how compromised is handling with 18 inch drag radials?
 

Well, i just splurged and purchased a set of 18x9 SSR GT2s for my car... Now the hard part is choosing a tire for the car... I do drag(street) race quite a bit, but i also want a tire that i will be able to do some spirited driving in the twisties once in a while... Normally i just have a spare pair of wheels for the car with my drag radials mounted for when im out drag racing, but now that i got these, i dont want to have a mismatched setup when i want to street race, because that would just look wierd with 18s on the front and 16s on the back especailly since they are different wheels. The dilemma is that i make 461 at the wheels, and regular tires just wont cut it for hooking up when drag racing. So im considering purchasing drag radials for the back that will definately allow the traction, but i dont want to compromise handling too much and compromise enjoyment...(i hate driving around with my 255-50-16 inch drag radials)... Do i just put regular performance tires on all four corners and deal with the mismatched setup for half the season, or do i get drag radials for the back? What are your guys thoughts?

does anybody have experience with an 18 inch drag radial and its handling ability? Which drag radial would you suggest? And if not drag radial, what do you guys feel is the best tire and size combo for 18x9s is?

Thanks in advance!!

Michelin Pilot Sport Cups. You won't get more then 6-8k miles out of them, but they'll grip like a mother ;)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ilot+Sport+Cup

im assuming those wont have the straight line performance of a drag radial though.. But i will definately consider them... but god 300 dollars each... thats more than i paid per rim... lol

Yeah, they aren't cheap. They're road race tires, very sticky. I think they'll give some damn good straight line performance. You could also look into the Kumho Victoracers, quite a bit cheaper than the PS Cups but still in the same category.

With the power you are putting down you want as much sidewall as possible to absorb the intial shock. Run the stock 16x8's with the stickiest tire you can mount on them. Currently that is the M/T Drag Radial (255/50/16) if you are running radials up front. These tires will last only 3-4K miles but hook!

If you are worried about how your car will look when street racing then you won't get the most out of your car running drag radials on 18" rims. They simply don't have enuf sidewall flex when launching and putting the power down in the lower gears.

alright, so it looks as though im gonna just suck it up and pick up the M/T drag radials i had planned. So now its on to which tire im gonna use. I really do not want to spend 300 dollars per tire if they are only gonna last 6-8k miles, and i guess i really dont need a road race tire, since i dont compete... What do you guys think about the kumho Ecsta MX tires?

The MX is a good tire. A lot of people use them here and really like them. For an inexpensive tire, they perform really well.

You can't launch stupid fast and corner good at the same time, it's simply a matter of physics....you'll need to run two sets of rear wheels to be good at either.

no kidding... im not looking to do both really well... i just didnt want to throw a drag radial on the back and not be able to have a little fun on the winding roads... with my 16 inch drag radials, cornering is so far out the window its not even fun, but i figured that maybe with the 18 inch drag radial, it wouldnt be as bad...

Ive pretty much decided that im just gonna get a set of M/T drags radials for my stock rims when drag racing... Im really considering the Kumho Ecsta MX tires though..