What are you guys doing and why ?
I am sure there are different opinions,,,,

I "blew" up a tube this weekend at Martin,,,,,,just sitting in the PITS !

Brand new slicks,,,, (but the tubes were not)....

rim screws,,,,,

heard a huge BOOM,,,,,,,,then a hiss,,,,,,

tire was flat,,,,,pulled the tube out,,,and it ripped all the way around......lucky this didnt happen going down the track....

was able to get the tire mounted,,,to hold some air,,,,,,,

Now the side wall seems to be "bulging" out,,,and is touching (more like HITTING BIG TIME) on the inner wheel lip of the rear quarter,,,,,,was not doing that before,,,,,,

I have to pull both tires off and compare the thickness now,,to see if there is in fact a difference in the side wall bulge,,(ie,,,tire with tube,,,vs,,,tire without tube),,,or did something in the rear of the car move around,,,,

I have heard the tubes keep the side wall stiffer ? and the slicks will last longer ?

any downside to running tubes besides the cost ? ( and hassle ? )

thanks for any comments......

this topic has been hashed around alot..
ill say if its a big tire car...most guys will tout the virtues of tubeless..
however if you on a spec slick (restricted from any big or wide sizes)
or just due to fitment..
TUBES have some attributes..
if these apply then you are a candidate for tubes
if you want the tire to grow at speed....diameter..
if you need a little more shock absorbtion from the hit..
if you have a heavy car on a smallish tire....
if you in northern us,canada or switzerland..and cold weather is a factor.....
if you are currently crushing your tires at the hit..
or have issues with tire folding/cupping at launch..
if you car wanders alot down track or at 2nd gear shift..(again with small tire..)

fwiw
cheapst

31x10.5x15W MT

I put a pick of the car,,,you can see some tire wrinkle,,,this is with 14 lbs of air

I've always ran tubes. With tubes they make the tire a little stiffer and the sidewall doesn't wear out as quickly. The down side is the weight of the tube may slow you down some, but I bracket race so a little bit of et isn't a big deal to me.

I know of lots of people that have had bad luck running tubes with slicks as you described .I personally am not running any in the 26x8.5x15 M/T's on my Dart,and have had no issues (other than one of them leaks down every week as did the old set).As far as the sidewalls wearing out without tubes, the last set on the car had over 100 passes on them and the sidewalls still looked like new IMO.About 30 passes on the current pair and same thing ,sidewalls still look great ...

I think i know what "could" have happened,,,,,

I am wondering if one of my wheel screws could have been showing thru the bead ?,,,,and it resulted in ripping the tube ?

Cant think of why else it would have blown like it did,,,,

I am going to stick a fresh set of tubes in it,,,,and put some washers on with the wheel screws ,,,just in case,,,,

seems unlikely tire screw could penetrate through the bead,the bead is almost an inch thick where the screws go in.My screws dont stick 1/4 inch into the tire.
could the tube been twisted or otherwise installed in a pinch?
I run tubes so i dont have to constantly put air in the slicks.
my buddys tires (without tubes) go down on the rim overnight... what a drag.

Were the tubes the right size for the slicks? If the tubes were too small for the slick they would have to be over inflated to fill the tire. That could cause a failure.

...If you will take Liquid Ivory dish washing soap, spread it generously all over the inside of the tire, it will seal the pores of the tire & it will hold air well. Plymouth Rocker told me this in ~ 2002. I applied it to my 22.5 Quick Time Pro's,(on the street), & never lost air. Of course there was those cold nights where the air in the tire shrank, but that's all. I'm not going to say it never ever leaked any thing but it works good. I did it for the NO hassle, & rotating weigh. I was in the process of putting a tube chassis,street car, in the 5's (1/8), on pump gas. I needed every ET I could get.
...The car's been setting for ~2 yrs now and still holding air. Plymouth Rocker is a racer & runs a tire store.

there were two important things I didn't notice
getting any mention.

BABY POWDER a whole can goes into the pair when I mount with tubes. stops sticking and reduces wear and tears,
where the natural rubber tubes ? no others work

same thing happened to me, replaced the tube 3 times only to find out there was a small piece of metal, very small on the inside of the slick, pull your slick off and find the small nail or metal.

No tubes for me. My hoosiers hold air all winter without tubes. Ron

Doug when I threw out that tube I dont recall seeing
any baby powder on it or smelling it.... who mounted
them

Bias slicks I run tubes with a TON of baby powder.
Radials are tubeless.

Mike,
your correct,,,there was "some" baby powder on the tube,,,but not much,,,,
I think im getting a rash from lack of powder,,,lol

so i assume whoever mounts them,,,should put lots and lots of powder INside the slick,,,and ON the tube as well....