best drag radials?

[Malice]

I've got 3 wheel combo's, and I want to know which would be best for absolutley dead hooking, and still be able to safely drive home:

1) 16x8 wheel
295/50-16 M/T or something similar
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT%2D3794R&N=700+4294923107+4294921520+4294904668+4294905061+ 4294793322+400206+115&autoview=sku

2)17x8.5 wheel
275/40-17 M/T or something similar
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT%2D3743R&N=700+4294923107+4294921520+4294904668+4294905061+ 4294793320+400206+115&autoview=sku
3) 18x9.5 wheel
285/35-18 Nitto or something similar
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=NIT%2D180670&N=700+4294923107+4294921520+4294904668+4294905061+ 4294793318+401140+4294794280+4294892979+115&autoview=sku

I'm also open to any other tire suggestions, but I have a pair of each of these wheel sizes in my garage, and I don't want to buy any new wheels.

[AChotrod]

What rim, and do you worry about rain or snow?

[Malice]

What rim, and do you worry about rain or snow?

I'm not worried about snow. I might drive in the rain occasionally, but not much. I'm mainly looking for a tire that I can drive to/from the track, and get the best hooks.

I have a 3 sets of spare wheels in my garage. One 16" set, one 17" set and one 18" set. I'm trying to figure out which set of wheels I should use for best results.

[AChotrod]

mods to the car?

[Malice]

mods to the car?

totally gutted. several hundred lbs of weight redux.
mild head work
LT4 hotcam
headers/open ypipe
25mm rear swaybar
UMI xmember mounted torque arm
1LE panhard rod/LCA's
Other than that it's an M6 car with 3.23's. I'd like to get 4.10's and a 12bolt in the future.

[BLOWNDFIZ]

M/T's will hook better than Nitto's. If you are only driving to and from the track then odds are it's not raining (though it could rain on your way home I guess). Since these are spare set's the 16's will hook the best, then the 17's, then the 18's (sidewall makes a huge difference). That is my opinion on the original question. Hope it helps.

[Z28pr0jekt]

M/T's will hook better than Nitto's. If you are only driving to and from the track then odds are it's not raining (though it could rain on your way home I guess). Since these are spare set's the 16's will hook the best, then the 17's, then the 18's (sidewall makes a huge difference). That is my opinion on the original question. Hope it helps.

Absolutely agree.. Nittos are a great tire for the street and a lot of my buddies have luck with them there, but the second they get to the track they are crap. I don't understand how a tire hooks worse on the track then the street but every one of my friends that used them had the same experience.

MTs are definitely scary dangerous in the rain, and that's not even getting on it. The chances of hydroplaning while just cruising with tires like those are very high.

[Malice]

M/T's will hook better than Nitto's. If you are only driving to and from the track then odds are it's not raining (though it could rain on your way home I guess). Since these are spare set's the 16's will hook the best, then the 17's, then the 18's (sidewall makes a huge difference). That is my opinion on the original question. Hope it helps.

so you think sidewall height makes more difference than width?

[BLOWNDFIZ]

so you think sidewall height makes more difference than width?

I think both are important and deserve consideration. But yes I'd give the edge to sidewall height over width. Now keep in mind I'm talking about small differences in width like a 255/50/16, vs. a 275/40/17. The 16" would most likely net better short times in a perfect launch.

[Grr]

16". sidewall wins every time. Either MT radials or the new Hoosier radials

[KissMyWhtSS]

Definitely 16"

Can you fit 295's on a 8" wheel? :confused:

[Malice]

Definitely 16"

Can you fit 295's on a 8" wheel? :confused:

That didn't make sense to me either, but the description clearly says it's for an 8" wide wheel. I guess the sidewalls really bulge out like an old muscle car.

My next question: what about tire diameter?

In stock trim, the fbod has something close to a 26" tire diameter. Some of the combo's I was looking at have up to 28.8" diameter. How is that extra tall tire gonna effect performance?

[chevy42083]

Gonna change your gearing for sure... whether that helps or hurts is only up to you. But yes... that is quite a change. Try plugging them into a gearing calculator to see what RPMs and gears you'll be in. If you go with a really tall tire you can gear steeper to make up for it, but you'll also still be turning the larger mass of a big tire.

Yeah, a 295 can go on an 8in wheel... it'll bulge. A drag radial is sometimes narrower than a "regular" tire of the same size, so it may not be that bad. A 295/50/16 is what I've contemplated running on my 16x8s on my truck.

[AChotrod]

LOL! I could swear I wrote a nice reply to this lastnite tellin ya to go with 16s and a 255/50-16 MT DR. Looks like these guysa got ya covered though!!

[sinistr]

MTs are definitely scary dangerous in the rain, and that's not even getting on it. The chances of hydroplaning while just cruising with tires like those are very high.

yes and no ... as long as its moderate rain and your not driving like an ass there not bad .. honestly i thought the et street radials were better in moist weather than regular street tires . it is a f-body which just sucks in the rain , but if i do feel some slipage i spin em over real quick and they become like super sticky even in the rain ..

[Malice]

Whoops. My mistake. I thought I had a pair of 16x8 stockers in my garage, but I was wrong. I only have a pair of 17x8.5 wheels.

I'm looking at a few MT DR's, but I wanna know what I can "get away" with on my wheels.
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT%2D3744R&N=700+4294923107+4294922134+4294921520+4294793320+ 4294904668+4294904590+115&autoview=sku
These say the minimum rim width is 10", and I have 8.5" wheels. Would that extra 1.5" cause me problems, or could I get away with using these tires?

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT%2D3745R&N=700+4294923107+4294922134+4294921520+4294793320+ 4294904668+4294740995+115&autoview=sku
This tire is only 1" wider than required. Can I get away with that?

[tomsws6]

not hyjack but i have 18x10.5 c6Z06. what DR would recomend? i have 35 series now. and only put about 5-6k a yr. but need to nock off half a sec 60ft times(i know) had a 2.4

[AChotrod]

Whoops. My mistake. I thought I had a pair of 16x8 stockers in my garage, but I was wrong. I only have a pair of 17x8.5 wheels.

I'm looking at a few MT DR's, but I wanna know what I can "get away" with on my wheels.
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT%2D3744R&N=700+4294923107+4294922134+4294921520+4294793320+ 4294904668+4294904590+115&autoview=sku
These say the minimum rim width is 10", and I have 8.5" wheels. Would that extra 1.5" cause me problems, or could I get away with using these tires?

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT%2D3745R&N=700+4294923107+4294922134+4294921520+4294793320+ 4294904668+4294740995+115&autoview=sku
This tire is only 1" wider than required. Can I get away with that?
bfg has some 275/40-17s listed for 8.5-11 rims. Lots of people love them but they wear out fast and I myself had better luck with nittos, If you go with the nitto's grab the 275/40s also.
The MTs run kinda big so I wouldnt recomend them on that thin of a rim.

[Malice]

bfg has some 275/40-17s listed for 8.5-11 rims. Lots of people love them but they wear out fast and I myself had better luck with nittos, If you go with the nitto's grab the 275/40s also.
The MTs run kinda big so I wouldnt recomend them on that thin of a rim.

good to know about the mickeys.

I had one set of nitto's, and my 188rwhp v6 camaro could blow them away. I'd like to avoid nitto's if I can help it. I really like BFG street tires, but I haven't used thier DR's before. I had a set of mickey's and they seemed to last a long time for me. I'm a little scared of BFG's if they wear out quickly. I'll look at them some more though.

[AChotrod]

I couldnt spin my Nittos at all, at the track and ran 13.32 last year. I was leaving at 4k 18psi and a long ass burnout. They work. I was just reading about guys hittin 1.4-1.5 60fts on nitto's.
I have Nittos on my street rims, and MTs on my Prostars

[Malice]

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=BFG%2D74184&N=700+4294923107+4294922134+400073+4294921520+4294 904668+4294793320+115&autoview=sku
Are you talking about these tires? THey say 9" - 11". I imagine I could use them though.

[AChotrod]

The Jegs Im holding in my hand says 8.5-11 part#131-74184 looks to be the same one as that

[Malice]

The Jegs Im holding in my hand says 8.5-11 part#131-74184 looks to be the same one as that

hehe. I'm going to the jegs website, to see if there are any other slip ups in my favor!

[AChotrod]

LOL! i dont think so

[Malice]

LOL! i dont think so

Jegs site says 9.0 for that tire also. weird. I'm not calling you a liar, it's just funny.

I see what you're getting at with the 275/xx/17 tires. I'm not jumping on them for 1 reason:

I have 275/40/18's up front. If I have a 275/17 in the rear, it might look kinda wierd. If I could find anything wider than a 275, I'd be happy. I don't wanna have "bigger" fronts than rears.

[AChotrod]

Hmm they must have changed it but that was what the catalog said, im gonna go look at a newer one. That one was from x-mas time.
What rim do you have thats only 8.5 wide?

[AChotrod]

Brand new one I have says 8.5-11 also

[Malice]

well, whatever it says, that is probably the set of tires I'll end up getting.

[AChotrod]

then again I have 315s on a 9" rim, But they are nittos in my defence! LOL~

[Malice]

then again I have 315s on a 9" rim, But they are nittos in my defence! LOL~
:drool::drool::drool:

THATS WHAT I WANTED TO KNOW IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!

If you can get away with 315's on a 9", then I'll definatley get 295's on an 8.5", even if they are nitto's.

[Malice]

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT%2D3745R&N=700+400206+4294921520+4294904668+4294793320+4294 905061+115&autoview=sku

I'm getting these......


Unless anyone has a REALLY REALLY good reason not to.

[AChotrod]

you can get nitto 315s on a 9" rim for sure! I wouldnt try any other tire!!
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/achotrod/fixed.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/achotrod/rearend2.jpg

[Malice]

I'm gonna be a scientist and try to fit 295 M/T's on an 8.5" wheel. If they don't fit, I'll return them, loose some money on return shipping, and spread the word to the rest of my wide tire-skinny wheel brethren.

[AChotrod]

Sounds Good!! Hope they work! I dont they wont go on but not sure how safe they will be. All depends on how much they bulge out.

[tbird31]

A 295 is bulging on a 9" wheel personally wouldn't even try a 8.5" wheel. If you had a stock WS.6 9" wheel I'd do it though. My buddy is running those tires on his stock WS.6 wheels and loves them. I believe he cut a 1.5 60' on them.

[KissMyWhtSS]

That didn't make sense to me either, but the description clearly says it's for an 8" wide wheel. I guess the sidewalls really bulge out like an old muscle car.

My next question: what about tire diameter?

In stock trim, the fbod has something close to a 26" tire diameter. Some of the combo's I was looking at have up to 28.8" diameter. How is that extra tall tire gonna effect performance?
It has a inverse relationship with gear ratios. Taller tires would be like decreasing your rear end ratio. So stepping up to a 28" diameter would probably be similar to going down to a 2.73 ratio. Basically you'll be wanting a 3.73+ rear end after you up your tire diameter.

Honestly, i'd just go with these: http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT-3793R&N=700+400206+307268+4294793322+4294904850+115&autoview=sku (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT-3793R&N=700+400206+307268+4294793322+4294904850+115&autoview=sku)It'll also save you from having to reprogram your PCM and whatnot.

[BLOWNDFIZ]

I'm gonna be a scientist and try to fit 295 M/T's on an 8.5" wheel. If they don't fit, I'll return them, loose some money on return shipping, and spread the word to the rest of my wide tire-skinny wheel brethren.

Don't do it! Once a tire is mounted, it's yours. A tire place 9 times out of 10 will not take them back. If you are going to attempt make sure you ask before purchasing.

[Grr]

for some reference, i used to run a 275/50-15 on a 15x7 rim, they hooked great if you got the pressure right. You should be able to put a 295 on a 8.5 easy