Just bought some slightly used BFGoodrich DR's on '98 Mustang five spoke aluminum rims yesterday. They're the traditional tread g-force-TA's size 255-50-16. I'm hoping they'll provide much better traction than my nearly bald streets that I ran at the test and tune this past summer. There's only one problem, it's going to be almost six months before I can get my car out , but I'll survive. However, I am tempted to get it out of storage and do a couple test launches before the permanent snow gets here .
Anybody running these have any suggestions of what pressure to run and how to stage (spin/no spin, etc)? I know it depends on the car, the track, the temp., etc, I was just wondering what pressures and techniques worked for you guys to get some general ideas to start with. Thanks.
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Jason
2002 Mustang GT 4.6L 2V 5spd. Current Mods: Mac CAI, Underdrive Pulleys, Bassani X-pipe, w/ cats, followed by Flowmaster 40's, Subframe Connectors, Tokico Adjustable Suspension, Lowered 2", Steeda Tri-Ax, Ford Racing 4.10's, Hypertech, 245-45-17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's, Raptor Shift Light, White Gauge Face Insert, Hurst White Classic Shift Knob, Saleen S351 Front Bumper Cover and Rear Spoiler Someday: Shorty Headers . . . Procharger? 14.4 @ 99 w/ significant traction issues until 3rd
I'd start at about 16psi and work my way down to 14 to see what hooks the best for Nice 60 ft times!
Start launcing at 3K and if it grabs good increase the rpms!
On my BFG's, the same ones you have, they've always liked 18psi, not 12psi like my old Nittos. They definately hook better than the Nittos also, although the new tread pattern BFG's seem to suck compared to the ones you got.
I dropped .4-.5 off my 1/4 mile time swapping from street tires to the BFGs, so I think you'll be happy with them.
Start with 18-20 psi and go down from there, and do a long enough burnout to get the tires good and warm, they hook pretty damn good when you warm them up nice.
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That hunk of junk? Yeah, well I've made a few special modifications to that yellow 99 Gt, it makes the Kessel run in 12 parsecs and eats turbo japs and poops chevy's
Thanks for the input guys, starting 18-20lbs sounds more realistic than what the guy I bought them from said he ran them at (40-45lbs). It would be awesome if they would grab enough to launch at 3k, heck I'd be happy to launch at 2k just as long as they stick and I don't have to pedal the car until I hit 3rd gear.
racin366, I'm not really that experienced in the pre-stage burnout department, about how long should it be? Any other tips/tricks? I don't have line-lock. Thanks.
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Jason
2002 Mustang GT 4.6L 2V 5spd. Current Mods: Mac CAI, Underdrive Pulleys, Bassani X-pipe, w/ cats, followed by Flowmaster 40's, Subframe Connectors, Tokico Adjustable Suspension, Lowered 2", Steeda Tri-Ax, Ford Racing 4.10's, Hypertech, 245-45-17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's, Raptor Shift Light, White Gauge Face Insert, Hurst White Classic Shift Knob, Saleen S351 Front Bumper Cover and Rear Spoiler Someday: Shorty Headers . . . Procharger? 14.4 @ 99 w/ significant traction issues until 3rd
I do burnouts on mine until they start to push me through my brakes. Then I just let off the brakes, and then the gas and let it roll out. Seems to take 15-20 seconds to really get them nice and sticky, but after that, look out.
If you have a manual trans, try not to brake, it's hell on the clutch. I've had great success with driving around the water, back in so just the rears get wet, pull forward, cut loose 1st and quick shift to second. Once you get some decent smoke they'll be ready to go, if you powerbrake it, you can get them warmer, but like I said, its hard on the clutch when you have disc brakes in the rear. If you get them hot enough it should grip at 3k no problem unless you have serious power. With your mods, I would guess if you get the pressure and temp of the tires right they may even grip at 4k, though that'll be pushing it. If they do grip, hang on tight and get ready to shift, she's gonna come out hard and go through 1st QUICK. For me, one of the best things about drag racing is a good hard launch... my favorite to date was a built hemi on slicks, but the old 302 leaving on a 150 shot was also a blast.
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That hunk of junk? Yeah, well I've made a few special modifications to that yellow 99 Gt, it makes the Kessel run in 12 parsecs and eats turbo japs and poops chevy's
Really, water with drag radials, I had always heard not to get DR's wet b/c some water always stays in the tread? But on the other hand I have never actually seen them used period, wet or dry . Like I said, I'd settle for 2k, but would love 3k, and can do without 4k (despite how cool it would be ).
I love a hard launch too, so hopefully I can dial it in to get the first one because I bought car with nearly bald street tires on it (getting new ones in the spring) so I haven't even got it to plant on the street in 1st or 2nd rolling. Thanks for all the advice and tips guys, now I just have to wait until next spring to try them out.
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Jason
2002 Mustang GT 4.6L 2V 5spd. Current Mods: Mac CAI, Underdrive Pulleys, Bassani X-pipe, w/ cats, followed by Flowmaster 40's, Subframe Connectors, Tokico Adjustable Suspension, Lowered 2", Steeda Tri-Ax, Ford Racing 4.10's, Hypertech, 245-45-17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's, Raptor Shift Light, White Gauge Face Insert, Hurst White Classic Shift Knob, Saleen S351 Front Bumper Cover and Rear Spoiler Someday: Shorty Headers . . . Procharger? 14.4 @ 99 w/ significant traction issues until 3rd
What you've heard about the water is partially correct, that's why I go around and back in and shift to 2nd as soon as the tires come loose, they spin much faster and fling off the water. I've also been known to go to 3rd or 4th to show off for pictures, but haven't seen much benefit in traction, and it REALLY roasts the tires. John force can afford tons of tires, I can't. With good drag radials, if you launch at 2k, you'll probably bog down the engine and ruin your short time. 4k may hook, but a few of those on the stock driveline and torque boxes is gonna break something.
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That hunk of junk? Yeah, well I've made a few special modifications to that yellow 99 Gt, it makes the Kessel run in 12 parsecs and eats turbo japs and poops chevy's
What you've heard about the water is partially correct, that's why I go around and back in and shift to 2nd as soon as the tires come loose, they spin much faster and fling off the water. I've also been known to go to 3rd or 4th to show off for pictures, but haven't seen much benefit in traction, and it REALLY roasts the tires. John force can afford tons of tires, I can't. With good drag radials, if you launch at 2k, you'll probably bog down the engine and ruin your short time. 4k may hook, but a few of those on the stock driveline and torque boxes is gonna break something.
Yeah, I can't afford tons of tires either, I picked these up for $80 (tires and rims). If I could, I would have bought brand new Weld's and MT ET Streets . So I'm all about finding out how long to spin them so they stick without overdoing it in order to make them last. I'll probably start at 3k, see what happens, and adjust from there. I'll take a little bog over spinning like mad, but I will try to dial it in to plant and launch hard. I will say that breaking parts is the main reason I'm not even going to bother with 4k despite how awesome it would feel if the car stuck and launched that high.
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Jason
2002 Mustang GT 4.6L 2V 5spd. Current Mods: Mac CAI, Underdrive Pulleys, Bassani X-pipe, w/ cats, followed by Flowmaster 40's, Subframe Connectors, Tokico Adjustable Suspension, Lowered 2", Steeda Tri-Ax, Ford Racing 4.10's, Hypertech, 245-45-17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's, Raptor Shift Light, White Gauge Face Insert, Hurst White Classic Shift Knob, Saleen S351 Front Bumper Cover and Rear Spoiler Someday: Shorty Headers . . . Procharger? 14.4 @ 99 w/ significant traction issues until 3rd
well heres MY theory... i too plan on gettin drag radials for my car next year, 275/40/17s and i currently launch at about 5500 (just having fun not at the strip) and i intend to continue to launch at 5500... and if/when i break something, i will know its my weakest link and needs to be upgraded...
maybe i have too much faith in a ford drivetrain, but if it snaps, i just replace with something better... and depending on how much snaps, determines my budget for the project lmao
again, just my .02
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"Its not about what you can BUY, its about what you can build" anyone can buy a really cool car, but u dont ever get the satisfaction from it as you would building it yourself 1994 Mustang GT 5.0/T5 Sold 1998 Mustang GT 4.6/T45 *soon 5.4 S/C* Flows cat-back, CAI, Ford Racing 3.73 gears, Torsen Diff, short throw shifter
I go by a bit of an opposite theory, I know what the weak links are and instead of breaking I build it ahead of time to handle what I throw at it. When you wait until something breaks it tends to take other things with it that may have been fine otherwise, but to each their own. Also, my budget is limited and the car is my DD so I don't want unplanned downtime.
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That hunk of junk? Yeah, well I've made a few special modifications to that yellow 99 Gt, it makes the Kessel run in 12 parsecs and eats turbo japs and poops chevy's
ya good point racin lol mine is NOT a DD, and well i know it takes out other things with it, but thats more excuse to replace even more stuff than anticipated... after bills are paid the stang is the only thing i have to spend money on... no kids, no wife, no mortgage etc... so i just keep up with my car
i have recently managed to destroy my u-joints, so when i get the opportunity this weekend, im gonna buy a dam good pair and put em in
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"Its not about what you can BUY, its about what you can build" anyone can buy a really cool car, but u dont ever get the satisfaction from it as you would building it yourself 1994 Mustang GT 5.0/T5 Sold 1998 Mustang GT 4.6/T45 *soon 5.4 S/C* Flows cat-back, CAI, Ford Racing 3.73 gears, Torsen Diff, short throw shifter
I'm with racin' on this one. I launch at around 5000 on drag radials, but I slip the clutch a lot to avoid driveline shock and broken parts. It also helps with traction a lot. Doing that, I still destroyed the torque boxes, and have broken a stock axle before.
I knew they were both weak links and tried to avoid doing anything to destroy them, but over time, things are going to break. I'm trying to address all those things that are known as weak links right now. Most of them aren't too expensive, until you get to the 10 spline input shaft on the transmission, which is the next thing I need to replace, since everything behind that is bulletproof now, I know if I was running a strong clutch instead of the stock 11", it would already be gone. Keeping a replaceable weak link in the setup works if you're on a budget for a while, but eventually it'll have to be replaced with a stronger part also.
I fall on the conservative side of this as well. I do have faith in the Ford driveline (had a '94 LT1 T/A that never saw the strip b/c I didn't trust the stock 7.5" rearend) but my Mustang is primarily for the street with an occasional trip to the strip so I'd prefer not to break parts. In addition to the unwanted down time there isn't much money left for repairs after the mortage, student loans, other bills, etc. get paid every month (However I do envy the guys that are able to constantly improve their cars). So I'm content to run my car in a manner that hopefully doesn't expose/destroy any of the weak areas/parts even if it doesn't put down the absolute fastest number that it's capable of at the time (why I won't even bother trying to launch at 4k). That's not to say that I won't start looking for that fastest possible number when the house and student loans are paid off though .
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Jason
2002 Mustang GT 4.6L 2V 5spd. Current Mods: Mac CAI, Underdrive Pulleys, Bassani X-pipe, w/ cats, followed by Flowmaster 40's, Subframe Connectors, Tokico Adjustable Suspension, Lowered 2", Steeda Tri-Ax, Ford Racing 4.10's, Hypertech, 245-45-17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3's, Raptor Shift Light, White Gauge Face Insert, Hurst White Classic Shift Knob, Saleen S351 Front Bumper Cover and Rear Spoiler Someday: Shorty Headers . . . Procharger? 14.4 @ 99 w/ significant traction issues until 3rd
just picked up some drag radials 
, but I'll survive. However, I am tempted to get it out of storage and do a couple test launches before the permanent snow gets here 
.
. Like I said, I'd settle for 2k, but would love 3k, and can do without 4k (despite how cool it would be 
. So I'm all about finding out how long to spin them so they stick without overdoing it in order to make them last. I'll probably start at 3k, see what happens, and adjust from there. I'll take a little bog over spinning like mad, but I will try to dial it in to plant and launch hard. I will say that breaking parts is the main reason I'm not even going to bother with 4k despite how awesome it would feel if the car stuck and launched that high.
