BFG G-force DR vs. Nitto 555 R

[Y-TRY]

Any opinions compare/contrasting the new BF Goodrich G-Force T/A Drag Radials vs. Nitto 555R Drag Radials?

In particular, the 18's, on 9.5" wheels

Nitto 285/35 18's, BFG 275/35 or 295/35's

Things to consider:

Tread life?
High-speed stability?
Straight-line hook-up?
Max Load? (the BFG 18's are rated for lighter load. 1201 vs. 1609, but how much do I need?)

I'm sure there will be some sort of concession between the better hooking tire and the more stable tire, but if one tire is BOTH, then let me know.

Any mags done a comparo? If so, link?

Is it really beneficial to swap to a DR?

The car is built to drive, but I don't get to as much as I'd like. I generally don't go cruising in inclement weather, but I don't want to park it under an overpass at every sign of a sprinkle. With 3.25's and Overdrive, they need to be pretty stable at 80-90mphn cruising and short supersonic passes. Very little track-time (road race), although they need to compliment the beefed-up suspension.

[USAZR1]

Just curious but why do you need a drag radial on a P-T car?

[Damn True]

The carcass on those tires will be completely inconducive to cornering.

[Steve1968LS2]

May I suggest the Nitto NT01 tire?

As sticky as the DR but made for handing.. slightly less adept at drag racing due to the stiffer sidewall but better for overall driving. Treadwear is 100 like the DR so you will not get a ton of miles out of them.

I've always been a Nitto guy.. they make good stuff but so does BFG. My guess is that both would perform about the same at the drag track (the DRs)

[OHCbird]

If the tires in those sizes are anything like the more common 275/40/17s I've used of both, the rundown for me:

BFG- Hook harder, but NOT for wet driving. They start out with less tread depth than the 555R. Treadwear? They wear out quicker, but like I said- in my case, they hooked better. I have a set of the BFG 315/35/17 DR's for my PT ride, as why try to hook up on KD's, right?

555R- Better for the occasional street ride, but still not great in the rain. Treadwear is better, but that should be expected for a slighty harder compound. The 555Rs are a little cheaper.

What are the roads like there?

[Y-TRY]

May I suggest the Nitto NT01 tire?

As sticky as the DR but made for handing.. slightly less adept at drag racing due to the stiffer sidewall but better for overall driving. Treadwear is 100 like the DR so you will not get a ton of miles out of them.

I've always been a Nitto guy.. they make good stuff but so does BFG. My guess is that both would perform about the same at the drag track (the DRs)

The NT01 looks good, also, but what about those same catagories? They also look scary in the wet, especially at all 4 corners (they look to be incompatible with regular radials on the front ?)

I'm having to look into some stickier tires because I can't keep the TA ZR's under the car with any more than 1/4 throttle. So I need all the help I can get.

All this info is good. No hurry to make a decision, so keep it coming. Any word on the new tread pattern and 18" sizes from BFG?

[Steve1968LS2]

none of them (NT01's included) are good in the rain.. that is why Nitto still makes their older style R compound tires (555RII??)

It's hard to have the best of all worlds :)

[andrewb70]

Jeff Schwartz ran Nitto Drag radial on all 4 corners during the 2002 real Street Eliminator competition on his Caddy. 275/40/17 in the front and 315/35/17 in the rear. As I recall the only car that beat him on the auto cross was the blue Trans Am that was set up for road racing and was running Hoosers.

Andrew

[Y-TRY]

There's also this little voice (of reason) in my head saying:

"If you are spinning on the ZR's, you are still going to spin rediculously on any of the Drag Radials, it will just be delayed by about 1/8th of a second. Since that is the case, and traction would still be an elusive dream, then there is no reason to sacrifice any of the stability and all-weather performance of the true street tire. If you want to launch, or stick, get a set of stickies to swap on track day."

Do you guys hear that voice, too?

[6'9"Witha69]

Heard it, heeded to it. I have a set of BFG Drag radials on 15x8 rims for the drag track. A lot is compromise.