what tires for the 1/4 mile?

[PeteyDaMan]

Hi guys,
I've been wanting to take my Charger down the 1/4 and I'm prepping over the winter to do just that at Island Dragway in NJ this spring.
I know grip is my biggest enemy after my latest build so I need to know what is a good tire for the strip (not street).
Car is a 512 with 500-550HP (a guess), an 18 spline A833 and a 8 3/4 with 3.55 suregrip

I know I may explode the 8 3/4 but hey, that would be a great opportunity to get a Strange Dana 60.

Car has not been narrowed nor springs in-borded, just stock location.

Let me know your thoughts.
thanks

 

[Outsider]

Well with a stout motor and a 4spd I wouldn't run slicks without at least the frames tied and a Dana. I started that way and tore the hell out of the car, but I suppose it depends on how much HP. Broke the windshield and popped out the back window on the starting line, and broke the 8 3/4 on almost every run a different way, until I changed it for the Dana.

So drag radials are an option and a little easier on the car, I've run the MTs and M&Hs recently on an auto trans and they both worked well.

 

[PeteyDaMan]

Car has torque boxes and US Car Tool sub-frame connectors so I'm not worried about chassis rigidity.

A Dana is in my plans but I'm not changing the 8 3/4 until I break it

 

[yella71]

With that size engine and a 4 spd if you run slicks your rear may last the day at island or it may last one run. I used to live 20 min from island and a few years ago they put in a new concrete launch pad. if you let a bunch of the pro cars warm up the track before running yours its pretty sticky. you could tear up your rear on the first pass. then you drove all that way to just watch everyone else have a good time. get yourself a set of slicks and learn how to launch the car with out blowing the tires off and you will have good runs and not blow up the rear. And dont forget to post pics and times

 

[SoldierOfTheLaw]

I'd recommend the Mickey Thompson ET Street SS. I use them on my buick on the street and on the occassional track trip. The Road Runner will be getting a set of 295/55/15 on the rear for this upcoming season

 

[not so famous bob]

Car has torque boxes and US Car Tool sub-frame connectors so I'm not worried about chassis rigidity.

A Dana is in my plans but I'm not changing the 8 3/4 until I break it

change it the very next time you blow the 8 3/4 , we started blowing one very weekend back in my hemi days , after the third one we went dana 60 and never looked back .

 

[Fran Blacker]

It's been said before forget the 8.75 with slicks and a big engine, sell the 8.75 use the money for the Dana 60. There maybe way to save money rather buy a Strange D60. Find a truck D60 with a sure-grip cut it down axles etc..

 

[33 IMP]

Sell the 8 3/4 BEFORE you break it, put the money toward a Dana. Why bust it up, to prove you can do it? You KNOW 512s, 4speeds and 8 3/4s won't get along. 440 four speeds got Dana's 55 years ago, behind only 375 gross hp.
Now on to tires: IMO you need REAL slicks, radial or bias. Drag radials need to be dead hooked, virtually impossible with a stick. If they spin, behind a bunch of torque, you have to pedal the throttle to hook em up. Pass aborted, or wasted. A true slick can still move the car well with some wheelspin, and wheelspin helps protect a weak drive train (yours).
It's up to you to measure your car to see what fits.... but frankly, if you are gonna try the track with the 8 3/4, I would not go for the biggest slick that will fit. Maybe a 9x28.
Edit: Fran posted while I was typing (I'm slow). I agree, 100%.

 

[not so famous bob]

He`s going

It's been said before forget the 8.75 with slicks and a big engine, sell the 8.75 use the money for the Dana 60. There maybe way to save money rather buy a Strange D60. Find a truck D60 with a sure-grip cut it down axles etc..

to be dissappointed with small tires , 3:55 gears , and that low of h.p. out of his 505 ...

 

[biomedtechguy]

I'm only going to say this:
See what the market will bring for your 8¾ not broken, consider your budget, and the things that could happen-worse case scenario-if the 8¾ breaks on a run down the drag strip.
I have had Toyo Proxes TQ drag radials on 2 cars for 5 years, and they are the best drag radials for SAFETY, especially in wet conditions, and improve traction a LOT over the BFG T/A Radials I had for example.
Look at the HitMaster or Clutch Tamer for more consistent, safer launches, and consider a multi-disc clutch with ceramic/metallic material because organic will not hold up to the heat of slipping a clutch for a strong launch at the track.

 

[33 IMP]

My thought? If you wanna save the 8 3/4, run radial t/as, spin all the way through first, all the way through second, hook up in third, and judge how much power you have by the mph, and completely ignore the three or four seconds too slow e.t.
IMO, busting up the 8 3/4 for no reason is the same as burning eight or ten hundred dollar bills to light a cigarette.

 

[JackR]

Mickey Thompson’s work for me 1.6 1.7 60 foot in my bow tie car but need to heat them good.

 

[Budnicks]

If you do put real slicks on it
track tech,
will require a driveshaft safety loop, up by the front yoke
like 9"-12"-ish back from the front universals
& open-end lug nuts & the studs sticking all the way thru them

you really 'need some sidewall' so it will bite too
the low profile style tires/slicks/Drag Radials suck

both of the below items were from Mancini Racing

an adj. pinion snubber won't hurt either,
if you're running stock suspension

4 speeds & slicks/sticky tires are fickled deals,
making them work & not breaking ****
some results will vary

I used
M/T Drag Radials have served me well, 315/50/15
albeit mostly autos too

not my 1st rodeo
I had in my old Silver RR (I sold in 2007), 3250# + my 250#s
& my measly lil' 479cid/700+ hp N/A
with 727TF 3,800 stall reworked MP converter (Like a J Converter)
that'd flash to 4,200 off a foot brake
it went 9.77 @ 135 100s of passes, 9.90s all day long on worn out M/Ts
& + a 300 shot of N2O on test & tunes, (after about 60') it went 8.58 @ 156 mph
I tried many different gears & carb/induction combos 3.73:1 to 4.30:1
you name it I tried it, the 3.91:1 worked best overall,
I drove that car regularly & to the track
I never broke the 8.750" 742 MP Aluminum case, trussed housing, good axles
on CalTracs/Drag Radials

Your results may vary vastly

I've seen people break the 8.750" too

(a Dana-60 or the S-60 is better, by far stronger)

hell;
I never even broke the org. 742 or a 489 Iron case/s...
it hooked pretty damn hard,
ocassionally would carry the wheels 'a couple inches' off the ground for 50-75ft
I was foot-braking it mostly, get up on the converter about 3,000 rpm
than wood it when I saw the yellow, it'd flash to about 4,000-4,200
that may have been my saving grace
'why I didn't ever break it' (wasn't the only car I raced with a 8.750")
I never hit the N2O out of the hole either, had enough issues with traction already

'you'll probably be fine'
famous last words

I think if it did have a 4 speed, I'd had gone to a S-60 way sooner
But it's not a 4 speed or the shock load, like a clutch dump

I ran a 11.60 N/A, in my old yellow 69 RR with a decent 440 (446cid) STR-6-bbl
with a 350 shot of N2O I'd hit in 2nd gear never used the N2O at the track
I assume it was a 10.60's to 10.90 when street racing on the juice
using a measly lil' weaker 833-23 spline 4 speed, street racing for years on
Firestones 29x9" slicks
I never broke it either

again the Dana-60/S-60 is way better