AmericanICON

My best run in the 1/4 was actually with my stock 17" Pirelli tires. My car is an automatic, so when I launch, I am a little easy on the accelerator because I want to avoid losing traction. My 60' times suffer (usually 2.1-2.2) but with nitrous and 3.73 gears,I rebound for a decent time. This method seems to work better than spinning off the line.

I recently put on 18x10" deep dish Bullitt-style rims on the back with Nitto 555 295/45/18 tires. Overall, they are 28.2" high vs the stock height of 27". (and a 11.6" wide). On the street, they're much harder to break loose-- the improved traction is obvious.

With the added weight of the new rims and tires, and the increased height (which effects the gear ratio)-- my question is:

Will my new tires actually hurt performance? Should I keep the 17" tires for the track? Or use the stock 16" rims and get DRs?

The nearest 1/4 track is 2 andhalf hours away. The local 1/8th is not open yet.

JD1969

The 555's are not a drag radial so they will not help you. The 18's added weight will hurt you, my bet is that you slow down a bit with the new rims. Get some 15's or 16's and put a decent (ie not a Nitto) drag radial on them.

SINISTER

^ What he said. You will see your best times with a lighter wheel/tire combo, so long as you use a good tire. I know I am leaving some on the table with my 18's, but don't have the money to get a second set of wheels and tires just yet. Plus, I have the 13" Cobra brake upgrade, and the 15" skinnies won't fit over those.

28HopUp

If you have a pair of the 16" stockers laying around, the Mickey Thompson ET Street DR's in P255/50R16 will fit nicely on the 16x7" rims. The shorter 26.1" diameter will also improve your final gearing from 3.73:1 to a calculated 3.85:1 final ratio.

AmericanSpeed

Compared toyour runs with the 17s and pirellis, your 60 times will most likely improve. The extra weight will slow you down some. Net result, slightly better ET, IMO. Obviously drag radials on smaller rims will benefit you more than using street tires on bigger rims.

1.5LofFury

ok, sorry to thread jack, but i was wondering if anyone has had experience with Hoosier street tires for racing. my rear tires are Hoosiers, and i'm wondering how well they'll hook at the strip.

bluebeastsrt

+1. At the very least get a set of DRs for the 17 inch wheels if you dont want to go to the extra expense of 15s. But 15s are the best move. they offer a little more sidewall.

JD1969

If that happens it's only because the added weight of the 18's keep them from spinning. Lower profile larger tires have less sidwall, less sidewall=less hook.

AmericanSpeed

If the original tire height was 27" tall and the new tire height is 28.2" tall and the rim size only increased by 1", how did he lose sidewall? Seems to me he gained .2" in sidewall height. I would think that the reduced gear ratio and extra tire width would also help him spin less as he stated that he was spinning before. I'm that doesn't come off as me being an @sshole, I'm just making sure I'm not missing something.

JD1969

Your right the sidewall would be a bit more, I missed the part about the different height tires. However, he has now reduced his overall gearing and added weight (rotating weight, which is really bad). I still say the car goes slower overall, the reason he "feels" like it hooks better is a result of the reduced gearing. This will also hurt him down track.