best place to get 315 drag radials

Joes95GT said:

I won't even get into the performance disadvantage of the tires....

From a street car perspective - their 555 series tire (not the 555R), is a horrible tire. They lasted about 20k on my buddy's 98 Talon. I have a comparable tire on my car, Michelin Pilot Sports, and I've got about 15k on the tires - they've still got 50% of their tread life left.

Joe

Click to expand...

Ummm I have ~ 20k on my 555's up front with 2 open track events and a couple auto-x's and they look great. They are great in the rain, are not extremely loud, and look badass. They are not garbage tires, they are very decent for the money.

I have personally had both tires (and even the new bfg dr's), so I think I have a decent opinion on these 2 styles.

The Nittos are not garbage, they just arent as sticky. But, they also are quieter, ride better, perform in the rain better, have a stiffer sidewall, and are still being made. Think of the Nitto's as a sticky street tire, versus a drag radial. Now, I have pulled 1.9 60's on the Nitto's, and Paul has pulled 1.7's so they can be run succesfully at the track. They are just less consistent at the launch pad as far as whether they will stick or not.

Another plus is that they can be used pretty successfully at handling courses if you are into that kind of thing. I like to go to track rentals a couple times a year and really lean my car in the turns, versus boring driving in a straight line. I have literally been at the road course and hit a drag strip on the way home. They performed decently well at both, whereas the bfg's would be retarded at the raod course.

The Comp TA dr's are super soft, soft enough to stick your fingernail into even when they arent warmed up. They are decent at the strip because they have a soft sidewall, but that makes them loose feeling on the street. This also applies to the shorter sidewall sizes too, because my 225/45/17 bfg dr's I have for my Acura feel spongy as hell compared to the stock 215/50's. They wear out quickly, especially if you do alot of burnouts. Mine are pretty much void of any major tread and they have maybe 5k miles on them. Now, my situation is a little bit different because the bfg's are on my track only wheels. So the only real miles on them are to/from the race track. I dont do major burnouts, but I do a quick smokeup before each pass.

Now, after going through this with the 3 different styles of dr's I'll say this. If your gonna go more than once or twice to the drag strip per year get some slicks or MT et radials. The bfg's hook good, but its not like you can expect 1.7 60's without some suspension work & good driving. I sometimes struggle to pull 1.9's if the track isnt prepped well. I dont like slipping the clutch a ton either, because they arent cheap nor easy to replace. After this set of bfg's are done with I'm probably gonna go with ET radials from Mickey Tompson. They are a radial so they dont get loosey on the top end, and you dont have to spend extra money for tubes. Plus they just look a little bit nicer than the balooney ET Streets.

Any other questions?

Joes95GT said:

I won't even get into the performance disadvantage of the tires....

From a street car perspective - their 555 series tire (not the 555R), is a horrible tire. They lasted about 20k on my buddy's 98 Talon.

Click to expand...

ok one case of bad tire wear does not mean there junk. Who says that he did not have them inflated properly or was not hard on them? Takes more then one case to prove something is junk b/c theres alot of happy nitto owners out there. 555 and the 555 DR. Pretty much all my friends w/ stangs either have the 555 or the 555R and no one has complained of bad tire wear.

jtkz13 said:

Now, after going through this with the 3 different styles of dr's I'll say this. If your gonna go more than once or twice to the drag strip per year get some slicks or MT et radials. The bfg's hook good, but its not like you can expect 1.7 60's without some suspension work & good driving. I sometimes struggle to pull 1.9's if the track isnt prepped well. I dont like slipping the clutch a ton either, because they arent cheap nor easy to replace. After this set of bfg's are done with I'm probably gonna go with ET radials from Mickey Tompson. They are a radial so they dont get loosey on the top end, and you dont have to spend extra money for tubes. Plus they just look a little bit nicer than the balooney ET Streets.

Click to expand...

Perhaps you don't have too much experience with drag racing. UCA's and Subframes in a Fox hatch put my friend into consistent mid 1.7's. We got the pinion angle straightened out and the car went 1.70x in 60' - on the 1-2 the clutch blew out. Also, you may want to keep slipping the clutch if you want it to last. Clutch dumps and burnouts on sticky tires are your clutch's worst nightmare - slipping is nothing.

In a drag racing class where drag radials and street tires are the only legal tires (ET Streets and MT's new radial are illegal), everyone uses BFG, and, BFG doesn't pay contingency.

Someone also mentioned that the tires are "inconsistent". This seems to be true of Nitto's 555 tires (not DR's) - my friend got into SCCA a little and said he could get the car into the corner one minute and it would slide the next.

jtkz13 said:

I have personally had both tires (and even the new bfg dr's), so I think I have a decent opinion on these 2 styles.

The Nittos are not garbage, they just arent as sticky. But, they also are quieter, ride better, perform in the rain better, have a stiffer sidewall, and are still being made.

Click to expand...

My post was about their 555 street tire, not their drag radial. My contention is that their 555 street tire is garbage, and their 555R is garbage, with the only advantage for each of those tires being "cost".

I am not one to use something because it's cheap. Sure, they (the 555) will work, but not nearly as well as a Michelin, BFG, or Dunlop sport tire. The 555R's will work, but not nearly as well as the BFG drag radial.

Joe

Joes95GT said:

Perhaps you don't have too much experience with drag racing. UCA's and Subframes in a Fox hatch put my friend into consistent mid 1.7's. We got the pinion angle straightened out and the car went 1.70x in 60' - on the 1-2 the clutch blew out. Also, you may want to keep slipping the clutch if you want it to last. Clutch dumps and burnouts on sticky tires are your clutch's worst nightmare - slipping is nothing.

Click to expand...

Yeah I've only been to the track like 3 times a month for the past 4 years in the dry months, and have like a stack of 200+ 1/4 passes. I've been a couple times. I am not saying you cant pull good 60's with the BFG's, thats rediculous. They are te standard as far as dr's go. However most guys on here have lowering spings that are stiffer than stock, so that'll kill weight transfer and hurt launching. And I have a McLeod dula friction, and mine tends to dislike heat more than shock. It'll get difficult to get into gear when its warm from me slipping the clutch. When I just dump it, it doesnt get hot and doest lose any grip.

Joes95GT said:

Someone also mentioned that the tires are "inconsistent". This seems to be true of Nitto's 555 tires (not DR's) - my friend got into SCCA a little and said he could get the car into the corner one minute and it would slide the next.

Click to expand...

Like I said, my experience with them has been pretty positive. Now to be fair I havent tried any other brand in the same size up front, but my stepdad's Saleen with Pirelli's (mucho expensive) doesnt feel anymore grippy in the front than mine. You cant really offer a distinct opinion on them unless you have owned them and raced on them yourself.

Joes95GT said:

My post was about their 555 street tire, not their drag radial. My contention is that their 555 street tire is garbage, and their 555R is garbage, with the only advantage for each of those tires being "cost".

Click to expand...

What about treadlife, aesthetics, and noise? Are those not all in favor of the Nitto's? Like I said the 555R is more of a sticky street tire vs. a full out drag radial. But poeple HAVE pulled great 60's with them, it just takes a little more skill than with the BFG's. Everything with tires is a trade-off. You want great traction, well the tires are only gonna last 10k miles, if that. What great traction, great looks, a quiet ride, and good rain performance? Well get out the Visa because your going for a ride.

Joes95GT said:

I am not one to use something because it's cheap. Sure, they (the 555) will work, but not nearly as well as a Michelin, BFG, or Dunlop sport tire. The 555R's will work, but not nearly as well as the BFG drag radial.

Click to expand...

Well that argument may work, but the BFG's are cheaper (pricewise) and are being discontinued. This thread is about rear tires not front, and I have had BFG street tires up front, they were loud and easily developed flat spots after sitting overnight. Not to mention they were expensive and didnt handle any better than the Nitto's I have now. Pluis they looked kinda dorky (KDWS).

Joes95GT said:

I won't even get into the performance disadvantage of the tires....

From a street car perspective - their 555 series tire (not the 555R), is a horrible tire. They lasted about 20k on my buddy's 98 Talon. I have a comparable tire on my car, Michelin Pilot Sports, and I've got about 15k on the tires - they've still got 50% of their tread life left.

Joe

Click to expand...

I've got close to 30k hard miles on my 555's not the 555r's and I love them. they are really well priced and like it was said before have excellent sidewall strength,no troubles in the rain and hook really good. i have ran a slew of tires everything from goodyear to pirellis and am the happiest with my nittos. i refuse to pay 200 dollars a tire when i can get comparable performance for half the price. oh yeah the design of the 555 is badass.

I bought these in spring of 2002. They now have roughly 28k miles on them. I have went to 2 autox's, 3 open track events, and I dont drive like a grandma on the street. They dont squeal until there is serious understeer, they arent too loud on the expressway (especially since I dynamatted the floorpan), and they are very decent in the rain. I also have adjustable CC plates and I run about .75* of negative camber to help with cornering. Show me another tire that for $150 looks like this after that kind of driving, still drives great in the rain, and has the capability to be a 3 season tire and works great on the race track.