In my opinion you need the right tool for the job. I'm a fair driver but if the tires won't hold the power then I can't do my job. I may be a little bit better than someone else at nursing a fussy car down a slick track but racing is about winning and if I'm focused on solving a problem that could be largely corrected by using the proper tire then I am compensating for a defficiency instead or trying to win a race.

Drag radials at the track are an appropriate purchase for a lightly modded car as is putting a little extra air in the fronts, disconnecting the front sway bar, and learning how to stage efficiently to be able to quantify the rollout on your sixty foot times. It is also appropriate to have an accurate weather assessment for comparrison of your efforts. Over the course of a day simply changes in weather can vary your ET by over a tenth so until you can minimize the variable conditions and account for your car temperatures, rpms, staging technique, and traction conditions you will not have an accurate baseline to test from in the first place.

Generalities are great but when my ET changes by two hundredths because a cloud parked overhead for twenty minutes then you need to understand there is an extremely large matrix of variables than can affect your results.

Drag radials are appropriate. Being in the groove at the launch is something you will learn as you race more and practice.

When I started I raced every street night, every points night, every test and tune I could find until I learned how to launch the car efficiently and cut a good light at the same time. It took hundreds of passes to begin to get it right and it was at that point the senior drivers began to help me by telling me things as I was demonstrating how serious I was about improving simply by practicing.

 

Agreed. But a decent set of street tires should hold the power of a typical bone-stock LT1 A4, and the fact that his tires don't seem to be doing that tells me that something is wrong, and I don't want that problem to get masked by a set of drag radials.

 

Masking a problem and correcting a problem are two different things in my opinion. I had a 1990 something Lumina at the track one day that would spin the front tires enroute to a screaming 16 second pass until I dropped the front pressure down to 12 pounds...

Of course theres a problem... A low 13 second car works much better with drag radials when it has a completely stock suspension.

In my opinion, tires are a suspension component. By having a decent tire it is easier to quantify other changes you make regarding shocks, springs, and other typical suspension modifications.

When my car was basically stock, M6, headers, cold air and drag radials my normal sixty foot times were 1.8s and 1.9s. However street nights were always a crap shoot and I would often go home frustrated because any track deficiencies would contribute to unwanted spin and I would lose. So I gradually gave up street nights.

On points days I rarely had trouble with tire spin as the track was well attended. My choice of combination didn't mask car problems, it was simply that drag radials were less forgiving (generally) than traditional slicks or ET Streets and so I eventually made the move to a more robust tire than drag radials so i could hook pretty much anywhere.

 

Part of this guys problem is the Kumho tires, they are anything but a sticky street tire haha. I am impressed with the 60' time attained with them since they are so slippery.

I would suggest some nittos since that will be plenty of tire for your car right now.

 

This is the important point. Tires are part of the suspension equation. Drag radials will not out-perform a typical street tire on the street except when it comes to traction. They will allow the rear to wobble a bit at speed and during turns but increase straight-line acceleration capabilty. They also have less tread when new and wear extremely quickly. Street tires at the track give up just as much. While I have seen some sub 2.00's they will be far less consistent than they would be on a softer compound tire. On the other hand using the Nitto NT555 drag radials I have had a 1.78 with typical 60's in the 1.82-1.86 range with an LT1 making 315 rwhp using a 2600 stall converter with 3.73 rear end. The same tires on my LS1 car making 360 rwhp and using a 3800 stall converter with a 3.42 rear gear run consistent 1.66 and spin a bit.

 

No one is doubting that drag radials are suited for the track or that they will drop his 60'. They are awesome, and nessacary for good times....

We are just saying a little practice to see if he can drop those 60s would be worth a look. If you can run 2.0/1.9s on street tires then you know your car is working properly, and your launching spot on. It takes work to do but in the long run its worth your time. Kinda like guys who want to run in the 12s and keep adding more and more power, when they should be focusing on using the power that they have instead of throwing money at it (ie. stall, gears, DRs etc.

If you want the get DRs and you will hook better, how much better well you will just never really know.

 

But we have a guy here who is spinning into second gear, on a track with an automatic transmission 3.23 gears... Something isn't right and my suspicion is it is extremely poor track prep because a stock camaro with stock auto transmission shouldn't be able to break the tires loose going into second at the track... Maybe I'm just foggy or having a senior moment but I just can't see it unless something is very wrong with the racing surface. Just imagine what would be happening to anyone with some real power?

If that takes us back to the vehicle itself then fine... Back when my car was a stock M6 I had no problem keeping it hooked up going into second gear and powershifting and spinning a stick automatic should not even be part of that mental equation...

Am I going senile here?

 

I was always thrilled to get even a chirp out of second on the street with street tires. Maybe you should drive around the burnout box once and run them dry.

 

That's my thoughts exactly! I ran consistant 14.40's with street tires on a bone stock 95Z. I learned to heat the tires up real good and cut 2.0 lights with no spin. Changed to a 3200 converter and spun thru 2nd gear (tire smoke and audible ) no matter if I heated them or just cleaned them off, didn't matter if i launched at idle or got up on the converter or anywhere in between Swapped to some MT Streets and Immediately the car hooked.
go buy some tires!!!

 

A 3.23 LT1 car WILL spin the tires going into 2nd. I do it everyday when I nail it. It's fun. Hell, my 5.0TPI 2.73 car spun the tires going into 2nd.

But again, Firebird Raceway sucks. It's a horrible track. I've made up my mind. Practicing will only take up more time, waste more money, and add more frustration. So I'll spend the $300 or so for much better grip and practice on those while getting good times. It's a win/win situation in my book.

Now which ones should I get? I want the most grip possible. They are going to be street driven only to/from the track and maybe if I get lazy and leave them on for some blvd cruising once in awhile. M/T Streets 245/50r16?

 

Even on Nitto Dr's, my car will squirt sideways a tiny bit when shifting into 2nd at the track. I have the lt4 hotcam on a 110 LSA and have my shift points set at 6200, if that matters.

 

I think I would go with these if you are going to use a spare set of stock rims:

Mickey Thompson ET Street Drag Radial:
Part number: 3793R
Size: P255/50R16
measuring rim size: 7.0-9.0 8.0
Overall diameter: 26.1

This should maintain the integrity of your current odometer and speedometer settings without requiring a re-tune or re-calibration, should fit on the stock rims, and should fit easily with no modification in your stock wheelwells.

More info at: http://www.mickeythompsontires.com

Please consider buying from a board sponsor.

 

I use those exact tires, and think they are great FWIW

 

Who would that sponser be?

 

https://www.camaroz28.com/misc/vendorindex/