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(Nitto) Drag radials out back, but up front too?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jason Green
  • Start date Start date Feb 20, 2004
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Jason Green

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Feb 11, 2002
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Feb 20, 2004
#21
  • Feb 20, 2004
  • #21
Well I was with him today when he ordered up the set. Four 555dr's it was.

Official answer is in. Yes they will work fine. A drag radial is a steel belted tire just like any other. They have a stiff side wall. Only difference is the soft rubber compound.
 
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gt50stang89

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East Greenville, PA
Feb 20, 2004
#22
  • Feb 20, 2004
  • #22
Thats gonna look strange having them in the front. i have the 450's in the front with the radials out back. too late now though...
 

Klunky

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Jan 30, 2002
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Feb 20, 2004
#23
  • Feb 20, 2004
  • #23
I would feel like a retard if I had DR's on the front of my car.
 

ponyboy19

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#24
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #24
Jason Green said:
Well
Official answer is in. Yes they will work fine. A drag radial is a steel belted tire just like any other. They have a stiff side wall. Only difference is the soft rubber compound.
Click to expand...

Drag radials are softer compound but they also have a softer side wall to give some and help plant the tires. even on just the rear of my stang going from BFG Comp Ta's to the same size Nitto Drags, there was a noticable difference in feel and performance in the mushyness of the tire. sounds like the offical answer was either one that somebody convinced themselves of, or one of a "Sales Rep"
 

Jason Green

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#25
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #25
555dr has the same side wall construction as the 555zr. Just different compound.

How will it look strange? The non drag 555 has virtually the same tread pattern as the drag.
 

ponyboy19

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#26
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #26
Jason Green said:
555dr has the same side wall construction as the 555zr. Just different compound.
Click to expand...

Think about what your saying. we all know that the rubber that the tire is made of is a softer compound.. that obviously means the side wall is also made of a softer rubber, which in turn will make it more flexable and perform much worse than a regular 555 when it comes to cornering. drag radials are made to have give in the side wall to help curl and bite the track. this isn't rocket science. If you want to go back in the MM&FF mags on the MAD MAX write ups they did just that, putting 555 drags on all four corners and although they said it wasn't too bad on the track you had to let the car settle on the flex before punishing the corners. not to great for the street. Good luck.
 

468LC

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Oct 29, 2001
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South HIll Wa.
Feb 21, 2004
#27
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #27
IMO there is a lot of miss information in this thread.

The NITTO DR will be fine up front so long as it is at full street pressure.

It's been done thousands of times.
 

468LC

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#28
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #28
ponyboy19 said:
Think about what your saying. we all know that the rubber that the tire is made of is a softer compound.. that obviously means the side wall is also made of a softer rubber, which in turn will make it more flexable
Click to expand...


Umm the rubber does NOT hold the car up.
 

maverick0716

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Jan 12, 2002
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Chilliwack, BC, Canada
Feb 21, 2004
#29
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #29
It says right on their website that they designed them to be used in the 1320 ft. 1/4 mile......why would you want them on the front? Waste of money.
 

wishihadastang125

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Apr 11, 2002
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Houston
Feb 21, 2004
#30
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #30
he should have just gone with M/T et drags all the way around he would get better traction
 

Jason Green

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Feb 21, 2004
#31
  • Feb 21, 2004
  • #31
The car is BARELY driven as it is. When it is, hard cornering is not an issue. Thanks for all the replies. Another advantage of putting them on all fours is now he can rotate the tires.
 
S

stang lover

Founding Member
Dec 28, 1998
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Feb 25, 2004
#32
  • Feb 25, 2004
  • #32
ponyboy19 said:
Drag radials are softer compound but they also have a softer side wall to give some and help plant the tires. even on just the rear of my stang going from BFG Comp Ta's to the same size Nitto Drags, there was a noticable difference in feel and performance in the mushyness of the tire. sounds like the offical answer was either one that somebody convinced themselves of, or one of a "Sales Rep"
Click to expand...

That's not true. Drag Radials are steel belted radials, and they have the same sidewall stiffness as the NT555ZR's, or any other radial for that matter. They are V speed rated I believe, good to 130mph.

You guys are confusing steel belted drag radials with bias ply tires. Bias ply will flex, steel belted radials will not.

And in the rain, they are fine too, as long as there's tread. The nitto's have an aggressive tread pattern that sheet away water, just look at a set.
 

ponyboy19

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May 24, 2000
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Feb 25, 2004
#33
  • Feb 25, 2004
  • #33
stang lover said:
That's not true. Drag Radials are steel belted radials, and they have the same sidewall stiffness as the NT555ZR's, or any other radial for that matter.
Click to expand...


Thanks for clearing that up. I'm just wondering when all steel belted radials were made the same. I especially like the last one. "the sidewall of the carcass is as SOFT as that of a racing slick" being a drag RADIAL and using your theory i would have thought it would all have been the same.







Is drag radials on all four livable on the street.. Probably... is it optimal, hardly.
 

PURESTREET5006

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Apr 1, 2003
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In the tech line for tear down"AGAIN"
Feb 25, 2004
#34
  • Feb 25, 2004
  • #34
You must be parts Ricer or do you have the worlds only FWD mustang....DragRadials go on the rear ONLY!!! Unless your auto crossing then maybe??
 
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