slicks/dragradials....what ones?

fastsc92

Registered User
Ok..i need to get my 60' times down. I'm hope that with my 3.27's and the 5 speed with slicks i can get it down to a 1.8 60'. I dont know what to get. Should I get a M/T which is a wrinkle wall tire that is 90% a full out slick but DOT approved for friday race nights. Or should I get some BFG's or nittos? Also..what size and what size rims. I want to get a 15" steel rim...something cheap just for the track, but i cant find one. I was hoping to get a 15x 8 but no one makes them for our bolt pattern. I can get a 15x 6...thats stock on a taurus or base t-bird for liek 30 bucks each..but 6" is kinda small. With a bfg on a 6" rim...that'll be 8" of tread. I was hoping to get about 10" of tread on an 8" rim. FOr those who have drage radials or slicks...what are you using? I know i can only get a stock rim, but i wanted something super super cheap...like a 15" steel wheel. Anyhelp here would be great.
 
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
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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?
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This would be a 100% track tire.

Thomas
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ET Streets for a totally track tire. Hell, you could even try ET Drags, if you're brave.
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If its track only get an ET drag..26*10 YYEEHAWWWWWWWWWWWWW
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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??
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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.
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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
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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..
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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
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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
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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
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HERE IS THE LINK: CLICK HERE

Thomas
 
i've almost made up my mind to choose the BFG's. For those who have them...what 60' foot times are you pulling and if its an auto or a stick. Also...what size tire and rim combo. Like i said I''d relly like to go cheap on this...so a steel wheel would be best, but its skinny, and a used LX wheel is only a 15X 6.5 isn't it?
 
BFG Comp T/A 275-50-15 on 15x7.5" Aftermarket Rims is what I am going with myself. Chris Wise runs 11's on 16" BFG Drag Radials, so they have to be pretty good :D

Thomas
 
Well, I have a set of M/T Sportsman Pro's 26x10.5x15. I love them, the difference between a radial and a wrinkle wall is HUGE. If you want to hook then go with a wrinkle wall but don't think about driving them on the street at all because they will be gone in no time and there is basically no sidewall so turns will be mushy. As far as tire pressure I have brought them down to 15 lbs so far but I was still spinning them the last time I went out, may try less even though they say not to go under 16 with our heavy cars. I got my car down to a best of 1.86 but that is and auto and I still haven't figured it out with my new engine. So basically what I am saying is get the wrinkle walls and put them on some LX rims. One other thing you may consider, I wish I had, is to buy two SC rims and put some of those tires on there for some fun sleeper street racing. Makes for a hell of a launch to surprise that guy next to you in a beefed up Stang'.
 
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hell they have stangs with a hell of alotmore power in the 8's on drag radials...But if its track only..WHy not try a slick..Ya know
 
There is BIG bucks in the suspension in those Stangs though. I wouldn't want to drive those down the street either, talk about not being able to take a turn.
 
these will only be used at the track..and not even for the ride up there. I want to hook good and not be disapointed with what i get. I;m sure anything will hook better than a radial tire, but i'd like some more input to help me decide. And again.....i cant find rims for this. I thougt the lx wheels were 15 x 6 1/2. And the cheapest i could find a spare set of sc wheels was 125 a peice.
 
you're right on size of LX rims but they work with 26x10.5x15. If you want best traction, find some 14" rims(if you can) and get some slicks for those, more rubber to bite and wrinkle. If only for track though definately go with wrinkle walls.
 
seems like mounting a 10.5" tire on a 6.5" rim would really make it cupped. My main concern is not the price of tires...but price of rims. DO you think that if i got a 6" rim and mounted some BFG 235 60 15's on there it would be ok?....and not too skinny?
 
it's not optimum but it works. Our stock rims are 7" but we run 10.5" tires on them all the time, .5" isn't that much worse. Check Summit though, they make some cheap light steel rims that you might be able to get blanks and have the holes drilled somewhere.
 
i called then the other day asking about those...but the backspacing and offset wont work. would it be possible to mount something wider on a 6" rim? BFG says a 255 50 15 is for 7" and above...i wonder if i can squeeze it on a 6" rim.
 
I've got a set of M/T ET streets 26 x 11.5 x 16 mounted on stock SC wheels. They are a tight fit and the 10.5 width would be a better choice.

I would think stock SC wheels would be dirt cheap (under $50 each) with all the people who have installed aftermarket wheels. Have you posted anything in the classified section ? Last week there were a couple people selling new M/T ET streets 26 x 10.5 x 16 on ebay for $100 a pair.

David
 
now whats better...the ET street or the sportsman pro's?? Sportsmans are cheaper than a BGF and prob. a lot stickier. BUt the et's are the most like a slick.
 
Streets are better, deep treads on Sportsman's. It's even better if you get tubes, you can bring pressure way down then but it makes it interesting in the shut down. Don't really need unless you are really looking to hammer down that short time.
 
ok i just got a pair of mint SC wheels for 80 bucks at the local salvage yard. I think i'll go with the sportsman pros.......Aaron....are you very happy with your M/T pro's or if you have to do it again would you get something different. And Dave....same question with your ET streets..besides the width.
 
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