Drag Radials (Whats the best and where to buy?)

[SaleenGT2001]

have firestone firehawks 295's on mine for the street and i blew the tires off 1st and 2nd. i run 275/50/15 mt et street radials at the track and they hook like hell!!

i launch my car at 5500 rpm and they will hook everytime!!!

M/T FTW!!

 

[HoustonGT]

have firestone firehawks 295's on mine for the street and i blew the tires off 1st and 2nd. i run 275/50/15 mt et street radials at the track and they hook like hell!!

i launch my car at 5500 rpm and they will hook everytime!!!

M/T FTW!!

What width rim are you running those 275/50/15's on?

 

[SaleenGT2001]

15x8 prostars

 

[93gtmustang]

In have Nitto drag radials. 1.8 to 1.9 60' times. They weren't hooking well about mid season. I reduced my launch rpms from 4000rpms to 3000 to 3500 rpms and they started hooking well again. I actually got my best 60' times at lower rpms.
I ran my Nitto's almost every weekend this past summer at the track. The drive to and from the track, 1/2 hour each way, and some weekend driving(my car is not a daily driver). My garage got them to pass inspection this past Oct. They shouldn't have passed. I don,t think any DOT Drag Radial that is used for drag racing and the street is going to last. Especially if you have line-lok like I do and heat them up each race. That really wears them out!!
I'm going to buy street tires for the rears soon and another set of wheels and drag tires. I was going to buy E.T. Streets (basically a slick with 2-thin lines so you can compete in DOT classes and events) My car is a 5 speed. I think that a real slick is going to beat the crap out of the transmission and rear. I think I'm going to stick with a drag radial. I might try BGF's this time.
Unless your running some high horse power, I think drag radials hook fine. It's just a matter of finding the right rpms to launch at. Plus it's less strain on your car.
One of my friends at the track has a 69 Camero that runs 9.3's at 145mph. He launches at 2000 rpms!!!!

 

[93gtmustang]

This is an e-mail I got from Nitto in reference to tire pressure when using their drag radials.

For track use the pressure can be set to 20 PSI and adjusted accordingly to your preference, but never use the tire below 15 PSI.
We recommend to mark the wheel and tire (using paint or shoe polish) to monitor slipping between the tire and wheel. If the tire moves on the wheel (even a fraction of an inch), pressure should be increased.
After racing is concluded return the tire pressure to normal PSI for street use.
In our testing, we found for optimal performance, the surface temperature of the tire should be greater then 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Burn out time is dependent on track conditions in order for the tire to reach this optimal temperature. I hope this has answered your questions and I thank you for your business.

 

[93gtmustang]

Jeg's or Summit will mount and balance your tires so they are ready to go when UPS rolls them up your driveway.
Summit offers a replica of Weld Pro Stars and Drag Lites in 4&5 lug for about 110.00 each.

 

[geoffsgt]

I've always heard good things about Nitto's. I've heard they last longer than the other 2, and hook pretty decent. I've also always heard that a serious burnout is required for them to perform as designed, and if you skip it, or cut it short, you'll be disappointed.

 

[93gtmustang]

Articles that I have read said that the idea of a burn out in drag racing is to clean the tires. A light hazing of the tires is reccomended and immediately stage.
Some say the first burnout should be a hard one followed by shorter ones.
A racer I know at the track , has been racing for 30 years, said to look in your mirror and when the smoke turns brown to roll out of the burn out.
But sometimes you can't resist sitting there longer and letting the smoke fly!!!

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Articles that I have read said that the idea of a burn out in drag racing is to clean the tires. A light hazing of the tires is reccomended and immediately stage.

While this may be true with street radials, bias-plys and purpose only race tires need the heat in order to stick. That being said, anyone that does a burn out at the track without the use of water has rocks in their head. The water is there to aid in a consistent temperature for your burn out and lengthen the life your tires. I see a person blowing the tires off on dry pavement, it either tells they've got more money than they need, or they're not very smart.........it's usually the latter.

 

[93gtmustang]

Street tires are not made to be heated up. They actually grip less when heated.
With a street tire you should drive around the water box, no burn out, and stage.
Drag Radials, water box and burn out. Same with slicks. The guy who sits there and does a big smoke show for about 10-15 seconds is just having fun, wearing out his tires, and doing it for show. All the experienced racers at the track I go to, do a 5 second burnout and stage. As in the Nitto information I posted previously,
Nittto drag radials perform best at 110 degrees, which really is not hot on a summers day. One race day, I went through the water box, ripped the tires, moved up to lin-lok and burn out and then there was a delay, debris on the track. I sat about 5 minutes. I have a 5 speed and do my burn outs in 2nd gear. When I dumped the clutch, the tires spun a little, the engine bogged and stalled. So I did my burn out again in 1st. gear and it started bogging right away, so I let go off the lin-lok and rolled out of it. I thought was just going to spin because I didn't do a lengthy burn out. Just the opposite, hooked great 1.9 60' time. It was my second time trial so the tires really didn't require a second hard burn out, just a light one. I had already did a hard burn out in my first time trial.

Read this below from Mickey Thompson Tires

DRAG SLICK COMPOUND, ROLLOUT, AND BURNOUT SPECIFICATION SHEET
BURNOUTS- FOR MOST APPLICATIONS
1. First pass of the day hard burnout. After that follow general guidelines of #2 and #3 stated below.
2. Automatic transmissions and Softer compounds: First pass or two, fairly hard burnout, after that a light burnout should be sufficient.
3. Standard transmission "Stockers": No burnout or short, dry burnout. Super Stock and Comp cars- light burnout, haze tires and stage immediately.

 

[HoustonGT]

Street tires are not made to be heated up. They actually grip less when heated.
With a street tire you should drive around the water box, no burn out, and stage.
Drag Radials, water box and burn out. Same with slicks. The guy who sits there and does a big smoke show for about 10-15 seconds is just having fun, wearing out his tires, and doing it for show. All the experienced racers at the track I go to, do a 5 second burnout and stage. As in the Nitto information I posted previously,
Nittto drag radials perform best at 110 degrees, which really is not hot on a summers day. One race day, I went through the water box, ripped the tires, moved up to lin-lok and burn out and then there was a delay, debris on the track. I sat about 5 minutes. I have a 5 speed and do my burn outs in 2nd gear. When I dumped the clutch, the tires spun a little, the engine bogged and stalled. So I did my burn out again in 1st. gear and it started bogging right away, so I let go off the lin-lok and rolled out of it. I thought was just going to spin because I didn't do a lengthy burn out. Just the opposite, hooked great 1.9 60' time. It was my second time trial so the tires really didn't require a second hard burn out, just a light one. I had already did a hard burn out in my first time trial.

Read this below from Mickey Thompson Tires

DRAG SLICK COMPOUND, ROLLOUT, AND BURNOUT SPECIFICATION SHEET
BURNOUTS- FOR MOST APPLICATIONS
1. First pass of the day hard burnout. After that follow general guidelines of #2 and #3 stated below.
2. Automatic transmissions and Softer compounds: First pass or two, fairly hard burnout, after that a light burnout should be sufficient.
3. Standard transmission "Stockers": No burnout or short, dry burnout. Super Stock and Comp cars- light burnout, haze tires and stage immediately.

I'd be pretty upset if i spent money on some Nitto Drag Radials and they led to 1.9 60's. I was cutting a 1.9 on street tires. Guess i'll go with the BFG DR's and hope for 1.7-1.8's

 

[LS2 KLR]

I've always ran nittos and never understood what is so great about them. They don't hook very well but I guess they're better than a radial. I tried bfgs last year and they hooked pretty well, nothing like nittos. However they weren't so great in the rain. I swapped back to nittos but had a set of TTll 15s made with some mt et streets. Now they hook like a champ but don't ever get caught in the rain with them!

 

[93gtmustang]

I'd be pretty upset if i spent money on some Nitto Drag Radials and they led to 1.9 60's. I was cutting a 1.9 on street tires. Guess i'll go with the BFG DR's and hope for 1.7-1.8's

Your 1.9 on street tires is more like a 2.0, (1.97 60' stated on my ride)
My 1.9's are 1.90-1.93, my 1.8's are 1.84-1.89.

No , I'm happy with my 60' times. My car only does 14.2 at best in the quarter mile. Stock 93GT Mustang.
Your car is faster, running 13.59, so you should have quicker 60's.

I've always ran nittos and never understood what is so great about them.

I'm not plugging Nitto's, it just happens to be the first type of drag radial I bought.
I really have no problem with them.
I think the only way you'll see a big difference is going with a real slick.

 

[HoustonGT]

Your 1.9 on street tires is more like a 2.0, (1.97 60' stated on my ride)
My 1.9's are 1.90-1.93, my 1.8's are 1.84-1.89.

No , I'm happy with my 60' times. My car only does 14.2 at best in the quarter mile. Stock 93GT Mustang.
Your car is faster, running 13.59, so you should have quicker 60's.


I'm not plugging Nitto's, it just happens to be the first type of drag radial I bought.
I really have no problem with them.
I think the only way you'll see a big difference is going with a real slick.

I'm just saying that if Nittos only cut 60' by 4 thousandths of a second, then no thanks. Also, I'm on heavy chrome 18x9's and a 2" drop and just because i'm running 13.59's and you're running 14.2's doesn't mean i should have a better 60' there are high 14 sec cars cutting 1.8 60's on DR's. Its all about getting out of the hole man

 

[Gearbanger 101]

Street tires are not made to be heated up. They actually grip less when heated.
With a street tire you should drive around the water box, no burn out, and stage.
Drag Radials, water box and burn out. Same with slicks. The guy who sits there and does a big smoke show for about 10-15 seconds is just having fun, wearing out his tires, and doing it for show.

While I'm with you that heating a set of street radials isn't a good thing, I do think a short 3-4 second burn out with stock street tires would be beneficial. Not enough to heat them to any great extent mind you, but enough to clean off all of the rocks, dust and debris you picked up on your way to the staging lane.

Heating up street radials on the other hand, makes the greasy and will actually hurt your 60-ft times.....as does excessively dropping your tire pressure. There's no reason you should be running less than about 26lbs of air in a street tire. Most work best at a stock 30-32lbs of air.

I actually laugh at the guys at the track running their BFG Comp and Radial T/A's, etc, etc and insist on burning them for 5-15 sec at a time like the guys running slicks. Or the ones that will burn them in one spot, then stop and drive up to the line instead of rolling out of the burn out like you're supposed to. You can always tell the amateurs. They're the ones looking at their time slips wondering why they can't cut better than a 2.2X 60-ft time.

 

[93gtmustang]

While I'm with you that heating a set of street radials isn't a good thing, I do think a short 3-4 second burn out with stock street tires would be beneficial. Not enough to heat them to any great extent mind you, but enough to clean off all of the rocks, dust and debris you picked up on your way to the staging lane.

Heating up street radials on the other hand, makes the greasy and will actually hurt your 60-ft times.....as does excessively dropping your tire pressure. There's no reason you should be running less than about 26lbs of air in a street tire. Most work best at a stock 30-32lbs of air.

I actually laugh at the guys at the track running their BFG Comp and Radial T/A's, etc, etc and insist on burning them for 5-15 sec at a time like the guys running slicks. Or the ones that will burn them in one spot, then stop and drive up to the line instead of rolling out of the burn out like you're supposed to. You can always tell the amateurs. They're the ones looking at their time slips wondering why they can't cut better than a 2.2X 60-ft time.

Couldn't have said it better Gearbanger.
Good point, it doesn't hurt to clean street radials with a light burn out. With the deeper treads of street tires, your better off avoiding the water box, your just dragging water to the line.
Tire pressure!!! I see guys at the track running their drag radials like at 13 psi.
You know that the rims are spinning inside the tires! I chalked mine at 18psi and they move about 3/4-1". Low tire pressure is for a real slick with a wrinkle wall and tube. Drag radials are not wrinkle wall.

 

[93gtmustang]

HoustonGT
I'm just saying that if Nittos only cut 60' by 4 thousandths of a second, then no thanks. Also, I'm on heavy chrome 18x9's and a 2" drop and just because i'm running 13.59's and you're running 14.2's doesn't mean i should have a better 60' there are high 14 sec cars cutting 1.8 60's on DR's. Its all about getting out of the hole man

I do cut 1.8 60' times. And 1.9's consistantly.
The difference between 1.97 and 1.84 is more than 4 thousandths. It's 1 tenth plus!!! You can't judge my 60' times by what your car could possibly run. They are two totally different cars. And I'm not trying to sell Nitto as a great tire. I just happen to have a set on my car. I may change to something else when I purchase my next set which is soon.
If you can drop your 60' times by 1 tenth, that's really good!!! I hope you realize that!!
From what I've read for drag radials, Mickey Thompsons hook the best, then BFG's, then Nitto's. For wear, the previous tires in reverse order.
Toyo is coming out with a drag radial.
I personally like the little bit of slip that you get from a drag radial. I think it's easier on the car's tarnsmission and rear than dumping the clutch on a slick.
How often do you go to the track? I just checked out your profile and you have 2.10 for a 60' time. Which is it? You said you run 1.9's on street tires. 1.97 is practically 2 seconds. And 2.10 is more than 2 seconds.
If a car is faster, it just stands to reason that your 60' time will be quicker, as long as the car hooks up. As well as 330', 660', and so on. What do you think a 9 second car has for a 60' time? A friend of mine has a Camero, 9 second car, 60' is like1.4or 1.5. Do you see what I mean? Your not going to get those kind of times because you don't have the horse power to get of the hole. Also if you hook to good without enough horse power, your car will bog and not launch as well. You want a little spin and some grab. It's all about finding that sweet spot in your launching technique. And once you find that, the weather and sun will screw you up!!!
No one said it was easy!!!

 

[HoustonGT]

I do cut 1.8 60' times. And 1.9's consistantly.
The difference between 1.97 and 1.84 is more than 4 thousandths. It's 1 tenth plus!!! You can't judge my 60' times by what your car could possibly run. They are two totally different cars. And I'm not trying to sell Nitto as a great tire. I just happen to have a set on my car. I may change to something else when I purchase my next set which is soon.
If you can drop your 60' times by 1 tenth, that's really good!!! I hope you realize that!!
From what I've read for drag radials, Mickey Thompsons hook the best, then BFG's, then Nitto's. For wear, the previous tires in reverse order.
Toyo is coming out with a drag radial.
I personally like the little bit of slip that you get from a drag radial. I think it's easier on the car's tarnsmission and rear than dumping the clutch on a slick.
How often do you go to the track? I just checked out your profile and you have 2.10 for a 60' time. Which is it? You said you run 1.9's on street tires. 1.97 is practically 2 seconds. And 2.10 is more than 2 seconds.
If a car is faster, it just stands to reason that your 60' time will be quicker, as long as the car hooks up. As well as 330', 660', and so on. What do you think a 9 second car has for a 60' time? A friend of mine has a Camero, 9 second car, 60' is like1.4or 1.5. Do you see what I mean? Your not going to get those kind of times because you don't have the horse power to get of the hole. Also if you hook to good without enough horse power, your car will bog and not launch as well. You want a little spin and some grab. It's all about finding that sweet spot in your launching technique. And once you find that, the weather and sun will screw you up!!!
No one said it was easy!!!

Obviously the 1.97 is the updated 60' with the updated time. Just trying to point out that i noticed that according to your post, the Nittos don't seem too good at all. Comparing 60's doesn't make too much sense but we are comparing tires as well. Just realize that if you run a 14.2 and i run a 13.59, doesn't mean my 60' should be better. A 9 second car is obviously hooking but when talking 13's and 14's, 60's can vary ALOT.