S Owen

Ok, newly modded, tuned,and bottle fed 2003 GT 5.0 strokerwith 4.10 gears. N/A 345rwhp/337rwtq, no dyno with the NX wet shot yet (jetted for 175hp). Stock "Bullitt" wheels, and BBK springs that made for about a 1.25" drop all the way around. Save for shocks, struts, a CC plates, the rest of the suspension is STOCK. Tranny, rear-end, etc, are up the task of slicks, so that's not a concern.

As you all know, traction is a major problem with any power adder, but even more so with nitrous (the big all-at-once hit).

I have been out of the game for a while. Last time I was at the track, I drove there on street tires with slicks in the back seat. I really want to try drag radials, but I want some input and suggestions. What size should I get for the stock wheels, should I buy the wider 10.5" wheels, what brand or tire, etc. etc. etc.

This is not a daily driver, so tire life is not a big deal. It's a go-have-fun car. Not just track duty, rather it's truly a street and track car (like most everyone, I would guess). I just want to pull up to a GTO and blow his flipping doors smooth off without white-smoking my tires all the way down the road! Oh, ummmmm, I mean.......I want to hook-up at the track, yeah, that's it!


ANY other suggestions to help convert my tire smoke into forward momentum would be GREATLY appreciated. (bowing down to the great 'stang gods of the forum).

Quicktime_GT

I got 26x11.50 16 MT ET streets. You wouldnt spin them..

Matts00GT

The wider the tire, the better. Are you spraying in first gear? If so, you may want to look at AT LEAST a MT E/t drag radial in a 315, though an ET street would probably be better. IMO, the best drag radial on the market is the mickey thompson. Nittos and BFG just dont seem to hook as well.

If you're not spraying in first, the MT or BFG should hook up pretty well. Nittos are the worst of the big 3 as far as drag radials go, but they get better mileage.

racer02GTstang

im running the nittos just because they last 10-15k miles... yet i still spin them some. in 3rd.[:@]

2000GT4.6

MTs ftw... but they are only going to last maybe 2-3K miles.

The BFGs are supposed to last around 6? And the nittos 10+

What I have done is gotten a set of DD wheels with 315 nittos on them for regular driving dutys, and a set of 15 inch wheels with MTs on them for the track/racing.

Chrome99

I've had my 275/40/17 MT DRs for im sure more than 3K miles and they still have plenty of life, and im not easy on the tires AT ALL. Mine have lasted just as long as my old nitto DRs, Hook better and drivability is fairly close.

I would say BFG's last the least out of my experience, my friend had some and they were pretty much done after a few months... honestly didnt seem to hook his at the time stock GT to well either, he has nitto DRs now and they've worked fairly well for him on the street... Next I wanna try the hoosier DRs, but so far the MT's seem like the best all around DR.

ZW99GT

Screw all that. I have almost the EXACT same setup as you S Owen. Dont bother on a Drag radial. You wont ever get it to hook on the spray at the track or the street. Most people dont really know what 550+ ft/lbs all rushing in at one millisecond feels like. I would reccomend a Hoosier Quicktime Pro, or maybe at the very least a MT ET Street(non radial). Make sure whatever you get is Bias-ply and IS NOT STIFF SIDEWALL. I'm done with drag radials. MT ET Drags, or Hooiser's for me.

Quicktime_GT

Like I said....

Just about the only drag raidal i've seen hook at all is the ET Street radials.. But if your going to buy some track tires don't even bother with drag radials, just pick up a set of ET Streets.. like 26x8.50s 10.50s or 11.50s... 15s are best ...


What kind of axles do you have, what kind of clutch, stock tranny? It wont take many 5000rpm clutch dumping ceremonys with ET STreets to find out whats really up to the task.

I have to pull my tranny right now because of 6000+rpm speed shifts while never letting off the gas with ET Streets. A TKO or somethin would be up to the task but a t45 or 3650 willl eventually break with slicks if you beat on it

Also, don't over look suspension... check out JayC's combo... 239rwhp runnin deep in the 12's.

S Owen

ZW99GT, yeah, I saw your post in the Bad Boys thread, very similar indeed. I thought about the ET Streets, but I had some of those back in the day. As soft as bubble gum and last just about as long.

What I was hoping for....

I read of guys laying down 8's in the 1/4 on these drag radials. Last time I was racing, drag radials were for pansies in their stock Z28's who liked to drop their clutch in 1st, but that's about it. They were useless for most anything else. Most of us ran regular street radials on the street and had a set of cheapo 15" wheels with ET Drags on them.

I was sorta hoping that drag radial tech had come along far enough that such a dual setup was no longer needed. That drag radials could perform both tasks, truly dual-purpose, so to speak.

Anybody whose seen a car doing wheel-stands on 8" slicks knows that the tire, setup, etc. is far more important than the width of the tire. That's why I wanted to know if there was any benefit to going bigger, or was a 275 enough.

It looks that I will still have to have 2 sets of rears (that sucks) unless there is some magic rear suspension trick I don't know of.

Matts00GT

My buddies 04 cobra with 455rwhp had no problem pulling a 1.8 sixty foot with a stock IRS and it was his first time at the track with the car on his first pass. Those were M/T ET Drag Radials. 275/40/17s.

Also, he's a terrible driver lol.