Justin Keith, founder of Streetcar Takeover and owner of Killer Performance in Kansas City, Missouri, stepped up to show us what it takes to have a great day at the drag strip with Nitto NT555RII drag radials. He brought his 2019 Corvette ZR1 to World Wide Technology Raceway and dove into the four basic steps to get the best launches possible on Nitto NT555RII DOT-compliant drag radials.
For more info on NT555RII tires, check them out at www.nittotire.com/competition...
0:00 Intro + Justin's ZR1 is tuned and tested at 752 horsepower
0:41 About Nitto NT555RII Drag Radials
Nitto’s new D.O.T. compliant drag radial tires are great for daily driving and they're also awesome on the track, plus they're designed to match the look and tread pattern of the NT555 G2 street tire for the front wheels. More good news is that you don't have to change wheels to run at the track, but you do need to play with the tire pressure to get the most traction out of the tire.
1:27 Identify the Drag Strip Surface
The first consideration for drag racing tires is, of course, the surface. Usually, there are run two basic types of track preparation: first, there's radial prep for specialty events; (which is typical at Street Car Takeover). Radial prep tracks are very sticky and almost look wet when viewed from the horizon. The second type is test-and-tune prep tracks. They have a flatter/duller look because they're not so heavily prepped as radial prepared surfaces. You also use different strategies for racing on both surfaces. More on that later.
2:26 Ideal Drag Radial Tire Pressure
Tailoring your tire pressure to the driving surface can make a huge difference at the strip. To maximize traction at the drag strip, Justin gets his best results with the NT555R2 at 18-20 PSI on a good, radial prepped track. On a test-and-tune or no-prep strip, you'll want to drop the pressure into the 13-16 PSI range. When you get to the track, start at 20 PSI and scale down to what works best for those particular surface conditions.
Once you've made a few runs, take a look at your tire wear. It should be even across the width of the tire. If it's wearing more on the outside and not so much on the center, your pressure may be too low. Just bump it up a few PSI and your tires will respond in kind. On the other hand, if you're getting more wear in the center than on the outside, your pressure is running too high and you'll want to drop it down the PSI down a bit. Regardless, once the tire pressure is dialed in, you should have good consistent launches down the strip.
3:51 Should you Run a Beadlock Wheel at the Dragstrip?
As Justin points out, there's some debate over using a bead lock for drag racing. He recommends chalk testing. Put a line of chalk on your wheel and line it up with your tire. Make a pass, then see if the two are still lined up. If not, you have some slippage going on and you may need a bead lock at some point in the future.
4:53 The Right Amount of Burnout
Now that the tire pressure is all set, let's move on to the fun part: melting rubber in a flurry of friction. On a new set of NT555RII tires, starting out with a good, solid burnout is a good idea. Justin prefers pulling through the water box, hit a good burnout, then roll forward from first gear into second, and roll out of it as he's letting off the throttle. When you roll out, listen for the tires to make a chirping sound. It tells you that the tires are cleaned off and ready to rock.
Resist the strong urge to bust out too big of a burnout, though. Having said that, bigger burnouts are a good plan at a no-prep/test-and-tune strip where the surface is less sticky.
6:42 Get the Best Launch
Here's where the rubber actually meets the road. Or in this case, the strip. Everything we've talked about sets the stage for a good launch. On higher horsepower rides, like Justin's, you want to roll the throttle soft at first, until you feel the tires hook up. That's when you give them all the power you've got. For cars running lower horsepower (400-500 hp), nail it off the line, my friend. Those tires will hook right away and send you down the line just like you want.
Visit www.nittotire.com/competition... for more info on the NT555RII DOT-Compliant competition drag radial.