ok, when it comes to tire sizes, i am just plain retarded.
after a brief encounter with a black 94-97 camaro with flat black cowl hood tonight, i realized first hand that 467 rwhp/432 rwtq gets you NOWHERE on street tires real fast! lol. He was on DRs and hooked pretty good. i spun BAD through every gear and literally went nowhere.
anywho…what is a good sticky street tire/drag radial? what size can i get on an 18x9.5 wheel? i want to squeeze the biggest tire i can get on there. the car is lowered about 1.5" in the rear.
i currently have kuhmo ecsta 712s on there…275/35/18
you can kind of see how they are in my sig…
and before anyone says, just get some 15s etc etc…i dont want to switch wheels at all…its just a fun street car, that gets decent traction and maybe see the track a couple times (for fun only).
Its really the compound of the tire that will make the most difference for you. You already have 275’s on there - which is not too bad. Switching from a hard compound to a more soft compound drag radial will make a huge difference.
When I got my drag radials - I didn’t even really get any bigger of a tire - and they made a nice difference.
Regarding brand names - BFGoodrich and Mickey Thompson both make good drag radials. I’m not too familiar with how big of a tire you can stuff into a mustang wheel well without modifications. I know on newer f-bodies - you can get like a 315 in there. So you may be able to move to like a 305ish or something (but being lowered won’t help)
i follow you on the compound of the tire…that makes sense.
there is still room to go bigger…i know that…just dont know how much bigger. i guess i would just like something a bit taller and a hair wider as well.
ok cool. i know the wheel size is what throws me…most people run 9s, 10s, 10.5s etc…dont see too many 9.5s. not sure how much of a difference that makes.
I could fit a 315s on mine, so I’m sure u could fit 295s on your rims…I ran Nittos for about 2 weeks and switched to BFGs…Much better IMO…Ken runs the same on his car…
That was me. I was spinning pretty good too, but with the drag radials, it’s more like a hazing of the tires, they won’t go up in smoke like a street tire will. I run BFG 275/50/15’s on a 8" rim. BTW, that Harley dude didn’t have any idea what was in store for him, lol. I pulled him about 8 cars in first gear, lol.
Considering LS1tech will not even let people discuss putting 315 wide tires on a 9/9.5 wheel, i would suggest not doing that.
As for brand. I run nittos and i am happy with them. They are probably the least sticky but longest life DR. I do a lot of driving so i need the longer tire life. They hold up to my cam and bottle so they work pretty good.
lol…i had a bit of a go with him also a little further down. but same results…2-3 shift and spin spin spin. BAD. your car sounded great…scoots too. just wish mine hooked atleast a little…then we coulda had something going… after some much needed tire changes, maybe we can try again…ill let the wife drive this time since she is a bit better of a driver lmao! nice whip though!
The MT DR’s hook the best but wear quickly.BFG’s also hook good but have slightly longer tread life.Nitto’s last the longest out of all the drag radials.
I know that goodyear recently got on the scene but I haven’t heard much about them.
295 BFG Drag radial will work on a 9.5" wide rim. You’ll eliminate those traction problems really quick :D.
OT: I seen your car tuesday coming towards river road while i was in the cobra with mike mcginnis making my :snky: pulls to check the tune. Looked like your wife was driving though :P. anyway it looked good!!
BFG G-Force T/A street tires are also very good and quite a few people have been very happy with the traction they provide.
The compound on Kumho 712’s is way to hard for drag racing traction. They are good for carving turns however.
Each tire you look at will have a manufacturers specification sheet.
You look up the exact tire size you are considering and it will tell you what rim width RANGE is recommended. (for best performance and safety)
If you go to bfgoodrich.com you can see whats the biggest tire they recommend for a 9.5" rim.
If you drive your car every day (in the rain) I would think twice about Drag Radials.