Racing with Drag Radials

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Jul 1, 2007 | 10:41 PM

Impala Balko

Thread Starter

Melting Slicks

Joined: Feb 2005

Posts: 3,466

Likes: 43

From: Auburn MA

Racing with Drag Radials

Alright I have previous drag racing experiance with my old 94 Impala SS and my 94 Corvette 6 speed coupe but only with street tires... I just picked up some used Mickey Thompson ET Streets with only 30 passes on them for the vette and I am wondering how different is it running DR's.... How many PSI's should I be running, How much do i have to heat them via burnout, and launching out the hole (can I just rev and dump). Educate me so I dont get laughed off the dragstrip.

here are a pic of the new to me meats

Jul 1, 2007 | 11:05 PM

mackeyred96

Team Owner

Joined: Nov 1999

Posts: 32,782

Likes: 11

From: Former NCM Drag Racing coordinator, National director Corvette Challenge Spring Hill, Tennessee: Whiting, New Jersey

Cruise-In VI Veteran

Cruise-In VII Veteran

Start at 16 lbs and heat them till you see smoke.

Jul 1, 2007 | 11:08 PM

Impala Balko

Thread Starter

Melting Slicks

Joined: Feb 2005

Posts: 3,466

Likes: 43

From: Auburn MA

are these good skins or what... i have heard they are pretty sticky.... hopefully I can get my Stock 6spd LT-1 coupe in sub 2 second 60' ers and low 13 sec passes

Jul 2, 2007 | 09:41 AM

CRV3TT3

Burning Brakes

Joined: Oct 2005

Posts: 1,176

Likes: 0

From: Suffolk Va

You will definitly see some sub 2 second 60's!! lol

and heat them for about 10-15 seconds roll to the beams...stage...when the lights start comin down rev to about 4k...dump and hang on!

next run try it at 5k then the next try it at 6k...just try and find your cars sweet spot!

Jul 2, 2007 | 10:55 AM

GeosFun

Burning Brakes

Joined: Nov 2003

Posts: 914

Likes: 1

From: Redding Ca

I run mine at 22 lbs. Mainly watch your tire wear because the big issue is the tread must stay perfectly flat for max tire contact patch. Too little pressure will cause "cupping" where the sides wear but the center does not. I do a burn out and watch my rear view side mirror. I release the line loc after I start getting a good pile of tire smoke and then burn forward about 10' or so, just so I do not go over the line. I try to stage without (or very little) backing up to stage straight and stay in the "groove" (the 2 heavy black rubber build up lines) because the tires will start to cool and their stickiness will pick up little bits of grit "out of the groove."

I think that is much less than the suggested 15-sec, but I have not timed it. Probably more like 5-sec then release the line loc for another 1-2 seconds. Seems to work fine. 1.90 60'-ers with automatic and just stab it from off-idle. BTW, "dry hops" are very hard on parts and add nothing to the launch.

Last edited by GeosFun; Jul 2, 2007 at 12:02 PM.

Jul 2, 2007 | 12:15 PM

rklessdriver

Safety Car

Joined: Apr 2005

Posts: 3,624

Likes: 431

From: Dale City VA

I have run 1.57 60fts on a set 26X11 15 ET Streets in my 92 6spd.

I have also:
Grenaded the stock clutch
Broken 4 right rear outer stub axles
Broken 1 right rear spindle upright (knuckle)
elongated the holes in my C beam
destroyed the 4 link trailing arm bushings

Your results may vary.

This was at 16-18psi with a good burn out, they only require a few seconds of smoke to get to proper operating temp. Leaving at 4500-5500+ (depending on how hard the track was hooking) using a 150 shot on an otherwise stock 92 LT1 6spd. Yes my NO2 is on a WOT and I spray out of the hole. Yes I just hold it at 5500rpm and dump it then go to WOT immeadiatly.

Yours appear to be 26X10 16's so they are a bit narrrower and the sidewall is a bit shorter (they will have a bit less flex than mine). Good luck with them they are great tires, mine are currently on my 76 drag Corvette and I now run 315 35 17 BFG drag radials to stem the parts breakage on the 92.
Will

Jul 2, 2007 | 07:04 PM

jonecap

Drifting

Joined: May 2005

Posts: 1,370

Likes: 1

From: Raleigh NC

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRV3TT3

next run try it at 5k then the next try it at 6k...just try and find your cars sweet spot!

I would caution against that. You'll find yourself calling a tow truck fast.

It's going to be a completely different ball game from street tires. I think you'll find that you really don't even need to heat the tires up. Those are pretty sticky tires. If the track is prepped well, you won't have traction problems. Save your tires and just spin 'em over a few times to clean them off and stage.

I run Nitto drag radials, which aren't nearly as sticky as the MT's. After staging, I leave the car at idle, when the lights start coming down I blip the throttle to bring the revs up, slip the clutch and mat it on the launch. You can hear it in the video in my sig. 1.71 is my best 60 so far. It leaves hard and...knock on wood...hasn't broken anything yet.

BTW, Neat has the same tires as you, never heats them up and breaks rearend spindles frequently. Given...our track is prepped well, but those are really good tires.