Im right about there HP wise with my coupe and the Radirs did the job. Not a pleasant thought, but the odds of skating into the wall (***uming you're on the strip)are greatly increased with a set of tires that "kinda" hook up. Just like you mentioned, I kept stepping things up to get a bit more power, but kept running the same tires. I eventually got to the point where I had to fight the car like heck just to keep it on the track. On one run, my car turned what felt like 45 degrees and was pointed directly at the wall. On the last trip to the track I borrowed a set of Radirs and could not believe the difference. The car took off so smoothly that I thought I had somehow lost power. Turns out it was my fastest run ever. If for no other reason but safety invest in a nice set of tires before heading to the strip. I would have never taken that chance if I had realized what a good set of tires would do. Best of luck to ya!
Why not run the cheaters on the street and swap on some drag tires at the strip? Sure you'll lose a bit of the 'look' but might save your ***. Just a thought. I've done one p*** in a fast car with hard tires spinning and almost put it in the wall. Cured me of ever wanting to do that again We always swapped tires on O/T cars. It's just the dragstrip, who cares about looks? Just my 2 cents, good luck whatever you decide.
Thats where Im at, I have a set of ET's, I love those Hurst 30x16" skinny slicks but if I had both it would be $1300 invested in rear tires not including the wheels. These are 650 a pair.
Thanks very much for the info guys. At this point I'm trying to avoid buying two sets of tires. I'm already stretching the budget to get this on the track and street by May. I love the look of the Hurst cheaters. I'm trying to build the truck reasonably period correct to 1963. I think I'll start with the Hurst, then go to a regular slick if and when i need them. One more question. I've searched the NHRA site for rules on tires, and came up with nothing. Does NHRA allow recap slicks? I'm sure at this point Ill be in the 13's at best.
My nailhead puts out a little over 500 ft/lbs.....even with a good burnout, these spin hard: -Lee Atomic Radio www.atomicpinup.com
The Jalopy Journal
