I had my first trip out in the E63 to the drag strip. Was chilly here, but a nice dry sunny day. Track prep was appalling - spinning through 1st and 2nd as I do on the street; it honestly felt no different in terms of traction. Best I managed was a 12.7....with a 2.3 60'. I was disappointed, but after doing some research, that's not all too bad really as I can work on that 60' (never got one better than 2.2 - ESP doing its thing as the fun police). If it got down to a 1.8/1.9, then it could be some big improvements to my ET. FYI, I was trapping between 111-115mph all day. Two other runs I got were a 12.9 and a 14.1 (tried without ESP and it just roasted tyres). Had the car in comfort mode, S mode in auto, and am running quality Yokohama Advan 007 rubber- which clearly with the stiff sidewall absolutely sucks at quarter mile racing.
So, I am now on the hunt for an LSD (Quaife/M Factory/Wavetrac) as first mod. And second will be a set of slicks/drag radials. This is my first foray into buying dedicated drag tyres though, and I am well out of my depth with fitment, tyre diameter sizing and weighing up benefits/negatives to this then affecting my final drive ratio etc etc.
My plan is to obtain a pair of wheels for the rear, that I can have slicks or DRs mounted on, and just throw them on at the track. But I am unsure what options I have as it seems a lot of the drag tyres are SUPER tall (like 28" and up) - wouldn't this "over tyre" the car, and likely kill my ETs? Also only making the already very tall gearing at 2.82 even worse?
I am currently running stock tyre diameter at 25.3". All the tyres I have seen available at something ideal like a 22" - 24" diameter (bringing that final drive down a tad to hopefully further improve times), are all for tiny rims that won't fit (i.e. 15" rims) or do come in a 16/17" size but are enormously wide; designed to fit a 10" - 13" rim. Is there going to be a big loss in performance going for a 26"/27"/28" tyre? Keeping unsprung weight low, and going for the smallest tyre that still provides full traction is the ideal route, correct?
If there are any particular brand that people can recommend for having a good selection, please let me know. I have gone through the Hoosier catalogue and they have a couple choices.
Lastly, wheel options - people on here have mentioned the 16" x 7" rims off the CLKs as they are light and fit the w211. However, as I mentioned above, is this just going to be too impractical a wheel width to then find some good rubber to fit for the drags?
So, I am now on the hunt for an LSD (Quaife/M Factory/Wavetrac) as first mod. And second will be a set of slicks/drag radials. This is my first foray into buying dedicated drag tyres though, and I am well out of my depth with fitment, tyre diameter sizing and weighing up benefits/negatives to this then affecting my final drive ratio etc etc.
My plan is to obtain a pair of wheels for the rear, that I can have slicks or DRs mounted on, and just throw them on at the track. But I am unsure what options I have as it seems a lot of the drag tyres are SUPER tall (like 28" and up) - wouldn't this "over tyre" the car, and likely kill my ETs? Also only making the already very tall gearing at 2.82 even worse?
I am currently running stock tyre diameter at 25.3". All the tyres I have seen available at something ideal like a 22" - 24" diameter (bringing that final drive down a tad to hopefully further improve times), are all for tiny rims that won't fit (i.e. 15" rims) or do come in a 16/17" size but are enormously wide; designed to fit a 10" - 13" rim. Is there going to be a big loss in performance going for a 26"/27"/28" tyre? Keeping unsprung weight low, and going for the smallest tyre that still provides full traction is the ideal route, correct?
If there are any particular brand that people can recommend for having a good selection, please let me know. I have gone through the Hoosier catalogue and they have a couple choices.
Lastly, wheel options - people on here have mentioned the 16" x 7" rims off the CLKs as they are light and fit the w211. However, as I mentioned above, is this just going to be too impractical a wheel width to then find some good rubber to fit for the drags?
