Drag radials or slicks?

[suprahero]

Do any of you guys that race on here run slicks or drag radials? I've been going to the track racing about every saturday night at our local 1/8 mile track. My car spins like crazy trying to get out of the hole, and it is killing my times. My 60' times are like 2.3 - 2.6.......When I had my auto in the car, before the swap, I was getting 2.2's consistently. I was told to buy some MT drag radials or slicks. I'm leaning towards the drag radials, simply for the fact that I'm scared with slicks I might break something. I'm hoping that the DR will get me out of the hole quicker without actually glueing my car to the pavement and braking something like a set of slicks might do. I know that sounds stupid, but I don't want to win a race so bad, that I tear my drivetrain up trying to get traction. I think that the drag radials will be a good compromise. Please give me your opinions on this. Thanks alot.............lol

Edit: It's kind of a technical question, so I posted it here instead of the racing section. Please move if it's in the wrong place and accept my sincerest apologies...........lol

[Jspec7m88]

Drag Radials are fine. :) It is the same tire compound used with slicks, only there is a some so-called "tread" so it is supposeably street legal.;). For your case, DR's should be just fine...Just make sure you don't get anything that is too skinny for the rims you'll use...Contact Patch, FTW! ;)

[suprahero]

I just erased my last post. Hopefully no one got to read it. Thanks for the response Jspec...........lol

[Jspec7m88]

Ohhh....You naughty bastard, LOL. "Hopefully no one got to read it." LOL...What the hell did you type? ;)

[robbo185]

i have mickey thompson et streets on my car.....i need to daily drive it and they came on the rims i bought....they have pretty much lost all tread after 2 months of daily driving....zero launches.....so make sure you only use them at the track

[suprahero]

I'm only going to use them at the track.

Jspec........I typed something about Patch. You said .....contact Patch FTW. Well I did a member search for Patch, and when I didn't find one, I reread your post and figured it out. Luckily I reread it befor someone read my post. I say enough stupid stuff. I didn't need EVERYONE to know how dumb I am...............lol

[89turbosupra]

drag radials are easier to control at speeds then bias ply slicks so if you have never used them Its a good start. If your running on a real trck that uses the vht you will start breaking things on either the dr or the slick so just be careful.

[Jspec7m88]

::hah:: ::hah:: ::hah:: ::hah::

Jspec........I typed something about Patch. You said .....contact Patch FTW. Well I did a member search for Patch, and when I didn't find one, I reread your post and figured it out. Luckily I reread it befor someone read my post. I say enough stupid stuff. I didn't need EVERYONE to know how dumb I am...............lol

ROTFLMMFAO :yelrotflm :yelrotflm I HARDLY EVER LAUGH OUT LOUD ON THE COMPUTER, LOL. That is one of the funniest things ever!!! :rofl:

[suprahero]

That's why I'm here...............comedic relief................lol

[suprahero]

drag radials are easier to control at speeds then bias ply slicks so if you have never used them Its a good start. If your running on a real trck that uses the vht you will start breaking things on either the dr or the slick so just be careful.

What is the weakest link (other than me) on my drive train? Will a universal joint break before something like the rearend or driveshaft breaks? Would I break an axle? What do you think the first thing to break would be? Thanks.

Hopefully the first thing to break will be traction. That's why I'm wanting to go with the drag radials...........lol

[89Turbo]

What is the weakest link (other than me) on my drive train? Will a universal joint break before something like the rearend or driveshaft breaks? Would I break an axle? What do you think the first thing to break would be? Thanks.

Hopefully the first thing to break will be traction. That's why I'm wanting to go with the drag radials...........lol


tractions arms, ours are TINY

[89turbosupra]

Im new to the supra world but built some cars to go down the track. ive heard the traction arms bend the first time you get good traction. the next part I would think would be the U joints as those things are tiny as well.I ve herd the axles can hold up pretty well but the torsen gives out if it was not taken care of during its life.

[suprahero]

I have new ujoints, and I can get another set of traction arms. It's probably not worth having to pay 350.00 for a set of drag radials, and then have to fix everything you break because of the dr. I refuse to race again though and spin for two seconds. Either I buy dr, or I don't race at the track. I guess it would be alot cheaper not to race, but I doubt I choose that route.............lol

[Boss302]

go to horsepowerfreaks.com or suprasport.com for your rear end reinforcement i know that HPF have bulkier arms and draglinks and things of the sort oh also adjustable dampers hell yeah. a solid rear frame mount would help too s.s. can help you with that also with the polyurithane amster bushing set and BIC performance is working on solid aluminum bushings for the rear frame.

[dbsupra90]

lol @ contact patch

as was said, i wouldnt mix bias ply and radial tires. esp slicks and radial tires. at speed the car likes to squirm.

from experience + research the mickey thompson et drag radials are the way to go. still a radial tire so no squirm and they hook like nobody's business.

another thing you might try is air up the front tires. i usually run 44psi in the fronts for the track. what this does is create a smaller contact patch thereby reducing rolling resistance. just dont forget to air them back down for the street. it will feel a little funny taking corners from the lack of sidewall flex and the tire will wear uneven.

good luck!

[suprahero]

Thanks alot guys. I found a set of Nitto drag radials. I think I'm going to buy them tomorrow. They were rated number one for overall performance. The MT drag radial was the number one for hooking up. I think the Nitto will be a good balance for what I need.
Dbsupra.....I did air my front tires up to 42 psi. this past saturday night. I lowered my back tires down to 20 psi. It seemed to help a little. I really appreciate your help.
Boss, thanks for your help also. Hopefully we'll get a meet going this fall and have a few southeastern people show up.........lol

[SublimeSupra]

Suprahero hey i got a 10.4 67 fairlane on MT slicks and that thing is scary up top the rear of the car squirms as someone in a before post stated so go drag radials i had the BFG drag radials on it before and i liked them didnt hook as well but alot more comfortable of a feal and for your power level should be great.And i recommend the A-1 traction arms pretty good bang for the buck with them.

[Jspec7m88]

another thing you might try is air up the front tires. i usually run 44psi in the fronts for the track. what this does is create a smaller contact patch thereby reducing rolling resistance. just dont forget to air them back down for the street. it will feel a little funny taking corners from the lack of sidewall flex and the tire will wear uneven.

good luck!

^^^Good speaking man right there. :icon_bigg

This is very true. Also, while you're up there, disconnect your front sway bars. As originally posted in the "Guide to drag strip success" thread, "When at the track, disconnect the front sway bars. This goes back to the original concept that I talked about earlier. Transfer of weight to the rear of the vehicle. With the front sway bar disconnected it allows free movement of the front suspension. Lets weight shift occur easier." :icon_surp

[suprahero]

I'm going tomorrow morning to get a set of Nitto drag radials with a couple of aluminum wheels to match the ones I've got on my car. My lovely wife is buying the tires for my birthday and I'm buying the wheels. Wow!!!!!what a woman................:naughty:

[Jspec7m88]

Now THAT'S true love right there. ;)

[suprahero]

Not trying to make anyone gag or sound gay, but it's been true love since July 22, 1988............

I know I must be gay! But who else is getting drag radials for their birthday?......:biglaugh:

[boost PSSH boost]

I ran Nitto drag radials for quite some time on the street and strip. They last a little over 10,000 miles on the street, in case you were wondering. :naughty:

I handed many a 03/04 cobra their ass on the street on those tires. The look on their faces as an oldschool supra revs up to 5000 rpm and rockets away from them at the tree or stoplight... absolutely priceless.

[Slow66]

Im a bit late to the thread, but in your case, you can use any radial you want. What it will come down to is the life of the tire. MT radial= best hooking, but least life. Nitto 555r's = a ton more life, but wont hook as well. I used to run the 555r's they were Ok with the 5speed (had to do alot of feathering for a 1.9 60'), and with the auto they were useless to me when launching with boost. Considerign the power level youre at, the 555s are a good compromise, and should work well.

As far as breakage is concerned, in my experience, somethign in the DS (most likely a u-joint) woudl break first. 1.57 60' on completely stock rear subframe/torque arms, etc and no failures....

[IJ.]

Haven't heard of a Uni breaking they're fairly stout in our cars! ;)
(you watch there will be 11ty bazillion posts of broken Uni's now)

[Wills7MGTE]

get ya some big azz white walls, LMAO

[suprahero]

Thanks guys..............

Slow66, I'm just trying to get under the 2.50 60'......My car spins so bad right now even feathering it that I refuse to go back to the track without some racing tires. It's useless. I'm hoping to get to around 2.00 60', and lower my 1/8 mile times to 8.00 or their abouts. I won't have them in time to go this saturday night, but next saturday I'm going to go and take my camera. Hopefully we'll get some footage of me spanking a few srt's, and gt's.

IJ, now that you've jinxed us all, I think I can hear my ujoint popping as I type..................:biglaugh:

[suprahero]

I just revised my public profile to show what mods I have done to my car. I'm hoping to have the fastest supra in Sumiton, Al.


The only other one belongs to my wife, and there's no way I'm making hers faster than mine.................lol

[Jspec7m88]

I just revised my public profile to show what mods I have done to my car. I'm hoping to have the fastest supra in Sumiton, Al.


The only other one belongs to my wife, and there's no way I'm making hers faster than mine.................lol

LOL! Well than it's official!

That's sort of the same deal for me...Now I'm working to be fastest Supra in Shelbyville...and the #1 is a 97 Supra on stock twins...but has a HUGE stall, (Yes, automatic), Carbon fiber driveshaft, FULLY built race-ready transmission and is getting like 1.70 60' on regular street tires...

I'll beat him soon. :icon_evil

[lagged]

you can do a little better on street tires, i had a 2.1 60 foot on street tires.

bfg drag radials next time around for me.

[MPF_Supra]

drag radials are nice but sooner or later your rear end will go out or tranny.

i've never had any luck with nitto drag's..seen a buddy run bfg drag's and he's gotten goodluck with them, haven't tryed m/t drag's yet..

[89Turbo]

^^^^^good lord how do you have that much torque and so little HP?!?!?!

[Jspec7m88]

MPF Supra:

1992 Toyota Supra Turbo 5spd/ White Package
230hp @ 565ft of Torque.
THAT'ssssssss NICE

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ WTF!!!??!!!!?!!!??!!!!

OMGWTFBBQBHGTorQUE?!!!!

[suprahero]

That sounds like it defies the laws of physics or something. I made 406 rwhp, and only made 387 ft. of torque. Then again, maybe my car defies physics..........:dunno:

[89Turbo]

That sounds like it defies the laws of physics or something. I made 406 rwhp, and only made 387 ft. of torque. Then again, maybe my car defies physics..........:dunno:

did u put that down in your auto or manual?

[suprahero]

automatic the most I dynod was 317 rwhp, 312 torque. I then added a bic ddp, manual transmission, and no boost controller. The first dyno was running 12.5 psi. The dyno where I made 406 was at 18 psi...............lol

Edit: 317 hp= 12.5 psi w/ automatic
....... 406 hp= 18.0 psi w/ manual and bic ddp

[boost PSSH boost]

I pulled several 1.9's on the Nitto's....just fry the shit out of them in the water box :D Take what you think "frying the shit out of my nittos" means, and double it. They love heat.

You can pull a 2.0 on a high performance 10" street tire, too...but this is easier and cheaper.

[suprahero]

Thanks boostPSSSHboost. Did you start breaking things when running your drag radials? I doubt that I will break anything major, but just wondering if you did.........lol

[drjonez]

as already stated, the better the traction, the better the 60' and the more stuff you're going to break.

MT DRs are the stickiest you can buy....followed by the BFGs....followed by the nittos. personally, i run nitto DRs on the street and BFG DRs @ the strip. running BFG or MT DRs on the street will lead to a VERY short lifespan (3k miles? if that...).

what you break depends on how you launch...and what trans you have. the first thing to go in a stock auto trans'd car is the auto trans- they can't deal w/the load. in a manual trans'd car, it all depends on your launch technique. slipping the clutch will be far kinder to the trans and the rest of the drivetrain/suspension than a clutch drop....but it will also burn up you clutch rather quickly.

the manual transmissions aren't perfect. the W58 has weak gears and the R154 has the thrust washer issue. your best bet is to baby it if you have the W58 and to run a GOOD oil if you have the R154. i personally have over 200 passes on my R154 and have no issues, thanks mostly to redline heavy shockproof and no speed-shifting.

speed-shifting (flat foot shifting, shifting w/o the clutch, etc.) is a bad idea. the transmissions are not up to it. don't do it unless you like to change the transmission.

the rear subframe is something to be concerned with. if the diff mounting bolts/nuts are even the slightest bit loose, the diff will rock around and beat your subframe to a pulp. the '89+ braces help to hold the subframe together, but the best thing to do is weld the heck out of it.

as already stated, the "strut rods" (trailing arms...) are fairly weak and will bend if your car isn't properly aligned, etc. i personally haven't bent one yet.

the clutch pack diff is plenty strong. the torsen, on the other hand, will blow up if you even think of going to the strip.

no concerns with the driveshaft, as IJ said, it's plenty strong as well...

that's just my $5.....take it FWIW, YMMV, etc.

[Cya]

I got a 1.6 on a street tire and a doughnut, but Ill probably get flamed because I dont know where my time slip is. I launched at 3-3,500 after trying it at 5-6 and spinning for a sec in the hole.

[psifactor]

I got a 1.6 on a street tire and a doughnut, but Ill probably get flamed because I dont know where my time slip is. I launched at 3-3,500 after trying it at 5-6 and spinning for a sec in the hole.

I think you mean a 2.6. I'm going to have to say a 1.6 60ft on street tires isn't going to happen unless they were soaked with vht or something.




I've had great luck with my mt et streets. I have a good amount of passes on them which included heating them up before a run. On the street somewhere over 3k and they still have life left. At the track they are perfect. I can launch it 6k + and they dead hook. I have yet to break anything other than a cracked subframe.

[Cya]

I think you mean a 2.6. I'm going to have to say a 1.6 60ft on street tires isn't going to happen unless they were soaked with vht or something.




I've had great luck with my mt et streets. I have a good amount of passes on them which included heating them up before a run. On the street somewhere over 3k and they still have life left. At the track they are perfect. I can launch it 6k + and they dead hook. I have yet to break anything other than a cracked subframe.

I think that was my reaction time, sorry didnt have time to repost.

[billspreston01]

mickey thompson et streets is what I'm looking to get here very soon. Here's my dilemma though. I've searched for dragradials on several different sites, and the only size I can find for a 16" wheel is 255/16's. Is there a problem with running a 255 on a stock wheel?

[89supturbo]

I kno a guy that has a seet of MT radials on stock rims, i'm pretty sure they're 255's, if u wantto kno if they'll fit go to jegs look up the tire and go to more detail, it has spec wheel widths for all the different tires

[dbsupra90]

i had 255/50 drag tires on the stock wheels. the sidewall bubbles out a bit which will cause a little less contact patch but it works fine. on the street they will squirm a little around corners tho.

sorry this is the best pic i have

http://www.mk3.us/dave/supra06/misc/trailer2.JPG