Drag racing experience - 15 or 17 inch rear wheels?

Hello Everyone,
I am a new member, but I have owned my 2012 GT Premium since June of 2011. I ordered the car with the 3:73 rear end and the MT82. I have enjoyed the car for years on the street, but I want to spend some time running at "Test & Tune" events, AKA "Street Nights" at New England Dragway. The car is essentially stock with 59,000 miles on it. The only things that I have added are the Barton Two Post shift bracket and a Ford oil separator on the passenger side ( In retrospect, I know that may not have been money well spent).
I have done a fair amount of research and reading through various threads, but I was hoping to get some feedback on a wheel size/tire size choice. I know that for serious racing, bias ply tires are recommended for manual transmissions, but I am going to drive this car 90 miles to the track and that requires DOT approved tires. I apologize for the long introduction and I will get to the point.

Given a choice between the following, what would experience suggest as the better route.
1. Race Star 92 Drag Star Polished Wheel; Rear Only; 15x8; Direct Drill with Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S Tire(275/60R15)
2. Forgestar D5 Drag Black Machined Wheel; Rear Only; 17x10 with Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S Tire(305/45R17)
Neither of these configurations are supposed to require any modifications, and I wasn't planning any driveline modifications. I was leaning toward the 15 inch based on the taller sidewall, but if someone has had better luck with a shorter and wider tire, please comment.

The car came with the Ford Performance rear lower control arms because it was a manual transmission, and I have not experienced and wheel hop under heavy acceleration, just a lot of tire spin on the stock 235/50R18 sized tires. Currently the tires are Goodyear Eagle Sport AS.
My goal here is to make some high 12 second passes, which seems reasonable for a stock car with decent traction. I know the most improvement to be had, initially, is in the driver's seat and I suspect that on street tires, mid 13s are more likely. I learned to "lower my expectations" after taking my other car, a 2021 Dodge Challenger RT Scat Pack to the track in Florida. Given the all season Pirelli tires and M6 transmission, I haven't done better than 13.64 ET, even after 40 passes. I never thought I would take the car to the track, but once I did, it was hard to stop. I know that automatics are really the way to go for a number of reasons if you are serious about bracket racing, etc., but I am an old guy and I still like to shift.
If I have violated any forum etiquette by not posting this correctly, I apologize.

I believe the 15" rim will require a rear swaybar relocation kit.
It did on my 2011.
But I'm running wider than 8" rim

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2011/5.0 said:

I believe the 15" rim will require a rear swaybar relocation kit.
It did on my 2011.
But I'm running wider than 8" rim

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Thanks for the reply! I checked with Race Star and they claim that the 15"x8" rim does not require any modifications. They did not mention the maximum width threshold before modifications are required. To your point, however, they did state that the 15"x10" rims would require the sway bar relocation kit.

What wheel and tire sizes are you using on the rear? Looks like you have done some serious work to your car.

Why not use drag radials which are DOT approved?

JC SSP said:

Why not use drag radials which are DOT approved?

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I thought DR's and stock manual tran's were not a good combo from the shock?

JC SSP said:

Why not use drag radials which are DOT approved?

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I will be driving the car 90 miles to the track on the drag radials.

OX1 said:

I thought DR's and stock manual tran's were not a good combo from the shock?

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You're right, for manual transmissions, bias ply tires are recommended for serious racing, but I need to drive to the track, 90 miles, each way. I don't want to run bias plies on all four corners.

That's why I was leaning toward the 15" wheels, as they have more sidewall. I am just a "Test and Tune" guy and I will retain the stock drivetrain. I just wanted to get enough traction to get into the high 12's. I don't expect to launch at more than 3000 RPM, and I may be "rolling on" the throttle and or briefly riding the clutch to get a decent (relative to a stock car) launch and 60ft time.

This is news to me… my little fox 5.0L coupe has been on drag radials for years and I have never had any issues.

JC SSP said:

This is news to me… my little fox 5.0L coupe has been on drag radials for years and I have never had any issues.

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Can you tell me more about that? Manual transmission? Rear axle ratio? Wheel and tire size? Thanks!

T-5 liberty pro shifted 3 and 4 gears, center force clutch, 3:73 with Auburn pro and 31 spline Moser axles. 255/50-16 BF Goodrich drag radials. 11:50 at 118mph all day long on motor. Car weight is 2950. X-FHP interceptor.

The Fox Bodies were always a great looking race platform. Nice ET/trap speed, and getting that with 255/50-16 tires shows that you have built a system of components that work quite well together. 2950 is a nice, trim weight.

Red-Candy-Metallic said:

You're right, for manual transmissions, bias ply tires are recommended for serious racing, but I need to drive to the track, 90 miles, each way. I don't want to run bias plies on all four corners.

That's why I was leaning toward the 15" wheels, as they have more sidewall. I am just a "Test and Tune" guy and I will retain the stock drivetrain. I just wanted to get enough traction to get into the high 12's. I don't expect to launch at more than 3000 RPM, and I may be "rolling on" the throttle and or briefly riding the clutch to get a decent (relative to a stock car) launch and 60ft time.

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I'm auto, but I ran a best of 12.74 on my stock (power wise) 14 with a 295 NT05 (18's) non drag radial (I did also have the Roush upper/lower arms IIRC, but it's not like they did anything for a good 60'). It was also my first pass ever with that car and the 60' was pretty bad (even my second pass with a 2.02 60, I still ran 12.8's). I just relooked at my times, heck even squeaked into the 12's with a 2.144 60, HAHA~~

So, I don't see why high 12's would not be pretty easy in any coyote stang, but I never drove (or raced) a manual. I did have the ATCO mod (which seems to add a tenth or two over anywhere else, especially in the fall)!

OX1 said:

I'm auto, but I ran a best of 12.74 on my stock (power wise) 14 with a 295 NT05 (18's) non drag radial (I did also have the Roush upper/lower arms IIRC, but it's not like they did anything for a good 60'). It was also my first pass ever with that car and the 60' was pretty bad (even my second pass with a 2.02 60, I still ran 12.8's). I just relooked at my times, heck even squeaked into the 12's with a 2.144 60, HAHA~~

So, I don't see why high 12's would not be pretty easy in any coyote stang, but I never drove (or raced) a manual. I did have the ATCO mod (which seems to add a tenth or two over anywhere else, especially in the fall)!

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Thanks for posting these slips! Your results are encouraging. Most of what I have read tells me that getting a good (no spinning launch) from the MT82 and the 3:73 rear end will be a challenge, but I am hopeful that I will figure it out. Now if the weather ever cooperates at New England Dragway for Street Nights, I may get the chance to find out.

FWIW, I drove my 2007 with Hoosier drag radials and skinnies on the street a few times. Always wore them to the track, but the track was only 15 miles away. Forgot to swap them out one Sunday after a Saturday night event. I drove 35 miles to work, parked inside the Motiva gates, and didn't realize I was running on slicks until I was getting ready to leave that evening. I've tried selling my latest set multiple times but every potential buyer has been across the country. When I was in Texas a guy in Massachusetts wanted them, when I was in Oregon a guy in Texas wanted them. Now I'm in CT and I fully expect someone in California to want them.

I see a bent axle tube or broken MT82 in your future if you plan on launching it hard. You can drive on bias plys if the weather is decent, just air them up. Or get yourself a small trailer to carry the things needed for when you break.

With my tire selection I doubt I'll break it. I got the smallest 16" DR I could get for the sole purpose of not getting dead hook at 5500. They won't hold a launch over 3700. With the 4.10 gears the car overcomes the light launch immediately.
I've driven many, many miles on true slicks. Only broken part I've suffered was busting spiders on a two pin 9" diff. Different car, different era. Nothing a 6013 couldn't fix.

jewc75 said:

I see a bent axle tube or broken MT82 in your future if you plan on launching it hard. You can drive on bias plys if the weather is decent, just air them up. Or get yourself a small trailer to carry the things needed for when you break.

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I asked for feedback and I appreciate your response, regardless of whether or not it was the response I was hoping for. Thanks for being blunt. The weather in New England can be somewhat unpredictable, and that is one of my bigger concerns, getting caught in the rain.

Maybe I'm kidding myself, but I was trying to get enough traction to achieve some high 12s, perhaps even a 1.9 60'. I thought that with 15x8 inch wheels and MT 275/60R15 ET SS tires it would be possible to get there on a 2500-3000 RPM launch. I didn't intend to dump the clutch either, but rather ride it for a moment before full engagement and full throttle. I am only a Test & Tune guy, but I know the laws of physics don't discriminate when it comes to broken parts. The track in 90 miles from me, all highway.

MrBhp said:

With my tire selection I doubt I'll break it. I got the smallest 16" DR I could get for the sole purpose of not getting dead hook at 5500. They won't hold a launch over 3700. With the 4.10 gears the car overcomes the light launch immediately.
I've driven many, many miles on true slicks. Only broken part I've suffered was busting spiders on a two pin 9" diff. Different car, different era. Nothing a 6013 couldn't fix.

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As a former welder, I can appreciate the 6013 reference.

I don't think I would drive that far to a track and run on sticky tires. A lot of tracks will put you in the marbles if you're running anything with tread. Which equals hop, shake, and spin. Which equals broke parts. If you run slicks, even DR's, then of course you risk an unexpected dead hook and breakage. It's doubtful that's going to happen but I have found the further I drive to race the more likely I'm going to break something at the race. Several of my friends were loading their trunk with tires and tools and driving to Houston Raceway Park. About a 200 mile round-trip. They would change tires at the track and leave their street setup in a pile in the pits. One friend was doing this with a 10 second camaro. Seemed risky but when you want to race, you want to race. Another buddy, a bit crazier than most of us, would ride his Buell box racer to the same track, wheelie bars tied to the side of the bike, run low 9's, and ride back home. When there's a will, and a large set of brass balls, there's a way.

I guess I am with your crazy friends. I have never trailered my car or changed tires at the track. Race what you brought! I have yet to have a substantial failure that has caused me to tow any of my cars home from the track.

All my setups are street/strip. What I have noticed in my many many years of racing is the more ragged edge or heavily modified a car is the more prone they are to break.

I prefer to run mid 11 on motor all day every time, than run 10 or 9 and break something that will sideline me and not make the car drivable.

I briefly had a twin stage NOS on my car which I went back down to a single stage. Not because the motor wouldn’t hold it, but more the traction and durability of going down the track/street power shifting gears when I needed to get on it.