I am looking to buy a set of of drag radials that will fit my pony wheels. I want to have a tire I can bolt on at home and drive to the track. I see many options. Micket Thompson. Nitto, BFG. Hoosier. I am looking for a tire that will give me the best traction at the track and I am not so worried about life because I will not drive them on the street except when driving to the strip.
I had good luck with the Nitto's but I was more concerned with tire life than you are. I've also had good luck with the BFG's but they didn't last quite as long. Never tried the MT's or the Hoosier's.
Go with nitto's great tire for the track also good for the streets...I had them on a 89 iroc 350...with those tires and a 100 shot i used to go 13.0 and have 1.7 60ft's not bad for a tire you can drive to the track with...Thats what im going to use on my GT....
BFGs and Mickey Thompsons only come in 255/50/16. Nitto comes in 245/50/16. I already have 245/50/16 on the rear right now. I am not sure if the 255/50/16 will rub?
I ran 255's on mine before I converted to 5 lug. Didn't have any problem with rubbing but I didn't have quad shocks either.
I swear i thought my old Nittos were 255/50/16, maybe they changed the sizes? They fit fine, absolutely no chance of rubbing anywhere. I just made a thread in 5.0Talk, but i'm concerned about the tread life even though i'm only driving to and from the track. it came down to which would last longer even if for just a few more miles. I just put my order in for BFGs. If tread life didn't come into play i would be waiting on a pair of MT drag radials. IMO i dont think you'll be satisfied with the Nittos. Sure, you'll get more mileage and be MUCH safer in the rain with Nittos, but it doesnt sound like thats a concern for you. From my thread: http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=743241
I run a set of MT 255/50/16s on pony rims on my 93. Very nice tire for the track and occasional street driving but be warned they don't have a really long tread life and they DO NOT like the rain.
So the 255/50/16 on pony wheels will work fine. It sounds like you guys are saying the Nittos are best for longevity and rain and the BFGs and the MT are best at the track and not so good for longevity. I guess it is narrowed down to BFGs or the MT. What style MT are best? ET Street, or the ET Street Radial?
I am running MT Street Radials (255/50 - 16) and they work great. I put them on before heading to the track and take them off afterwards.
The et street is a street slick, the street radial is a drag radial. Their probably is a life difference between the two. Also, with the et streets, and driving in the rain, its compareable to driving on ice. You also need tubes for the et streets. The et street radial is a street tire, with softer compound.
Get the ET Street Radials. The ET Streets are just DOT approved slicks. They have a little bit of grooving, enough to be DOT certified, and are like ice in the rain.
I just put the bfg d/rs on my ponys a month ago or so and they work very well. I wanted the mickeys but price and availabilty caused me to lean toward the bfg's. My car does not spin anymore though.
Ok, you guys like the MT street radial which is actually a drag radial. And possibly the BFG as well. I will compare prices.
In a few weeks I will be ordering the MT's for my pony wheels. I have had the Nittos's but you really have to heat them up to get them to hook. On the street the nittos were far worse than my old falkens that were on.
I've never had a problem with my Nitto. It's a great DR and does well in rain. To each his/her/it's own.
i thought they were great on the street. When i got to the track though i was cutting the same 60ft times as worn out street tires. Now that might have something to do with the fact that I have a 1-2 shift problem (and me=teh sux), but i would have expected to see "some" improvement. But you are right, to each his own. Everybody has different driving styles. I just think that for a dedicated "to the track and back" tire....the extra money is well spent on a set of BFGs or MTs. EDIT: holy smokes! $187 for a nitto vs $156 (BFG) vs $174 (MT) at Jegs! When did that happen?? i always thought Nittos were 20-30 cheaper!
I thought the same way once….and for a daily driver (or one that gets higher mileage) I still think there is no other tire that can compare. 1.7 60's on my (then) mostly stock setup were not out of the ordinary….and up until you reach the 15k mile (mine always last 20k miles) mark they work great in the rain too. Only because I drive the stang far…far less than I used to, I will now be switching over to a stickier drag radial. I am simply overpowering the nitto's with my current setup.
It really depends on what you're doing.. if you're going to be using it as a street/strip kind of daily driver, then get the BFG's - they last long and are second only to MT's (from what i'm told)... however, if you have a separate set of rims that you're going to use only for the tracks, i suggest MT's - they are "by far" worth the extra money.
