jsup wrote:
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Josh wrote:
JSUP, as far as traction is concerned, I think you need to get a little direction and make some choices before anyone can legitimately recommend a tire for you.

I know, this is part of my research, I'm trying to find out what I don't know.
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First, there is no super tire that will do it all. There is no tire that will yield stellar straight line traction, great all weather performance, handle the curves, and last a long time. The tire isn't out there. You need to decide how you are going to use the car, and choose a tire based on that. If you need severe multiple functions from the tire, you need 2 sets of tires.

Yep, I get that. The only reason I am driving the car in cold weather is I just got it back and wanted to run the trans. Second, we need to finish tuning it. Otherwise, it's never out under 55 Degrees. So typical use is on a warm spring/summer day in no rain.
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Also, decide on the braking system you plan to use. You keep bouncing around on wheel size, and that will affect your tire options. Once you have the brake choice made, and hence the wheel size determined, then move on to tire selection. Right now, all of us are wasting our time giving you recommendations because no one, not even you, knows what size wheel you are going to use.

I'm working on that. I will go to C5 brakes/rotors. I need to know if they will fit under my rim. There is no specific consensus on the matter. I asked Jeff if I can use a bracket to mock fit it and see. Once I know if the brakes will fit under my rim or not, THEN I will have direction. I hope they do fit, I'd like to keep the stock 17X9.5 rims. When the car is parked, it should look stock.

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I don't think you need a brake that won't fit under a 17 inch wheel. You said you mostly street drive the car, and it being an automatic I doubt you'll be storming a road course any time soon, so I really don't see the need for a brake that won't clear a 17 inch wheel, especially in the back. What size wheels are on the car now? I saw you mention something about 16's?

The C5 brakes should be adequate as I said above. I have all 17 inch rims. Standard 1990 fare.

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You mentioned that needing to upgrade the brakes was a necessity now. I assume you mean that because the car now has more power, you want better brakes. While good in theory, once you have the ability to lock the tires (or engage the ABS) at any given speed, better and more powerful brakes won't help in a panic stop situation. Repeated stops will be better because the brakes will be better able to deal with the heat build up, but stopping distances won't decrease dramatically, if at all.

Got it. That's why I'm doing all this other stuff first, like the rear. The brakes are secondary to this other stuff. Point is, I don't put a lot of miles on the car and whatever tires I get, will still be there when I do the brakes.

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Changing wheel size, (going to a 17/18 etc...) will not affect your speedometer as you implied, as long as you use the correct size tire the total diameter of the wheel/tire package should stay close enough to stock to leave the speedometer largely unaffected.

I never said anything about the speedometer.

This is how I ASSume you plan to use the car, so here is my recommendation on tires:Quote:

You will street drive the car, on nice days, less than 3,000 miles a year. It should not see rain, but it is possible. You will drag race the car a handful of times through out the year. You will not auto cross or road race the car. You are using a stock width (9.5 inch), 17 inch, rear wheel. You intend to stay with the automatic and semi-aggressive stall converter.

So far, so good.

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If all that is true, I would recommend a 275/40-17 Mickey Thompson ET street radial. Of the drag radials, it will have the most straight line traction. Wet performance is sub-par compared to a conventional street tire, however the tires will get you home with no drama if it does start to rain and you keep your head on straight.

I have come to the same conclusion. The only issue is weather or not I can fit the brakes under my rim. Now, what I don't know is if there are 17 inch rims that WILL fit the brakes, in which case, the point may be moot.

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Like all drag radials, they recover poorly once traction is lost. If they start to spin, they will not bite down without lifting the throttle. This is main difference between a drag radial like this and the bias ply tire options out there, in my opinion. An ET street, as opposed to the ET street radial, will recover traction MUCH better than the radial. However, the ET street will put you on the side of the road if it rains, and the cornering ability is next to nothing.

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know.

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I made a ton of assumptions to get to that recommendation, so it could be right on the money or off in left field, I don't really know. No one knows until we figure out what you want the tire to do, what size options are available, etc...

Well, you're pretty close.