I am looking into a new set of "sticky" street tires for my 70 Challenger and I was reading about the ET Street SS tires from MT.
I am curious if any of you are using these on a street car because they come in a few of the popular 15" sizes. I don't normally drive in the rain and I want something with more grip than my current Indy 500's. I am mainly looking for a sticky rear tire but if the same series tire will work in the front, then I would want to match the set. This is the info from the websight:

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/strip.php?item=ETStreetSS

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 while little or no burnout required.
Tubeless construction provides lead-free seal without the expense and hassle of tubes.

Would these be a good choice for a weekend cruiser that needs more rear tire traction in dry weather? Would these work as a front tire too or should I choose another style for the front and just turn the white letters inward?

I am leaning away from the standard BFG's and Coopers that are available mainly because I need a better dry weather traction tire.

Thanks

These will be the same sort of thing that the old MT ET Street tires are. Softer so more dry track grip but on the down side they are more $$$ and they start with about half the tread depth of a normal street radial. So softer, less tread, less miles and more money, I stopped buying the MT version.

Oz,
The street mileage is one of my concerns. I do not use it as a daily driver, and I don't drive the car long distances at a time. Depending on the driver, mileage may differ. I need to check my notes to see what my average driving miles is per year.

Thank you for your reply!!
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I emailed M/T and got these replies:

""Yes, the S/S in the rear would be perfect for the set up and what you are looking to do. For the Sportsman S/T would be a good choice for the front we also have the Sportsman S/R tire in the 26x10R15 that would be the equivalent size to the 245/60R15 that would also be a good option for the front tire.""

- It appears that the SS Street Radial is recommended as a rear tire only. I would need to choose one of the Sportsman series tires for the front.

""Run about 32 psi for street use with the S/S and start around 16 psi at the track and work up from there. You want as much air pressure as possible without wheel spin at the track. You are looking only about 6,000 miles out of the S/S because it is such a soft compound. There is no speed rating on the S/S tire, they are drag strip rated so anything in a 1/4 mile or less it can handle we have racers pushing 200 mph no problem. Anything a 1/2 mile or more, 85 mph is what we recommend for extended travel (cruising) with the S/S tires.""


Anyone running these on a street car?

Thanks

I used them on my daily driver for years. Zero issues even in rain. Didn't drive like an idiot though. '03 Cobra w/ 615 rwhp.

I just took some sportsman bias-ply front tires off the front of my Duster, they were horrible, followed every little crack in the road.
I replaced them with M/T skinny 26" front radials and the car drives 10 times nicer now.

I was looking at the Sportsman S/T or the S/R radials for the front.
Thank you both for your replies!

Gotcha

""ET Street SS tires from MT""

Any more experience or feedback on these tires?

I need to buy new tires this Winter that will give me better rear traction on the street. Since I am running 15" wheels, I am limited to only a hand full of brands.
I don't drive the car in the rain and my current Indy 500's are getting too old and have very limited traction off idle during spirited driving.
I am still considering the SS Street P255/60R15's for the rear (currently running same size in the Indy 500's on 7" wheels) and thinking possibly the ST's for the front.

OR,

is the SS Street too much of a race tire for a street car?

Because I am also thinking of buying 8" wheels for the rear and putting P295/50R15's on the rear (already measured one and it will fit) and using the MT ST tires both front and rear and keep the RWL look. I like the look of the existing P255 tire on the rear but if I stay with a all season type of tire, then I may choose stuff the widest rear tire that will fit (P295) and hope for the best traction. This is why I already have the Viking double adjustable shocks on the rear and will hopefully get them for the front this Winter too.

Thanks

Thanks

i could have sworn that you and i had a pm exchange about the Sportsman S/R radial. at any rate i bought them 29x15x15 and i'm pretty pleased with them. i run about 18lbs so as to hit as much rubber as i can. i still have to redo my rear suspension so right now it's pretty easy to 'light 'em up' but once i can ditch the air shocks i'll be alright.

it's my understanding that the 'sticky' tires have horrible tread life on the street and aren't recommended for mostly street usage.

I had a set of the Sportsman S/R Radials crack right up tread pattern. These only had 1,600 miles on them. When MT saw the pics, they said "don't drive on those".

Also, even though mine were big (31x18.5) they were hard as hockey pucks and spun like crazy.

My MT Drag Radials are 3 years old and are old enough to only have 2 rain grooves. They are worn out now and will need replaced shortly.

The decision whether to run Drag Radials or not is really a simple one. Depending on the HP and Torque level and just how much time is spent at hiway speed.

Regular street tires on my Cuda are like driving on grease anytime I put the throttle down, but can last 5 or 6 years of driving. That's with the regular burn out and driving 1,000+ miles a season.

Drag Radials will hold the car enough on the street to use a fair amount of it's power in 1st and will last about 3 years. I can run 70MPH for a reasonable amount of time, which for me is an hour or so. This is the combo I very much prefer.

I finally got my buddy, who has a Viper, to put Drag Radials on it. It is a different car! He doesn't have to wait until 50MPH or so to jump on it like he did with the OE street tires.

Shorter life VS more fun. Your choice.

Thanks for the replies.
My driving is mostly 70mph highway (short cruises) or 45-60mph cruising town to town with some spirited starts and WOT blasts here and there. I do not drive in the rain due to the current old/hard tire condition. I am not a curvy road type of guy and I am tired of blowing the tires away at a dead stop. In the last three years, I have shown an average of 800 miles per year. The car is more dependable now than it was three years ago and I want to start driving it more frequently. But my main concern right now is new tires over the Winter.
MT told me that the ET Streets would be good for about 6k street miles which would fit my current driving pattern. I am tired of the no traction from my old BFG,s and now my old Indy 500's. I am guessing that if I stuff a P295 under the rear with the SR or ST tire, or even a Cooper Cobra, that I might have the same traction issue. Either one should be good for a front tire but the ST's and Cobras are way less money.
I do like the idea of the MT Streets (P255's) on my existing 7" wheels though.


Can anyone give some experience with the Streets at highway speeds and approximate miles out of a pair?

Note: MT said that they suggest any one hour or more cruises with the Streets should not exceed 85mph.

Thanks everyone!

I'm running them on 4 of my cars with no problem. My mostly daily driver, work car is a 64 Riviera with 3.07 gears and a gearvendors unit. I run 65-70 for about 1/2" at a time with no problem with a slight shudder at 70 buts thats not bad because I didn't balance them. I got about 2000 miles on them now and they still look great. I'm running 295/55/15's on 3 of my cars including the Riv. which are about 28" tall. I like a little more sidewall.

Check out McCormick racing for a better price than Summit with free shipping and no tax.

I'm running M/t s/r 255/60/15's up front

Here's a rear shot

Rapom,
Great info and thanks for the reply!!

EDIT: What psi do yo run on the street?

Have them on my car, love the way it drives on the street compared to slicks, only have 1/4 the wheel spin I would have if I had bfg radial ta's, used to run slicks on the street which I liked because I have no wheel spin from, but the downside was the rear wandering all over the place and they lasted maybe 2yrs if lucky and that's hardly any miles.

CR:
What psi/size do you run on the street?

Thanks for the reply!

Any pictures?

I run about 24 PSI on the street. I wasn't getting a good contact patch at 28 psi Here they are on my charger which doesn't get driven quite as often.

275/60/15 20 on street, and a little less at track.

Rapom (24psi P295 15R15):
Crlush (20psi P275 60/15):

Do either one of you feel any looseness in the tires at highway speeds with the 24/20psi?
The reason that I ask is that the MT Tech told me to run 32psi on the street to keep them stable. But then he suggested 16psi at the track and he knows that people are running 200mph with them too. 32psi just seems high for P255's and my current P255's have 25psi in them.

Thanks guys!