Ive been draging my Z for a little while now and I want to get some beter tires on her. I know alot of poeple are using DRs and some are using street ETs. I just wanted to start this thread so poeple would have alot easier time finding the information they need on rim sizes, offsets, tire pressure, tire dimensions, etc

What do you guys personally recommend and what have you been succesful with? Ive been tossing around the idea of some DRs but ive seen alot of posts with people using oem 17s or 18s and say that its a waste of time/money compared with mounting street ETs on a smaller diameter rim (15" or 16") like welds or something because of sidewall flexing and grip.

Post suggestions!

Tires are everything in drag racing. You can have the most powerful car ever but without traction you arent going anywhere.

 

I know that the Potenza's are crap.

I want some DR's mounted on stock rims, an extra set for the track.

 

I didnt think they were that bad, I pulled a 2.05 60ft on my second run in the car ever....I think I could of pulled a 1.9 with more runs. Ive pulled low 2.0 60ft's with S03's and cheap Falken's in 35 degree weather....usually 27 psi in a decent street tire does ok for me. Just got me a set of et streets Im waiting for the track to open, to bust some nice 60ft's, or some axles

 

Depends on what class you are racing in or if you are just going out for times trials.... If you are just going for time trials, get soem M/T ET Streets but if you are entering in a street class, they will not let you run those, even though they are street legal, in that case, get the BFG new series drag radials.... The new M/T dr's look nice too but I haven't used them yet....

 

Ive heard that with the DRs it gives you unbearable wheel hop. I dont know how accurate this is beucase I have never mounted DRs on my car personally so I just wanted to get some more info. Obviously DRs would be an improvement over the potenzas but then again what tire wouldnt be? hahah jk

Regardless of what tires i plan to pick up eventually for the track I still think im gonna get buy a seperate set of wheels for the back to mount them on becuase I daily drive my car.

 

No wheel hop with my DR's... And I have taken off over 3 tenths off my 60' compared to street tires... I am actually selling my DR setup if interetsed.... They are 2001 OEM cobra R wheels 17x9 , 25mm offset with BFG DR's 275/40/17... Wheels are perfect and tires have a little tread left but hook up nice... looking for $400+ shipping. email me at jays350z@aol.com if interested...

 

Thats good that you arent gettign wheelhop. Sometimes I get massive wheelhop in my potenzas. 3 tenths off your 60' will DRASTIALLY change your ET. Did you drop like .5-.7 off of your ET with that 60'. Are you guys running DRs doing a nice burnout before your run?

Also, I think the OEM 17" wheels are 8" wide I believe. Do you guys know what is the widest possible tire able to mount on those? They dont make DRs that will fit on the 17s do they? 275s are too wide for a 8" rim I think. I could be wrong though. Let me know

 

they do make 245 dr;s i think but probably wouldn't be mucg better than stock... the 275's fit best on a 9 or 10" wheel... And yes, you can bring a 13.8 down to a 13.4 or 5 depending on tires... My best time N/A was a 13.1 on them... with a 1.8 60' but a 1.7 60' is possible with them...

 

I am getting new tires ( street ) to replace the stock. I got a 2.2 6-ft with the potenza's. What stock sized street tires do you suggest to give me better grip? Has anyone switched and noticed a big drop in their 60ft with a certain tire, is what I am asking. =]

 

Not to come off like an a$$, but you need to practice launching more. I launched consistent 2.0 60ft's on the stock Crapenzas....to answer your question I have had 5 different tires on the rear of my car. Right now I am running really cheap (compared to S03's and Eagle F1's) Falken's-Ive hooked low 2.0 60ft's in very cold slippery weather. Ive hit 2.0 60ft's on all my street tires though-even when I lowered my car waayyy to much and had -4 degrees camber in the rear(no contact patch). BTW I run 27psi in them, and slip the clutch at 2500. Decide on your budget first then just practice-2.0 60ft's are not hard. I think with warmer weather and practice I could nail a 1.9 60ft on my tires now....

 

=] No offense taken at all. I appreciate the input. I know they are not great times ( 2.204 is my best ) I have been looking at the Goodyear Eagle F1's, I just wanted someone who had experience, to recommend good tire that I could daily drive, and would be an upgrade at he drag strip. Seems like practice is what I really need though. =]

 

If you dont launch your car regularly its really hard to be consistant with the potenzas. Im usually around 2.0 to 2.2. The best thing you can do is practice launches with your car so you stay around that mark. Anything over 2.2 is just plain horrible but understandable if you are not use to draggin the Z. The hard part is keep adjusting your launch due to the changing conditions temperature, wind, tire pressure, etc.

I really dont think it would be possible for a stock Z to pull 1.XX 60 foot with the craptenzas we have. Plus I have a base model with the 17s so I only have 235s in back with no LSD. hahaha. I really need DRs and LSD badly.

 

Man with the larger sidewalls on the 17's its not that hard. Ive seen a base Z with i/e(not gonna help ur 60ft's) pull a 1.9 on stock tires. Thing was the guy shifted like grandma and ran 14.3 @ 98, lol. So it is possible, with more passes I'd put $$ on it that I could do it.

 

Well if you think you can manage to hit 1.9 60' stock that would just be a awesome ET. I really wanted to hit a 13.9 while i was mostly stock but im tired of running 14s now and I just want to break into 13s. I will be there sooon. Infineon raceway the track that I always go to has a few disadvantages for racing there. Theres always a head wind, track slopes uphilll slightly, etc. Its still fun as hell though.

 

If you are even half way serious about drag racing or just want the biggest bang for the buck elapsed time wise, i strongly suggest MT ET Streets. i run 26x11.5x16 on 16x8.5 rear z23 TT wheels. no single mod has had such a dramatic effect on my drag times as the ET Streets.
no wheel hop, consistent launches and amazing 60ft's. i can't say enough good things about these tires. you may want to get the 10.5's as that's the widest allowed in some classes. 11.5's are fine for the import class here in austin/san antonio and they are considered fine for street class. Your local track may vary so you might want to check with them first. if they're not allowed, i would then recommend the ET Street radial as i've heard (but have not firsthand experience) they are comparable.

 

About how many passes do you get out of a set of the MT ETs?

 

I bought them used off of ebay and i've done at least 30-35 i'd guess in my z32 with them and probably 16 or so in the 350z and there is plenty of tread left. They're not even halfway used i would guess. I only use them at the track though-i just swap them out in the pits.

 

Thanks for the info. I've seen you changing them as well. We've actually met, when you had just gotten the car and were testing it out at one of the "import" races. I actually beat your friend when he was driving.

Hopefully we'll meet up again sometime.

 

Cool-i think that was the first night i had it at the track and was primarily racing my Z32. I only got two runs in that night and i let my sponsor, Kuah from SPL drive it a few times. It was a busy night trying to race two cars at the same time! I'll be heading back to the track as soon as weather permits so maybe we'll meet there again.

 

if you buy a new set of et streets, you will get a couple hundred passes easy. I have a set i bought used with 20 passes on them, I have about 50 more and they still have deep lines left. You would break something in the rear before you wore a set out on a stockish car. If you drive them on the street, that would be a different story. They are suppose to make a 275/40/17 et street and et street drag radial