So what are your opinions. Does the sidewall of a MT ET street make a difference when we're talking about RADIALS? Say from,....15" to 16" to 17", with tires that would fit a stock wheel opening of a 4th gen. Does the sidewall make much of a difference in 60 ft. times? Going to say we're running a stock 10 bolt, automatic.

Dont forget guys, we're talking ET STREET RADIALS, not the ones that resemble slicks.

 

sidewall allows the tire to bite-down on the track allowing the car to launch whereas a car with a small or stiff sidewall will not allow the car to have as much bite. sidewall flex is a very important aspect for lateral acceleration.

 

Even with ET Sreet RADIALS? I could obviously agree when it comes to a non-radial with wrinkle wall, but does it still apply to a drag radial?

 

the bigger the sidewall the easier it will be to hook. Well provided you are running the right amount of pressure. The difference from 17's to 15's should be big.

 

So you think at my power level, the 275/50/15 ET Street radials will work well for me? Right now im running 275/40/17 555r's, and they seem to have done all they can do for me with my current shock setup. I guess starting there makes more sense anyways since they nitto's will serve as my street tires from now on. If I need to, I guess Ill swap to QA1's in front, and possibly move the battery, and !front swaybar. Gonna put some skinnies on the front for the track as well, so all those should lighten the front up a bit. What power level do folks usually move up to ET drags, or bias ply ET Streets? Im thinking that would definitely pop my 10 bolt huh? Just trying to budget some bux wisely to get the most out of the least, ya know? Thanks for the input guys.

 

i have seen the ET street drags and the MT drags both wrinkle on my buddies cars so i would say the suspension would have alot to do with the way the tire gets planted aswell

 

Here is a 1.56 60' launch. MT 26" ET streets with 17 psi. A good bit of wrinkle!




Mec

 

The MT street radial is a good tire. I don't think your gonna be disappointed. I run the 275 50 15 and on the 130 shot had a 1.47 60ft. time. This is with some aftermarket suspension parts, but I'm still using the stock shocks and Eibach Pro lowering springs.

 

If you are getting a dual purpose tire get a radial....if it is track only get a real slick.

Radials don't recover if the tire starts to spin...a slick will recover and keep the car moving forward

 

See thats kind of what I was thinking, since the 15's will most likely be track only tires. My only real worry there is like you stated, I dont think the stock 10 bolt will hold up to a slick, and thats my only reasoning behind not just going slick. That little slip I may get from the radial me be what keeps my rear together. Anybody running slicks on a 10 bolt w/o snappin it?

 

What et and 60ft are you runnng?
You can run deep nto the 11s wth 1.5x 60s wth a stock 10 bolt n an automatc car.
Don't bank on the radals spnnng I run 275 60x15 Hooser drag radals or ET Street radals wth no spn and the wheels up turnng 1.45 to 1.52 60s.

 

Well, on a decent (and i use that term loosely) prep, ive been 1.8 60ft peddling it out of the hole from 1250ish rpm. 7.73 was my best, mostly 7.8x at 93 with bad ingition cutout at the top of 2nd (6700ish) shiftin into 3rd just b4 the end. Got an opti coming, I think the pickup is losing signal. Plugs r gapped ~.027". Gonna bring the shift points down a little too.

Good news, good news. Thanks for the input, keep it coming guys. This is the kind of stuff Id like to hear. Ive seen cars stand on the rear bumper on ET radials, but that car had alot more power and suspension and huge diet. Im full weight at the moment if not more. so I guess thats going to play a big roll as well. Weight in general, and weight transfer. Those are next on my list.

 

the weight plays a big part... but my car bolton only at 3360lbs cuts low 1.7's (best of 1.69) 60fts no problem on the 275/50/15 et street RADIALS... remember thats with an untouched motor oh and bone stock suspension and rear gears to boot!

 

I vote no it doesn't matter much.

Unless you're pushing the envelope in the 5-6 second 1/4 mile zone, I've heard more than a few 7-9 second drivers say that they'll never go back to a bias ply slick tire...A radial can put down some serious hook and they're saying that they no longer have to drive the car as much...it's just straight and steady vs. a sway feeling with slicks. Setting the car up to work with the radial is just part of what the tire needs...no different than adding or taking away air pressure, shock settings, and weight balance.

 

first off.... when you run a 15" wheel, you get less rotating mass, b/c the wheel weighs
more than tire.

and yes.... even on the radials sidewall flex is important. it isn't as obvious in a bias ply tire, but it's still there. look at the faster (sub 10 second) drag radial's car when they launch. you will see the sidewall flexing, like in a bias ply tire.

and running a bigger sidewall means you have more of a contact patch. so a 275/60/15 tire will have a bigger contact patch than a 275/50/15 tire.

that being said i've done bias play and radials, and i will never go back to radials.