Any experience on a road course with Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S tires

[mlplunkett]

I'm curious if the softer tread compound of these MT street/drag radials translates into a decent corner carving tire. I'm worried that the sidewall design for a drag racing tire compromises the cornering performance. All I get online is a bunch of CYA sales pitches even though they market the tire as a good street tire with great drag racing performance. Is anybody out there driving around a road course on these tires?

[Bill]

I'm curious if the softer tread compound of these MT street/drag radials translates into a decent corner carving tire. I'm worried that the sidewall design for a drag racing tire compromises the cornering performance. All I get online is a bunch of CYA sales pitches even though they market the tire as a good street tire with great drag racing performance. Is anybody out there driving around a road course on these tires?

It would be unwise to use a street/drag tire of any kind for road racing as the cornering forces that come in to play are not for the inherent soft sidewall design of the tire such as the Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S tires which you referenced and which is designed for straight line performance only.

For track use, on a road course similar to Road Atlanta, Lime Rock Park, or Watkins Glen, you would need to let us know what size tire you are planning to run, and whether your wheel wells will be rolled or radiused for anything larger than a 235/60/15.

[J_Speegle]

Would not even think of doing this for a track road course car or tires. Tires are so much more than just compound alone

[98SVT - was 06GT]

The sidewall is your enemy. When the Showroom Stock series was around they required shaved street tires. Saleen was running 60 psi in them to reduce the sidewall flex which caused overheating and failures.

[mlplunkett]

OK. I stand corrected. When I did an additional search for vintage racing tires I found recommendations for the Nitto NT 555RII. Some sites list it as a performance racing tire while others list it as a drag racing tire. Anybody got experience with the Nittos?

[Bill]

OK. I stand corrected. When I did an additional search for vintage racing tires I found recommendations for the Nitto NT 555RII. Some sites list it as a performance racing tire while others list it as a drag racing tire. Anybody got experience with the Nittos?

Same thing, it's a drag radial, it's construction is not conducive to road racing.

I'll ask again, what size rim/tire combination are you looking at?
I ask as someone who has road raced in various groups with various cars since the early 80's

[TA Coupe]

Until you give us more information, I would say, at least look into Avon Tires.

      Roy

[mlplunkett]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be evasive. I'm building an R-model tribute and the test-fit wheel/tire I have now is a 15x8 Torq Thrust D with a 265/50 tire mounted. I may have to flare the fender a bit but it's kind of a day-2 build mentality so I don't mind the idea of a slight flare. The tire I have is a a BFG T/A copy that would be fine to drive on but I'd like to have something that looks more like a racing tire just to fit the build philosophy. I have no plan to do any actual racing but I may participate in a track day event on occasion so I don't want anything that's not safe on a road course. The NT555RII reviews I looked at included a lot of corvettes, mustangs, and Japanese cars like S2000 or WRX's so I assumed they weren't all drag racers.

Just found this review on the Nitto.
https://tireadvise.com/nitto-nt555r2-review/

[Bill]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be evasive. I'm building an R-model tribute and the test-fit wheel/tire I have now is a 15x8 Torq Thrust D with a 265/50 tire mounted. I may have to flare the fender a bit but it's kind of a day-2 build mentality so I don't mind the idea of a slight flare. The tire I have is a a BFG T/A copy that would be fine to drive on but I'd like to have something that looks more like a racing tire just to fit the build philosophy. I have no plan to do any actual racing but I may participate in a track day event on occasion so I don't want anything that's not safe on a road course. The NT555RII reviews I looked at included a lot of corvettes, mustangs, and Japanese cars like S2000 or WRX's so I assumed they weren't all drag racers.

Just found this review on the Nitto.
https://tireadvise.com/nitto-nt555r2-review/

The Nitto is still considered a drag race tire by design, just saying.

Sometimes you become so focused with what is in front of you that you fail to see an alternative solution. In your cars case, with your "not a full time race car" verbiage above, might I recommend dropping down to a 225/50R15, in which case you can install a Toyo Proxes RA1 which will offer you all the grip you would ever want for the street, and afford you a high quality weekend warrior track tire. This will also allow you to leave the stock body, with perhaps a rolling of the wheel lip just to play it safe, but no need to stretch the metal out. Below is the difference in the two sizes.

225/50/15 dimensions
23.9" in diameter
8.9" of actual tire patch to the ground

vs

265/50/15 dimensions
25.4" in diameter
10.4" of actual tire patch on the ground

I have run these tires on both the street (DOT approved), and the track(passed tech with ease), although in a 17" diameter and absolutely loved them.

Just food for thought.