skinny z

Ok. I know. This has been asked before (I think even by me) however times change as does technology. Try searching for it here (or anywhere else for that matter) and the results are overwhelming (and mostly irrelevant).
I'm in the market for new tires for the drag strip.
Every car is different so I'm looking for experiences from people with comparable setups.
Specs: 3660 race weight, auto trans with 10" convertor (I can foot brake to about 2000 rpm before the car starts to creep. Never tried flashing the convertor). 3.73 posi, LCARB, Drag Bags, adjustable torque arm, stock equivalent shocks (Sensa-Trac), Intrax lowering springs, IROC sway bars. Staying with 16" rims.
Previous passes at the track have yielded a best of 12.6 at 108 mph. 60' there was high 1.7/low 1.8. That was on a tired set of MT ET Streets at 12 psi. I've had a personal best 60' of 1.7 flat. Same car except a 3.27 rear gear and McReary dirt track tires (A slick cut with treads more or less).
I'd like to make the move to radials if only because it's a better street tire should I ever have the occasion to strap them on and go cruising.
I'm reasonably sure my new engine is capable of a low 12 second pass. Expected mph should be 110 or better. The 60' is the make or break for me.
I should make the point that I'm not interested in making any suspension mods. In particular, that would mean not going to a drag racing shock arrangement. This car is a cruiser and the drag strip is there for me test basically.
Anyway, any input you drag racers have to offer would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Lonnie P

Radials tend to work well with autos. For manuals it is generally preferable to use a bias ply.

For overall drivability & handling, I would use the radial tire. They tend to drive like regular tires on the street.

Best performance is usually dependent on the suspension setup & tuning to work with a particular tire.

paul_huryk

For almost any street driven car, radials are the best bet.

I have had good success (along with some friends) with stock sized DR on the third gens that ran in the 11's and 12's. I really like the fact that they drive and handle like regular tires and (for a lot of cases) don't need to be aired down to some low psi figure. Nitto makes a very good DR in the 16" size that fits OEM wheels.

skinny z

So I've learned. Driving around on ET Streets can be an adventure. I've an opportunity to visit my kids this summer and they just happen to live about 30 miles from the local drag strip. It would be convenient to mount up the drag radials and drive to the track rather than haul my other slicks along and change them there.

11's and 12's are in my range (although 11's are really a dream but you never know). Once I make the decision on which type of tire to buy, and I'm leaning towards the radial, I zero in on which brand. I've looked at the Nittos along with MT Drag Radials and the BFG Radial TA.

mmadden55

Radial

skinny z

Starting to see a trend here.

nossbc

iTrader: (1)

I haved used both...my set up is moser 12 bolt 3.73 gears, lcarb, founders adjustable lowers and panhard, bmr adj torque arm, qa1 coils out back 1 way adj.
kyb up front with coil over conversion.
motor it has tfs g1 heads, hsr ,mild cam hydr roller. 700r4 reverse manual trans 3200 stall.
just like you I can foot brake the car around 2000-2200 rpm before it moves.
I did a back to back runs with radials and bias plys.
I tried the et street 28x11.5 went 11.67@117 sixty was 1.62 pretty consitant
then put the dr mt 275x60x15 went 11.41@118 sixty was 1.53 cosistant as well.
for now im sticking with the drag radials they where better all around tire, I did have to stiffen the rear shock about 4 clicks.
motor needs a better tune is running rich im confident it will run in the low 11's tuned.
just order my ebl p4 flash
lets see results next year.

skinny z

Interesting test. Are those 60' times with nitrous at the hit?

nossbc

iTrader: (1)

no nitrous all motor.
I tried nitrous last year but my suspension arrangement was different than now.
went 10.49@129 on 150 hit
will see next year as I haven't spray the car with my current susp mods.
hope to get low 10's

skinny z

Those a pretty good 60' times. The best I've managed was a 1.7 flat and that's just about a dead hook on the McReary dirt track tires. Long time ago though.
You have some good track times too. Especially considering those were all motor.
When (if!!) I ever get this new engine package sorted out I'll start next season on my ET Streets (26 x 10.5-16). A little 1/8th mile testing a year ago (fall 2012) promised low 12's if I can sort out the 60'. My ET Streets are 8 years old (lots of meat though). The best 60' I could get on that test was 1.81. I had the slicks down to 10 psi and had 10 lbs pre-load in the right side air bag too.
I think I'm beyond the life of these bias-ply tires and will make the switch to a drag radial sometime next year.
I'm liking the Nitto 555 but that's mostly a decision based on the pricing plus a few reports of peoples satisfaction with them.

nossbc

iTrader: (1)

car working good on motor...I still think I need better converter...in the 3800-4000 range should yell a better et

skinny z

I think the same for mine although I don't want to give up my lock-up converter. I foot-brake to 2200+/- but I can see mine flash up to 4000 on my tach. While I know that's not the true measure of the stall, leaving the line with more rpm would certainly make a difference.
Still, I need to find my way back to the better 60' I had a couple of years ago. This new engine is stronger on all levels than the one that produced the best track times.
I can imagine your 383 has quite a bit more torque than my 355. That you can get sixty foot times in the 1.5x range is enough to convince me that the radial works.

LastGTA

iTrader: (1)

Radial all the way. Much more stable and at your power level they will hook great.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

I have had great success on bias ply dot et streets. From high 13's to mid 9's.
Imo they work better on slicker tracks and cars that may not have suspension dialed in right. They are plenty stable even at 140+ for me but a street radial is abit better up there

For a low 12 sec car on a decently prepped track a drag radial should be plenty. My 3680 lb trans am went mid 1.6's and 12.3's at 110 on 315/35/17 nitto nt05r's. a good 15" drag radial will be better. Car had no suspension work besides fresh shocks and lowering springs and lca's. finicky to hook on not so well prepped tracks but good if prep was solid.

I now run a true street drag radial in 305/35/19 on my fast car lol not sure how its gonna hook but should be fun. I plan to try 275 or 295 radials in a 15" soon as i get cash for new wheels

skinny z

There's the track prep thing again. I have a very modest suspension setup, with nothing more than drag bags in terms of tunability. As for shocks, I don't plan on anything drag race orientated so the tire is really what I have to work with.
Power levels notwithstanding, I find hooking up to be a challenge. I'm putting it down to the old and tired ET Streets I'm running. Date stamp says eight years old so regardless of the amount of rubber left on them, I figure they're done. That's why I'm shopping.
Another aspect of this is the ability to run the tire on the street for the occasional cruise night. I doubt if I would make the 100 mile trip to the track on anything new that I'd buy, but it would be fun to try for the infrequent tour.

nossbc

iTrader: (1)

what hole is your lca at the rear?

if I was you I would stick with the dr, the m/t it will last lil better than hoosiers but hoosiers are lil softer and hook tad better.
I personally run m/t.
it sounds like you use your car same way I do street/strip.
with dr and a good set up on your susp you should be fine.
just imo its gonna be really hard to dead hook on the street unless using a bigger tire than 11.50 and all out drag susp effort.
you don't live too far from me pm if your interested and we can set up your suspension at my shop.

skinny z

.

nossbc

iTrader: (1)

ya as far as your suspension goes you will be surprise how much you can tune with it, don't hesitate to contact me...my car is not away yet so we can go for a cruise if you want...

skinny z

Sounds good.

Jay_rich

iTrader: (4)

Radial on an auto car for me. I ran 255's on my old Iroc running 11.70-80's dead hooking with a 3000 stall. I was on stock brakes at the time and could only stall 1800ish.
When I switched to my 370 turbo setup I switched to 275 radials and they hooked well on the street (had a 3.00 gear though)


Jay

RaverRacerX

dont drive on the street a lot with drag radials. you will destroy them.

manual cars need the bias ply's ability to recover from spins and such (if you had a manual with a slipper clutch, this is null and void). autos, you can use either. really depends on what you are trying to do. the MT radials have been known to out 60' slicks. at most of our power levels... radials + auto = good setup.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

This is what i have a hard time understanding and or believing. I guess it might be due to tooo much traction a slick provides? Too much rolling resistance? Other than that i dont buy it. A proper wrinkle wall will always grab better, unless theres too much wrinkle and flex that it affects rolling resistance, imo.

RaverRacerX

drag radials are in the mid 6's in the quarter.. its not traction or lack there of

skinny z

The fastest dragsters on the planet use a wrinkle wall slick. So that solves the traction debate. If a radial was faster on a top fuel car, you know they would switch in a heartbeat. As for the rest of them, you build a chassis around your choice of slick so I guess it's not apples to apples.
As for my modest power levels (my engine wouldn't even drive the supercharger on a AA/F), I've seen success with both styles of tire. I will say that it's a little weird driving on a 12 psi bias-ply ET Street at 115 mph. I can imagine going quicker makes it even more delightful. This is part of my reasoning for leaning towards the radial. That and driving on the street with them (just a little now and then) is much easier on my constitution.
Personally, I think ANY fresh DOT slick on my car would make a difference. I should be able to dead hook with ET Streets or Drag Radials. Some new shocks might help too.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

yeah and slicks are in the 4's. So how is it that a radial 60 foots better than slicks? "the MT radials have been known to out 60' slicks. at most of our power levels"

Thats all I'm saying, is I dont see how going drag radial over bias ply slick will automatically make you 60 foot better. Unless I misread what you were trying to say, and you were simply saying a radial is capable of 60 footing as well as slicks, which I agree a properly set up car will have no problem 60 footing well on radials and should beable to match a slick since both kinds are more than sufficient for street car power levels, especialy a low 12 second 300-330whp car.

skinny z

Not sure where the data is coming from but wouldn't you think that at the 6 second power level with any specification of chassis, that one would match the other and vice-versa? (forget my car for now because I don't think it really matters) Seems to me the only variable here, once the traction issue has been resolved, is the rolling resistance between the two? I can see how a wrinkle wall slick all bunched up is going to take a little more horsepower to move along than a radial. Horsepower otherwise used to move the car forward.
Isn't there a statistic somewhere that also demonstrates the better trap speeds achieved by a radial?

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

6 seconds doesnt necessarily tell the whole story. Yeah those x275 type guys run solid numbers but i believe alot of them run advanced boost by gear controllers and or traction control boxes or ignition timing control units that can cut power out and save traction. Some dont but some do and that doesnt prove drag radials are superior. Advanced power tuning can save traction where maybe a larger slick tire would handle more power and run faster. This is true in larger tire classes or outlaw 10.5 etc. times are faster

But yes there may be something to rolling resistance with radials vs slicks. Maybe alittle more mph as a radial should have less tire growth at speed thus not reducing gearing effect.