Minimal tires for non-drag racing FI

[Meatball]

I’m probably getting FI on my 17 6M but not ever for drag racing, only for roll-on pulls in 2nd or 3rd. Probably getting a PD blower. Given the cost of the system and installation I want to minimize $ on wheels/tires, within reason, and not just spin them at WOT. Any advice on minimum useful rw tire size and/or models? Will 285 summer tires do? Unfortunately mine’s a base so I now have 235s on 18 x 8” ( I think) rims. Thanks.

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[Woopaloop]

I’m probably getting FI on my 17 6M but not ever for drag racing, only for roll-on pulls in 2nd or 3rd. Probably getting a PD blower. Given the cost of the system and installation I want to minimize $ on wheels/tires, within reason, and not just spin them at WOT. Any advice on minimum useful rw tire size and/or models? Will 285 summer tires do? Unfortunately mine’s a base so I now have 235s on 18 x 8” ( I think) rims. Thanks.

I put Firestone firehawk Indy 500s 255/45/18 on my 18 x 8s and they hook up fine with almost 700 whp. Also less than $180 per tire.

They'll actually hook in first if you roll into it on a prepped surface with the tires warm.

Pretty savage tire tbh.

 

[Andy13186]

I put Firestone firehawk Indy 500s 255/45/18 on my 18 x 8s and they hook up fine with almost 700 whp. Also less than $180 per tire.

They'll actually hook in first if you roll into it on a prepped surface with the tires warm.

Pretty savage tire tbh.

Treadwear 340 too... how is this possible? I have treadwear 240 295's potenza s007 (and had 315s with same results) and I cant even hook up to like 70 mph in 95* weather in drag mode, even sport mode blows 2nd gear off on any street surface.. and I am NA.. Same with the 275 OEM pp1 ps4s's

I was thinking the only chance of hooking on a dailyable tire was nitto nt555r's

 

[Jmtoast]

Treadwear 340 too... how is this possible? I have treadwear 240 295's potenza s007 (and had 315s with same results) and I cant even hook up to like 70 mph in 95* weather in drag mode, even sport mode blows 2nd gear off on any street surface.. and I am NA.. Same with the 275 ps4s's

Firehawks are really good for hooking. Just not rated for very high speed. Second the Firehawks.

 

[JasinEdward]

I have pilot sport 4s 275's and im spinning unless i have traction control on.... i had those in 305's on my last car and they were a bit better.... but even 555r will spin on the street...

 

[BenGTPP]

Have 305 MP4S. I can roll into third with minimal spin but second is challenging even with tires warm. Going 555R next

 

[Meatball]

Firehawks are really good for hooking. Just not rated for very high speed. Second the Firehawks.

If I could get away with 255 Firehawks on my existing rims that would be awesome. I’d only need two tires and keep the 235s up front. I was thinking I was going to need to budget about $1500 for new tires and rims.

 

[moffetts]

I don’t think you appreciate how squirrely and borderline dangerous the car will be if you bolt on 200 or 300 horsepower and try to push that through cheap tires on skinny stock wheels. I’m pretty guilty of that myself (PSS on PP wheels) and it’s amazing how hard TC kicks in and how much of a smoke show you can put on when you turn it all off. I recommend getting wider wheels at the least (10 or larger in the rear) and getting like NT555Rs or RE71Rs if you don’t plan on driving in the rain or cold. Stick with 18s or 20s to maximize your options.

 

[Meatball]

I don’t think you appreciate how squirrely and borderline dangerous the car will be if you bolt on 200 or 300 horsepower and try to push that through cheap tires on skinny stock wheels. I’m pretty guilty of that myself (PSS on PP wheels) and it’s amazing how hard TC kicks in and how much of a smoke show you can put on when you turn it all off. I recommend getting wider wheels at the least (10 or larger in the rear) and getting like NT555Rs or RE71Rs if you don’t plan on driving in the rain or cold. Stick with 18s or 20s to maximize your options.

Thanks for the warning, appreciated. Sounds like it's best to just bite the bullet and put proper rims/tires as part of the budget.
Just curious...you're in CA. Which Whipple do you have, and are you running pump 91?

 

[Meatball]

Okay I just looked up the treadwear rating. Are semi-drag tires like the NT555Rs or RE71Rs necessary for the street, again where the intention is roll-on pulls in 2nd (maybe not WOT) or 3rd (WOT)? Is it irresponsible safety-wise to get a summer performance tire with better treadwear? It seems like people's experiences are different (e.g.earlier posts here) but I guess I should be safe here if it doesnt break the bank..

Thanks again

 

[moffetts]

I’m running the stage 2 setup. 91 works okay but I like to use octane booster. It helps a lot.

 

[TripleB]

You're spending 8k on a supercharger. Don't cheap out on tires. Get new wheels 11" in the back... avoid 19" size. Don't do the same thing I did. Sticky tires are very scarce for 19" wheels.

 

[Andy13186]

Okay I just looked up the treadwear rating. Are semi-drag tires like the NT555Rs or RE71Rs necessary for the street, again where the intention is roll-on pulls in 2nd (maybe not WOT) or 3rd (WOT)? Is it irresponsible safety-wise to get a summer performance tire with better treadwear? It seems like people's experiences are different (e.g.earlier posts here) but I guess I should be safe here if it doesnt break the bank..

Thanks again

Roll ons in 2nd gear should work on good surfaces, but if you are in drag mode the tires will break loose hitting 3rd and probably spin up to 80+. Sport mode may work , thats what I usually use on the street when I want traction, but I am NA.

Edit, just realized you are manual, you can control the shift violence, power shifting wont hook with street tires.

 

[Eljay52]

I have 19" wheels and Nitto 555r 305 in back and 285 on front. I got new SVE gloss black wheels from LMR 19 x 10s that work fine. Hook pretty well and seem to do okay on wet pavement. The stock 235 Pirellis were useless in the first three gears. I have a 6sp with 3.31 rear gears which are perfect for my daily commute, mostly freeway driving.

 

[96gt4.6]

Not sure if this is how it is still done, but Whipple had a power by gear feature on my kit, which saved my ass when I still had the stock wheels and tires on the car. Was nice, you could dial the power by each gear according to what the car could put down.

I refuse to buy a dedicated set of tires just to race from a dig, so I settled on a 305 Nitto NT05(not the R's) on some AM Wheels as the stock wheels are too narrow for anything decent. It is a great middle road, I ran a 1.7 60' and mid 11's in this form. Car has more in it if I could launch hard, but this is good enough for a car I just take out on the weekends and track whenever I like.

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