shopping for tires for a high powered car. i have dunlap w10's and they're the greatest, BUT they are discontinued and the newer ones are pretty high $.i'm moving up in size in back from 8's to 10.5's . my w10's don't spin any and i want a tire that is as sticky that handles as good too that doesn't cost a fortune.

please give me your opinions on the tires you have for a fast car.

 

I haven't found a street tire that works well for me yet. Everything spins. I am curious on opinions of others as well, and what horsepower/torque output range.

This may better be suited in the wheel/tire area.

 

this car has 400hp. i feel lucky to have bought the w10's in 99. but they're on there last leg.

i looked in the wheel-tire......BUT, it was dead in there and i figured nobody would even see the thread there. maybe i'm wrong though.

 

I have Nitto 555r2s in 275/40/17 that are pretty sticky. Not quite race tire sticky, but better than the Potenza S03s they replaced. There's still no traction in 1st gear, but by third they hook pretty well. My car was making in the 390 rwhp/380 rwtq range, but the torque delviery isn't as violent as a high powered 13brew is likely to be.

 

Am I better suited with a Drag Radial for something with 610 ftlbs of torque at the wheels? These ZX tires I have now just leave black marks.

 

Short of running slicks, I'd guess you're stuck with some wheel spin with 610 lbs ft or torque. A drag radial or treaded R compund tire should be better than street tires though

 

Get the 555R Drag Extreme's. They are made so when they are cold for a soft compound (street) tire the wear is minimal... Once you do a burnout and heat them up they stick pretty dammm good. Espically with a low tire pressure. I dropped my 60' time to from 2.0 to 1.8's every launch on a high 13 sec 1st gen (14") and I now have them on my Cobra (17").

 

Slicks wobble on the highway. Horrible feeling while driving. I may look into some DR's then. It has to be better than what I have now.

 

drags are good for some stuff but i need a tire that handles. i don't race but this car has always dared me to push it.

anybody ever owned any falken tires. they have a new one that they say is ok for scca. if you know about this tire, what is the standard for scca. can any zr pass.

 

Toyo RA-1's. They wear well for an R- Compound tire and come in many sizes. Reasonably priced also.

It is a road race tire... but also the tire that Eddie Bello (turbo Porsche) popped wheelies with in 1st and 2nd gear and ran low 9's with.

Great handling tire... not a drag radial but sticky enuf for dual purpose.

RedRX-7- Mickey Thompson Drag Radials are supposed to be the top dog drag tire.. but are supposed to only last about 3K miles... Nittos will last 10-15K but aren't as sticky... they handle much better on the street though. I drove them rain/shine with no problems. Just don't make boost in the rain or you will become one with a telephone pole rather quickly.

-Mark

 

Previous owner of my car ran a 10.9 on BFG drag radials.

 

I just bought some Falken RT-615's and there one of the best "street" tires I've had yet... Doesn't take long to heat them up and there fairly quiet. They are blocky though so watch the wider sizes. My 275-40-17's seem tall (25.6"), but they look tall too... anyway... They should make 275-35-17..

 

Oppps! I didn't notice your looking for a drag tire.... Sorry, the RT's probably won't be that great for that.

 

I run the same tire (245-50r-16 but on a 16 inch rim . Your wheel spin is more than likely coming from your rim size and not the tire. If you want a street/drag tire the Nitto 555r's are ggod by me. I have made several passes on them now at low 12's and high 11's. But I plan on buying some E.T.'s for the track now.

 

can't go wrong with et streets...... my rear end is literally bullet proof so I've got nothing to worry about.

 

Guys, the original poster is looking for tires he can drive on the street, not barely DOT-legal drag tires.

Just run some BFG KDs in 275/40 17 or 275/35 18, 295/30 18. If you rarely drive the car, try some streetable R-compounds like the Toyo RA-1, as gnx7 suggested.

Hell, if you are replacing Dunlop W-10s, I guarantee there's a LOT of tires that will have more grip....

Also, if you are worried about the price of tires, you shouldn't be:

a) running a car with 400 rwhp
b) running wide 17 or 18-inch wheels

 

wellll! i'm not only a firm believer that even poor people can have what they want if they want it bad enough, i'm also living proof. i just can't pay 220 a tire if i want to drive the car this summer or for that matter this fall.

my w10's spin NONE from a punch with 400 to the wheels. the car just squats and pulls the all of the wrinkles out of my forehead. i think the info from this thread has done it's job though. several great tires have been mentioned that i would have never given a look because of hearsay.

i just have one more quick ?

what is the best tire to go onto a 10.5 wheel. i need for it to not be fatter than the wheel. i need it to be around 25.5in. in diameter or LESS. any suggestions!!!
these are the 8's on the car now. i need to keep the 10.5 from being too big in diameter!!!

 

285/35/17 : 24.9in 295/35/17 : 25.1in
285/40/17 : 26.0 295/40/17 : 26.3
285/35/18 : 25.9 295/35/18 : 26.1
285/30/18 : 24.7 295/30/18 : 25.0

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

edit: had spaces between the columns when I typed it, oh well

 

As rynberg said, R-compound non-drag type may be a good idea.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Dunlop Super Sport Race, 265/35ZR18, $129 each.

DOT-R roadracing tires. 60 treadwear, 25.1" diameter in that size. Would work well on a 10.5" wheel.



The Pirelli P-Zero Corsa's are very similar and even more grippy, plus they're 23 lbs each, compared with 27 lbs:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Their pricing is a bit screwed up right now (left: $133, right: $212). Awesome tires though. I absolutely love mine. They grip like crazy compared to tires like the Bridgestone S03's.