I was going to put this thread up so everyone can see because I see a lot of guys buying and or recommending others to buy track tires for drag racing and drag radials for track racing.
For example the NT05R is a drag radial and it will hook up very well at the drag strip, it is a soft compound tire with less stiff sidewalls so they can gibe a little off the line.
The NT05 is a track tire and it is also a soft compund tire but it also has very stiff sidewalls which will not help your launch anymore than the Goodyears or Super Sports. There are other construction difference that are above my understanding as well
The Toyo TQ is a drag radial and the R888 and RA1 are track tires. They are built for different purposes.
I see people mixing and matching these tires as if they are interchangeable or like they serve the same purpose. And while it probably won't hurt anything except your bankroll to drag race on track tires like the Toyo TQ or the Michelin Sport Cup or the NT05, I would not recommend track racing on a drag radial at all. I think you would be OK at a small low speed track like my local SCCA but you don't want a drag radial on your car if you are doing any high speed driving around a track or even a nice twisty road. Thos softer side walls could bite you in the a** taking big turns at high speed.
This is just my understanding if the two types of tires. I'm sure most people know this, but I thought i would post iot because i seem to be seeing a lot of guys thinking that any DOT R tire is good for any type of racing.
For example the NT05R is a drag radial and it will hook up very well at the drag strip, it is a soft compound tire with less stiff sidewalls so they can gibe a little off the line.
The NT05 is a track tire and it is also a soft compund tire but it also has very stiff sidewalls which will not help your launch anymore than the Goodyears or Super Sports. There are other construction difference that are above my understanding as well
The Toyo TQ is a drag radial and the R888 and RA1 are track tires. They are built for different purposes.
I see people mixing and matching these tires as if they are interchangeable or like they serve the same purpose. And while it probably won't hurt anything except your bankroll to drag race on track tires like the Toyo TQ or the Michelin Sport Cup or the NT05, I would not recommend track racing on a drag radial at all. I think you would be OK at a small low speed track like my local SCCA but you don't want a drag radial on your car if you are doing any high speed driving around a track or even a nice twisty road. Thos softer side walls could bite you in the a** taking big turns at high speed.
This is just my understanding if the two types of tires. I'm sure most people know this, but I thought i would post iot because i seem to be seeing a lot of guys thinking that any DOT R tire is good for any type of racing.
