My drag radial setup
 

Every so often I see a thread or questions on what people use for a drag radial setup.

Thought I'd post my setup. I have yet to get to the track with them, but hopefully will be there on June 4 :)

I bought a set of new MB Wheels from Vivid Racing:
18x9.5 45 offset - these were cheap, $355 for the pair with shipping!

Never dealt with them, but shipping was quick, customer service was great too.

Put on a set of 265/40/18 MT's. Here's the rub, the OEM bolts were too long (45mm) to work with these wheels, whoops. I had to buy a set of 32mm (thread length) ball seat bolts. That did the trick :)

These barely and I mean BARELY clear the calipers with no spacer. I swear, there can't be more than 2mm clearance...but all is well. I do get a very, very slight rub/grinding from the brake disk cover touching the inside of the wheel.

Onto pics:

nice setup..put 5mm spacers that should take care of it.

Tires.com had a set that nearly matches the fronts that were very inexpensive. The caliper clearance was fine and they don't scrape at all. Just like your wheels I had to use shorter ball seat lug bolts. The diameter is 18" and I too use 265/40-18 rears which is the factory size on an S600.

Ah, good deal...I ended up trimming the dust shield slightly and now everything works like a charm. Looking forward to some cooler temps and the track this Friday evening. Fingers crossed the axle stays where it's suppose to ;)

Jay

how much do they weigh? any idea?

Nope, sorry :/ But I just noticed that discount tires is having a big sale on this wheel...honestly, even if it is a heavy wheel the ability to use a 18" drag radial is much greater than any weight penalty.

Great info! How is the fender clearance?

Thanks :) Fender clearance is just about the same as the OEM wheels/tires...so far, I'm a big fan.

Sick! :zoom:

Nice set up!

Hey did you ever get to the track and test the new setup??? Without saying I'm sure you know thats been the proven setup that many people use (tire size wise). Although it seems that there is always differences it what the ideal pressure is. I ran 22-25 psi in street tires(totally different) with a best 60 ft of 1.88 1/4 in 11.34 @125.9 mph... I'd love to borrow a drag radial setup but fearful of a good hard launch.

Yeah, got the track - I realize the setup is nothing new. Just wanted to show another set of wheels and offsets people can try.

I'm still trying to sort out the right air pressure. So far, it seems >20psi is better than <20psi. Best 60' is only 1.72-1.73 thats leaving around 1200rpm with ~21-22psi. I tried leaving harder in dyno mode and blew the tires off with 18-19psi in them.

Next time I will try leaving harder and put 23-24psi in them.

My bigger issue is my horrible mph...120 :( I swear, this car will simply not make boost even with a tune.

Good to meet you today Jay.

And my thought about your mph is your car is probably pulling timing and boost because of the heat. Even with the cooling upgrade, it was still very hot out today.
I would bet anything you would get better mph's when it's just a little cooler outside....

Tires
 

What wheels did you use? It's impossible to find ones that fit the S65 unless they are custom.