I have an 02 Coupe with A&A V3 S/C, 3.42 gear, 2600 stall T/C, shift kit, Thunder Racing blower cam, 60# injectors, Lingenfelter high capacity fuel pump, handful of other mods. Dyno Tuned at XXX Motorsports in P'cola. I put down 470rwhp on a Dynojet. I'm consistently running 7.40's in 1/8th mile (best is 7.35).

I've just worn out BFG 295/35R18 on aftermarket 18x10.5 C5 Z06 replicas. They definitely are way better than my stock street Kumho's, but I still spin almost every pass. I'm about to get headers, but then I'll be putting down even more rwhp to the wheels and will likely spin even more. The blocky tread pattern is history - totally bald. Why don't these hook up like a slick now?

I've been looking at the Mickey Thompson website, but I'm confused. Everyone says to go with slicks instead of ET streets. But nearly all the M/T slicks are for 15" or 16" wheels. They do make 305/35R18 street radials that will fit my wheels, but they're not slicks. They also sell wheels which their slicks would fit, but I can't tell if their 15" wheels would clear my stock brakes/rotors (in fact, that's why they claim they started making the 17" and 18" tires for sport compacts, Mustangs, Corvettes, and Vipers).

Are any of you guys running slicks on your C5 with stock wheel hubs/brakes/rotors? What's the magic combination?

 

Ask your question in the Drag Racing section. I'm sure you'll get some answers.

 

I did a quick check on the website and you can get an ET Street (not a radial) for a 17" rim. At 470rwhp, you are at the edge (or past) the recommend HP level for drag radials.

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/s...?item=ETStreet

For the record...I run the MT ET Street Radials 275/40/17 on Z06 Front replicas and I have good traction.

 

i have the same size rims, and i fit the the bfg radials with 315/30zr18, hooks up super nice =)) they stick awesome after breaking them in, and then once its bald up to about 2.5inches from the outside of the tire, then traction starts sucking. lowering the pressure down to 15 when ur runnin makes a big difference too

 

with that much power you need to learn the physics on rotating mass. I'd go with a 16" wheel and a 26x11.5x16 Et Street DOT slick. NOT a full slcik but the one with grooves.

J

 

When you start to make seriuos HP its time to consider slicks17-18" DR's depend on the tire compound to get you off the line a slick has action from the sidewall the tire wrinkles and absorbes some of the shock from the inital hit corvettes with their road racing heritage typically have stiff suspensions and need help in this area you can try different shocks and get DR's to work pretty good or just buy adj. shocks (EG QA1)12 way I wouldn't waste my money, however,on the cheaper typical drag shocks (usually 3 adj) as guys that have used them find no improvement the 12 way adj have enough range to do the job on a corvette....... just another option to consider.... just my $.02

 

1st - you do not need drag suspension to hook.
2nd - you want the smallest diameter rim you can fit over your brakes
3rd - you can use radials or bias plys (main criteria is if you want to drive on the tires to the track (if you do then get radials)
4th - Mickey Thompsons are the only way to go if you want to hook. BFGs spin almost as bad as Nittos. They are both more of a street tire.
5th - There are cars running 7s and 8s on radials. They can handle 470 hp just fine.....
6th - I ran a 10.8 at 129 on MT bias ply (ET Streets 17in) with no issue
7th - I am going to attempt a 9.X at 14X on MT Radials (ET Street Radials 295/45/17) when I get a chance.

Good luck.