How do Drag Radials drive on the road?

[1969mustang 10]

Hey guys,

I have never owned a set of drag radial and I am debating on running drag radials on the back of my 69. The car is not going to be a daily driver and will probably not be driven much if any in the rain. Thought maybe some of you guys that have them may have some opinions on them.

Do they handle pretty good? Are they dangerous in the rain?

I have been looking at mickey thompson, nitto, and bfg's.

What do you guys think?

[gsxrken 21]

I mounted a set of 17" BFGs on some black nascar rims and had on for a weekend or two before I drove it about 100 miles each way to the Lebanon Valley Dragstrip in NY. I wanted to get into the 11s for bragging rights on my otherwise roadrace setup, and they were an insurance policy. (It worked.)

They honestly didn't "handle" badly from what I could tell, but I purposefully did not do any corner carving either. There isn't much tread depth of course, so weather would be an issue, and I'm sure they wouldn't last last too long if you left them on. They do make a difference even just on the street- when my car gets on the cam in second it lights the street tires right up, whereas with the drag radials it would rip through second without spinning.

You'd be much better off and probably safer springing for some soft 200 treadwear tires.

 

[1969mustang 10]

Thanks gsxrken,

What do you mean by soft 200 treadwear tires?

[dzahm 10]

Stamped on the tire, treadwear is a numeric designation that tells you how soft or hard the compound is. Higher numbers last longer but don't have good traction and low numbers grip better but wear faster. Think about a pencil eraser- new its soft and will tear a hole in paper if you try, when its old its hard and doesn't grip the paper well.

[CrazyHorse1847 10]

I run Nitto drag radials on my '01. They have a treadwear rating of 100. I run Nitto NT05's on the front they have a treadwear rating of 200. The NT01's I run on the road course are super sticky and have a rating of 00.

 

That said the drag radials are pretty sticky once they get a few miles on them to warm them up. They don't do well if the temp is in the 40's or lower and even come with a warning about them cracking in cold weather.

 

DR's are all I've ever had on the back of this car and I drive it pretty agressively at times. (track only of course :) ) Except for the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap last summer. Crazy curves and I pushed it hard every chance I got. They handle well and I've never had any issues with the sidewalls feeling "soft" when cornering hard.

 

Anything over 60 mph in the rain with them is a suicide mission. Under that they hold the road well in my experience.

Edited March 3, 2012 by CrazyHorse1847

[1969mustang 10]

Thanks for the info guys,

I'm having a hard time finding any tires for a 15 inch that have 200 tread (besides drag slicks). Some tire manufacturers don't even show that spec.

Any ideas?

[70Mach03 12]

Late responding but agree with all the above. Very dangerous in the wet, short life on the streets and handling can get squirrely depending on tire pressures.

[1969mustang 10]

How short of tread life are we talking? I know it probably varies depending on the tire.

2k miles? 5k? 10k?

[sportsroof69 13]

I had a set of ET Street DRs, and made probably 200 passes, and drove about 11000 miles on them. They aren't ideal in the rain, but other than that, I couldn't tell anything bad about them.

[1969mustang 10]

I had a set of ET Street DRs, and made probably 200 passes, and drove about 11000 miles on them. They aren't ideal in the rain, but other than that, I couldn't tell anything bad about them.

 

What size did you have?

That doesn't sound to bad! That's about what I am looking to get out of them. Were they just terrible in the rain or could I drive them in the rain if I got caught in a shower? I am really looking for something that I can get traction with and not just spin when I want to go and so far all I have been able to come up with is drag radials. Does anybody have any suggestions as far as a street tire for a 15 inch wheel?

 

Thanks,

Drew

[70Mach03 12]

What I meant by them being dangerous in the rain was if you drove like you normally would with a good modern radial street tire. Most of us only tone it down slightly in the rain if traffic allows. Sure if you get caught in the rain and take it easy you can get home. Drive like a little old lady and let the ricer's blow by you and you shouldn't have a problem(LOL). Avoid puddles (which you should anyways) as hydroplaning is easier to happen.

 

The modern DOT approved street drag radials are made to be driven on street/track, they just don't last long as compared to a normal street tire. The kind of driving you're talking about, good weather cruising/track, shouldn't be a problem.

[sportsroof69 13]

What size did you have?

That doesn't sound to bad! That's about what I am looking to get out of them. Were they just terrible in the rain or could I drive them in the rain if I got caught in a shower? I am really looking for something that I can get traction with and not just spin when I want to go and so far all I have been able to come up with is drag radials. Does anybody have any suggestions as far as a street tire for a 15 inch wheel?

 

Thanks,

Drew

I wouldn't recommend knowingly talking them out on a rainy day. If you get caught by accident, they're manageable, but definetly not what you want to be doing.

 

One thing I will mention about people wearing them out fast, is I believe it's an air pressure issue. The guys that seem to kill them in a few thousand miles don't run enough. A DR is not like a slick, and they don't want to run down the track at 14 psi. Typically, they do their best work at 18-20 psi, and I ran mine at that pressure all the time. So many times I've seen people run them low on the track, and then air them to 30 for the street. That changes the contact patch, and wears them out. I ran about 20 psi all the time, street and track.

 

 

 

I had 275/60/15s, and I had 275/50/15s.

Edited March 4, 2012 by sportsroof69

[Powershift 19]

Every year there are MULTIPLE posts on the SVT Performance forums of Mustangs crashing (totaling their car), in light rain, at slow speeds, with Drag Radials. DRs hydroplane WAY too easy, and duplicate the feeling of being on ice.

 

As mentioned, DRs are NOT friendly in any wet conditions. They are OK to run in the dry summer months, but I would swap back to regular radial tires before there any risk of driving in the rain.

[1969mustang 10]

sportsroof69, did the 275/50/15s look good on there as far as filling the fender or did they look a little to short?

I am also debating on size for the rear and so far 255/60/15 is the only one that I know will fit for sure without having to roll my fender lip.

 

Safety is also a concern so I may end up getting another set of wheels and putting the DRs on them if I can decide on a size.

 

Thanks,

Drew

[sportsroof69 13]

They looked a little short. I had them on my old 357 combo, and it had 3.55s, so when they dead hooked, it bogged hard with 275/60s on it because I didn't have the power/gear to pull it out. I went to the shorter tire and the car did much better.

 

[MAD IN NC 21]

I've ran Hoosiers A6's on all four corners of a Ford GT.....

 

just have to be REAL cautious in the wet weather......

[Pittcrew 10]

I run Nitto Drag radials on my 5.0. They use the same tread pattern as the regular road tire. I have had them in the rain several times as the car is a daily driver. No issues what so ever. Because they use the same tread as the road tire is why I went with them instead of the BFG's. They are sticky and you will hear the rocks tinging on the wheel wells when you pull out of parking lots. I drive it on the freeway a lot and they are fine. I have 20K miles on them with plenty of tread left. That being said a lot of that is how they are used. I don't bracket race the car every week but I have taken it to the track , I don't do burnouts for the neighbors daily, I don't try to spin the tires every time I turn a corner, I do check the air regularly.

If you are a guy that has to burn the tires at every light and race the car every week you will not get the life out of them that I have.

[1969mustang 10]

Thanks Brooke! That's very helpful. How air do you runnin them?

[Powershift 19]

Minimum legal tread depth on any tire is 3/32.

 

Most Drag Radials come with 6/32, and most regular street tires come with 11 to 13/32. Basically, this means DRs are a more than 1/2 worn tire to start. Great for getting stuck in the rain, and hitting standing water? Not so much.

 

And, with only a 100 tread ware rating, good luck getting more than 15,000 miles out of them.

 

But, there is NO arguing they are the BEST hooking tire in dry weather. I'd say just run them in the summer months, and have some regular tires on another set of wheels in the rain season.

[Pittcrew 10]

Thanks Brooke! That's very helpful. How air do you runnin them?

 

I run 28psi in the rear for normal driving.

Others have made a good point, BFG DR's will flat hook better than the Nitto's but you give up wet weather usability.

I guess it depends on how you will use the car. If you are 99% street driving then getting another set of wheels for a drag tire might be best.

 

Power shift makes a good point on tread depth. I never checked the Nitto's when new so I cant say what the starting depth on them was.

[69gmachine 15]

Keep in mind that the UQOG (treadwear) rating is determined by the manufacturer and there is no universal standard, so it's tough to compare one brand to another, but it's all we have to go by.

 

Anything lower than 140 is a DOT race tire. Nitto chose to rate their tires as 00 because they don't intend for them to be driven on the street. They're not necessarily softer than a Toyo R1 rated at 100. All of the tires rated below 140 are soft enough to pick up gravel and you will feel the difference.

 

I've seen people open track their cars on drag radials without any problems. As Pittcrew pointed out, the tread pattern and depth make a huge difference in wet weather performance. There is a braking test done on a wet surface and Toyo R1s score very well in that test which is why I chose them. They have all kinds of disclaimers about not really being for the street, but if you are driving to an event and get caught in the rain they can at least get you home even if you have to slow down and drive a bit more cautiously.

Edited April 10, 2012 by 69gmachine
spelling

[beecj0 11]

I run three sets of DRs. 235-60-15, 255-60-15, and 275-50-15s. Love them all. If you just run them to and from the strip, chances of gettin caught in the rain are slim. And you’ll not need the width you think you do. THAY HOOK! I’ve ran a best of 11.82 @ 113 on 235s bfgs. The 235s are narrow enough not to hydroplane as bad. jm2c.

[MikeStang 247]

M/T Street Et's are great at the track, I can run them at 25psi and hook all day long with an auto tranny,they do fairly well on a stick shift car as long as you have the gearing right.

In the rain they are OK at best...I have driven them in the rain on MANY occasions....just keep speeds at 55 or less on the Interstates and you wont have a problem.

Most of the newer DR have side Sipes that help channell the water better than some of the older DR, but they are by NO means an ALL WEATHER tire lol.

Oh on a side note....In my opinion the Nittos are a better option for street driving in bad weather, but dont hook up as well as the Street Et's do at the 1/4 mile....the nittos do win out in the road race catagory tho lol.

Im sure alot wont agree with my opinion on the Drag strip comment, but i dont recall ever being beaten in the 60' by anything running nittos at the track, but after that its anyones ball game LOL.

Oh i have owned both Nittos, MT Street Et's, ET Drag radials, Hoosiers, and even dirt track tires, which actually hook like crazy LOL...I prefer MT Street Et's as the best overall for dual purpose duty.

Mike

[1969mustang 10]

Thanks for the very helpful info everyone! I've made up my mind and I am going to get another set of wheels and go with some Mickey thompsons. Still haven't decided on the size yet but mt's for sure.

[beecj0 11]

If you’re lookin for all out strip performance, you may need to run some short tires. If you want to look good at the track, just fill the wheel wells. 275s will do just fine, and come in 26 and 28 inch tall.

What trany and gears are you runnin? What is your max rpm or red line.