ksurfer2

Below is a video taken at the wannagofast event in Ocala a couple of weeks ago. It is pretty disconcerting seeing the tire change shape on the rim at 160+ mph!

ksurfer2

Well that didn't work.

ksurfer2

ksurfer2

skip to around the 6:30 mark.

Patriot Six

Are those the ET Street SS? Were they unstable on the big end? Mine get pretty scary at high speeds.

c6 monkey

Oh good those are the tires that I just put on my car. I'm going to die aren't I

Patriot Six

They're fine on the street and actually hook pretty well. Above 120mph and it gets dicey. So if you don't drive like a lunatic, you should be ok. Some people haven't had any issues, but they were pretty scary in the half mile.

CI GS

Are those radials? That's pretty normal for a bias ply, and is one of the reasons that radials are generally more stable at high speeds. Ever watched a Top Fuel dragster making a pass and seen how their tires deform? Now, THAT is scary, but thousands of passes are made every year without that being an issue.

Patriot Six

ET Streets are radials, which is why I was so surprised that the sidewalls were so soft and unstable.

maiettar1

can always switch to toyo r888's. seen UGR lambos hitting 200+ with those on their runs seemingly without an issue....minus that one lambo that flipped(crosswinds tho)

ksurfer2

Yes, the tires are Mickey Thompson ET Streets. The car felt rock solid through 160. It wasn't until I saw the video that I got concerned. I may look into a different tire before next year's event.

sevinn

I think Hinson's vette crashed several years back at a runway event because the drag radial exploded and most people realized then that DRs aren't good for extended high speed runs.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...exas-mile.html

irok

those tires were not designed for 1/2 mile plus events.designed for 1/4 mile

RecMech

I have run r888's up to about 200 with no issues and R7's into the 240's... The only tire I have ever had fail was a new drag radial on the dyno.

This video makes me not want to look at my tires at speed though!

neverstop

holy shizen. that's a lot more tire stretch in diamter than i would have guessed also.

CI GS

Not all ET Streets are radials, which is why I asked the question.

Patriot Six

The ET Street SS are radials and were supposed to have stiffer sidewalls. Apparently not, though.

SquirrelyNutz

This is normal. Everyone assumes radials can't grow but they do, just not as much as bias plys do. Watch the tire in this dyno video, there is a good angle of the tire from 28 seconds till the end. The pull probably stops around 160mph. It was on 345/35/18 ET street II's on 18x12 wheels.

stevieturbo

If the car felt fine then I wouldnt worry too much.

But definitely do not use bias ply tyres, if anything organisers of such events shouldnt even be allowing them.

Between radials, Hoosier and MT, the Hoosiers are mega soft by comparison and far lighter too. On my car ( non vette and only 255/50x16 ) the Hoosiers actually feel dangerous at speed. By comparison the MT DR's felt very stable even at 190+

That said, last year at a standing 1km event I just used some "sporty" road tyres. On the airfield that day, they gripped better for me than the MT DR's ! My car was still lighting up the MT's at 160+

So it isnt always the case that drag radials will grip better either, but it's a case of trying different ones to find out.

At speed and under load, all tyres are going to change shape and move about a bit. It's just what they do.

7SECONDS

I have experienced this many times with my M/T DRAG RADIALS. They seem to grow at speeds over 140Mph. I also noticed they do it on the Dyno. Since the Dyno Pull is in 4th gear which starts at approximately 130Mph to 170Mph is where it seems to happen. Also 170Mph in the Half Mile in 4th gear. So when I click 4th gear and stay in it the tire grows and wants to rub the inner fender. I fixed this with some inner fender mods. Also spoke with M/T and Tech guy told me there tires don't grow they may disfigure. I call BS. Tech guy also said they are not Speed Rated they are meant for 1/4 mile passes. My next tires will be NITTO.