I have a 97 C5, A & A V3 Si kit, 549 Rwhp & 476 Rwtq, Performabuilt level 3 A4 trans, just put on Mickey Thompson ET Street R radial p305/45r18 in rear and stock in front. This is what my shop recommended, needless to say the rears are rubbing just idleing down the street.
What are u guys running on ur front and rear? I want to go as big and wide as possible without modifying the body. I went to Kil-Kare track on my street tires last thursday first time ever, 13.4 but could never really hook up. So I got these as recommended and unless I tub it they are going to tear the body apart, any help is appreciated. I want to go as big and wide as possible without modifying the body.
Thanks,
Rich

 

1st of all a corvette is really a road course car---In order to drag race it you need an entirely different set up---With Stock HP you won't see much of a difference but with big HP you need to get MORE traction and that is not simply a larger diameter tire
On my 98 car with only 400 RWHP I would spin horribly---even with drag radials -- car would run about 13 flat----So my next mods were about getting the car to hook up
The side walls on an 18" tire are simply to narrow---You need a tire with a larger sidewall to get you the "wrinkle affect" during launch----I ended up with a set of C4 16" rims---the sidewall went from about 2.5" to almost 5" !!!! With about 12-14 PSI tire pressure the car would launch like crazy---very little tire spin---My car eventually ran 12.00 with only 400 RWHP-!!!!! The 16" stock C4 rims fit without any rubbing
However they did take some machining to get them to clear the brake rotors
You can try some 17" rims and they will clear the rotors and still get about 4" of sidewall
You need at least a 50 or better yet a 60 series tire to get the car to hook up--
45's are just to narrow and have stiff sidewalls and many 18" drag radials have even a worse 35 sidewall------
PS another mod that helped was to install a SOLID trans mount in the back---That prevents the rear axle from flexing on a drag launch--They are cheap and well worth the effort

 

Thanks, I was thinking of going to a smaller wheel just for that effect. What solid trans mount did you go with. Anything is better then the Uniroyal AS 275/40zr18 I ran on last week, lol. I was really kind of surprised to pull out a 13.4 on them, of course when my tranny shifted to 2nd I was almost sideways quick. once I recovered and got it straight again I finished at only 96mph and still managed a 13.46.

 

that tire is 29" tall, 28" is about the max before it starts rubbing and tearing things up... a tire that tall will also kill your gearing and trap speed in the 1/4... you will have an overall higher top speed but acceleration will suffer... is this a drag only car or a street car?... if it's a street car that sees some drag time then a tire with as much sidewall as tblu is suggesting is too much in my opinion... drag tires with sidewalls that big will be so soft that the car will pretty much lose it's handling capability so it wouldn't be very safe to drive on the street... if it's a drag only car then yes, get as much sidewall as you can... the width is not as important as the tire compound and sidewall when looking for a drag tire so keep that in mind

 

it is a street car that will see some drag time, street being the main function

 

You don't need the biggest widest drag radial. Get a tire that fits using a brand like Hoosier or MT and you will be fine.
You can run a 26-28" drag radial. Even a 26" will hold your power if you heat them up properly and experiment with the launch on a good track.

 

I suggest the M/T ET Street Radial II 305/35/18

 

I have a set on the way I should get on tuesday. I did get my ET Street R Radial Tire P305/45R18 on and running, however I think the 3.42 gears aren't enough to push them very well. I was up to 7.4 psi boost and didn't really feel the seat of the pants like in the past. So I am going to mount the II 305/35/18 and run them one week and the others a different week. Then decide on which ones I want to keep.