Street handling with Drag Radials
 

Hello

I have read various things regarding the handling of Drag radials. I have read any anywhere from they handle well to they are scary around corners. I have C5 with an A&A and 3.90 gears. I am having traction issues. However I would like to maintain the handling. Can anyone give me a true picture of how DR's handle. I am not talking about going to the track, just a occassional taking a corner or curve much faster than the posted speed limit. Also, I was told toyo proxes were a good compromise. Opinions are appreciated.

If the air pressure is right, dr can handle well. If you run to low, better straight line traction. Or air pressure is to high, tires swelling you’ll expeience all kinds of rear swaying around curves and corners

I never liked them for the reasons you are asking about, to me my car is a sports car first, so I run street tires, everything is a compromise, drag radials handle shit . Maybe a Toyo R888 would suit you .

they aren't scary but they are also not made to take corners real fast so if you don't get crazy with them then you should be fine... on the other hand if you like to go around corners fast you don't need a blower for that... if you drive in wet weather you may not want them either but for a nice weather only car with straight line traction in mind a drag radial is your best bet for a street tire in my opinion

Tires
 

I appreciate everyone's input

Do the Toyo R888's or R888R's. They're a great balance for a street car. Amazing in the corners and decent in a straight line. Drag radials are only slightly better in a straight line and will scare the $hit out of you in a fast corner. Not worth wrecking a car or worse. If you go to the strip, get an extra set of wheels and some real drag slicks.

comes down to sidewall, my corvette still feels like a corvette, im sensitive to flex, hence why i run a 18" radial. so it's not as sloppy in none racing conditions. The toyo proxes is a good balance, i've ran those till i outgrew them powerwise.

Here is the dilemma, I ran a 305/35/19 Mickey Thompson’s, and they did not hook well, and they handle like crap, so if you want to hook, like op above stated, you need a high sidewall to hook, so a 15-17” would be best, But it will not handle, so it is a compromise.
Thats why I just run Michelin super sports,
but I can roast them anytime

Were the MT's you use new or older? I mean they should hook better than about anything else you could run. Toyo's and Nitto's handle pretty close to normal street tires, but when i switched to the 305/40/18 MT SS the car felt like mush. I had to raise my car a lot and didn't check alignment so that could be one thing I might look into also. The 305/40/18 will hook pretty well in the summer in the 15 psi range for me, but totally depends on road surface also.

When i used a dragv radial on the street i liked Hoosiers performance cthe best. Otherwise i love the performance from the toyo r888 335/30/18

My MT’s were brand new, I have a PD blower , mucho torque :D

I threw on some 255/50r16 Hoosier DR2 at the track, then too lazy to put on my street tires for the ride home. While it's not even recommended to drive on the street, I did. Sketchy taking corners on the freeway in those things even dry out lol.

I run the R888s which were a big improvement over the regular NT05s. Corners like its on rails and holds the power accelerating in turns. Not bad from a roll but launching is tricky.
I have a NT05 R set in 305/40/18 that hook nicley and are ok handling on a limited basis with enough air, but being lowered on stock bolts they tend to rub.
May try the R888R next time

both the toyo r888 and the nitto stuff handle great and give you nearly the same hook as a DR
the DR really works better on prepped surfaces
the hoosier DR on a 17 rim has a fairly stable shoulder and handles ok

DON"t do mexico sustained high speeds on DR (ask me how I know) they can get hot and un @$$ the tread which is a bad day at the office NO flying miles on DR

I'd like to try the new MT stuff as it looks like an alternative to the Toyo r888

I've also run the Michelin cups which stick like death but will heat cycle and get hard so that's a very expensive route to a DR

I've been through 2 sets of 305/35/19 et street s/s and have another set ready to go on when my current ones wear out... I love those personally, the only time they get loose is at the top of 1st but most of the racing I do is from rolls anyway and I can hit it in 2nd at any rpm with no spin... it took a bit to get use to them but they handle fine for what I do, I keep them at 22psi... I do have a set of 305/45/17 et street r on some welds that I want to try out at half mile events or the track to see how they work but for the street I will stick with what I have... I tried the r888 when my car was n/a and hated them:shrug:

I think I'm ditching the 345/30r19 tires for some in the 305 size, much more options. I like those Mickey Thompsons, maybe I'll try some. How wide a wheel do you have and how long do they last if not romping on it everyday?

Quick question, what do ya run up front with the SS and are they drive-able if I get caught out in the rain? NE Ohio is like a total crap shoot most days with the weather.

Thx,

PC

I have 305/40/18's M/T SS. Got caught in the rain on the way home from Texas. Mine as well have been driving on a frozen lake. Good tire when the road isn't wet.

That bad huh, freeway or side roads at like 35mph? What do ya run up front to help clear the way?

Thx,

PC

hard to say, without doing burnouts or spinning them you could probably get 5-10k out of them depending on your driving style... using them on 11" wide wheels

I had a similar experience to Water Walker, I only drive mine in good weather but got caught out of nowhere by a storm once and it was like ice skating on 40mph side streets lol... barely taking off from a light the tires were spinning and making the car skate, I couldn't even do 20mph so I just pulled over and sat it out... I would avoid water with the et street s/s if possible... the nitto nt05r does much better in water compared to the s/s but still use caution... I have used nitto invos up front in the past and those do fine... when they wore out I switched to hankook ventus v12 because I wanted a Y rated tire and I like them on my daily, the invo was a Z rated tire