best DOT drag tire for a manual

I have been doing a lot of reading and it seems most people say the drag radials are not great for manual trans. The common consensus is go with a bias ply for manuals. But the caveat is I want to keep this car on the street, and then i read the bias ply tires are not to be mixed with a radial up front.


Little help on what is a good tire for manual trans 4 speed big block street car that will hit the track. I want to pull some decent 60's no 2.0's

The common consensus needs an update. Install a ClutchTamer or Hitmaster clutch hit controller if you want a good 60' out of radials, M/T ET Street S/S would be my choice for street/strip.

Grant

I’ll chime in because you only have 1 response here, but I’m an auto, so take my info however you want. It’s real world drag strip info.
I’ve run Hoosier QTP bias for over two decades. And as tire technology evolved (radials, etc), and people posted faster 60 ft etc on radials, I greedily thought that was the way.
Man did I waffle, back and forth, reading this post and that. But in the end, I stuck with the QTPs. Because at 3900 lbs, only being able to fit a 27 x 10.5/15 tire, and launching at 5100 rpm (remember I’m automatic), the QTP gets the job done. Every time. In every condition. Period.

I’ve run a radial front in every pass with those QTPs. At the strip, your rear will *sway* slightly accelerating, but once you’re used to it, you get comfortable. Not for everyone, but with almost 200 passes, I think I’m good.

On the street, the aforementioned feeling goes away like anything else. I run the same tire combo on the street, just airing up the rears more, which helps.

Hope this shakes the tree, so,to,speak, and gets more answers for you. Positive or negative, it’s all just helping you make a decision.

thank you for that. I have been thinking I will go do drag radial and hope for the best. Hope that I don't start breaking parts. My thought is the car will be on the street more than the track so the radials may be the best bet for MY application.

I am looking at a set of MT ET street 325 /50/15. The front will be bfgoodrich something or other...


I will look at the bias ply tires a bit more before i pull the trigger

I wouldn't try making a radial tires work well on a stick shift car at the track, none of the NHRA stick shift cars are running them as far as I know
I would and have ran the M/T ET Street bias ply on my old pump gas Duster that ran 10.40 at 127 b+ MPH cork up with the air cleaner and full exhaust on the car weighing 3450 lbs. with me in it, the same size ET Street Radials was around .15 quicker and almost .5 MPH faster in the 1/4 mile on a good track, not worth a hoot on a bad track
Test, test and test some more

NHRA's A/S at last year's US Nationals was won on radials

I've got many NMRA customers in the 10.0@132 zone that are required to run diaphragm clutch and bias slicks in class, but switch to radials for non-class events. Since they are already dead hooking a 10.5 bias tire with a ClutchTamer, radials for them is usually as easy as just switching tires.

Grant

Call M/T and ask them. They came out with new ET Streets that are Bias Ply, but i would ask them for a recommendation on what the best tire would be to use

I will say I used to run Hoosier QTP bias tires on my 63 and its a street car so I run radials up front. Now it is an auto but I decided to try the Hoosier 30 x 9 radial slicks and do I love them. I drive on the street on them all the time also and the one big difference is the car just drives better and goes straight without any wondering on the top end that it did some when the bias QTP tires were on it. And the radials always hook good for me. Granted its only a 10.70 car but its so much nicer to drive with radials on all 4 corners. Good luck with yours as I have heard most stick guys do use bias tires. Ron

You aren't going to like radials. You dead hook, or, more often than not, blow through them. Wasted run.
I'm running the M/T ET street bias, hook up great!! (you get used to the bias/radial wiggle).

^^^^THIS^^^^

M/T is likely going to recommend bias for a DOT clutch car, here's the description from their website...

ET STREET® R BIAS
BIAS PLY STREET LEGAL DRAG TIRE
ET Street R bias ply from Mickey Thompson is a D.O.T street legal drag tire with proven race compounds and incredible traction.
D.O.T. approved for street use
Latest ET Drag technology to provide the ultimate traction for clutch applications
Minimal tread void for dry traction

Here's the radial description...

ET STREET® S/S
STREET TIRE FOR THE DRAG STRIP
A street tire that can be driven on the track, the ET Street S/S from Mickey Thompson is a high performance street to strip tire with radial construction.
D.O.T. approved for street use
Equivalent tread void as the ET Street Radial II, redistributed for improved hydroplane resistance while providing plenty of tread contact for excellent dry traction
Proven R2 compound, the same proven compound used on the quickest “drag radials” on the planet provides superior traction at the strip with little or no burnout required
Tubeless construction provides leak-free seal without the expense and hassle of tubes

There's also a cost consideration for bias vs radial...
...ET Street Bias in a 28" size are around $244 - $266 each and require a $75 tube. Add the cost of an extra set of rims if you want radials on the street and bias for the track.
...ET Street Radial in a 28" size are around $229 each, no tubes required.

For the basic $200 difference between the two, you can buy a clutch hit controller for the radials and enjoy superior fuel economy/stability on the street, also better mph/stability/consistency on the track.

Grant