Car is in sig. I just put these on today and they don't grab much better than my street tires. I may just be being nit-picking since it is like 35 degrees outside but I still expected a little more. I hammered it from a start and blew them away, kinda expected that but even at a roll they didn't hook at all. I have the pressure set at 34 psi. Is that too high for these tires? I've never owned a set of nitto drags before. They will see alot of street time that's why I bought them but I didn't want to run them real low on pressure like I would my E.T. streets. Can anyone shed a little light for me?

 

You could have full slicks on the rear wheels and you still won't hook up when the outside air temperature is just above freezing. It's too cold man.

To give it a fair test, you'll need the temps to be at least in the upper 40's (if not 50's and 60's). Then give your new Nitto's a spin, and I garuntee you'll see a difference. I run my 305 Nitto DR's at about 33 psi on the street, and 20psi at the track.

Nitto's won't hook up as well as some of the other DR's out there like Mickey Thompsons, or BFG DR's, however they will last a lot longer and at least have some usable tread on them for if it rains. I swear by mine, and will always run them.

If it makes any difference, with my drag suspension, I can hit the gas in 1st gear with my 305 Nitto Drag Radials without even heating them up with my 614 RWHP and I hook up all the way without spinning at all.

 

When I went with my uncle to get his BFG's DRs for his 383 s10 the salesman told him that they put on a coating to help protect them during storage. He said to smoke them up one good time and then that should wear them off. Or after a week of regular driving it would wear off. I also had to do this on my DZ101's. Try that out. I bet the weather and coating make for horrible traction.

 

You could have NASA spray super sticky stuff on the tires, but I'm telling you it still won't hook up when the temps are in the mid to lower 30's.

 

Yeah I kinda thought I was just being picky. I drove the car last night at about 55* and it still didn't hook great but it was better. I guess I just figrured that with bolton A4 car I would be able to get real good traction with a big drag radial even if it's a little cold but I guess that's not the case.

 

You could heat the tires up by doing a burnout. They will hook a little better that way, but the cold air and road surface are going to cool them down in a hurry.

When it's warmer out, you'll have better luck.

Also, 34psi on a 315 is probably too much, even for street use. That's a lot of air! Try 25-30psi for the street, and 18-20 at the strip.

 

Even if you heated the tires up, the cold road still will not allow for traction. Think of it this way; whether you have a hot tire, or a cold unheated tire, if you hit the gas on ice, its still going to spin. The same holds true for a very cold road surface.

On a normal 60 degree day I can get traction even in first gear with my Z28. On a day such as your talking about when its 38 degrees, I could be going highway speeds, and kick it down and it would be completly all over the place until well over 100 (I am not saying this because its what I think might happen, I am saying it because I have tried it, and done it before).

Just wait till its warmer out man.

 

Ok Yesterday I made another little test run with much better results. I really thought I had checked the pressure on the tire but I guess I didn't. The other day I didn't have my gauge with me and I let out 6-7 seconds of air on each one. The next day I checked and they both were at 34.5 psi so they had to have been way up there. I brought them down to 32. Later I did about a 3 second burnout and then launch and those suckers hooked pretty hard. No spin of the line and none going into second. Now when it's warmer should be even better, it was like 55* when all this was done. The tires will need to grab harder I have a 3200 stall waiting to go in as well.

 

they will hook WAY better in april. 35 degrees on cold dirty roads will spin these things like nothing. wait till its warmer and dryer

 

I have no issue when my 315's nitto's are on a warm road. Cold, forget it. Be advised though if you are on a 10 bolt, it is just a matter of time till it pops with those tires, they grip that good.