Getting Ready for Drag Racing this Summer

[HMMRDWN]

Hi ya!
My goal this summer to get out on the 1/4 mile Drag strip and learn whatever I can about staging, technique, strategy...and oh ya...having some fun doing it. So, I'm thinking about the whole tire situation and am looking for some advice... I want to do the whole thing...burnouts included.

I have nice 18s all the way around now. And I love to cruise cruise and just get in the car and go. So, I'm leaning towards getting another set of wheels and putting on some drag radials. That way I could change tires at home the night before...and still drive to the track. AND, keep my nice wheels and street tires for cruising and shows.

So, now the delimma... seems like drag radials for my car in 18s are less available than for the standard 17s. Should I stick with 18s on the back (to match the front)? Or could I throw 17s on the back and leave the 18s on the front? Seems kind of weird to me to have smaller on the back - but thought I'd throw it out there.

I currently have P255/45ZR18's on all four.

Or maybe if I'm going to change tires anyway, should I just get drag slicks for the back and change tires at the track?

Thanks in advance for your help. :)

[66gtk]

Sounds like a lot of FUN! Good for you. Sorry I can't assist with any of your questions.

[HELLFYR]

Sorry I can't be of more assistance, but I haven't owned one of the new body Mustangs (yet).

GENERALLY, if your car came with 18s, it came with 18s to clear brake calipers / rotors.
Not normally too much of an issue in the back if you don't have an IRS (pretty sure the standard mustang gts still have stick axels).
If that is the case, you can probably go as small as a 16 and still clear. That allows for a thicker sidewall, aka more flex, aka more traction
at the drag strip.

That being said...
I WOULD NOT start on drag slicks. The SHOCK to your rearend (well the cars rearend :wink:) would be much more extreme and possibly break something.
No1Ford understands this.

Your first time out, you could just run on street tires and make sure it is something you want to pursue before investing all sorts of money in it.

The only thing the Drag Radial or Slick are going to buy you is 60ft time, and even then it is a guessing game with tire pressures and track conditions.

Drag radials (run at low pressure) and slicks produce a WOBBLE or FLOAT at the high end of the track which can be very un-nerving
for the novice racer.

I'd say get used to your car under full acceleration IN STREET TRIM.
No need to do a burn out at first.
Work on keeping the car in the middle of the groove, good clean fast shifts (if your car is a shifter... I can't remeber ... sorry), and getting in and out of the throttle just enough to maintain traction.

Many hard core racers will tout the "Never Lift" mentality. Good for them, sooner or later they will be into the wall.

If the back end starts to go sideways AT ALL, let off the accelerator, on the drag strip the way it is prepped, the back end will grab almost instantly and you can start accelerating again.

Don't panic, stay smooth, and have fun.

Rod

[DNeinstadt]

My $.02:

I would recommend 17's for the inexpensive factor. You could leave them in the trunk and change them at the track or find the right ratio that would maintain a similar tire height and drive with them on the car. I would recommend you check to make sure your speedometer is configured correctly as well if you are running 255/45/18 (height of 27.04") tires right now.

From my research, I think stock '07 GT tires were:
17" wheels - 235/55-17 (27.18" height)
18" wheels - 235/50-18 (27.25" height)

So you're already a bit different than factory stock height. Hopefully the speedo was adjusted for it?

Anyways, long story short is that I would probably pick up a spare set of 17"x9" wheels and get a 275/40/17 drag radial (or slicks if you so desire) put on. You could try to do a 315/35/17 Nitto (brand) tire on a 9" wide wheel as well. Nittos are known for being slightly less width than other tires and they are a good balance of stickiness and longetivity. They are not the stickiest drag radial out there but are a good comprimise.

Cheap 17" wheels go for about $250 for a set of two, 17" Nittos go for about $150 a pair for a used set, maybe $350 for a new set (plus mounting/balancing of course). If you are interested in just trying out drag racing, I'm not sure if you want to make that investment or not. You might be better off borrowing a set from someone or just trying to go drag racing with what you have. Remember, it's not 100% about going fast/quick, it's about having fun with your car!

My vote is try it without spending $400+ to find out you don't like it or aren't going to get your money's worth. Plenty of fun can be had with what you have, or you can borrow a set for the track.

If I'm able to, I would love to help get you accustomed to the track. Perhaps we can take a day and some of the club can go and hang out!
Dan

[F8LBITE]

I know somebody that has some 17" wheels with 275/50/17 M&H? drag radials on them for sale...

[DNeinstadt]

Mickey Thompson? MT's?

What is the offset? Might not work on the S197 cars....

[F8LBITE]

I'll have to check that

[HMMRDWN]

Great info guys. I certainly appreciate the input. I'm not quite sure what approach I'll take yet, but I will be on the track this summer. So....just have to figure out my options and run with it. :)

[No1Ford]

Did someone say drag racing?

Rod I do believe 2005+ Mustang came with 31 spline axels right? If so E.T. street would be fine, a diff cover wouldn't hurt though. But I agree with Rod and Dan are sayin'. Marie if you would like I have a set of E.T. street on some 16'' rims you could use or test fit on your car.

[DNeinstadt]

Again, Chris is the offset going to work for her car? I still think racing on the wheels she has now will be just fine until she gets the hang of it.

[No1Ford]

Again, Chris is the offset going to work for her car? I still think racing on the wheels she has now will be just fine until she gets the hang of it.


Did Ford change the offset from the new edge to the s197? I would disagree with your second statement, once she gets the hang of launching on street tire and then switches to sticky tires it's a whole new ball game. Is this a auto or five speed?

[F8LBITE]

Auto I believe

[HMMRDWN]

Yep, it's an auto. And I do know that I won't be using my street tires. This is step one in a much larger project for me, so I really want to use the Mustang to learn - including the burnouts and the whole deal. Eventually, I will be moving to a much faster non-street legal dragster - that will have electronics and slicks and the REAL deal.
But, I have to start somewhere. :) So...the floor's still open for ideas.

[HELLFYR]

Yep, it's an auto. And I do know that I won't be using my street tires. This is step one in a much larger project for me, so I really want to use the Mustang to learn - including the burnouts and the whole deal. Eventually, I will be moving to a much faster non-street legal dragster - that will have electronics and slicks and the REAL deal.
But, I have to start somewhere. :) So...the floor's still open for ideas.

:fork:

As for the 31 spline axles... I have no clue.