Anyone try the new M/T ET radials?

fastsc92

Registered User
I'm still in my search for a good drag tire/ dot approved. What is everyone's thoughts that have tried the et streets, bfg's, or maybe the new m/t et radials. The new radials have the same exact compound as the et streets, but with a stiffer sidewall. I'm thinking that the et radials might be best for me. What do you all think that have used both?
 
I know the ET streets really suck to drive on anywhere but the drag strip. The new radials look they will be really nice, much better handling on the street and still great grip for the track.
 
They Are Great On The Track!!!

I'm not sure about "around the town" characteristics, but the M/T consistently beat the BFG's in testing.
 
I drive everywhere on my BFG drag radials, to and from the track. I tried the M/T drag radials, and they are nothing but a slick with a 16th inch grove down it. Good luck in the rain with either of them. Oh yeah, the fastest street car running on drag radials uses BFG's . I seen him at the track one time doing a demo, he ran low 8's with a dot approved tire!
 
Already tried them???

I thought we were talking about the M/T ET Street Radial, they are not available to the public yet.

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/

The most exciting addition to our street tire line up is the new Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial, a D.O.T. approved street legal drag radial. This new tire provides great traction and acceleration on the strip and excellent control on the street. Available soon in sizes to fit most applications.
Part # Size
3752R P235/60R15 (26x9.50R15)Coming Soon
3753R P275/50R15 (26x11.50R15) Coming Soon
3754R P275/60R15 (28x11.50R15) Coming Soon
3757R P325/50R15 (28x13.50R15) Coming Soon
3762R P295/65R15 (30x12.50R15) Coming Soon
3763R P315/60R15 (30x13.50R15) Coming Soon
3793R P255/50R16 (26x10.50R16) Coming Soon
3743R P275/40R17 (26x11.50R17) Coming Soon
 
Had to do an emergancy lane change with the et streets on and almost nailed the rail. Not good for any street use although legal.
 
these tires wont be for street use..just for track use. I get mixed opinions on what is better..the bfg's or the et street and now the et street radials hit the market...so i'm still guessing on what i should get. I want to get some 60' times of 1.8's.
 
I should have some on my Cobra by next week. I ran Nitto DR's in 2001, BFG DR's in 2002 & 2003, and I'll let you know what I think about the MT DR's in about a week or so.
 
I am as curious as anybody to see how the new MT radials perform, but if you are serious about racing your 5spd, there are some things you have to understand.

First let me say that I do not care what tires you run. I am not here to sell you anything, or convince you of anything contrary to your own wishes. But if you are interested in some facts and the experience of someone who has been there, then listen for a moment.

First let me say that traction is only part of the equation. Any tire that can put down a decent contact patch with a good rubber compound is capable of hooking up turning a quick 60 ft time. There are many factors that affect how well a tire will achieve good traction, but the point is that a radial tire can "stick" as well as any other.

The rest of the equation is found in the carcass of the tire. Before you go bashing the handling qualities of an ET Street, you need firstly to understand that they are NOT street tires, and secondly that they are BIAS ply tires. Mixing bias ply tires and radials on the street is a deadly combination. Any engineer or race car driver would tell you that you are insane to put a bias ply tire on the rear of your car and a radial (usually z-rated no less!) on the front. Period. In fact, even those who run ET Streets at the track with radial tires on the front would be AMAZED at how much straighter their cars would go if they put a BIAS ply tire on the front to match.

With that out of the way, we can look a little closer at the actual design of a radial tire and what makes it different from a bias ply tire and why it is important when looking for a racing tire for your Supercoupe (especially a 5spd!!!).

With a radial tire, the belts which form the case of the tire run straight from bead to bead, 90 degrees to the radius of the tire. All radial tires are also belted. Hence the term "steel belted radial" that everyone is familiar with. That is a literal term in that a radial tire has a "belt" that runs the circumference of the tire. So the case belting and the tread belts run at 90 degrees to each other. The result is that the tread surface, being backed by a steel belt, is very strong and will maintain its shape under severe loads. This is a good thing. However, the sidewall (or case) of the tire has little strength at all. Hence the reason that radial tires tend to bulge on the sides. The only way that a radial tire can even be used, is that hard rubber is built into those sidewalls to support the tire and reduce flex. The higher the performance rating of the tire, the more hard rubber the tire has in the sidewall and the less it flexes.

Now lets look at bias ply tires. The term "bias" refers to an angle of intersection of the case belts in the tire. The case belts of a bias ply tire run at an angle to each other forming an "X" accross the fabric of the belts. As you know, anytime you triangulate anything, it becomes MUCH stronger. Therefore bias ply tires can be much thinner yet are much stronger and resist flexing. The webbing of the belts has strength in themselves and require little hard filler rubber to support the vehicle without the "bulge" that radial tires have. In fact, if a bias ply tire is run low enough on pressure to create a bulge, then tire failure is will occur in short order.

At this point you may be saying "who cares about all that stuff?" Well, if you drive a 5spd and intend to run it on the track then you should. The problem with radial tires, is that they either a) have so much bead filler in the sidewalls that they do not flex, or b) the sidewalls provide no strength or support at all. Either way, when you dump the clutch in your 5spd, if the tires hook, the shock of the launch will not be held by the tires and instead your driveline components will be forced to. Given the propensity of our cars to "hop" the tires, and the limited strength of various IRS components, this "shock" is of MUCH greater concern with a Supercoupe that it is on a solid axle car. I twisted one axle clean off and thoroughly fractured the other one this way (at the same time), and that was on a 2500rpm launch with "only" about 350rwtq. Nevermind the fact that wheel hop is always going to be an issue when running a radial tire at low pressures.

Now in the case of a bias ply tire, the sidewalls DO have strength on their own accord. As you apply torque to the tire, the sidewall will "fight back" with its biased webbing and will act as a cushion to the driveline. Do not confuse this type of "give" with the give from a mushy radial tire. The load transfer from the wheel (tire bead) to the tread on a radial is harsh and uncontrolled. In contrast the transfer of torque through the webbed sidewall of a bias tire is subject to stretch as the bias woven webbing reaches it's limits. This is essentially a rubber band type of response. This is a good thing. I can testify to repeated 4000rpm launches with upwards of 390rwtq and no issues with wheel hop or parts breakage. The difference is unbelieveable, you can feel a huge difference. The bias tire "gives" and sticks whereas the DR's used to "bang" off the line so harshly that I cringed every time I launched with them.

Armed with that knowledge, it should be a no-brainer which tires to buy. If you are going to change tires at the track and not run them on the street at all, then get a real racing tire and don't even look at a DR of any kind. If you are looking for a tire to use on the street and your normal tires aren't up to the task, then look at a STREET drag radial tire. Keep in mind that MT is not advertising their new radial as a street tire at all. From what I have seen and heard, the Nitto is still the best STREET drag radial out there currently.

So there it is. If you want to be successful with your 5spd SC at the track you know what to do.
 
Dave,

I agree 100%. Serious drag racing requires serious tires. ET Streets at least, ET Drags are even better.

However, another reality is that running ET streets or drags means I can't compete in the classes I've chosen to, which require radial tires.
 
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I must honestly thank you Dave, that seemed to throw out some much info. I do understand the logic behind both tires, but as you stated, you shouldn't mix radial tires up front and bias in the rear. If i get et streets...that's exactly what i'll be doing. Now will this be acceptable at the track doing so? I understand that the new M/T are not a street tire, but my concern was the choice between radial drags and a bias tire as well as the compounds between the bfg's and the M/T's, giving one the edge over the other. It's such a shady issue because on M/T's site they recommend a rigid sidewall for heavy cars with suspension and a wrinkle wall tire for stiffer chassis cars. And most other people say with a heavy car, dont go with radial tires.
Now i have already snapped the output shaft on my tranny and i know what a pain that was...and mind you that was on street tires dumping the clutch. Now i slip the clutch enough to get good enough traction and not hop. Will i have to do the same thing with the an et street or will i now be able to dump the clutch from a 3k rev and have the wrinkle wall of the tire take up most of my force and not snapp driveline parts.
Also, I heard that your trap speed will be about 2-3mph slower due to the bias tire. In that aspect...am i stll better off with a bias tire, seeing that the 60' times wil be down around 1.7....making up for time at the end? Thanks a lot Dave.
 
I would mostly disregard the advice of professionals in this case. They are talking apples, you are talking oranges. You are working with a totally different set of variables than they are. In your case I believe sidewall compliance is your #1 concern.

On the track mixing radials and bias tires are not a big problem. The car will "skate" around a little but since you are only going straight it will be ok. People have been mixing them on the drag strip for many years. As I said before, mixing them ON THE STREET is dangerous.

DLF, I totally understand what you are talking about regarding class rules. Another one of the reasons I said that I am very curious to see how the new M/T radial works out. Something tells me though that the M/T radials are NOT going to be something you drive on the street.

And yes fast92, you WILL be able to launch without slipping the clutch. With your HP level (on the spray) you should have no trouble with 1.70 60 ft times.
 
I agree 100%. Serious drag racing requires serious tires. ET Streets at least, ET Drags are even better.

What he said....I've raced my car on worn out BFGs that were very sticky, MT Streets and most recently MT Drags. These Drags are awesome..I pulled a 1.54 60 ft the first day I used them.

If you want to be able to race in a street tire class, you should get the ET Streets. Now that I have the Drags (requires racing in slick tire class) I'm always lined up against serious race cars that are so loud I can't tell if my engine is running.

26 x 10.5 x 16 M/T ETs fit great on stock SC wheels.

David
 
David Neibert said:
If you want to be able to race in a street tire class, you should get the ET Streets.

David

Unfortunately, at least at Englishtown, most of the "DOT" classes are now "Radial" classes. BFG sponsors some of the classes, so I can't run ET Streets.

So I'm hoping that the ET DR's are better than the BFG DR's ;)
 
(begin thread hijack)
I'm always lined up against serious race cars that are so loud I can't tell if my engine is running.
You should get some cutouts and weld them in after the headers... then you wouldn't have that problem. Your only problem will be a hearing problem...

(end thread hijack)
 
I dont race in any class...i just try to get the best possible times that i can. I think i'll get some et streets and be real happy with them. Thanks a lot Dave and everyone else.
 
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