Ok I need two new rear tires. I'd like to get something that I can drive on the street and have it last (provided I don't do too many burnouts) and still get good traction at the track.

I've heard the ET streets hook good but don't last long on the street. I've heard the BF Goodrich drag radials are a waste of money.

I haven't heard much on the Nittos.

So is there any hope for what I'm after? Or does it not exist?

BFG drag radials are NOT a waste of $$$. Who ever told you that doesn't know what there talking about.

However, anything sticky enough to stick well at the track will NOT last driving regularly on the street. The best option would be to have two sets of rims...one with regular street rubber mounted and another with a set of sticky's mounted up.

Failure to do so will have you complaining about one of two things...either the car won't hook up, or the tires don't last long at all with regular street use.

You have several options if you choose DOT rated sticky tires

M/T ET Streets (bias ply cheater slick)
M/T radial ET streets
M/T Sportsmans & Pro
M/T Indy Profile & SS
Hoosier Quick Times
Hoosier Quick Time Pros
Hoosier Pro Street radials
BFG drag radials
American Racer DOT bias ply (used to be McCreary)
M&H Racemaster
M&H Cheater Slicks
M&H drag radials
Nitto NT-555R drag radial (very limited 15" sizes)

There are probably a few other choices in which I forgot.

10secbu Is absolutely correct! Also, BFG drag radials are absolutely awesome! I know a number of people who use them and have had GREAT results. One guy I know is cutting 1.5sec 60' times with them on his car, no spin. I know people have cut much better than 1.5sec 60' times on them also. The guy who currently holds the record for a fastest 60' with BFG drag radials lives in my town, can't remember what the time was, but it was definetly less than 1.5 sec. Those are what I plan on using when I buy some strip tires. I believe the tread wear is near 0. They do wear out really fast on the street, but what do you expect. As far as drag racing goes, they have more than enough tread to last you a long time.

-Ben

FYI...
I bought my BFG drag radials through Sams club.. Cheaper than I could have got them from the mail order houses ;)

Well I don't know why but some veteran racers were the ones that said the BFG's don't hook that well and are a waste of $$.

So there's no such thing as a "drag race radial that can be driven daily w/o wearing out fast?"

Also do the Nittos and the BFG's have wrinkle walls?

A friend of mine used his M/T drag radials this past weekend and they did not hook as well as BFG's,then he blew a head gasket on his 565 and had to sit out after qualifying 3rd in drag radial class. BFG's work...don't know how VETERAN the racers were that you talked to???

Originally posted by dirty_dawg:
Well I don't know why but some veteran racers were the ones that said the BFG's don't hook that well and are a waste of $$.

So there's no such thing as a "drag race radial that can be driven daily w/o wearing out fast?"

Also do the Nittos and the BFG's have wrinkle walls? Question #1. No, if the tire is sticky & soft, it will also wear very quickly driven daily. Everything is a trade-off. If you want excellent traction, you trade-off long wear. If you want long wear, you then trade-off traction.

Question #2. The BFG drag radials sidewall does wrinkle...depending on how much power you put to them and how hard the suspension hits the tires. On my car, after making a pass, you can clearly see a dust pattern on the sidewall showing the distortion.

BTW, this car is a mild n/a bbc and has 60'd as quick as 1.43 on a 325/50-15 which is dimensionally similar to a 10.5 x 28" slick.

I myself really like how the car handles both on the track and street with a radial tire.

Originally posted by Rapid Robert:
A friend of mine used his M/T drag radials this past weekend and they did not hook as well as BFG's,then he blew a head gasket on his 565 and had to sit out after qualifying 3rd in drag radial class. BFG's work...don't know how VETERAN the racers were that you talked to??? Hey Bob, who is this frined you mentioned? It isn't James V is it? If not, then this is the second time I heard of someone not hooking well on the new M/T radials compared to the BFG's.

first time i've ever heard that, but it doesn't surprise me. different strokes for different folks, i guess! my buddy has some M/T 275/60 drag radials and with stock suspension on a 67 camaro it went a 1.46 60ft yanking the wheels a foot in the air and running a 6.71 in the 1/8mi the very first time down the track! he has tuned it in alittle since then and i'm sure the car will go some 6.50's easily, possibly 6.40's. and it even hooks pretty decent on the street, too. but they do seem to wear quicker than the BFG's.
most of the "veteran" racers have always run on slicks so they've never really tuned their suspension to run any other way because they haven't had to. slicks are better for racing, no doubt, but the Drag radials from BFG and M/T are more than capable of hooking 500-600hp, if the set up is right. everything has to work together as a package.

Originally posted by 10secBu:
M/T Sportsmans & Pro
I run the equivalent tire. I say equivalent because it is a retread cap on a Goodyear Radial T/A sidewall. So, I look like a normal muscle car, but I pull high 1.8 second 60 foot time at the track with relative ease. I got at least 4,000 miles out of my last set, and I raced a lot back then. You biggest worry is running them to low and exposing the "glued part".

Oh yeah, and they only cost $60 a piece.

www.retreadsunlimitted.com (http://www.retreadsunlimitted.com)

I'm one that didn't have any sucess with BFG DR's. The best I got was 1.79 and was never ever even close to getting it again. I usually got 1.98-2.25's and found them very inconsistent. I put on a real slick and instantly got .3-.4 quicker 60's plus excellent consistency. I was using the 275/60-15's so maybe this particular size has a problem. I am totally amazed at the times some have got with them. Maybe my suspension just wasn't right for them.

Pat kelley - How could you only get a 2.25 60' with BFG DR's?? j/w I mean I was able to manage a 2.3 with a pegleg 225 street tires and 2.73 or 3.08 gears. Just curious.

I don't know but that's what the time slip said. Most were in the 2-2.1 range. I tried a bunch of different pressures and settled on 16 psi as the best for me. I tried long burnouts and short burnouts, long seemed to work the best. I had them on the car for 2-1/2 years and was very happy to be rid of them.

Check out the National Street Car Association (NSCA) records (http://nsca-racing.com/index.php?page=records). They are consistently running mid-8s with 315 BFG drag radials (with the record at 8.252/178.80), so it can be done.

The answer like many, is that it depends on many variables. Guys that run drag radial classes do a lot with timing and boost controllers to run in the 8's and 9's. And there aren't 1000 guys doing that. They spend a lot of time, money, and tuning to get their cars to do that. I've seen them run a few times and when they lose traction, game over, unlike slicks where you can "pedal" it. btw, drag radial and SSO are my 2 favorite classes to watch.

Safe to say that they can work, if everything is tuned right.

On a marginal track I don't think you can beat an ET Street or QTP for a "DOT" tire though.

It's not black and white like most people want answers to be.

Yes Todd it was James...he ran a best of 6.22 (1/8th) and he's not impressed with M/T's as yet. I disagree with the 5-600 HP limit also, these guys were running 5.70's this weekend and OUR track record is 5.62...takes more than 600hp to do that. James just swaps back and forth between slicks and DR, no special tuning. Now if he can get the bugs worked out of his new engine,that thing should fly graemlins/thumbsup.gif I think he's making enough power to run 8's in the 1/4,just not sure if he has the balls to drive it that fast smile.gif

Originally posted by 10secBu:
You have several options if you choose DOT rated sticky tires

Hoosier Pro Street radials
Just wanted to make a clarification because I have a set of these. They are not in any way a good, sticky, track tire. They are really just a big, hard, radial meant for decent wet or dry handling. I'd put the traction (or lack of) in the same class as a regular MT Sportsman. FWIW.

Originally posted by Rapid Robert:
Yes Todd it was James...he ran a best of 6.22 (1/8th) and he's not impressed with M/T's as yet. I disagree with the 5-600 HP limit also, these guys were running 5.70's this weekend and OUR track record is 5.62...takes more than 600hp to do that. James just swaps back and forth between slicks and DR, no special tuning. Now if he can get the bugs worked out of his new engine,that thing should fly graemlins/thumbsup.gif I think he's making enough power to run 8's in the 1/4,just not sure if he has the balls to drive it that fast smile.gif Robert, if you are referring to my post, i think you misread it. :confused: i said they are MORE than capable of hooking a 500-600hp motor. i've seen Rohe and Rudisell run 5.30's in the 1/8mi on radials, but they aren't coming out full bore on them either. Rohe runs 4.90's on slicks. but for your ordinary run of the mill powerplants like most people have, they will work. hell, my buddy's 540 is making well over 600hp and he's hooking his on radials, with no timing tricks or anything else, and stock type suspension. ;)

I went through this decision last year. I ran the M&H muscle car DOT tire. It held up well, even in the rain, and the best ever 60' was a 1.64 on a stock suspension 85 corvette. But they did wear more than i likes. I ended up getting some steel rims and slicks for the track and a regular street tire for the street.

I found a guy that runs the 26X10.5-15 ET drag 10-15 passes and then sells them for $150 a set shipped to your door from IL. I can get you or anyone his # if your interested. BTW the tires are hardly worn at all. He runs them on a real street mustand in NMRA

mike