What the subject is. Im gonna need new tires soon and I understand the GS-C's arent the best.

 

Drag radials are a very soft rubber compound. I hear stories from 5,000-15,000 miles. I take these stories with a grain of salt as how many burnouts people do has a significant impact on tire life.

Also, no matter how many people claim that Nitto drag radials are good in the rain, both Nitto and BFG drag radials have very short tread depth which makes them far more prone to hydroplaning than regular street tires. Drag radials are also impossible in winter driving conditions.

Base your decision on how you plan to use your car.

 

I run 275/40/17 Nitto 555 dr's on the street and have a set of BRG dr's for track use. I've driven the Nittos in the rain, they are ok in a light rain but if you hit some standing water with them at highway speed they can get pretty scary (especially with 4:10's). I would assume you probably don't see any snow in TX but again they are not that safe in the rain. Mines not a daily driver so they work fine for me. If you do get them and drive it daily be very cautious driving with them in the rain is all I can say.

 

tnthub,
Yours, was very good advice. I'd get a extra set of rims for the DR's. Use em when you need em. But then again how much snow do you see in Texas? Unless he lives in the high country. LOL

 

I went over 10000 miles on a set of BFG drag radials with lots of long burnouts at the track. However after about 2000 miles I could no longer drive the car in the rain.

So if its going to be a dialy driver and you want to be safe on wet roads, then no more than 1500-2500 miles.

 

I got tired of changing tires at the track and put Nitto DR 245/50-16 on my spare wheels. The plan was to put them on the car a few days before I go to the track and then take them back off within a few days after going to the track. That way I wouldn't 'have to' change them at any specific time which works well with my schedule. They've been on the car since August.

Still got over 3/4 tread. 4 horrendous burnouts and 2-3 mild ones (correct ones). Tire pressure and launch tactic is everything. I've not had the least trouble int he rain....even in downpours. Of course, my car only runs 8.1s in the 1/8th and uses 3.73s with a 3200 stall....so my traction woes may not be up to par with others here.

I can't launch like I did on ET streets (off-idle then WOT) because these do not absorb the shock as well. Best 60ft so far has been at 17psi (cold) launching at 800rpm, then 1/2 throttle for about 10ft. I can get more aggressive with it, but this is the best I got testing up to that point. I think I can get a low 1.7 or a high 1.6 out of them with no drama.

1st pass on them I tried my ET street launch tactics (hoping...in vain...it's work) and the resulting 2.4 60ft and 8.50 660ft (I spun past the 330ft mark) was entertaining for those in the bleachers. Why'd I stay in it...? Dunno. Morbid stupidity and the fact it was going dead straight....just spinning. I'll try not to let my ego and a thrill keep me from using reason in the future.

Oh...and these corner very well

 

I got about 12k out of a set of 245/50/16 Nitto DR's with street/strip duty. Oh, be very careful of standing water. Personal experience.

 

That can get pretty expensive buying tires for a daily driver. I put 6000 miles on my truck every year as a daily driver and that's low mileage (2 oil changes a year). If you're conservative, you would be buying new tires once a year and the drag radials are more expensive than regular street tires. If you're hard on the tires, you'd be buying a new set every oil change or sooner.

Typical street tires should last 4-6 years before they're worn out because of the harder rubber compound. Compare the price of an extra set of rims to how many times you're going to buy a set of drag radials.

No matter how many times everyone wants to use drag radial tires on the street, you have to be aware that they were never intended for street use. They have a DOT rating strictly for racing classes that require a DOT tire. There is only enough of a water groove to get a DOT rating. That includes all DOT slicks including MT ET Streets which is a bias tire.

 

FYI: Back when I used drag radials, I would go through three seta a year. I ran two tracks, two classes, and most of the time went a few rounds, plus daily driving. That is three sets between April and November. I had snow tires for winter driving...

 

I bought BFG DR's when they first came out in '97. I was real hard on them, and they were done by 2500 miles.

I have been using Nitto's, both 555R drag radials (14 of them) and 555RII road race tires (12 of them) for years, and generally get 8-11k miles depending on how much racing I do. They are great in the rain for the first 5k miles, and taper off after that. By 8k they are iffy, and at 9k they are dangerous. I have never driven on them in snow, but have on ice. Their performance drops off noticeably below 50º, and are useless below freezing in inclement weather.

Autocrossing is much harder on them than drag racing.

 

ive used nitto drag radials the past two years

they usually get me from april to september, some burnouts and as daily driver. good in the rain while there is some tread and you are careful. that said, my pair last year were worn more on the inside (read bald) than the outer 3rd i was looking at, and i hydroplaned and had an accident. ive had no probs all this year though

i try to run them into the ground to make them last the full year, and if it rains i do my best to just drive streets instead of thruway. this spring it might be worth just running regular street tires and have extra rims for DRs or slicks, but it is nice having the DR around with u all the time. for normal wear i run them at around 20psi around town. but below 45 degrees faghetabout it for traction regardless of pressure

 

my first set of nitto's, i put em on fri.
been raining every since
but they did better then the tires i pulled off (in the rain) but the tires i pulled off tread looked like this _______