[jhein]

So I wore out my MT drag radials. I have the BFG 255/60 15s back on it now. I prefer the ride and handling/cornering of the BFGs but the traction under acceleration sucks. Are there any better 15" street tires? If not, are there better offerings in a 17" tire? I don't really like the look of 17"wheels as much but if the tires in that size are much better I may do it.

[64speed]

I have Riken Raptors from Tire Rack and they are awesome. I am pretty sure they are available in 17. Not so sure about 15

[jhein]

Originally Posted by 64speed

I have Riken Raptors from Tire Rack and they are awesome. I am pretty sure they are available in 17. Not so sure about 15

What size are you running?

[64speed]

245/45/18

[nas t eh]

There are a few great options in 17”. Nitto 555 G2 are a really good one. I’m running 275/50/17 on the back and 255/50/17 on the front of my 73 T/A

[jhein]

Ok, here are the options that I can think of. One thing to keep in mind is that I don't really want to go less then 27" tall if I can avoid it.

Stay with a 15" wheel and go to a BFG 275/60.

Stay with a 15" wheel and go to a different brand tire in either 255 or 275 size.

Go to a 275/50 17 if that will fit.

Or a 255/50 17 would keep me at 27" but I don't know if any of the 255 17" tires would be that much of an improvement over the BFG or other 15" tires that are available.

One other issue is that if I go to a 275/60 15, I'll need new wheels since mine are only 7" wide.

Thanks.

[jhein]

Originally Posted by nas t eh

There are a few great options in 17”. Nitto 555 G2 are a really good one. I’m running 275/50/17 on the back and 255/50/17 on the front of my 73 T/A

I was looking at that tire in those sizes. Does the 275/50/17 fit with no mods and how do they hook? Also, would you happen to have any pics? Thanks.

[locomotivebreath]

I run 275/60/15 Coopers on a 68 GTO and really like them . I’ve had old BFG’s on other vehicles in the past and feel the coopers are updated technology as far as 15’s go .

[Steve C.]

I'm using the 275/60R15 Nitto NT 555R Drag radials for the street, rated at 27.76" inflated with a 11.1" overall width measured on a 8" rim.
On the street I run them with 28 lbs pressure.

Current front tire is the Cooper Cobra Radial G/T 245/60-15

( Old picture here is with the previous Firestone 215/65R15 tire on the front
https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/s..._left_view.jpg )

I changed to the larger Cooper tire for it's larger footprint to aid in breaking.


.

[Steve C.]

My apology, I misspoke.

After my Cooper tires wore out I changed to the Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T tire in the 245/60R15 size up front.

It was reported the Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/T and the Cooper Cobra Radial G/T where the same tire except for a small difference in the tread pattern. Cooper Tires also manufactured tires under several other brand names including Mickey Thompson. However it was my understanding Goodyear had acquired the Mickey Thompson brand when it finalized its purchase of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.. Today I'm not sure of the relationship, or if any changes.


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[JLMounce]

At the power level your engine likely makes, you're likely beyond the true functional limits of the leaf springs on your car.

You can make up for it with a drag type tire, as you previously did, but almost no street tire is going to realistically cope here. I'm dealing with the same thing. I run an NT555 G2 and it's a nice tire that is comfortable, quiet and good looking. Not enough grip though to really handle the torque that is being put to the ground. Reducing the sidewall will also have a tendency to reduce grip when the tire is shocked, unlike the 15" tire you have which will allow a small amount of give to absorb the initial shock of a throttle stab, or quick clutch release.

There's not a bad suggestion for street tires in this thread, but honestly, you're not going to realistically see a great deal of difference in any of them.

If you go to a 17" wheel, which you state you don't like, you're going to be in the neighborhood of 2-3K after purchase of wheel and tires, assuming you go with something off the shelf like a 17" rally II, or Torq Thrust. For similar money, I'd possibly look at upgrading the suspension.

You've got some choices here. You can do a 4 link kit, torque arm, or do some upgrades to your factor leaf setup.

Going to a mono leaf with a cal-track or similar device and slider links over shackles is known to produce good traction. You also gain adjustability to set your anti-squat where you want it, instead of just where it is (often way too low with many leaf springs). The trade off here is that this type of setup can be noisy, especially with the sliders in the back.

With a 4 link like the Ridetech setup, you get the ability to again set your anti-squat where you need it. This setup is going to be more costly, but it's ride quality and NVH will be less. In either case, you're going to see enhanced traction with any type of tire. You may find that the 15" tires cope much better here. You keep the look you want, gain traction and aren't on a tire that you have to replace every 6-8 months.

Food for thought.

[Steve C.]

I don't street race so getting the Nittos to hook on the street is not a factor for me, but with the softer compound it sure has much better traction than a regular street tire.

However, many years ago for interest only I drove my car to the track to see how they would perform, managed only one good run and the others went up in smoke. The 60-ft was nothing great at 1.624 with 11.02 at 122.2 mph. I had them at 18 pound tire pressure and maybe with some practice and technique they might be ok. But I suggest at the track something else would be better if serious.

My rear suspension:
Landrum 300 lb/in leaf springs, Edelbrock shocks at the time, CalTracs traction bars, custom subframe connectors. No sway bar.

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[w72]

I also run the Nitto 555g2 on 17" snowflakes. 275/50/17 and 255/50/17. The 15" BFG are nice to look at, but terrible in every other way, especially once you've driven on a modern tire with a stiffer sidewall and better compound.

I can't say if they would rub with stock suspension, I'm using the PTFB Comp setep and love it. Nitto also makes a 255/45/17 if you need a bit more room up front to accomodate softer springs.

[GOAT8U2]

Street tires on the rear of your engine is a waste IMO, you have a killer IA2 engine probably making 550tq and that power will go up in smoke in any street tire.

Nitto are good for a person who drives slow in the rain and wants a decent traction. Had these, ok but not great.

17s are horrible for traction on a torque monster, you better have 315 or wider to get this to stick at all.

MT SS 275/60/15, this tire isn't great in the rain (better than previous version) but if you go slow you can take corners and limp it home 35mph safe max. It'll grab decent enough to make your engine power useful (better than Nitto).

If you drive only in nice weather like me, Street R or Hoosier DR2 type tires really grab, Street R is glue, softer internal belts than SS with less thread but don't drive them in the rain.

[w72]

I should have mentioned that there's no way I'd try to drag race with the 17" Nitto 555g2. There is no magic bullet to make a Firebird with any real power hook up on street tires. That said, they are a huge upgrade for handling, braking, wet traction, and just generally using your car as a car.

[jhein]

Thanks for all the replies. All very good. So it seems like street tires of any sort won't really solve this. Suspension changes would help but with potentially significant mods. Caltracs would be a fairly minor modification that's reversible. But since my car is street, not strip, just wondering how that would impact other street driving behavior, especially cornering? They say it's not compatible with the factory sway bar. It seems like if you trimmed the ends it would fit. Is there any other reason not to use the Caltracs and the sway bar? Does the Caltracs have anti-sway properties?

[GOAT8U2]

You might wanna start with 275/60/15 Nittos R2.
These are good cornering and decent traction with rain traction.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/nit-107-830

Good reviews to give you some basic insight, Tire Tack does actually testing so those are better.

Shocks and rear swaybar add to the traction. You might wanna try 1 thing at a time and see if you're moving in the right direction. QA1 or Viking shocks are good once you get a tire to hook or somewhat hook. Great shocks on a Street tire are useless since the tire will just smoke instantly no matter how much compression and rebound you can control.

I have the HR Parts N Stuff Rear swaybar on my GN, good god did that make the car launch the way I wanted after I got the 325/50/15 Street R under the car. But most would not like the overstreet, you feel like you're in a railed carnival ride. LOL But the smile on your face when the car launches and leaves everyone a bus length behind in 1st alone is worth it IMO. I'm getting one from Paul to put in the GTO to stop the sideways butt slide on launches.

[b-man]

Buy another pair of M/T drag radials and be happy.

BFG tires were the sh!t back in the day, but now they’re just a sh!tty tire that looks good.

If you’ve decided you want your T/A to handle well then I’d suggest skipping the 17s and step up to 18” tires and 9” wide wheels. So much better variety of 18” tires available.

245/45s and 275/40s are both 26.7” tall, maybe some 18” Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires in those sizes would be satisfactory.

It’s either be a drag racer or a canyon carver, pick one and go for it. 18” wheels in black visually don’t look all that huge and out of place like a wheel that’s silver painted or chrome/polished finish.

A lot of people here are hesitant about going to the larger diameter rims, nowadays 19” and up are pretty common on modern performance cars but start to look out of proportion unless the body has wheel openings the right size to accommodate them. My wife’s 2023 Civic Sport has black 18x8s and 235/40 Goodyears standard and it’s actually the lowest priced Civic.

[Radman]

Look at Hoosier Street Pro tires. My60 foot times with them are .4 seconds faster than Goodyear TA's. Wet or dry they stick to the road.

[hojs69]

I like M&H dr's.