I'm going to the local track and need advice on the best size drag radial. Any particular, better tires on the market. They will be 15X10 wheels. Now about the car it's a 99 Mustang GT 4.6 2v with manual trans. Has all bolt ons and a Bama Tune Subframe connectors, 456 gears. Will have Trickflow heads soon. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Drag radials
- Thread starter Jaime Tucjer
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rancorkeeper
Founding Member
BFGS all the way if you're going to keep them on the car, specifically because they grip excellent & are decent in the rain. I had BFG 315s on my BUllitt for six years (stored winters) & saw plenty of bad weather driving with them. Great tire.
rancorkeeper
Founding Member
I lik the Sport Comps, although they don't make them in the width I used to run. If you want something really wide, the Rival S is what you'd need to look at.
Sorry to bust in like this, but he is asking for help with drag tires, not street tires. My only advice is once you find out what size your car can handle, run a bias ply on your stick car. Radials work better on automatics. Check Mickey Thompson ET STREET R BIAS. Having said that, you will have to match the front tires or run skinnies. Don't run radial fronts with bias rears.
I have a question if I'm running 26" now if I go to 28" will that hurt my 1/8 mile performance with 456 gears.
I really can't help with what will fit into your fender wells but my gut says if you can run 28's to do it, you have plenty of gear. What gear are you in now when you run through the traps? You should never be in overdrive. You should be crossing the line in 4th near redline. Adjusting tire size and gear ratio gets you there.
You need more tire. If the 28's will fit go with them. Keep in mind you will not have the kind of wheel spin you are used to and will change your shift points. Also these tires have enough grip to break parts, lots of parts. Lay down a few easy runs and work up to your launch. If you break these tires loose at launch slip the clutch more. Never short shift, shift right at your rev limiter or at the limits of your valve train. You don't have to do big burnouts with these tires to heat them up, roll thru the water box and spin them just enough to clean them and your good. Big burnouts even though they look cool are counter productive.
https://lmr.com/products/Fox-Body-Tire-Guide
I found this, it may help.
28x11.50-15 mount on eight inch wide wheels with a 11.1 section width and 8.8 inch tread width.
Wheel backset I think would be critical, hopefully someone can help with this.
I found this, it may help.
28x11.50-15 mount on eight inch wide wheels with a 11.1 section width and 8.8 inch tread width.
Wheel backset I think would be critical, hopefully someone can help with this.
Oh, by the way, you will have to play with air pressure. On the way to the track you will probably need to run about 26-28 pounds cold. When you get to the track air down to about 14 pounds but don't go lower than 12. Check the pressure again after a couple of runs. What are you planning to run on the front?
With the 255/60/r15 MT street R, 4th gear @ 6k rpm will be around 100-105mph(27in tire)
With the 275/60/r15 MT street R, 4th gear @ 6k rpm will be around 105-109mph(28in tire)
That 275 might be a tight fit. But the tread with is 9.50 inches and should fit on a 8.5 wide tire.
https://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/mtt-3559/overview/
on the street though vs the normal drag radials.
With the 275/60/r15 MT street R, 4th gear @ 6k rpm will be around 105-109mph(28in tire)
That 275 might be a tight fit. But the tread with is 9.50 inches and should fit on a 8.5 wide tire.
https://www.summitracing.com/oh/parts/mtt-3559/overview/
Those MT wont last for
on the street though vs the normal drag radials.
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You’re absolutely correct they're only meant to be run back and forth to the track. I'll admit they are not daily drivers for everyone but to be quite honest they are relatively inexpensive. They do what they are supposed to do without compromise. Besides, Jaime asked about drag tires and qualified it by asking what we though was the best. We run them on our cars (on the street) and know how well they work. The bias ply construction reacts better to the shock from a clutch car and they don't need to be as wide as a radial to deliver maximum traction. I believe I cautioned him properly about what to expect from the tires and went over basic safety. I just thought he deserved to have the answer he asked for. It's one man's opinion.
rancorkeeper
Founding Member
The post is titled Drag Radials & his first sentence reads: "I'm going to the local track and need advice on the best size drag radial." Drag radials are street tires & the BFG G-Force Sport Comp 2s are a drag radial. So are BFG G-Force T/As & MT Streets - they're all D.O.T.-approved drag radials.
rancorkeeper
Founding Member
Don't be an ass - try some civility or go to another forum. You didn't know what the term 'drag radial' meant & now you've learned something. Appreciate the knowledge you've gained & say thank you, like a man.
Participating in this thread may be dangerous ground now but how about some tire reality for you Jaime?
First let's get this straight. Just because a tire meant for the strip has a DOT rating doesn't mean it's a good idea to drive the streets with them. It's usually a really bad idea and more often than not, an expensive idea. I not saying anyone has suggested to you it was ok. Just making sure you realize this. If your not trailering your car to the strip, put your strip tires on at the track and take them off when you leave.
Some reality about which tire. You haven't given any information to suggest an opinion on one tire over another. First you haven't said anything about your car. How much does it weigh? Should it be assumed it's stock weight? How is the weight distributed? What's the car's COG height? How much does COG differ from COM? What kind of suspension are you running? Should it be assumed you have some experience already? If so, what temperature readings are you getting now on the tires you're using? Are you running with an alignment for a street vehicle? How's the car tracking? What are your current ET's and 60 foot times? Are you pursuing a class to run in? etc.
Second, you haven't said anything about your track or where it's at. What time of the day are you running? Is time slotted by class and time of the day fairly consistent? Will you be running at a home track or moving around a lot? If it's a home track what is the track condition and how's it maintained? Do they follow any track condition standards? How's the track prep'd? etc.
Third, What do other drivers familiar with the track have to say about tires and conditions? They can tell you more than anyone here. Questions about their suggestions make more sense, IMO, than questions about conditions and circumstances people here probably know nothing about.
I realize this is all a lot to digest but it's all standard research to the serious racer. Serious has nothing to do with where any driver fits on a line from the amateur to professional driver. It's about the passion to run the best race you can. I assume the ability to warehouse tires to be prepared run on any track at any time of day in any temperature is something you can't do. That makes your ability to answer the questions here all that more important because you need a tire that suits your car and track the best, most of the time. As you collect this data most tire companies will be happy to take your information and suggest tires for you. You may find out radials aren't your best choice. A lot of tire companies are familiar with the different tracks that are part of any of the many circuit events so a lot of this information they may already have for you. Are there any prominent and maintained billboards for tire companies at the track? Have you talked to track management about any tire companies involved with the track? Believe it or not all the companies offering products supporting drag racing have a new customer factor. The factor is number of additional customers each new customer will bring them. Because of the factor they want to talk to and help you.
This may be harsh to say but the other side of the coin from the information here is the bling effect the tires bring the driver or car. That's for the show cars and there is nothing wrong with that.
It doesn't matter if you're racing F1or a top fuel funny car because of parity created by classes and class rules there is a saying that the three most important things in racing are tires, tires, tires.
First let's get this straight. Just because a tire meant for the strip has a DOT rating doesn't mean it's a good idea to drive the streets with them. It's usually a really bad idea and more often than not, an expensive idea. I not saying anyone has suggested to you it was ok. Just making sure you realize this. If your not trailering your car to the strip, put your strip tires on at the track and take them off when you leave.
Some reality about which tire. You haven't given any information to suggest an opinion on one tire over another. First you haven't said anything about your car. How much does it weigh? Should it be assumed it's stock weight? How is the weight distributed? What's the car's COG height? How much does COG differ from COM? What kind of suspension are you running? Should it be assumed you have some experience already? If so, what temperature readings are you getting now on the tires you're using? Are you running with an alignment for a street vehicle? How's the car tracking? What are your current ET's and 60 foot times? Are you pursuing a class to run in? etc.
Second, you haven't said anything about your track or where it's at. What time of the day are you running? Is time slotted by class and time of the day fairly consistent? Will you be running at a home track or moving around a lot? If it's a home track what is the track condition and how's it maintained? Do they follow any track condition standards? How's the track prep'd? etc.
Third, What do other drivers familiar with the track have to say about tires and conditions? They can tell you more than anyone here. Questions about their suggestions make more sense, IMO, than questions about conditions and circumstances people here probably know nothing about.
I realize this is all a lot to digest but it's all standard research to the serious racer. Serious has nothing to do with where any driver fits on a line from the amateur to professional driver. It's about the passion to run the best race you can. I assume the ability to warehouse tires to be prepared run on any track at any time of day in any temperature is something you can't do. That makes your ability to answer the questions here all that more important because you need a tire that suits your car and track the best, most of the time. As you collect this data most tire companies will be happy to take your information and suggest tires for you. You may find out radials aren't your best choice. A lot of tire companies are familiar with the different tracks that are part of any of the many circuit events so a lot of this information they may already have for you. Are there any prominent and maintained billboards for tire companies at the track? Have you talked to track management about any tire companies involved with the track? Believe it or not all the companies offering products supporting drag racing have a new customer factor. The factor is number of additional customers each new customer will bring them. Because of the factor they want to talk to and help you.
This may be harsh to say but the other side of the coin from the information here is the bling effect the tires bring the driver or car. That's for the show cars and there is nothing wrong with that.
It doesn't matter if you're racing F1or a top fuel funny car because of parity created by classes and class rules there is a saying that the three most important things in racing are tires, tires, tires.
