Drag Radial Sizes

[Jasmo123]

I have a stock 2016 GT A6 with 3.15 Rear End. I plan to do tune and bolt-ons in the near term. Then maybe one day do a power adder. I am trying to decide on whether I need the 26" or 28" tall tire as a Drag Radial Setup? I have read a lot of threads and it seems like I need a 28" tire but in the near term it seems like the 26" tire will get me the best times until I eventually go with the power adder. So am I correct with this assumption? Because it could be several years before I really go big power and I will probably just add a Torque converter first anyway.

I was thinking of a set of 17X8 99-04 Factory 5 stars with the M&H Drag Radials but I can't decide between the 26 or 28" tire. Any input is appreciated. I have a line on a couple used 17x8 wheels and I am wondering if I should go ahead and buy them. I think they fit these cars and they are cheap.

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[2015 Silver GT]

Definitely a 28" tire.

 

[SolarFlare]

Definitely a 28" tire.

Hate to revive an old thread. But we saying a 28" tire will be a better tire than a 26" or 27" on both NA and boosted applications??

 

[GuardGT]

Hate to revive an old thread. But we saying a 28" tire will be a better tire than a 26" or 27" on both NA and boosted applications??

my a6 3.15 car on 26" tires shifted into 4th before the stripe, and im tuned so i have a higher shift point. 117mph if i remember correctly. killed a little bit of time and mph for me. a 28" takes you up to 125.3 at 7200. 120.84 with a 27" at 7200. 116.36 at 7200 with a 26. depends on ur mph and shift point

 

[SolarFlare]

my a6 3.15 car on 26" tires shifted into 4th before the stripe, and im tuned so i have a higher shift point. 117mph if i remember correctly. killed a little bit of time and mph for me. a 28" takes you up to 125.3 at 7200. 120.84 with a 27" at 7200. 116.36 at 7200 with a 26. depends on ur mph and shift point

I'm boosted, 3.55 geared, 26.3 tire (should go like 135 in 4th on that tire). It trapped 125mph in 1700' DA. I'm having Lund tweak the tune for me since it's never been revised. I was told by several people that the 26" tire would cost me MPH and I should go 28". These 26.3s put my axle ratio at 3.73. Only thing I can think of is that the powerband is linear and the short gears don't allow me to stay in the powerband in the first couple gears long enough. But don't want to change tires if I don't have to.

 

[WestCyril]

A 26 is perfect for a NA car because its not too tall. A 28 is almost too tall of a tire for a NA car without aggressive gearing. My car NA lost 4mph between a 26 street tire and a 28 tall radial. Of course the car wasn't making any serious power and had 3.15 in it.

If you have a 3.55, 3.73 28 should be fine. If you're boosted always go with a 28

 

[Jasmo123]

I agree on the 26" tire to start with on my car with A6 and a 3.15 rear. This drops my gear ratio a little and makes me faster now while I'm still NA. I figure by the time I need to go to a 28" tire, I will have significantly worn the 26" tires anyway. I'm glad someone revived this thread since no one had really responded much anyway.

 

[GuardGT]

I'm boosted, 3.55 geared, 26.3 tire (should go like 135 in 4th on that tire). It trapped 125mph in 1700' DA. I'm having Lund tweak the tune for me since it's never been revised. I was told by several people that the 26" tire would cost me MPH and I should go 28". These 26.3s put my axle ratio at 3.73. Only thing I can think of is that the powerband is linear and the short gears don't allow me to stay in the powerband in the first couple gears long enough. But don't want to change tires if I don't have to.

my gripe with the a6 is the 4.17 first gear. if you didnt know, thats ridiculously high, and really fucks your starting line ratio. 3.55s puts you at a 14.7 SLR. 3.15 is even 13.1. ideally somewhere 9-11 is where you want to be. that high makes things a little difficult to work with getting an irs street car to hook, especially with a tiny 26" tire. a taller tire will help a bit getting the car to work better on the front half, not to mention the larger contact patch of the taller tire. in almost all cases, a taller tire is the better option, especially when you have a trans and gears that are already working against you. the standard theory is cram the tallest, widest tire you can get under there, and adjust the rear gear for trap mph/rpm(since changing your trans ratios is nearly out of the question)

 

[Chris1992]

I plan to take my fiancé's '16 GT to the track tonight with a pair of 275/40/17 M&H drag radials (26"). Though I won't have a set of 28" drag radials to compare it to, I'll let you know how it goes. Only mod so far is the MBRP race catback, so I'm not really expecting anything earth shattering. Lol

 

[Jasmo123]

Yes, please update on how the car does with just the tires and the exhaust. I'm always interested in how cars do as they progress in mods.

 

[Chris1992]

Same here, I really just want a good baseline run. I will probably make a few runs on street tires too. Getting my personal car down from a 13.48 to a 12.09 was fun, but it's looking like it'll take a lot less to get a 5.0 down to and below a 12.0X..and I'm okay with that lol

 

[pat5.0]

I prefer the 26. In fact my tire are 25.8 (Hoosier DR2 275/40R18)

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