the rules changed over the last 20+ years because that is not now a requirement. However I wouldn't put tubes in slicks unless they had the screw down valve stems.