# Drag Radials?



## mbergin (Jun 19, 2012)

Hi All. I have a 69 GTO and am looking to replace the tires. My problem is the wheels spin endlessly (BF Goodrich Radial T/As) and am looking for a drag radial that has a raised white letter. The car never sees rain so no worries on that end. Anyone have any suggestions? Going with 275/60/15 on the rear and 235/60/15 on the front. Thanks in advance!


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

mbergin said:


> Hi All. I have a 69 GTO and am looking to replace the tires. My problem is the wheels spin endlessly (BF Goodrich Radial T/As) and am looking for a drag radial that has a raised white letter. The car never sees rain so no worries on that end. Anyone have any suggestions? Going with 275/60/15 on the rear and 235/60/15 on the front. Thanks in advance!


I have really done a lot of looking into this one myself for my project. My biggest concern is the life expectancy of these street/drag radials. They wear quickly due to the softer compounds. It seems, from a driving stand point, they will last about 3,000 miles or so depending on use. They are not inexpensive and I'd like way more life for the price they get for these. They also have a ton of disclaimers/warnings as they are not intended for highway use and temperatures will affect tires/life.

Hoosier, Mickey Thompson, & Nitto might have what you are looking for. Hoosier has the white lettering. MT's don't appear to have this.

So life expectancy and reading all the disclaimers (so you are safe & don't crash your car) of whatever tire you choose should be a consideration. :thumbsup:


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

I run Nitto NT-555's on my 69, year 'round. They don't to my knowledge come in a raised white letter variety. I chose them after lots of research, they seemed to be the nest compromise between bite, wear, and wet weather traction. MT's have the best bite for racing, but are the shortest lived and also suck the most in the rain. It's not that any of them are great for rain or wear, they all suck in those departments - just some suck less 

Bear


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## Pinion head (Jan 3, 2015)

BearGFR said:


> I run Nitto NT-555's on my 69, year 'round. They don't to my knowledge come in a raised white letter variety. I chose them after lots of research, they seemed to be the nest compromise between bite, wear, and wet weather traction. MT's have the best bite for racing, but are the shortest lived and also suck the most in the rain. It's not that any of them are great for rain or wear, they all suck in those departments - just some suck less
> 
> Bear


Gotta love the Mickey T's on driver/ only form of transportation muscle cars  In the period of about 4 years in the 90's, I picked up two running GTO's and one LeMans, each one of them collision damaged in at least one 1/4 and door. One of these Pontiacs had slammed into a concrete barrier, all were wrecked on rain slick local highways going to or returning from work. 2 of the 3 destined for my sawsall and torch. 

Each one of these solid southern Pontiacs were destroyed due to ignorant owners running Mickey T DOT Zero "Street" tires on the rear. Two of them had 15x5" centerlines and 185/15's on the front. None of these Pontiacs could get out the 14's despite thousands of dollars of junk from Super Shoppes. It is amazing, some owners understood what tsticky street tires are used for, and a pair of mounted wheels and tires are reserved for that. The rest, like the previous owners of these partscars....tried to drive each of these cars as regular transpo/ "DailyDriver"s with liability insurance, only. Beyond idiotic!


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## Brer Rabbit (Dec 11, 2006)

*stencil time for you.*

Back in my street racing days I always thought I could stencil "BF GOODRICH RADIAL TA" on my Mickey Thompson drag radials thinking potential victims would be more likely to race a car on a street tire. Never actually did it, but I'm sure u can stencil what ever u want and it would look perfect. please post pics if u decide to do it. I'm running 17s on my 67 GTO now so I don't have enough room for raised letters.


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## mbergin (Jun 19, 2012)

Thanks All. It's good to hear your experiences with these types of tires. Since this will be a driver (and getting caught in the rain is a possibility,) I'll probably just stick with the BFG Radial T\A's. Don't want to take the chance of wrecking the car and since the car is a 4 speed, I can work the clutch to prevent the wheel spin, but I'm sure that will take some practice. Safety is my #1 concern since I do use the car to hit the car shows with my daughter. Here's a pic for those interested. Thanks again. I can always rely on the folks on this forum to provide solid advice!


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Nice one!

Bear


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