Finally got around to putting the new boots on it last night and taking it to the track. Put the tires on... and to my surprise... they didn't fit... i was a bit confused at first.. cause i'd test fitted the rims and they were fine.... but it was the tires that were hitting the front inner well. So a word to the wise.. if your running 28x10.5x15 m/t etdrags.. your gonna have to "clearance" the front inner well a smidge to get them to not rub.. after that. they were golden. first run down the track i took it easy on it. new 90/10 lakewood struts, new tires, new exhaust. new roll bar i just wanted to see how it would act. Ran it through the exhaust left at idle and leaned in.. 1.89 60er.. and a 12.56 @109.7... allrighty. Next run i would test it... next run comes a few hours later.. i get up there.. did a meager burnout. pull up load the converter to 2800 and plant on it. I spun them tires... for about 8-10 feet.. then POOOW they hook up *** squats front pops up, car turns left.. i'm pinned to the seat Not expecting it at all. I steer it back right... missing the timing boxes by a foot or so. reach down bang second... a bit higher than i wanted to... bout 600 rpm or so @ 6700. grab third at 6100 roll through the traps at 12.21 @ 111.65 on a 1.74 60er. That launch was such an adrenaline rush... i can't wait to take it down again.. hopefully without the tirespine.. practice, and tuning i'll be there shortly....

Sounds killer dude!

What is the back spacing on your rim?

Well just came here to post similar findings since I mounted new slicks today myself. Crusing last night with the group and somebody pointed to the fact I had cords showing on both slicks, came home and went to plan B. Bro-in-law wanted to sell his Hoosiers so I got them this morning. WAS running Hoosier Qucik time pro's 27 x 11.5 on Weld Draglites w/ 5.5" bs on a 10 rim and ample clearance around the tire. These new Hoosiers are regular slicks and 28" x 10" so I thought, hey no problem with clearance. Wrong!! While I have enough not to worry about anything, it does get very tight on the front inner fender well. can barely fit my hand between the tire and the inner fender, where before I could easily fit my arm. Which kind of confuses me since when I talked to the Hoosier rep last season he told me the quick time pros are actually a full Hoosier race slick with grooves in them to make them DOT approved. Now these new to me slicks only have 3 passes on them, but they are noticably softer than my quick times, and now the tighter fit with a 1.5" narrower tire makes me wonder.

A 10" wide slick (non DOT) is tight to the inner fenders depending of the rim backspace. I'm currently at the end of my Hoosier 29 x 9's. I can barely fit a finger between the tire and the inner front fender. I'm switching to GoodYear 29 x 10's before the last race of the year and have come up with 2 solutions to squeeze them in.

One is to use a 7/16" wheel spacer to push the wheel out slightly. This may be just enough clearance that I need and I already have the long wheel studs. A few hits with a big hammer to the inner fenders might still be required. The second option is to not use the spacers and cut out the inner fender sections and weld in a more square corner. I'll make the decision after the tires are mounted and clearances are checked again

I know when I got the 27x11.5 quick times, while they were being mounted I went back and used the trusty BFH and dented in the pass. side inner fender because of what I've read to be sure there was enough room. I left the drivers side alone since I'm of an experimenting nature, only to find out in stock form wheel wells and the rim/bs combination I had there was ample clearance, so I did'nt bother to hammer on the drivers side. Now with these regular slicks I found on the pass side I beat up the wrong area, but there is still enough there is JUST enough room so I don't have to worry about slicing a tire. I definately like the looks of this bigger tire, now just have to order the trick springs for the front so I can get the stance I'm looking for. But for all practical purposes I think with the new heads and intake that are on the way, these new 28" tall with my 3.73 oughta be a pretty good combination with the power and rpm range I "should" theoritcally be at and my ultimate big end rpm. I've never paid to much attention to goodyear because of the price, but do they use yet another measurement standard like M/T and Hoosier? I almost wish they had a common sizing like radials so no matter what the manufacturer or model of tire, the sizes for 1 brand would be the same for the other brand, seems it would take alot of questions when trying to decide what to get, since alot of guys have tried many sizes and know what works as a bolt on and what requires mods, instead of poke and hope.

be careful stephen.....check the rule book, im pretty sure the nhra frowns on spacers....i know i read someplace that you aren't allowed to use them

I'm sure they're book is like IHRA where at the very end it states every track has the final say governing their own rules and to use their own judgement. If it's like the 2 tracks I run (1 NHRA & 1IHRA) as long as you know people, you could dang near go down the track standing on your head holding the gas tank out the window I know I've personally seen cars that I would refuse to run against if I was paired up with them because of safety issues, but meraciously they passed tech. Heck, I'm sure we've all been there.

while this is very true, its a good idea to be as careful as possible

I've gone over the rulebook front to back and there's nothing in it saying that wheel spacers are not allowed. As long as the wheel studs are long enough to protrude into the hex portion of the nut the correct length, wheel spacers should work fine. General regulations 5:2. I have a set sitting around but would rather cut out and section the fenders if I have time.

As for tire sizes, you need to check each tire manufactures specs on tires. The reason I went to Hoosier from MT is because MT does not make a true 29" tire. The closest they get is 29.3. As with each tire, you need to also be aware of the section width of the tire. There are a lot of sizes I'd like to use but know the section would be too wide.

The only reason I'm going to Goodyear from Hoosier is that I don't want to make a 200 mile road trip to buy Hoosiers this time. That and Goodyear also makes a true 29" tire. I don't want to go smaller and a 30" means a lot more fender cutting. 29" for me works out well. With the PG I'm now shifting at 7200 and going through the traps at 7200. An increase in tire height would mean changing my 4.56 gears to something closer to 4.89's. As much as I'd like to do that, it's just cheaper to buy another set of 29" tires for now. I do like the Hoosiers and may go back to them if the GoodYear's don't work out.

ya i can see that.....i was thinking about it tonight, the part of the wheel well that creates the biggest clearance issue is the curved part in the inner front area.....i really think it would be pretty straight forward to cut out and weld some sheetmetal in there thats a little more spacious.....

i might do that real soon

This is a pic I grabbed from another third gen somewhere on the web. I can't remember who's car it's from.