[72firechicken]

I have recently just started driving my 72 firebird that I have a complete overhaul except paint and interior. Here are some of the things I have in it:

455 bored .030"
crank scraper
windage tray
8qt pan
solid flat tappert cam .633int .655exh lift
305 310 duration
ported edelbrock heads 2.11,1.66 flowing about 305 cfm @.700 lift.
port matched torker II
850 quick fuel carb
2" primary headers 3.5" collector
3" exh. with x pipe (pypes sys)
turbo 400 trans.
3500 rpm stall
3.42 gears
split mono leaf springs
cal trac traction bars
ranch 9000 shocks
eaton posi.
pinion angle set at 2.5 deg. down

yadayadayada....

Well this thing is brute, talk about a rubber
laying machine and that leads to my problem I need to get this thing hooked!! Right now the tires are crap 275/60/15 Goodyear eagle gt 2's theyre brand new but of course the car will blow them off all they way thru first even if you roll on the throttle pretty lightly.

I know that I need better tires and a wider rim as the rims are stock. I am not concerned with fender clearence issues and I will run any offset needed my question is,

What width wheel should I purchase and which tire? This is a 95% street vehicle.

I have been condidering the M&H racemaster mUscle car drag dot tires with a 13" tread and a 12" wheel or is that overkill, this thing has got to hook on the street !!

Thanks!

[72firechicken]

I have recently just started driving my 72 firebird that I have a complete overhaul except paint and interior. Here are some of the things I have in it:

455 bored .030"
crank scraper
windage tray
8qt pan
solid flat tappert cam .633int .655exh lift
305 310 duration
ported edelbrock heads 2.11,1.66 flowing about 305 cfm @.700 lift.
port matched torker II
850 quick fuel carb
2" primary headers 3.5" collector
3" exh. with x pipe (pypes sys)
turbo 400 trans.
3500 rpm stall
3.42 gears
split mono leaf springs
cal trac traction bars
ranch 9000 shocks
eaton posi.
pinion angle set at 2.5 deg. down

yadayadayada....

Well this thing is brute, talk about a rubber
laying machine and that leads to my problem I need to get this thing hooked!! Right now the tires are crap 275/60/15 Goodyear eagle gt 2's theyre brand new but of course the car will blow them off all they way thru first even if you roll on the throttle pretty lightly.

I know that I need better tires and a wider rim as the rims are stock. I am not concerned with fender clearence issues and I will run any offset needed my question is,

What width wheel should I purchase and which tire? This is a 95% street vehicle.

I have been condidering the M&H racemaster mUscle car drag dot tires with a 13" tread and a 12" wheel or is that overkill, this thing has got to hook on the street !!

Thanks!

[goatseeker]

firechicken,
DOn't know much about clearance on birds as I'm a GTO guy. IMHO, a 12" wheel is overkill and will add unneccessary weight as you can run most any reasonable street tire or slick on a 10.5" rim. You're not going to hook hard on the street with anything except slicks. If you want a dual purpose tire I'd recommend the MT/ET Streets, Nitto or BFG-DR's. The new MT DOT tire has gotten some good reviews but personally haven't talked to anyone who has given them a good track workout yet.
Track preparation is key to good 60' times but good luck finding traction with that beast!

[Brian Baker]

Anything more than a 15x8 will require modifying the wheelwells to fit the tire.

I'm running 29x10 Hoosier slicks on 15x10 rims with 5" backspacing and that's about as large of a tire/rim combo you'll get in there without minitubbing it.

[firechickenman]

I'd say 15x8 with a 28x11.5 MT ET street to keep the tires inside the fenderwell. If you still have traction problems after that, start removing plug wires until traction improves!!

[72firechicken]

Thanks for the info all.

Also I made a similar post to this one, one after the other because when I hit post now it did not post even after I waited a while, of course my computer is a retard.

[ChrisTransAm78]

Not to highjack post but how does one measure for backspacing etc? I'm sure firechicken would like to know as well for insurance

[KS circutguy]

Buy the new Mickey T. Drag radials, check out the review in this months hot rod mag. they out hook mickey slicks!
275/60/15's.
+ they don't grow at the big end.

[Fox]

Heh there isn't a good solution for you. My ol T/A was setup fairly close to the same specs and I never found anything that would help in a DOT tire anyway.

[Steve C.]

Generaly Firebirds can use up to 15 x 10 with 5 1/8-inch backspacing in the rear.
Backspacing... measure the distance from a wheel's mounting flange to the farthest point inboard on the wheel. Some manufactures measure from the mounting flange to the bead and not the little lip around the circumference of the rim.... check with the manufacture. Also make sure to measure from the exact point where the wheel will contact the car, not from any depression that may be around the lug nuts.
On my '70 TA I'm using 8.5 x 15 wheels with a 3 3/4-inch offset. For the street I'm using 275/60R15 Nitto (555R) Drag Radials with a 27.76 inflated diameter and a 11.1 overall width. I run them with 25 lbs (cold) air pressure.
I decided on the Nitto's because they get much better tread wear compared to other DOT style drag tires and unlike these other drag tires there is some salvation if you get caught in the rain. Dispite 589 ft.lbs. of torque they do a fair job on the street for spirited driving (I do not street race).
Remember when choosing radial or bias tires for the rear make sure you use the same type on the front. Do not mix bias and radial tires.