Drag Radials 18s

[Vipes]

Does anyone run an 18 inch drag radial and if so which brand? I currently have Hoosier 335/30/18 DR2's mounted on 18x13 Sidewinder II wheels. I've run a couple passes with them at the track and they dead hooked but I'm looking to change them out for a taller sidewall since the Hoosiers are only 26" tall. Unfortunately Hoosier doesn't make a taller sidewall in a wide 18 tire. The only 2 choices for a 345/35/18 drag radial seem to be M&H or MT ET Street SS. I don't care about street use since I would only bolt them on for the occasional trip to the prepped track. Has anyone tried either of these tires or any 18 inch drag radial besides the Hoosiers???


Also since somebody will probably mention it, yes I know about Toyo R888R's and also Toyo Proxes RR. Those are both great tires that hook well on the street, road course, 1/2 mile mph racing, etc but they are not drag radials and do not have soft sidewalls.

[Steve M]

Yes.

I ran the Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S 345/35-18 for the past 3 years. I was only able to cut a best 60' of 1.77, but I blame that more on the driver than the tire. They dead hooked on the street in 1st gear, and did not require very much in the way of a burnout to get sticky (which is probably why they hook well on the street). It is a bit squirmy with the taller sidewall, but they drove pretty well on the street if you kept them around 24-25 psi or so (cold). I know that's not important to you, but I drive to and from the drag strip (~20 miles each way), so they at least need to behave well enough to do that.

I'm now on the Hoosier DR2, 335/30-18. So far, I've only made 6 passes on them. The only conclusion I've reached so far is that they are very different from the Mickeys. They require a lot more heat to get them to hook. I used to do 1st gear burnouts with the Mickey's, and they were perfectly happy. These need a good solid 5-6 second 2nd gear burnout to get sticky. It could just be the ones I have since the date codes were already 1 year old when they arrived at my doorstep, but it is what it is. They behave pretty well on the street for what they are.

The Hoosiers weigh about 10 pounds less per tire than the Mickeys. Total weight with my Forgestar F14s (18x13) + Hoosiers is 49.5 lbs per side. The Mickeys on the same wheels were closer to 60 lbs per side.

The 26" diameter tire is better for my setup, but so far it hasn't translated into better 60' times or trap speeds like I expected. I'm still getting everything dialed in though...just need more seat time, and the season is quickly coming to an end around here.

I usually run about 20 psi hot, and I'm always at a test and tune night, so track prep is all over the place. I'll be back at it this coming Thursday night, so we shall see.

I have no experience with the M&H tires, but I'd expect them to be similar to the Mickeys.

[Vipes]

Thanks Steve, appreciate the first hand info about the MT ET Streets. Hopefully you can break into the 10s tomorrow!!

[Steve M]

Thanks Steve, appreciate the first hand info about the MT ET Streets. Hopefully you can break into the 10s tomorrow!!

It certainly won't be for lack of trying...if I can just get my 60' times in to the low 1.7x range, I think I can do it. Maybe. Hopefully. It's been way harder than I thought it should be.

[Vipes]

It certainly won't be for lack of trying...if I can just get my 60' times in to the low 1.7x range, I think I can do it. Maybe. Hopefully. It's been way harder than I thought it should be.

It's definitely a challenging car to launch with the tall 1st, high 1.7 is also my best 60'. It seems to just come easy for others but I need to practice more since I've only run a few times. I really like the Hoosiers and they dead hook for me without a heavy burnout but the track I go to does prep very well. I'm pretty much doubling the hp of the car with the new setup so I'm guessing the 26" tires won't be a good match anymore. Let us know if you hit a new personal best, good luck!

[98intrigue]

It's definitely a challenging car to launch with the tall 1st, high 1.7 is also my best 60'. It seems to just come easy for others but I need to practice more since I've only run a few times. I really like the Hoosiers and they dead hook for me without a heavy burnout but the track I go to does prep very well. I'm pretty much doubling the hp of the car with the new setup so I'm guessing the 26" tires won't be a good match anymore. Let us know if you hit a new personal best, good luck!

When's the Bithlo run happening??

[Vipes]

When's the Bithlo run happening??

Your guess is probably better than mine lol, not sure when I'll get the car back but hopefully soon. I'm going to try and join in on or plan a private rental there of about 10 ish cars. Hit me up if you know anyone looking to do the same this winter season??

[Steve M]

Your guess is probably better than mine lol, not sure when I'll get the car back but hopefully soon. I'm going to try and join in on or plan a private rental there of about 10 ish cars. Hit me up if you know anyone looking to do the same this winter season??

If I lived down there, I'd sure as hell be in.

Last week I got two runs in over the span of the 3 hours I was at the track. Took an hour before my first pass, and then waited 2 hours between due to people breaking shit and spewing oil/water.

Kinda hard to practice anything that way.

[TBSH]

Look into the 325/35/18 MT street R.
Keeps you close to OEM height since they are at 27".

[Steve M]

Look into the 325/35/18 MT street R.
Keeps you close to OEM height since they are at 27".

Max recommended wheel width for those is 12". My rears are 18x13 (same as OP) - have you tried them on a 13" wide wheel?

I was able to make some more passes on the Hoosiers since my last post in this thread, and they are definitely the right tire for my setup. As long as you give them a good 2nd gear burnout, they stick. I just need to grow a pair and launch this thing at 5,000-5,500 RPMs.

[TBSH]

Max recommended wheel width for those is 12". My rears are 18x13 (same as OP) - have you tried them on a 13" wide wheel?

I was able to make some more passes on the Hoosiers since my last post in this thread, and they are definitely the right tire for my setup. As long as you give them a good 2nd gear burnout, they stick. I just need to grow a pair and launch this thing at 5,000-5,500 RPMs.

ran them on a 12.5" wheel on my old C7 Zo6. Cut 1.34-1.36s A8 of course.

[Back In Black]

Does anyone run an 18 inch drag radial and if so which brand? I currently have Hoosier 335/30/18 DR2's mounted on 18x13 Sidewinder II wheels. I've run a couple passes with them at the track and they dead hooked but I'm looking to change them out for a taller sidewall since the Hoosiers are only 26" tall. Unfortunately Hoosier doesn't make a taller sidewall in a wide 18 tire. The only 2 choices for a 345/35/18 drag radial seem to be M&H or MT ET Street SS. I don't care about street use since I would only bolt them on for the occasional trip to the prepped track. Has anyone tried either of these tires or any 18 inch drag radial besides the Hoosiers???


Also since somebody will probably mention it, yes I know about Toyo R888R's and also Toyo Proxes RR. Those are both great tires that hook well on the street, road course, 1/2 mile mph racing, etc but they are not drag radials and do not have soft sidewalls.

I was able to pull consistent 1.61 60' times this past Saturday with the 345/35/18 MT ET Street SS and ran a 9.96 1/4 ET. And I'm not a drag racer. This was in a Gen IV road race car. I'm sure better suspension tuning would yield better results.

[Steve M]

I was able to pull consistent 1.61 60' times this past Saturday with the 345/35/18 MT ET Street SS and ran a 9.96 1/4 ET. And I'm not a drag racer. This was in a Gen IV road race car. I'm sure better suspension tuning would yield better results.

Nice!

What mods are done to the car? What gears and what clutch? Weather conditions (DA)? Approximate race weight? How were you launching?

I'm going to guess it's a stock displacement heads/cam car with traps around 140-141?

[Back In Black]

Nice!

What mods are done to the car? What gears and what clutch? Weather conditions (DA)? Approximate race weight? How were you launching?

I'm going to guess it's a stock displacement heads/cam car with traps around 140-141?

9L non-extreme. Belanger headers and race exhaust. 3.55 gears, Nth triple carbon clutch, no side windows, 3400lbs. Launched at 4-4.5k. Quickly released clutch as I mashed the throttle. No clutch dump. Car hooked, bogged down to ~2200 and then just took off. Best MPH of the day was 143.87. 1700ft DA

20201031_120503.jpg

[Steve M]

That's awesome...I can't figure out how to launch with the Nth Moto clutch to save my life. I've tried what you described, and it does the same thing (bogging then takes off), but it's only netted me a 1.78 60' at best. I'm guessing your extra power helps immensely with the taking off part. Probably doesn't help that my race weight is ~200 lbs heavier than yours.

That's some serious MPH for sure. That would be enough to get you booted from my local track unless you were running a cage (and I'm guessing you have one).

[Back In Black]

That's awesome...I can't figure out how to launch with the Nth Moto clutch to save my life. I've tried what you described, and it does the same thing (bogging then takes off), but it's only netted me a 1.78 60' at best. I'm guessing your extra power helps immensely with the taking off part. Probably doesn't help that my race weight is ~200 lbs heavier than yours.

That's some serious MPH for sure. That would be enough to get you booted from my local track unless you were running a cage (and I'm guessing you have one).

Ya, the car has all the safety equipment for door to door road racing. The tech guy at the track said "I don't think I know how to tech a rally car." LOL Well....

I think NHRA requires an engine diaper at 135+ mph too. Definitely not going there. This was a last minute last day of the season fun day so I don't think they were being very stringent.

The clutch is great. I was able to slip it more but it resulted in wheel spin and wheel hop. I think if I spent more time setting up the suspension, I could take another .1 off the 60'. Not really my thing though. The last time I was on the drag strip was 10 years ago. There was a guy there with a Hellcat running 10.0's at 135mph pulling 1.4X 60' times with 4100lbs race weight!

[Redx]

I was able to pull consistent 1.61 60' times this past Saturday with the 345/35/18 MT ET Street SS and ran a 9.96 1/4 ET. And I'm not a drag racer. This was in a Gen IV road race car. I'm sure better suspension tuning would yield better results.

Super impressive, i'm running a 9Lx in a gen iv, full build with nth clutch etc best i could muster was a 10.5@138, 4000DA on 26" hoosiers. Definitely need to get into the 9's.