>You guys running Drag Radials on the street are Karazy!<

Manny_C

So I mount the drag radials on the Annihilator today and run her around the street at 25 PSI. Hooks like a mofo, no doubt, but then I go to make a U-turn and I can't belive how much squeeling and how shitty that turn felt. I tired 30 PSI and even 20 PSI which is what I am told you should run at drag strips -- mayb even a bit lower. Freaking things want to pull the car into every groove on the street -- it's a tense drive with these things on.

I'm keeping these things for the track and running the Sport Cups for the street which feel 10X better and hook nearly as good from roll-ons on the street -- plus I can dive bomb corners at crazy speeds.

Those of you who have been driving around on Drag Radials and haven't tried the sport cups, are really missing out. If ALL you do is straight line driving and you take turns REAL slow, then I guess drag radials are good for your street use. Having experienced them today after using the Sport Cups for the last several weeks, I would never go Drag Radials except for special events.

Just my 2 cents after experiencing both tires in one day. Tomorrow I mount my 19" purners with stock Pilots and see how those feel :-)

FUSCUCLA1

What happenned at the track? Times? Videos?

BigCarrot

You get use to them, but they definitely feel odd at first. They don't really bother me now.

alexws6

How many lbs of air were you running? 10?!

Manny_C

You didn't read my post at all, did you? Not even one full sentence of it, right?

If I tell you my car has 800 horsepower, will you reply and ask me how much horsepower my car has?

utahviper

So how was the track conditions and what were the times for everyone? How fast did your car trap speed at? Who ran the fastest and quickest? Sorry for all the questions but I am just curious.

FUSCUCLA1

I think he meant pounds of boost, BUT did you read my post???

alexws6

My bad...its finals week. I've been reading non stop since Tuesday so my comprehension is not exactly at full strength. [img]/images/graemlins/sad[/img]

City

Manny, what's the down side to the sport cups for the street? Compared to pilot sports?

Manny_C

Cost and wear -- you'll be replacing them sooner since the rubber is stickier and wears quicker. On warm days, I cannot bust these tires loose from 2nd gear roll ons, that is how good they stick. On cold days, forget about it. Good thing I live in San Diego.

Manny

City

Thanks....2 more questions:

How do they compare in the wet?
How do they compare in their "communicating" when they're about to break loose?

Manny_C

I can't answer those questions because I have not driven in the rain with these tires yet, although based on the tread, it would be a scarier ride than with pilots, although nowhere near as scary as with Drag Radials, which you would have to come to a crawl to drive in any heavy down pour.

As for their communicating, I don't know as I have these wheels only on my rears right now. I plan on getting a set for the front as soon as I get my new wheels. I know that the car actually under steers right now, so either the extra superhcharger weight in the front is causing that, or the front tires (pilots) are breaking loose before the rears do.

-Manny

SJT97GTS

Manny,

Glad you're happy with them (sorta)! I had them on my car for a week and couldn't stand it. I felt like I had no control over the car. At the track, they were sweet! I'm glad they hook up for you, now let us know what kinda times you get with the different setups. I'm interested to see what kind of difference in times each type of tires make.

Manny_C

You had the sport cups on for street use and couldn't stand them? If so, that is amazing. I have yet to put regular pilots on my S/C car, but this car feels more stable than my other car with the pilots -- but then again, the other car is a Gen I. As for drag times, my sport cups would not hook up for squat at the track. I got 3 runs in with them -- the first I went easy as I didn't have the appropriate safety gear to run any faster than 12 seconds, and with 500 cars at the track, they were eager to boot people out who violated safety issues, so I rolled off the line easy, shifted into 2nd easy, then punched it, got a little spin and clicked off a 12.1 @ 129. The 2nd run which was about 4 hours later I decided might be my last, so I was going to go all out, but I bogged the car bad -- similar time and trap. I did manage to get in a 3rd and final run, but by this time it was getting real cold, there was a head wind, and I went through the water and did a rolling burnout. D'uh! Tires were wet. I spun 1st through 3rd gear half way down the track -- similar et and trap as before. So, that is my 1/4 mile track experience with sport cups. Don't use them at the drags -- mount drag radials if you have them. But then again, you have guys here in this forum that are clicking off 10 second ET's with stock tires. GAWD!

When you say you felt like you had no control over the car on the street, what do you mean by that? I notice no pulling or dragging from the tires. When I had the Drag Radials mounted on the rear, the tires wanted to pull me into every little groove in the road, and the car just felt slippery. I run my sport cups at about 28 PSI for street use. I ran the drag radials on the street at 25 PSI and 30 PSI -- both felt uncomfortable.

SJT97GTS

I'm talking about my experience w/ drag radials.

Edit: Never have used Sport Cups...

Manny_C

Ah, then yes, you and I had the same experience. I would never use DR's as my every day tire on my car.

Moundir, now I know why you almost ended up off roading with those tires -- too temperamental.

Speaking of wheels and tires, do any of you use an electric impact wrench to take off your lugs when changing wheels? The other day when trying to remove my rear wheels, I encountered something I had never encountered before -- a couple lug nuts that neither I nor my race buddy could remove with a t-bar. I must have been putting 200 pounds of pressure on that freakin thing to the point where it bruised my palms, and it would not come loose. Ended up stopping by a local tire shop where they took it off in 2 seconds with their impact wrench.

I ended up getting one, but it must be too weak, as it won't spin the lugs which are now tightened down to 90 pounds.

CHAD

Manny,

Use a little graphite lube on the lug and nut and torque them in an alternating sequence to 100#'s. Without lube and really dry threads, you end up with very different torques on each lug due to the metal on metal friction which can be murder to get off.

Chad

Marc Lublin

Dewalt make a new battery powered impact gun that gives up to 300ft/lbs of torque. I believe it's the strongest one out there. I just picked it up and it's great, no problem with lug nuts.

Manny_C