Best wheel and tire setup for Drag Racing?

[IowaRS7]

While I love my 21” HRE wheels, they are not the best setup for drag racing. They push the weight out further and have minimal sidewall. Plus there are no really good tire options. Moving down to 20s on all 4 corners would reduce rotational mass and open up tire options. The other strategy I have seen is leaving the fronts as is and getting some 18s on the rear with even less rotational mass, more sidewall yet and good tire options. Right now I am leaning toward just getting a set for the rears, but I could see some saying, yeah but you were running DRs, whereas running 20s with some R compound seems to be more “street” acceptable. What’s everyone prepping for the upcoming racing season this year? Also interested in what wheels people are using? I want something light and strong, may even consider selling the HREs if I see something worth moving to.


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[gk1]

Interesting topic.
Drag Radials while grippy, in my experience need serious heat to get their grip. Which usually requires a smoky RWD burnout that is not usually possible with our AWD cars. But to be fair it has been a long time since I've used drag radials and new compounds might be better.
I've never had R compound but I think it might be similar where they really get their ultimate grip from heat due to road course laps.
At "regular" temps I don't know that either offers much more grip than a max performance summer tire.
My preference is just the best summer tire I can get. PSS PS4S etc. I'm not switching tires at the track.
It makes me wonder if you could submit that question to one of these tire review youtuber guys who have the means to try out several tires and see what they find out.
https://www.youtube.com/user/TyreReviews
I saw a couple guys who seemed to really like the Toyo R888R on their Stangs. (Operating Temperature: 160°-220° F)

As for wheels my understanding for drag racing is usually smaller is better, but that may apply to overall wheel/tire diameter too...smaller diameter accelerates faster. I'm not sure if you're willing to go that route.
Honestly I thought your HRE P107 was near the pinnacle of strong/light wheels. I mean even at 21x10.5 what are they like 23 lbs?
I had 20x9 Rohana RF2's I thought were pretty light at 24 lbs but your HRE's put them to shame. (jealous) The lightest wheels I've ever looked into were the BBS FI-R that for 20x9 weigh only 17 lbs.! However I spoke to BBS directly and they said they are not load rated for the S6/S7/RS7 just the front axle of Huracan even though one user has them installed on his S6 without any known issue. I believe BBS's exact stance was they would sell them, but would not stand by their warranty if installed on an S6. (Not sure how they would know...speculate police report. Ha)
FWIW I have no real proof but when I went from stock wheels to the lighter RF2's with PSS's I felt like I lost grip and spun more often off the line...at the strip anyway... on the street traction always felt better so I chalked it up to bad track prep but maybe it had something else to do with the lightweight wheels. I look forward to finding out more this spring as I now have heavier than RF2's (24lbs), but lighter than stock(30lbs), HRE FF01's(27lbs) but I have coupled them with a 265 instead of stock 255 so the total weight is only 1lb less than stock. But I also ran my personal best 11.66 on the stock tires/wheels.
Anyway, interested to see other's thoughts.

[mrdouble99]

I would be curious to see if the Fast FC04 in 18" would fit an RS7

The 19 did fit on my S6 and it was further from the caliper than my Rotiform RSE in 20"

And they are light (20lbs) and cheap, the best drag setup

It's a volvo, but it gives an idea of the wheel in 18x10 et35

https://forums.swedespeed.com/showth...-FC04-on-the-R

This is the website for Fast Wheels

https://www.fastwheels.ca/productinf...04&fn=titanium

[IowaRS7]

I would be curious to see if the Fast FC04 in 18" would fit an RS7

The 19 did fit on my S6 and it was further from the caliper than my Rotiform RSE in 20"

And they are light (20lbs) and cheap, the best drag setup

It's a volvo, but it gives an idea of the wheel in 18x10 et35

https://forums.swedespeed.com/showth...-FC04-on-the-R

This is the website for Fast Wheels

https://www.fastwheels.ca/productinf...04&fn=titanium

I just looked at these and unfortunately they would t fit. I would need a different offset for the size I am looking for.


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[mrdouble99]

You could use spacer ?

[MVR 155]

Going with a purpose tire like a drag radial on a smaller wheel will give you more sidewall, this typically will help quite a bit with traction. I agree that running a 21" wheel/tire setup is not optimal for drag racing/straight line traction. If you can clear the brakes with the 18" wheel and run a DR on the rear, it will likely put any traction issues to sleep, it will also likely deliver the best track results being that it's a purpose built setup. That being said, it will not be the optimal setup for everyday driving, running a set of sticky/R compound tires on a set of 20" wheels may just be the all around best way to go. It really all depends on how well the track/street you're racing on is prepped. Everything is a give/take at this point, you just need to figure out what's going to work best for you.

[Valpo A7]

Because of the AWD aspect I would think you would want similar tire grip on all 4. Will having the grippy 18s in the back like you asked about create more wear and tear on the Quattro system?

As for the drag redials and burnouts, it depends on the tire on if you need to heat them up to produce more grip from what I remember reading in my Mustang days.

[IowaRS7]

Going with a purpose tire like a drag radial on a smaller wheel will give you more sidewall, this typically will help quite a bit with traction. I agree that running a 21" wheel/tire setup is not optimal for drag racing/straight line traction. If you can clear the brakes with the 18" wheel and run a DR on the rear, it will likely put any traction issues to sleep, it will also likely deliver the best track results being that it's a purpose built setup. That being said, it will not be the optimal setup for everyday driving, running a set of sticky/R compound tires on a set of 20" wheels may just be the all around best way to go. It really all depends on how well the track/street you're racing on is prepped. Everything is a give/take at this point, you just need to figure out what's going to work best for you.

Agreed, part of me feels that keeping the HREs and swapping the rears for track events is the way to go, the other part says going with 20s with R compound tires would be nice for more of my driving situations overall, but one concern is that those tend to wear pretty fast and some of my driving is highway cruising where something like the MPSS tires are better suited. The other thought is move to 20s and also get a set of 18s for the rear. Only disadvantage there is the 21s just look better on the RS7.

[IowaRS7]

Because of the AWD aspect I would think you would want similar tire grip on all 4. Will having the grippy 18s in the back like you asked about create more wear and tear on the Quattro system?

As for the drag redials and burnouts, it depends on the tire on if you need to heat them up to produce more grip from what I remember reading in my Mustang days.

I think the drivetrain is more likely to suffer damage from the lack of traction than having solid traction. When you spin then suffer any hopping or sudden gain of traction, then bad things can happen. The main thing to make sure you maintain is the same outer tire diameter for proper operation. With the power I am putting down, its not too difficult to spin all 4 wheels, so improving traction is desired.

[rodent]

I would like to find a light set of 19's but don't want to pay a premium price for some of these wheels. As mentioned BBS has a super lightweight wheel but its like $2k each! $8000 just in wheels... Having a little more sidewall helps some. On my Evo 8, I have tried many tires including stock 17's, BFG drag radials, Hoosier QTP and Hoosier drag radials. The QTP's seemed to work the best and they were all set to lower pressures. The softer side wall race tires help absorb the hard impact of a 25psi launch. I realize they don't make those tires in a 19" size so its harder for us to get a decent tire that hooks but still allows some slip to avoid breaking. I managed to keep the stock Brembo brakes and run a light weight Motegi Traklite 16" wheel at 12lbs each. I never did a burn out, just drive around the water box and launch. Keep in mind I'm on stock axles, rear diff, etc. 1.46 60 foot.

Right lane at a mile high in altitude
recordslip.jpg

APR has a 19x8.5 wheel at 21 lbs
TSW Nurburgring has a 19x8.5 wheel at 22lbs (32 offset looks better)

My 20x9 TSW Nurburgring wheels weigh 23lbs each.

Would like to find more lightweight 19" wheels that are under 400 each but would entertain the higher priced wheels like HRE and others.

[rodent]

This tire here looks promising but would possibly require 19x9.5 wide wheel. With it being wider it adds 2 lbs to the 255/40/19 stock sized tire.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/MTT-3492

[low-profile]

Really it depends on what your goals are. If you want the quickest absolute time, 18” drag radials are the obvious choice. If you want the fastest time in street trim, then MPSS, R888, or similar. Is there a world of difference between 21” and 20” wheel packages, I doubt it as long as we are comparing similar width and diameter. Some might argue that a slightly heavier wheel will hit the tire softer and help a traction limited car leave the line better.
As far as people being dismissive about others running drag radials, I wouldn’t let that stop me from trying them.


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[nvygw171]

I got a test set of a7 brakes on the rear and 17’s fit just fine. Just for drag racing. Ordered MT street SS’s. These new breed of drag radials don’t need near the warm up of the old ones. Also believe I have a way to lock in a 15/85 torque split that I am experimenting with for water Box burnouts.

[nvygw171]

should be good for a 1.4 60ft

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[rodent]

Unfortunately on my S6, 18's won't fit. 19's are the smallest and those barely clear the huge 400mm brake setup in the front. Some barrels won't even clear so its hit & miss on the 19's.

[IowaRS7]

I got a test set of a7 brakes on the rear and 17’s fit just fine. Just for drag racing. Ordered MT street SS’s. These new breed of drag radials don’t need near the warm up of the old ones. Also believe I have a way to lock in a 15/85 torque split that I am experimenting with for water Box burnouts.

Nice, I have thought about the smaller brakes but not sure I want to go that far. Wish we had more brake disc options for the RS7 as well to reduce unsprung weight, Carbon Ceramic is so flipping expensive and even bigger. I have really looked hard at going with an 18" wheel on the rear with the MT Street SS tires. Would be the least costly and allow me to keep the 21" HRE wheels that I really like for everyday normal driving and car shows. I am kinda curious what the widest wheel we can fit in the back would be on the RS7. Could go with a bit wider tire if we could push up to an 11-12" wheel on the back.

[gk1]

Nice, I have thought about the smaller brakes but not sure I want to go that far. Wish we had more brake disc options for the RS7 as well to reduce unsprung weight, Carbon Ceramic is so flipping expensive and even bigger. I have really looked hard at going with an 18" wheel on the rear with the MT Street SS tires. Would be the least costly and allow me to keep the 21" HRE wheels that I really like for everyday normal driving and car shows. I am kinda curious what the widest wheel we can fit in the back would be on the RS7. Could go with a bit wider tire if we could push up to an 11-12" wheel on the back.

I though racingbrake.com offered the lightest alternative to stock.
https://www.racingbrake.com/RB-Iron-...aud-irk-03.htm
Still...pricey.

[nvygw171]

Nice, I have thought about the smaller brakes but not sure I want to go that far. Wish we had more brake disc options for the RS7 as well to reduce unsprung weight, Carbon Ceramic is so flipping expensive and even bigger. I have really looked hard at going with an 18" wheel on the rear with the MT Street SS tires. Would be the least costly and allow me to keep the 21" HRE wheels that I really like for everyday normal driving and car shows. I am kinda curious what the widest wheel we can fit in the back would be on the RS7. Could go with a bit wider tire if we could push up to an 11-12" wheel on the back.

Luckily every street SS in 18” other than the 345 will work on a 10” wheel. A couple inches of width added to the outside of a wheel adds a lot of Rotating weight we’re it doesn’t need to be.

[Chiromikey]

Nice, I have thought about the smaller brakes but not sure I want to go that far. Wish we had more brake disc options for the RS7 as well to reduce unsprung weight, Carbon Ceramic is so flipping expensive and even bigger. I have really looked hard at going with an 18" wheel on the rear with the MT Street SS tires. Would be the least costly and allow me to keep the 21" HRE wheels that I really like for everyday normal driving and car shows. I am kinda curious what the widest wheel we can fit in the back would be on the RS7. Could go with a bit wider tire if we could push up to an 11-12" wheel on the back.

I’m running a 20x11 wheel spec’d to run a 315s, which can barely fit if offset perfectly. The only problem is that there are only 3 choices for 315/30/20. Toyo and Nitto R compounds and one Pirelli street tire. So I’m running a 305 instead. In a drag radial and with the help of AWD, you really don’t need anything that wide. You’d be better off running a square set up of 275-285 and investing in tire warmers to get them up to temp without a burnout.

[rodent]

Tire warming is not really needed in AWD plus then you run into the problem of breaking something. I was able to muster 1.4 60' in a lighter AWD platform with cold DOT race tires.

[lituoklis88]

Nice, I have thought about the smaller brakes but not sure I want to go that far. Wish we had more brake disc options for the RS7 as well to reduce unsprung weight, Carbon Ceramic is so flipping expensive and even bigger. I have really looked hard at going with an 18" wheel on the rear with the MT Street SS tires. Would be the least costly and allow me to keep the 21" HRE wheels that I really like for everyday normal driving and car shows. I am kinda curious what the widest wheel we can fit in the back would be on the RS7. Could go with a bit wider tire if we could push up to an 11-12" wheel on the back.

Do you have a particular wheel brand in mind, as this is the route im debating on going. Just put something sticky on the rear, and blow that rear diff up

[lituoklis88]

from some research:
if you are running rs7 blade wheels on the front 275/30r21 , the rear you can do 305/40r18 MT ss tires
if you are running the double spoke s6/7 wheel on the front 255/35r20, then the rear should be 285/40r18 MT ss tires
both these sizes would put you withing 1% or less
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc for anyone wanting to do some comparing

[IowaRS7]

from some research:
if you are running rs7 blade wheels on the front 275/30r21 , the rear you can do 305/40r18 MT ss tires
if you are running the double spoke s6/7 wheel on the front 255/35r20, then the rear should be 285/40r18 MT ss tires
both these sizes would put you withing 1% or less
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc for anyone wanting to do some comparing

My plan is to run the 275/45/18 Mickey Thompson Street SS and keep my 21” wheels up from that have 285/30/21 tires on them.

[nvygw171]

Another thing to consider with AWD is the low pressures that slicks are run at if you are planning on mixing a street front tire and drag rear. The lower pressure in relation to the front does effect the rolling diameter difference between the front and rear. Radial slicks do not grow as bias ply slicks do which does help but I have found that you can subtract roughly a 1/2 inch from what MT specs when aired down. The diameter listed from MT is given mounted and I believe at 30psi on an unloaded wheel. At the 15-20psi that drag radials fun on a loaded wheel the effective rolling diameter is reduced. This concept had sorta been argued in the past but can be clearly seen now when looking at wheels speed data. For my setup I will be running a 27.2 mpss front and a 27.8 inch rear drag radial (28”). This rear tire will have an effective diameter of 27.3” when aired down.

[IowaRS7]

Another thing to consider with AWD is the low pressures that slicks are run at if you are planning on mixing a street front tire and drag rear. The lower pressure in relation to the front does effect the rolling diameter difference between the front and rear. Radial slicks do not grow as bias ply slicks do which does help but I have found that you can subtract roughly a 1/2 inch from what MT specs when aired down. The diameter listed from MT is given mounted and I believe at 30psi on an unloaded wheel. At the 15-20psi that drag radials fun on a loaded wheel the effective rolling diameter is reduced. This concept had sorta been argued in the past but can be clearly seen now when looking at wheels speed data. For my setup I will be running a 27.2 mpss front and a 27.8 inch rear drag radial (28”). This rear tire will have an effective diameter of 27.3” when aired down.

Good point on running lower pressures. I may call MT and discuss more. When I talked to some others that have run these, they matched the front and rear diameters and didn’t mention anything about air pressures, but given the recommended PSI is 13-18 for the Street SS tires, that could impact the rolling diameter. I wonder if running a bit higher PSI on an AWD vehicle doesn’t make sense vs a RWD.

[nvygw171]

I believe I read somewhere our cars can account for a 3% difference in diameter. This works out to about 3/4” which sounds like a lot. I would feel comfortable with around 1/4”-1/2”difference if its only for a drag setup and went back to a matched setup for the street. I know the lower pressure in the tire does help with side wall flex which in turn help remove some shock to the drivetrain also adds more consistency to the launch. I know on the hellcats close to our weight run the DR’s in the high teens for psi.

[IowaRS7]

I called MT technical support and discussed the situation with the Quattro setup and such. They commented that these new Street SS tires have a stiffer sidewall and that the OD change would be negligible with a PSI between 30 down to 20. With the AWD he recommended a higher PSI than what they usually recommend in the RWD cars. I think for my setup the 275/45/18 or the 305/40/18 would work fine. The 275 is lighter, cheaper and fits a smaller lighter wheel, so leaning that direction at the moment.

[lituoklis88]

I called MT technical support and discussed the situation with the Quattro setup and such. They commented that these new Street SS tires have a stiffer sidewall and that the OD change would be negligible with a PSI between 30 down to 20. With the AWD he recommended a higher PSI than what they usually recommend in the RWD cars. I think for my setup the 275/45/18 or the 305/40/18 would work fine. The 275 is lighter, cheaper and fits a smaller lighter wheel, so leaning that direction at the moment.

Good point on the weight/price. Easier to find wheels that would fit a 275/18 rather than 305/18. Any particular wheel you looking at?
Ive been eyeballing the enkei rfp1 18x9. Should take that 275/45r18 MT no problem.
Ideally i would like to find a wheel that would 19” and would clear my brakes, and same style 18. So i could run MT tire all around, with the rears being thicker

[IowaRS7]

Good point on the weight/price. Easier to find wheels that would fit a 275/18 rather than 305/18. Any particular wheel you looking at?

I am considering a VS Forged wheel. Reasonable price yet forged so light and strong. They also make a model that would match well with my other wheels.


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[IowaRS7]

New rear track day setup ordered! Decided to go with the 305s for more rubber and slightly larger OD than the fronts. Weight will be about the same as my current wheel and tire combo but reduced rotational mass. Went with VS06 wheels to look close to the P107s I have up front.


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[Nosferatu]

With the AWD system you'll want matching tires

I vote for the Toyo R888R all around. I used the R888 (one R) back in the day on my GT-R and the R888R is supposed to be even better. Didn't require any heat up at all just roll around the water box and launch the car. Minimal drama. Basic bolt-on (stock turbo car) deep deep 1.5 60' times all day like clock work. Some have even done 1.4. This was with 640whp/605wtq and netted a 10.2 @ 136 MPH.

[sickmade0331]

I just came on some oz ultraleggeras 21lbs a piece 20x8.5

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[willitrue]

Only slicks, because they have the best contact with the road. I'm dealing with racings from the age of 15 and I really know how to get the best performance for my car. It is not so easy from the first sight but if to know some tricks it is possible to do. Some friends from gulfracing.com said to me that the best tires for drag race are slicks. They are good only on tracks, but their race performances are very high. I prefer Michelin and Continental, these are really good tires for racings but the price is high.