Drag Radials: best to buy

Dekk70 · Aug 10, 2011

Well long story short i got a hole in the side wall of my tire and the tire was discontinued so I need some new ones. I have been thinking for awhile that when I wore down the rears i would go ahead and get drag radials and this seems like a good time to go for it.

So I need to know what you guys would suggest I get. I was planning in Nitto NT555R's but had a friend tell me they are junk so I am leaning more toward Mickey Thompsons.

Any opinions are appreciated.

sneaky98gt · Aug 10, 2011

What kind of use will they be seeing?

If it will be all on the street, and the goal is longevity and good street manners, the NT555Rs are quite nice. They have a nice stiff sidewall that is still good for cornering; they still do pretty good in the rain; and they last a good while (15,000+ if you treat them nice). They are not a bad tire for racing as well, they just won't take the same abuse (i.e. high rpm clutch drops) that other drag radials will. Lots of people still cut 1.7-1.8 60' times with them regularly (me being one of them).

If the goal is tons of traction for the track, sticky Mickeys are the way to go. They will definitely hook more consistently than the Nittos and take more abuse at the track. However, everyday performance on the street will suffer; they are not going to be safe in the rain or in hard cornering; and they are only going to last a few thousand miles at best.

billfisher · Aug 10, 2011

for absolute hooking ....hoosier 275/50/15's. they have handled all the power ive thrown at them. ill see if they can hook the new motor, but i suspect they can.

you cant DD most DR's. water makes the slick as wet butter. i looped the BFG dr's i had on I-65 in rush hour and it was just damp ansd ot raining at the time.

Maxpowers · Aug 10, 2011

You need to figure out what the car will be doing. If there is any type of rain or longevity questions, stay away from hoosier. Mine look like slicks after a few track passes.

Stumbaugh · Aug 11, 2011

When I decide to buy tires for mine again, I will go with a 555R again. I have never been as happy with a tire as I am with these. I have easily put 12,000+ miles on them, and they still have a lot of tread left. I have a few buddies with NT-05R's and they like them a lot, but they have put around 3k miles on them and already have less tread than mine.

The key with a drag radial is not to run them at 30+ psi. I have ran mine at 20psi from day one and I guarantee you I will end up getting close to 20,000 miles out of them.

Dekk70 · Aug 11, 2011

Car is my DD for the next few months at least. I am looking for more hook but i travel for work. Like right now I am 500 miles from home and I need to be able to make these drives for awhile.

From the responses it looks like Nittos would be my best bet for my current situation.

Stumbaugh · Aug 11, 2011

You will like the 555R's. They hook decently well on the street.

FastDriver · Aug 11, 2011

I've got a Mustang that's not going to get traction, period. I'm going with the Nittos for longevity. I'll buy another set of wheels/tires to run on warranted occasions.

Stumbaugh · Aug 11, 2011

FastDriver said:
I've got a Mustang that's not going to get traction, period. I'm going with the Nittos for longevity. I'll buy another set of wheels/tires to run on warranted occasions.

If it's not getting traction, then the following things are contributing factors:

Tires
Suspension
Driver

There are 1000+rwhp car's on the street that are getting traction. Just needs a good tire, properly set up suspension, and someone in it that knows how to drive.

Winters98GT · Aug 12, 2011

Stumbaugh said:
There are 1000+rwhp car's on the street that are getting traction. Just needs a good tire, properly set up suspension, and someone in it that knows how to drive.

I don't know if I agree with that. Most 6 speed cars that I know in the 900-1300rwhp range don't hook up until well over 100mph, even with 345 MT's out back. The autos do a little better on the street.

OP, the MT's and newer NT05's are basically the same compound. I've run about 5 sets of nittos 555r's, 2 bfg's, and 4 sets of MT's. If you have to travel, then go with N555r's.

Car is my DD for the next few months at least

Once you don't have to DD the car, go with MT's. There is no comparison in them and nittos. They are fine for the street and do well on the track.

redmustang83596 · Aug 12, 2011

I had both the Nittos and the Mickeys on my fox. Mickeys hooked MUCH better. Nittos could take the rain no problem, and I spun out on the highway in a mild rain with the mickeys going maybe 45mph. Do not get the mickeys if you.plan to DD the car.

Stumbaugh · Aug 12, 2011

Winters98GT said:
I don't know if I agree with that. Most 6 speed cars that I know in the 900-1300rwhp range don't hook up until well over 100mph, even with 345 MT's out back. The autos do a little better on the street.

It totally slipped my mind about the 5 and 6 speed cars. Most of the big HP cars that I have encountered are all auto cars.

If it's a 5 or 6 speed car, and not making over around 700rwhp, then refer back to my previous post.

Lugnuts · Aug 12, 2011

I have great success with Nitto 555Rs on street and strip. About 15K miles a set. Run 28psi on street and 20~22psi on strip. Get far better wet handling characteristics than I though on a 10.8" DOT drag radial until you hit standing water - they kinda like to float...hehe

FastDriver · Aug 12, 2011

Stumbaugh said:
If it's not getting traction, then the following things are contributing factors:

Tires
Suspension
Driver

There are 1000+rwhp car's on the street that are getting traction. Just needs a good tire, properly set up suspension, and someone in it that knows how to drive.

Mine is a 1000rwhp car when I turn up the boost. I'll admit I have a lot to learn, but I think there's more to it than that. I want to see these 1000rwhp fox-bodies that are hooking on the street....or track for that matter. More specifically, I want to know more about their suspension setups.

Dekk70 · Aug 18, 2011

Well I am going to go with a air of Nitto 555R's. I was wondering how wide a tire I can put on my 10 inch rims. I thought I read somewhere I could run up to 305's but thought I would ask here first.

Gearbanger 101 · Aug 18, 2011

Just remember Nitto's run a little narrower than other tires...so count on being able to go wider than most.

FastDriver · Aug 19, 2011

Find the tire you want and ask the manufacturer. This is common data for them.

Jhunter · Aug 23, 2011

You can't go wrong with the nittos, they are used and liked by a lot of people. I'm sure you cna maybe get a better tire than the nitto but you'll probably spend more for it. Your doing the right thing by educating yourself brfore you by too.
Oh and let us know what you get and how you like them.

3ponyshow · Aug 23, 2011

Dekk70 said:
Well I am going to go with a air of Nitto 555R's. I was wondering how wide a tire I can put on my 10 inch rims. I thought I read somewhere I could run up to 305's but thought I would ask here first.

Nitto 555r's are a good choice for all around driving. I've been running them for years and have no complaints. 'Course, we see little rain here and no snow, so bake that into the response. I run 315's on 9" rims without issue.

04GTMustang · Aug 24, 2011

Dekk70 said:
Well long story short i got a hole in the side wall of my tire and the tire was discontinued so I need some new ones. I have been thinking for awhile that when I wore down the rears i would go ahead and get drag radials and this seems like a good time to go for it.

So I need to know what you guys would suggest I get. I was planning in Nitto NT555R's but had a friend tell me they are junk so I am leaning more toward Mickey Thompsons.

Any opinions are appreciated.

i wouldnt say 555rs are junk at all. people that say that either 1. suck at driving or 2. just do not have the patience to learn how to drive with them. I cut a 1.65 60' on Nittos. Generally folks that say they are junk are a combination of 1 and 2. i guess people expect to do a burn out and then drop the clutch at 5k and go into a dead hook.

definitely a great tire for street and strip. better than the mickey thompson in that department. the mickey is terrible in any kind of rain. the nitto isnt that great in rain but much much much much much better than the mickey.

Drag Radials: best to buy

Dekk70

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sneaky98gt

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Dekk70

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Stumbaugh

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Gearbanger 101

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Drag Radials: best to buy

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