I had been running some nitto RA1 225-50-15's, which held the 165ish hp wonderfully. Shortly before killing that motor, I swapped the tranny out for something built for drag (002 with posi diff and close ratio gears). I don't plan on driving a bunch on the freeway, but 4,500 rpm at 60mph is not going to cut it, even just trying to get to the track. I will need larger diameter tires, and I want some for street and strip. I need them wide enough to launch the 250hp turbo engine, and also not have to worry about traction if the power increases to 300 down the road.
I have narrowed down a few tire sizes out of two tires designed for street and strip. Please let me know your opinions if you think the tire is going to be overkill. I run 3" wider fenders and have room for a couple more inch's of tire width, so I think my selections should fit, but not positive on the height.
Current:
Nitto RA1 225-50-15 - Diameter 23.86
Mickey Thomson et street SS:
235-60-15 - Diameter 26.1
255-60-15 - Diameter 27
Nitto NT555R drag radials (Will last much longer than the MT's, and are cheaper)
275-50-15 - Diameter 25.83
275-60-15 - Diameter 28
The other big factor: if my math serves me correctly, my current top speed is going to be 93ish with the nitto's I have now. If I go with the 28" tire, my new top speed will be around 110, and if I bump up to an 8k redline (will need a chip) its around 126mph with the 28" tire... But I may need to drive the car to make sure that I've seen the actual rpm and gearing correctly
Is a 275 going to look silly on a bug, and is it totally overkill? I don't want to run out of gearing at the end of the strip, nor do I want to worry about spinning tires if for some reason I end up launching on regular pavement.
If anyone has advise, opinions, or some different tire selections I'm all ears
