I wouldn't say that I was any genius on drag radials, but using 16" BFG's (26" tall) I ran a 1.85 60' in my 351W car, but I had to burn the clutch all through first to get it that low. Based on your comments, a similarly light touch might be in order for you too.
I also found that about 1 second of stationary burnout followed by a moving "top fuel style" burnout up to the line worked better than a traditional stationary burnout on the drag radials. They didn't really seem to benefit from getting really hot like ET Streets or slicks do.
When you switch to either slicks or ET Streets, your MPH will drop because you will have a higher roll resistance, but your 60' should improve enough to give you a better ET.
Like I said, I'm no genius driver, but here are some comparative numbers for different tire combos on my setup:
BFG D/R 16" - 1.85 60', 12.88@113
26x10.5-15 ET Street - 1.79 60',
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28x10.5-15 ET Drag - 1.61 60', 12.08@113
These times are all at Race City in Calgary, 3500' elevation, and it's always cold here (comparatively anyway). The ET Street times are with a stock transmission/rear end setup, while the others are with a TKO600/built 8.8 setup. The better transmission setup cost about 18 HP at the wheels on the dyno, which is why the ET Streets had a higher MPH. In a straight up comparison, they will have about the same MPH as the ET Drags.
At Bud Park in Edmonton (2200' elevation), I ran a 1.56 60', 11.93@116 on the ET Drags.
One thing is for sure, the ET Drags are really worth it. These days I just keep a set of 28" tall Sportsman Pros and the 28" tall ET Drags. If the rules say street tires, I run the Sportsmans, if they say slicks are ok, I run the ET Drags.
-Matthew
