Tire size question for those smarter than me.

[TRM99]

Hey folks - going to start drag racing at a local track my '17 GT premium, stock 5.0, 6R80, 3.55 gears - racing is 1/8th mile only. Wanting to buy 17" wheels & drag radials but not certain of the optimum tire size to buy for my application. Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks!

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[Brad1810r80]

I would run a 275/40/17 26” tall tire

 

[EFI]

I would run a 275/40/17 26” tall tire

Why such a small diameter tire? More sidewall is beneficial, so a 27-28" tire will work better.

OP, something in the 275-305 width range, depending on the wheels you're getting.

 

[TRM99]

Why such a small diameter tire? More sidewall is beneficial, so a 27-28" tire will work better.

OP, something in the 275-305 width range, depending on the wheels you're getting.

9.5 or 10 inch wheel width depending on what's actually available right now. Leaning towards a 28" tall tire but wanted to see what those with lots more experience than me had to say.

 

[Brad1810r80]

A stock car or even full bolt on car auto. Will have zero traction problems on 26” shorter and lighter. Should be faster.

 

[MKL_DS]

In this case even a 275/40 555RII would work perfectly.

 

[pittzy23]

either of the tire setups will hook fine on a stock car. Also take into consideration when the car will be shifting when using a 26" vs a 28" tire. Ideally you want to avoid unnecessary shifting right before crossing the line. try taking a look at one of the RPM / rear gear / trans gear / MPH calculators online if you have a general idea of what your ET might be. this one came up with a quick search.
https://purperformance.com/p-29669-rpm-calculator.html

 

[TRM99]

either of the tire setups will hook fine on a stock car. Also take into consideration when the car will be shifting when using a 26" vs a 28" tire. Ideally you want to avoid unnecessary shifting right before crossing the line. try taking a look at one of the RPM / rear gear / trans gear / MPH calculators online if you have a general idea of what your ET might be. this one came up with a quick search.
https://purperformance.com/p-29669-rpm-calculator.html

Thanks so much for that resource! Current tires are what it came with new, Goodyear 265/35/20 - with 11,000 miles on them now they are 28" tall. Didn't know whether to stick with that size or go with a 26" so that my gear ratio would mimic say 3.73 approximately. Definitely don't want it shifting into a higher gear at 600 feet!
Thanks again!

 

[TRM99]

Thanks so much for that resource! Current tires are what it came with new, Goodyear 265/35/20 - with 11,000 miles on them now they are 28" tall. Didn't know whether to stick with that size or go with a 26" so that my gear ratio would mimic say 3.73 approximately. Definitely don't want it shifting into a higher gear at 600 feet!
Thanks again!

Looks like a 26" tire will work best for my application - thank you very much pittzy23!

 

[LxMike]

You'll be fine with any of those tire height. The only difference would be your rpm would be higher with the 26's and 27's but well under what your engine would shift into next gear

 

[TRM99]

You'll be fine with any of those tire height. The only difference would be your rpm would be higher with the 26's and 27's but well under what your engine would shift into next gear

Yessir, that is exactly what the calculator pittzy23 provided said, thank you for confirming!

 

[TRM99]

Pretty much had to roll with what I could get without a long wait - M&H 275/50R/17 on a JMS 17x10 wheel. Gonna get to try 'em out for real on 14 August, hopefully will get a chance to make a few practice launches before then!

 

[kevinvan6000]

Be interested to see how well they work for you. Been thinking of switching to a 28" tire and have looked at these as an option instead of the 305/45/17 tires.

 

[TRM99]

Be interested to see how well they work for you. Been thinking of switching to a 28" tire and have looked at these as an option instead of the 305/45/17 tires.

They worked great! 1800 RPM launch and they just hooked and booked! With 3.55's it never shifted out of third gear in the 1/8th. Electronic timing boards were out of commission so have no idea of what actual times/speed were. All grudge-style racing only.

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