Nitto or not?

[Motorhead350]

Now that I have a blower I need to hook up. I was looking at the Nitto extreme drag radial and was wondering if infact this can be used as a street tire. It says the tire can last 15,000 miles, but thats not really my question. My main question is can this function in the rain? I want to keep my factory rims. By the looks of it I'll have to buy knock offs for the racing tire, but will these actually work as a normal tire? Does it work as well as a slick strictly meant for track use only?

If not do you guys know of one that will if anything? I haven't driven the car yet because I need that 4:10 put in and it'll be done tomorrow morning! :banana2:

[Mike M]

The Nitto works perfectly as a street tire, widen your stock rims to fit them. I never drive in the rain...hell it has not rained here in months...(really!)

[teamrope]

I have a pair mounted on after market wheels. I put them on before I go to the track and swap back when I get home.

From what I've herd they can get real squirrely in the rain.

[FordNut]

Dangerous in the rain. The Nitto 295/45-18 street tires are good street tires. Either one needs widened rims.

I ran Goodyear Eagle F1-GS 295/45-18's for awhile, also with widened rims. They're OEM Lightning tires. They worked fine, but there is no matching tire for the front.

[fastblackmerc]

Any drag radial will be dangerous in the rain. Best bet is to get a pair of wheels to swap out at the track.

[MarauderTJA]

I have had two sets of Nitto DR's on my car since being S/C'd. I drive with them year round and personally have not found any problem in the rain at all. Maybe because of the warmer climate here in Florida is the reason. But you have to drive easy in the rain with a powerful blown car regardless of the tires you have on the car. I love my Nitto's DR's but they do require widened rims. My personal best was run on the Nitto's with a 1.8 sixty foot. Now for the track I have a set of M/T ET Drag Streets.

[Motorhead350]

Isn't there a size that doesn't require widden rims? :dunno:

[MarauderTJA]

Isn't there a size that doesn't require widden rims? :dunno:

Not in an 18" drag radial with Nitto.

[Motorhead350]

Any other company that works well for an 18x8 rim? :(

[Breadfan]

Any other company that works well for an 18x8 rim? :(

Not in a drag radial to my knowledge.

[MarauderTJA]

Other companies do make drag radials for 18" wheels. B.F. Goodrich, Hoosier and Mickey Thompsons. But they are a smaller OD (30, 35 vs 45) and unless you make the changes in the computer/shift schedule they will not work well. Plus they would look funny.

Bite the bullet, send your wheels off to weldcraft wheels and get them widened. Contact James@weldcraftwheels.com Then you can run the Nitto DR's, the car will look meaner and you will be able to hook up.

[Motorhead350]

Damn, I'm not gonna have any money left to buy a used van at the end of the summer. :( How much is it to widen a rim?

[MarauderTJA]

Damn, I'm not gonna have any money left to buy a used van at the end of the summer. :( How much is it to widen a rim?

Just leave your stock tires on the car for now. Unless you are going to drag race often, the tires you have will be fine. You will be able to put on serious burnout shows:D. Replacing your stock tires is far cheaper than widening the wheels (I think around $225./wheel).

[Bigdough]

I personally am not a fan of the Nitto Drags. I have a set on my Supra and I cant get them to hook for ****. It may be because of the power delivery on the turbo car, but once that boost hits, traction goes bye bye. On the street and on the strip, no traction in 1st and 2nd.

It may be different with a wider tire also, mine are only 245 IIRC. Havent driven in the rain, but I wouldnt want to.

[Glenn]

Check Mustangs Unlimited for Mustang Bullit deep dish 10x18" wheels. Ask for blemished wheels. I got mine very cheap. They work great at the track with the Nitto 305s. As Brian said, I would not use the 305s for daily driving - too sticky for me. You really need to widen your MM rims to even use the 295s safely.

glenn