Just like the title says, I need opinions on what they are like at freeway speeds, how much gravel and dirt they pick up, if they get squirmy in the corners and so on. Any first hand experience would be much appreciated.:beer:
what is it like driving on the street with drag radials?
- Thread starter duomaxwell
- Start date
Depends how big the sidewall is. Nittos and MT Dr's are the only ones I have used that handle well, but my car would blow them off at low speed punches.
The only ones that hook for me are M&H's. They have massive sidewall and handle like crap, but I can use all of 2nd gear without feathering the throttle.
Whatever you decide to do, if you run DR's as a daily tire, DO NOT DRIVE IN THE WET!!!
The only ones that hook for me are M&H's. They have massive sidewall and handle like crap, but I can use all of 2nd gear without feathering the throttle.
Whatever you decide to do, if you run DR's as a daily tire, DO NOT DRIVE IN THE WET!!!
I daily drove on nitto dr's and mt dr's. They would both sling every peble that was on the road in the wheel well. The nittos lasted 12k and I wrecked the car when the mt's where on it but they had around 2500 miles on em and maybe 20-30% left if that. I would blow the nittos off from a 60 punch with bolt ons, stall and a 100 shot but the mickeys would hook from a 10 roll with zero burnout. They felf like normal street tires in the turns but when it rained I wouldn't go over 55 with the nittos and wouldnt go over 40 with the mt's, even on the highway
A friend of mine has some 315 Nittos on his mullet mob....ehh Camaro...jk. :-D
They're not bad on the street but he has 9.5 in rears for street use and saves his 11 in rears/Nittos for the strip, so he doesn't ride on them often.
They're not bad on the street but he has 9.5 in rears for street use and saves his 11 in rears/Nittos for the strip, so he doesn't ride on them often.
Don't waste your time with Nitto's. They last the longest but won't hook for shit. There is a trade off with stickier tires in they last only a few thousond miles. BFG's are OK, MT's and Hoosier's are better, and M&H might be the best.
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I love my nittos. Hook great for my mostly stock cobra and the only time they don't drive on the street is when it is pouring. Regular rain it drives pretty normal.
ive had a set of M/T et street radials on my car for about 3 weeks and imo at freeway speeds it feels like a reg. street tire. biggest drawbacks for me are every single rock and pebble of sand gets picked up by the tires and sounds like big rain drops hitting a tin roof during a storm. The other thing is getting caught in the rain if its drizzling i would only go up to 40-50 mph and if its pouring don't even bother driving you will get no traction. They feel a little mushy cornering but not that bad. I def wouldnt buy they'se for daily driving.
Don't drive in the rain, the rear end feels like it could lift up at anytime.
It all depends what power range you are in. Nittos are great all the way up to 500 at the wheels. My MT's are working out great on my car. Higher speeds, can't find any faults with them. Cold weather kinda sucks with them because they get loose real easy, buy that's the same with any DR. Can't tell you how they handle in the wet weather because my cobra never sees the wet weather.
My Nittos drove very similar to street tires. They are a very hard compound drag radial compared to ET Street Radials or BFGs. Stiffer sidewall, don't kick up as much crap and also don't walk much on the curves. My ET Street Radials walk a little bit on quick lane changes or sharp/sudden turns, but nothing bad. They also kick up a lot of crap.
BUT, the Nittos were useless in first and only grabbed half the time in second. The ET Street Radials, on the other hand, dead hook from any gear and launch MUCH harder from a dig.
As far as rain goes, the Nittos are fine as long as you take it easy and drive a little more cautiously than with street tires. The MTs don't do quite as well and I avoid water at all costs.
BUT, the Nittos were useless in first and only grabbed half the time in second. The ET Street Radials, on the other hand, dead hook from any gear and launch MUCH harder from a dig.
As far as rain goes, the Nittos are fine as long as you take it easy and drive a little more cautiously than with street tires. The MTs don't do quite as well and I avoid water at all costs.
Nittos last the longest and can be driven in wet weather better than the rest. They're only good up to a certain point as far as traction though. Nittos were the only street tire on my truck for almost 5 years and I never had a problem with them, even during downpours. I had to step up to a better tire once I started making a lot of power though. Now I have M&H's.
I just went from Nitto drags to BFG drags and I noticed an immediate difference. The nitto felt like a reg street tire and my bfgs make the ass end feel loose as hell. They tend to sway during hard pulls also.
I have old BFG drag radials on my notch now for the street. 275-50-15s I like them alot. With the way the torque comes on from the turbos, you kind of need them to do any performance driving at all. Even with them they hook and then blow off later. They feel pretty normal on the street. Make the hard suspension feel softer too.
But as was said before: DONT DRIVE IN THE RAIN
Erich
But as was said before: DONT DRIVE IN THE RAIN
Erich
I have Nitto 555R's currently and they dont get much traction at all but feel like a regular tire even in the rain. I still have MT ET Streets sitting here waiting to go on... just need to get to it.
I run Nittos on the cobra for the sake of tred wear. I could hook better with BFG's or MT, but I do get caught in the rain sometimes. With the Gt500 I'll prob. choose something that hooks better. I don't plan on ever driving it if there is the slightest chance of rain. Which means not very often in South Texas.
Daily drove 315 BFG DRs and loved it. Drove with them year round and if you get a dry enough ice in the winter they do well on that also.;-)
BFG drag radials make the car feel a little loose at high speeds and a little sluggish on some reactions.
I don't use mine for a DD or drive it in the rain and have 315 BFG's and find they bite really well on the street and do throw up some pebbles but that is to be expected.
i can only give you my honest opinion on this matter, based on my experience.
i went threw 3 sets of mickey thompson street et's in a month... the tire is great for the track!!! it gets hot and sticky great for a preped track. on the jagged, rock based pavement on the street the tire creates too much friction/heat and never cools down. also the mickey thompson street et drag radials pick up too much debris like rocks, sand, trash, gum, coins, small children stuff like that and throw it back at your fenders and bumper.
i have nitto 555r in 315 on my stock 04 rims... they last, they handle and i dont have problems in the rain. they can corner with the best of em', and launch alright. good enough to stick with the hp im making at the track... good enough for me to break a half shaft, lol.
but at high rpm in first and second gear yes it will blow the tires off.
i went threw 3 sets of mickey thompson street et's in a month... the tire is great for the track!!! it gets hot and sticky great for a preped track. on the jagged, rock based pavement on the street the tire creates too much friction/heat and never cools down. also the mickey thompson street et drag radials pick up too much debris like rocks, sand, trash, gum, coins, small children stuff like that and throw it back at your fenders and bumper.
i have nitto 555r in 315 on my stock 04 rims... they last, they handle and i dont have problems in the rain. they can corner with the best of em', and launch alright. good enough to stick with the hp im making at the track... good enough for me to break a half shaft, lol.
but at high rpm in first and second gear yes it will blow the tires off.
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