Tires, MT vs GY vs Avons

[Red S/C]

I'm having a hard time deciding which tires to buy. My concern is strictly rear wheel traction. When I talked to MT they told me that they would not recommend any of their tires for a high horsepower Cobra. Roger Krause says the whole spectrum of Goodyears he sells will handle almost all the traction concerns one would have but he thinks the Avons are the best available. I overbuilt the engine and now I need tires to handle the rear wheels. I would like to hear recommendations from those of you that have actual experience with tires providing good traction. Thanks

[undy]

I'm running M/T's ET Street drag radials on mine, 315/35/17s. They do fine and are a definate plus should you have the occasion to yank a wheelie

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by undy

They do fine and are a definate plus should you have the occasion to yank a wheelie

Uhhh, ehhrrrr... you mean like this? http://208.255.159.239/wheelie.wmv

[WildBill3]

oooooooooops bet he didnt mean to get one that big!!Time to clean out the shorts...

[Silverback51]

My car came with the 255-60/15 and 275-60/15 Goodyears GT II's. I could spin them in 3rd gear if I flat footed it.

After a crap load of research I went with the Goodyear BillBoards and love them.

Been meaning to do a report on them, so I guess this is as good a place and time as any.

Rolling Resistance - Since I always push the car out of the garage, I have a pretty good idea on this. They have considerably more rolling resistance that the GT II's.

Flat Spotting - Yep, they flat spot, but within two miles they are fine. To me this is a non-issue.

Rocks - They are soft, and rocks do stick to them and get thrown around. I used a gallon of Herculiner on the inner fenderwells and I don't have to worry about rocks starring the paint.

Following Ruts - Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends on the road. My wife has a Jeep SRT/8 with the Goodyear run flats. On some roads it follows ruts worse than the Cobra. To me they are not that bad.

Balancing and Roundness - They balanced out the first try, and no out of round conditions.

Traction - Great.

My only regret was waiting as long as I did to buy them.

Hope you will be as happy with your decision, whatever it may be, as I am.

[Berg]

crazy vid... got to hand it to that guy, pretty amazing recovery all things considered.

[Red S/C]

If you are running MT Drag Radials on the back what are you using on the front?

[D-CEL]

I think this topic is in the top ten somewhere behind "Big Block vs Small block"
lol.
Ive been running the MT Drag radials for several years now, and cant say anything bad. I run 275/50's on the front and 325/50's on the back. they do everything I ask of them very well.
I recommend them every chance i get.
I do agree that the Billboards are the best looking Cobra tire. But I prefer the way a radial tire works.

Jason

[David Kirkham]

We love the new Avons for the street.

David

[RedBarchetta]

Originally Posted by Red S/C

If you are running MT Drag Radials on the back what are you using on the front?

D-Cel convinced me to run on all four corners and I haven't been disappointed. Just make sure you pump them up to between 28-32 psi (to keep the sidewalls stiff and prevent them from rolling over) and the car corners great. I run the 255/60's (I recall) in the front with the 325/50's (on 10.5" widened rims) in the back and no problems. Grips like mad.

-Dean #747

[RICK LAKE]

Red SC Red if you are running 600HP it doesn't matter what tire is on the back. Even slicks will have to be screwed to the rims. You have a light car and BIG HP. Your rear suspension has alot to do with your traction issues. Not sure which car you have but to start with, a 4 link setup or watts is needed to control a rearend like a Jag or IRS. Solid rearend like 9" needs the same thing. Shocks and spring rate are very important for weight transfer and getting the tires to slick to the road. You need to video your car taking off. The car needs to be on a level ground. The correct air pressures are also key to this problem solving. The rearend should squat about 1- 1.5"'s and leave without and tire slipping. A couple of guys are very happy with the Avons. You may also want to look at 17" wheels and tires if you have the room. Any cobra with 500HP or better can blow the tires off the back of the car without to much problem, the trick is getting it to hook all the time.

[RalphSchmalph]

It's been a long time since I drove a car with bias ply tires. How does a high performance car handle without radials? I agree that Billboards look great, but wouldn't radials handle a lot better in just about every situation?

[Red S/C]

Thanks Rick, we've had four different springs and two different shocks on the back. It's an IRS with a 9'' Ford pumpkin. We're getting close. I just bought some Blue streaks to play with and I've got a set of M&H rears I'm going to try.

[Excaliber]

Good call Rick Lake, and it's not always 'just horse power', gearing is also a major factor when it comes to tire slippage. My old Excal, STOCK 302, ultra low 1st gear 5 speed with a 3.5 rear was more 'squirrly' than my ERA with easily twice the horse power! In both cases I HAD to get the best traction tires I could find just to stay on the road. The ERA gearing is much higher than the Excal and that alone is a huge factor in putting the power to the ground.

I'm ready for some new sneakers myself. I've seen David K. mention those Avons several times. I sure love the Bill Boards, but am considering the Avon's (I feel all dirty somehow having said that...) I'm still not convinced drag radials are the way to go as far as a good road course choice though, but admit, I've never tried 'em.