With a 15" steel wheel, your not going to have the rim width that you will want. If you want 15" wheels, check into some LX rims. Personally, I would go with BFG's or ET Streets. I'd stay away from Nittos. They are good on the street, but not soo great on the track. Here is some discussion between ET Streets or BFG's that we had on another board. Enjoy!!!
Okay, I'm getting ready to buy tires for my SC. I need something that will work well with and AOD running a 12" non-lock converter and 3.27 or 3.55 gears. I really had thought that I was going to go with the BFG Comp T/A Drag Radials. However, a lot people seem to like the Mickey Thompson ET Streets. Is there a clear advantage between the two, or more of a personal preference. Thanks.
BFG Comp T/A
275-50-15 on 15x7.5" Rim
$130 Each
MT ET Streets
26-10.5-15 on 15x7.5" Rim
$145 Each
Thomas
----------------------------------------------------------------
If your going to be doing alot of driving ET streets are out..Drag radials are good i y ou do indeed do alot fo street riding..I perfer MT Sportsman pros..Which they prob still make in a 16 however you car will handle better with a drag radial and not at all with an ET street//That help?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This would be a 100% track tire.
Thomas
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ET Streets for a totally track tire. Hell, you could even try ET Drags, if you're brave.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If its track only get an ET drag..26*10 YYEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWWW
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
While were are on the topic, what kind of pressure should I run in the ET's? Also, is it true that they need to be broken in before they will perform at thier best??
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas, my ET Streets seems to work well around 18.5 psi. But that totally depends on the track conditions for that day. I usually start around 21 psi and decrease pressure until I hook.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas,
18-20 psi works best for me. I also found that if I don't get them good and hot (burn thru 1st and 2nd gear) they will spin. I would start out doing your normal burnout and add a little more time to it if they spin.
David
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you go with a true slick you can most likely get away with a lower pressure..I dont see why you wouldnt want a true slick if its a track only tire..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ET Drag vs. ET Street...hmmmm...I have a set of 26x10 ET Drags on LX wheels right now and the downsides are the Drag's are a true "measured" 10 inch tires and are really hanging off a 6.5" rim. These are not available in 16" for use with our 7" wheels, remember.
The other problem is the tire gets pulled in to the rim so you are only using the middle 7" of the tire or so plus you are lugging all that extra rubber that you aren't using down the track as unsprung weight. 26x8 would be the better choice here as they fit the rim well and you get as much or more useable rubber on the ground. I got the 26x10's free so I figured I would try them. They are pretty wobbly on the top end in my SC.
ET Streets are measured as smaller than their sidewall stampings. The 26x11.50 that has been popularized (is this even a word? ) by Mr Neibert and Kurt K are actually a little smaller than a 26x10 ET Drag. 26x10.5 is an even better fit still at only about 8.5 inches wide, plus you aren't carring all that extra tire down the track, plus plus you can get them in 16" and use a 7" SC wheel.
Other advantages are the DOT rating if you ever want to race in a DOT tire class and the availability of a 27 inch diameter tire now. I will probably switch to these for that last reason alone.
BFG DR's are a killer tire too. I had a set on my Mustang that were 275-60-15's as street tires and decided to try them at the track. The car usually 60 footed in the high 1.4 low 1.5 range with both wheels in the air with 28x10.5 ET Drags. On DR's it 60'ed a 1.60 and hung the tires as well.
255-16's are about equal in size to a 26 x 11.50 ET Street and fit decent on a 7" rim. They are also designed to run tubeless and MT recommends tubes to prevent leakage. Nice thing about these is after you are done racing and don't feel like changing tires for the ride home you can drive home with much less dramatics than you would on a MT ET of any kind. Plus Chris Wise uses them...How can you argue with that
As far as pressure is concerned you should run as much pressure as you can without raising your 60 ft times. Any less than optimal and you are slowing your car down on the top end of the track because of the rolling resistance, and also a 4000 pound car feels really loose on the top end with 15 psi in a slick. 24psi or so is a good start and you can let a little air out until you find what works for you...Usually 18-25 psi is the norm around here.
So ends todays drag tire lesson....Crap! I am giving away info before the Shootout....Ignore all I just wrote
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hrrmmm..... it sounds like the ET is the popular choice, but then again Chris has pulled some awesome 60' times out of the BFG's. Here is another question. Which tire would be the easiest to launch (i.e. most forgiving of driver lack of skillzz)
Thomas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas,
With an automatic there isn't much skill required..just floor it. Either tire will work fine at our power levels, I didn't start spinning mine until this year when the power levels were up to where they are now. And if I do the burnout correctly there not spinning enough that I can even tell, so I wouldn't worry.
BTW, I'm wondering how well they are going to grip launching with a 100 HP shot of nitrous. I should find out in the next couple weeks.
David
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HERE IS THE LINK:
CLICK HERE
Thomas