how many passes on drag radials
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,453
Likes: 3
From: Glen Burnie, MD
how many passes on drag radials i am getting 275/40 17 BF Goodrich T/A drag radials and am wondering how long if only driven at the track will these last? how many passes can i make before i need to replace them?
Depends alot on how much you warm them up in the water box. I had a set that I burned through in 1 day at a track rental, lol. Keep the burnout some what short and they should last at least 25 passes, maybe more. I have some Mickey Thompson drag radials on my car right now and I have over 25 passes on them and over 5,000 street miles on them! I still have some tire left but it's pretty much on the wear mark right now, lol
dunno what the hell you guys are doing to your tires but I have MT drag radials and I've had them for 3 years now. Granted I only hit the track a few times a year but I drive on them to and from the track and they have a good amount of passes on them with plenty of tread left.
When I asked this question a year ago plenty of people said they have gotten 50+ on both radials and bias. I bought bias for my truck and with 10 passes they look brand new still. Short burnouts will obviously let your tires live longer.
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,453
Likes: 3
From: Glen Burnie, MD
are these the best Drag radials i can use for my car that will keep the rear end in tack? should i do anything else to run a better 60' with out adding any more power? i ran a 2.34 60' and 8.86@85.3mph in the 1/8th mile, i was told i should be in the 1.6-1.7 range on my 60', does this sound right, and will these tires fix that?
10 bolts will break with a street tire. Some last awhile, some break 1st pass. Rock it till it breaks (which it will), put a real rear end in it and start launching the **** outta it.
Trending Topics
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
Just a curious question for ya....if these are ONLY going to be used at the strip as you stated, why waste the money on drag radials when you could get a set of M/T ET street bias plys for the same price basically? I mean, unless you are running in an actual class that requires a radial, the ET streets are a MUCH stickier tire IMO. They should also last just as long if your not crazy on the burnouts. Good luck with whatever you decide to go with though!
The radial is faster is a generally agreed upon idea but I have found absolutely nothing that points to this anywhere. I don't have any scientific proof either way. Since I have never seen it proven radial is faster, but it is a well known fact that bias hook easier and better in most situations I say bias unless a class dictates is the superior tire.
I can show you various time slips. It's a well known thing. Esp. for MPH. I promise you my car is set up right. Common knowledge will tell you a soft wrinkle wall tire with 11-15 PSI will be less stable than a DR with a siffer wall at 15-18 PSI.
Have you ever made a pass in something fast on the big end? Hell my truck ran 11's and it felt a LOT better goin through the traps with a radial than a slick. Slicks hook better and easier no doubt. It is harder to get a radial to work. No doubt. I have a 6sp on a lil 275/15 MT DR....i can tell you. Most 6sp. guys just can't get them to work and throw a slick back there for a quick fix to get it to hook. Takes time but it's worth it.
ALL the guys i know that get their stuff to work on a radial are faster on them than a slick. A slick recovers from spin a lot better than a DR as well. Which is a big reason for 6sp. sucess as they shock the tires so damn hard.
But no doubt tho if you can't get them to work, they suck.
Have you ever made a pass in something fast on the big end? Hell my truck ran 11's and it felt a LOT better goin through the traps with a radial than a slick. Slicks hook better and easier no doubt. It is harder to get a radial to work. No doubt. I have a 6sp on a lil 275/15 MT DR....i can tell you. Most 6sp. guys just can't get them to work and throw a slick back there for a quick fix to get it to hook. Takes time but it's worth it.
ALL the guys i know that get their stuff to work on a radial are faster on them than a slick. A slick recovers from spin a lot better than a DR as well. Which is a big reason for 6sp. sucess as they shock the tires so damn hard.
But no doubt tho if you can't get them to work, they suck.
Huh, I've never heard that. I guess it can make some sense because they are a more stable tire, but slicks just take the guesswork out of launches, and they WORK. My brother runs 18-19 PSI in his ET streets and has never had a hooking problem and he says they feel fine up top at his 110 mph trap speed. I think it's really just preference but I do still beleive that if they are only going to be a DEDICATED track tire, slicks are the way to go. The only drag radial I've ever tried was the nitto 555R and they sucked for me big time. Never had any experience with the M/T's but I hear it's a world of difference.
I can show you various time slips. It's a well known thing. Esp. for MPH. I promise you my car is set up right. Common knowledge will tell you a soft wrinkle wall tire with 11-15 PSI will be less stable than a DR with a siffer wall at 15-18 PSI.
Have you ever made a pass in something fast on the big end? Hell my truck ran 11's and it felt a LOT better goin through the traps with a radial than a slick. Slicks hook better and easier no doubt. It is harder to get a radial to work. No doubt. I have a 6sp on a lil 275/15 MT DR....i can tell you. Most 6sp. guys just can't get them to work and throw a slick back there for a quick fix to get it to hook. Takes time but it's worth it.
ALL the guys i know that get their stuff to work on a radial are faster on them than a slick. A slick recovers from spin a lot better than a DR as well. Which is a big reason for 6sp. sucess as they shock the tires so damn hard.
But no doubt tho if you can't get them to work, they suck.
Have you ever made a pass in something fast on the big end? Hell my truck ran 11's and it felt a LOT better goin through the traps with a radial than a slick. Slicks hook better and easier no doubt. It is harder to get a radial to work. No doubt. I have a 6sp on a lil 275/15 MT DR....i can tell you. Most 6sp. guys just can't get them to work and throw a slick back there for a quick fix to get it to hook. Takes time but it's worth it.
ALL the guys i know that get their stuff to work on a radial are faster on them than a slick. A slick recovers from spin a lot better than a DR as well. Which is a big reason for 6sp. sucess as they shock the tires so damn hard.
But no doubt tho if you can't get them to work, they suck.
You logic is the generally agreed upon idea but I have looked all over and found no proof. Not looking to fight just looking for proof because I can't find any myself.
The logic is simple, if you can cut the same 60' on the Dr as you can on a slick then you will trap higher on the radial. The increased tire pressure in the radial creates less drag than a less inflated slick. Next time your at the track drop your tire pressure and watch how you mph goes down.
Radials also have less rolling resistance regardless of pressure, therefore why your mph can go up. It seems neglegable in the 1/4 mile.
I am not trying to be a pain in the *** but everyone is saying what everyone always says."radial is faster", what I am saying is prove it. Because I can't find any proof.
I am not trying to be a pain in the *** but everyone is saying what everyone always says."radial is faster", what I am saying is prove it. Because I can't find any proof.
It will take me forever to find slips, as i have too damn many.
MY car always is about .10-.15 SLOWER and loses around 1-2MPH in the 1/8 mile over a DR. Same day, etc. Testing has been done as well.
MY car always is about .10-.15 SLOWER and loses around 1-2MPH in the 1/8 mile over a DR. Same day, etc. Testing has been done as well.
7 Second Club
iTrader: (5)
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 8,834
Likes: 1
From: Gainesville, Florida # of drag strips runs: ?!?!?
I've run M/T 275/60/15 radials to a M/T ET Drag 28 x 10.5 tire. There are similar in height, but a bias-ply slick or street slick will grow with speed versus a DR that won't. Drag radials as a general rule also have more cords in the sidewall versus a bias-ply slick or street slick, so that will help a little with stability. Of course stability is directly related to the weight of the car, the amount of air you run and the track prep.
For example, I've run my Novca on the same day with both set-ups.
on a slick pass (15.5 lbs of air) runs:
1.527 60 foot, 7.066 at 96.40 mph 1/8, 11.175 @ 118.45 1/4 mile
on a radial pass (18 lbs of air) runs:
1.542 60 foot, 7.044 at 97.29 mph 1/8, 11.121 @ 119.77 1/4 mile
The radials don't wrinkle if much at all versus the slick which will. The car traps 400-500 rpm higher on the radials than the slicks on the bottle.
I also noticed a distinct difference in the way the car drives with the radials versus the slicks (and my slicks are stiff sidewall design).
Just my $.02
Derek
For example, I've run my Novca on the same day with both set-ups.
on a slick pass (15.5 lbs of air) runs:
1.527 60 foot, 7.066 at 96.40 mph 1/8, 11.175 @ 118.45 1/4 mile
on a radial pass (18 lbs of air) runs:
1.542 60 foot, 7.044 at 97.29 mph 1/8, 11.121 @ 119.77 1/4 mile
The radials don't wrinkle if much at all versus the slick which will. The car traps 400-500 rpm higher on the radials than the slicks on the bottle.
I also noticed a distinct difference in the way the car drives with the radials versus the slicks (and my slicks are stiff sidewall design).
Just my $.02
Derek
7 Second Club
iTrader: (5)
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 8,834
Likes: 1
From: Gainesville, Florida # of drag strips runs: ?!?!?
Oh, on the original topic:
I get about 1000-1500 miles and about 60-75 passes from a set of M/T drag radials on my Nova. Granted the spool doesn't help on the street, but a buddy with a 95 Formula gets about 5000-6000 miles and about 50-60 runs for a set.
Derek
I get about 1000-1500 miles and about 60-75 passes from a set of M/T drag radials on my Nova. Granted the spool doesn't help on the street, but a buddy with a 95 Formula gets about 5000-6000 miles and about 50-60 runs for a set.
Derek