bf goodrich drag radials

i did a search and came up with nothing. i know ive seen posts on this in the past...forgive me if im redundant.

looking for 15" tires, not sure if i wanna go with avons. taking a look at gf goodrich drag radials. i can at least run a matching front and rear set..lol
i prefer the nittos, but they offer nothing up front in the 555r.
anyone have any experience with these tires? can i track them a few laps?
can i road trip them?
thanks
 
Hi Mike:

IMHO I am not an engineer but I think the tires are designed a bit differently for drag racing allowing the side walls to wind up and absorb shock. I ran M&H racemasters years ago and they would wrinkle pretty good
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
Why don't you call up BFG and see what they have to say on the subject? Let us know what you find out.

Off the top of my head I wouldn't run them on track because I don't think they will work very well on a road course. However because they are street legal tires. I think they would be safe to run on the street. The question on performance would be on the front of the car. I don't think they are designed to be put on front and run hard around corners.
 
Posted By; Mike
anyone have any experience with these tires? can i track them a few laps?
can i road trip them?
thanks
I had a set for my Cobra, they are not a cornering tire. They are sticky and these tires are designed to get you to the track without trailering your car. You won't be able to drive on them if you get caught in rain and steering with them is hard. These are meant to be rear tires only in my opinion. Drag tires!!!

I hope this helps you....
 
Last edited:
You will be fine with the BFG radials. Many hot street Mustangs run them on all four corners in this area. Allen is probably right about their wet performance, but my car is not used in the rain. I run Nitto 555R on the back & Nitto NT450 on the front and I love these tires. I've run short sessions at Autobahn in Joliet and have had no problems, and like the way they handle. (slight understeer) Plus, they are cheap to buy.

Mike
 
You will be fine with the BFG radials. Many hot street Mustangs run them on all four corners in this area. Allen is probably right about their wet performance, but my car is not used in the rain. I run Nitto 555R on the back & Nitto NT450 on the front and I love these tires. I've run short sessions at Autobahn in Joliet and have had no problems, and like the way they handle. (slight understeer) Plus, they are cheap to buy.

Mike

hi mike,
i think the 555r is a much better tire but im not sure i want to run a competition DOT in the rears and an all season in the front. im sure its ok in most instances, but where the 555r heats up and gets optimum traction, the 450s will get greasy. dangerous on a track, fine for the street.
i wont rule it out, just pointing out a pitfall and a consideration.
perhaps there is another tire that matches the 555r characteristics a little better for the front?

mike, can you post a pic of your car with these tires on it?
what size did you go with? 325?

thanks everyone.
 
Rear: Nitto 555R 325/50 R15
Front: Nitto NT 450 Extreme 225/50/R15

No rubbing issues whatsoever.

I like the way the 555's fill out the rear wheel well, but its a matter of taste.

Mike
 
Rear: Nitto 555R 325/50 R15
Front: Nitto NT 450 Extreme 225/50/R15

No rubbing issues whatsoever.

I like the way the 555's fill out the rear wheel well, but its a matter of taste.

Mike

i like the way the rears look too, and are my first choice. i would like to find some fronts a little closer in compound to the rears, but i may go with this setup for awhile....
thanks
 
Right, In my opinion its better than shelling out $2K for Avons until you decide what you like. I think Bill Mussara said he bought a set of Nitto's for about $670.
Just my opinion.

Although, the BFG's are supposed to be pretty good, but they seem to have a problem with being slightly out of round. At last thats the case with their radial TA series, causing steering wheel vibration at certain speeds. This can be documented at www.clubcobra.com.

Mike
 

Pat Buckley

GT40s Supporter
I use them on my car and love them. 235f and 275 r

I don't run my car on the track so I can't comment on that, but a friend tracks the same tire on his Shelby Cobra and loves them - he is a beginner however.
 

Randy V

Moderator-Admin
Staff member
Admin
Lifetime Supporter
I've read a number of cases on the various forums (Ford, GM and Cobra replicas) that there are guys running various DOT Drag radials - mostly BFG - on the Auto-X and Track for Track days. Most of them were very complimentary of the tires although the wear rate is rater high.

Given the wear rate would most likely also be high for a non DOT tire like the Avon - I guess then that there are only a few factors here making the separation;
1) More sizes available in the Drag Radials
2) Cost
3) DOT Rating.
This last factor is one that I believe important to note.
If any of us are in a wreck on the public highways - the law (us) will come down hard on us and our insurance companies if they determine that traction was in any way part of the contributing factors to the accident. Not wanting to sound like a safety nazi here but - I do want to caution all of us about this. I'm also not sure how our insurance companies would view this.

Mike / Foowowee -
Curious what size (width) wheels you have on your car. Mine are 15x8 & 15x10 as delivered by RCR. I'd like to run a tire your size..

-edit-

Also wondering how much crap they kick up from the pavement onto the paint once they are warmed up.
 
I do have the 555s. The car is not yet on the road, but will be in a month or two. Trying to get ready for Road America. The fronts which are I believe are 235s are perfect on stance and size(15x8). The rears are quite wide. They measure 13" on a 15x10 wheel. The height is what I hadn't anticipated. On the stock DRB at least, the rear arches are 1 1/2-2" short of covering the tires. they also hit the arch whith the rear clip closed. If you want the stock apearing wheel wells then you should look at any of the 295 tires. That is what mine originally came with and they fit fine in all the considerations. I didn't find out the tires were too tall(27.99") until I took the car off the stand. I have a set of "standard" 4" flares ordered that will cover the tire. For me that is the thing I wanted so it is working out O K. If you want the "wide" flares, then you can get the AVON steam rollers like Bill D. and some of the others have added to their cars. A note of warning though. Be careful which wheel bearings you use and the offsets utilized to get those tires on the car. I was just rolling the car around at one of the shops and the bearing failed. We believe it was due to the fact I didn't have the pin drive lugs tightened more than finger tight. I hadn't cut the lugs down in lenght so the pin lugs could be torqued down. It was replaced and don't think it will come back to haunt me. Be sure to do two things. First, set the car on the ground with some sort of tires on it and measure the height of the tires on the clip. Second, make sure the tire dealer will swap the tires out if they don't fit. Mine did agree, but I don't mind the widening of the flares. I have the pics on my build thread I think. If not I can supply them.

Bill
 
I'm running Nitto NT01's front and back on my SPF. Great for the track and street. However, they shouldn't be run in the rain. Awesome tire.
 
Toyo's?
 

Attachments

  • 40 rear tire.jpeg
    40 rear tire.jpeg
    85.6 KB · Views: 1,696
Mike, they're 295 50 15's.No longer stocked but some dealers still might have a few - Proxes. Compare to the [slightly worn]225 60 15 Toyo's in the pic.(yes,I know the tread runs the other way)
 

Attachments

  • toyo front and rear.jpeg
    toyo front and rear.jpeg
    85.6 KB · Views: 6,089
Last edited:
Mike, they're 295 50 15's.No longer stocked but some dealers still might have a few - Proxes. Compare to the [slightly worn]225 60 15 Toyo's in the pic.(yes,I know the tread runs the other way)

sorry for being so ignorant, but which proxes are those?
ill call around for them....
thanks
 

Ron Earp

Admin
+1 on the wheel width Mike. I have some 10" wide wheels I would like to mount the Nittos on but Nitto only recommends up to 9.5" in the 275 size. What size are your wheels?
 
Back
Top