Iam looking into running slicks, but didn't know what brand I should buy? Or what compound. Iam running BFG Drag Radials now and was told that they aren't what I need, to go as fast as I want. Thanks Mike
There are guys on this board running mid 10.3's on drag radials. How fast do you want to go? I like the Hoosier Quick Time Pro tires for "swap at the track" DOT tire.
I run 325/50 DragRadials on the street but switch to 10x26x15 ET Drags at the track on aluminum rims.
Drag Radial on a BB car are not consistant and can frustrate a guy trying to get the most out of his combo. Go with a bias ply DOT.......M&H,MT,Hoosier will serve you well. I've run them all on the track and on the street(thousands of miles in a summer). You can drive the car around on them,To the track,ON the track,ETC. Just think....All that money in the rest of the drivetrain just to have it ''hook'' and set you in the seat once in a while. The Radial's will also cost money for suspension pieces you don't need with the Bias tire. I would only run the Radial if I was in a class that required them....And that's not the case here,Those Guys are in the 8's and on the verge of trouble on every pass.
I've had the older M&H Racemasters and the last couple of years the Hoosier QTP's. I like them equally on a mid 13 second car. I've driven them both home from the track (with radial fronts, though) and I didn't enjoy that ride. I aired them up over 30 lbs and the car seemed to sway back and forth in the rear. I only lived 10 minutes from the track. Now that I'm a good 30 minutes, I wouldn't drive on bias DOT's anymore. Plus it wears them so much quicker.
At Jegs you can get M&H's Muscle Car Drag tires. The N50's should fit great on a 15x10 rim with about 5.5" backspacing with no modifications to the fenderwells. That's the tire I'll be trying when I "wear out" my DragRadials.
I like the look of the new drag radials. I wonder what kind of improvement there will be over the "classic" version. For a street tire, I could see going with the Nittos too, if I were to be a change at the track guy. I know of people doing 12.0's on the Nittos, but that's with an LT1 with significantly less torque. My M&H's were G60-15's. They were just a little bit bigger than the QTP's that I ran. I like the look of a filled up wheel well though.
I have tried M&h racemastes, MT et streets, and 2 sets of goodyear slicks. The M&H's suck I had nothing but traction problems. I the went to swapping tires at the track and running a 28x9 good year slick always hooked the same every pass. When those wore out and I built a bigger motor I went to ET streets 28x11(I think they are)andborrowed a set of goodyear slicks from my buddy the same size just to see what would happen. For me there was no difference in either tire as far as traction. THe ET street aired up to 23 psi on the street is a very nice ride put many highway and around town miles on the this year and last year plus about 100 passes and are about due to be replaced.
Mike, In your post you asked about slicks not street legal tires. I will try and offer up what little I know. I run ET Drags on my car 29.5''x10.5''. I have run a set of Hoosier slicks and didn't like the high end wiggle of them. Just semed like the sidewalls were alot softer than the ET's at speed. May have been me though. The only Goodyear Eagles I have run were a pair of 30''X9''s. Narrower by and inch but the hook was still there. But they seem to wear faster than the ET Drags. I didn't get in to compound differences at that time though. And I am getting ready to buy another pair of used ones to try on this car. Safely I would say buy ET drags. They last the longest I think, and provide a longer "hook" life. And to be honest, you can go to swap meets and find them used with life still in them alot, and cheap. May be a idea if you are just wanting to try them out. Not too long ago I bought a pair of 30''X9'' G.Y.'s for $70 for the pair. Hope this helped some ...........(?) later............................
To anyone that has been running the TA Drag Radials. In the low 11s or high 10s. What kind of tire psi are you starting out with? What are the tire temps when you get back after a run (checked with a tire pyrometer). I am looking to be in this area of times and have a set of 275/15/60s that don't have that many miles on them yet, and was trying to stay on a tight budget. Thanks Mike
Mike, Check out this thread: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27873&highlight=radials
