I'm going to be using one of the last sets of the original 275/60R15 M/T ET Street Radials Jeg's had when The MoPig finally gets back on the track. Once those are worn out, it looks like the current replacements options are:
- M/T S/S, which has more wet-road grooves than the originals
- M/T ET Street R, which has "just enough" grooves (scratches?) more than the ET Street Pro to get DOT approval for road use
- M&H, which are an unknown quantity to me, nor do I know anyone locally using them to ask about them

Disregarding the price differences, I think my questions are:

1. How does the M/T S/S compare to the original ET Street Radial?

I know when they came out, there was a lot of controversy about them not hooking up as well. A guy I know from way back says they work the same on his car, but his small-block A-body is also close to 2 seconds slower (1/4 ET) and not an apples-to-apples comparison to a nose-heavy BB E-body.


2. How close is the M/T ET Street R to the MT ET Street Radial Pro on the track?

At least it's "legal" for the drive home, but not something I'd want to risk on any type of wet road. The original tire wasn't as horrible as I thought it was going to be driving home in the rain, but there's no delusion about the "R" being able to do that. ==> "Look, a cloud! Better pull over! "

Oh, how about life expectancy w/ real street use? The originals weren't that great, but I still gotta ask.


3. Does anyone else besides Ray Myers (sixpackgut) have experience w/ the M&Hs?

???

FWIW, I'm leaving the Hoosier and Nitto drag radials out of the discussion for different reasons, so please limit any responses to the subject tires. Thanks - Brad

Last month I got caught in the rain driving to Houston Raceway park, 130 miles on the Freeway in the rain with my M/T Street R radials, 45,50 mph no problem but not fun LOL, car got nasty, track rental was rained out, when its dry these tires hook GREAT for my junk.

I have about 2500 miles on them & they still have lots of life,barely any wear.

1

I just went window shopping today for a new pair of tires and yes, these supposed DOT tires are all now wearing the waiver on their side walls. "Not for highway use" So don't get into any trouble with them. So far, the only real DOT "for street use" are the M/T street pros.
Funny enough, my fairly recent/old Hoosier QTP's have no waiver on the sides and have the DOT signature.

On this note, the sales man told me that you can get away with using bias front runner tires while using a drag radial out back, not the other way around. How true is this?
I always thought that practice of mixing bias and radial was a no-no.

We run a bias front runner on the Polara with a Hoosier radial slick on the back and it handles fine. Never tried it the other way around.

From what I see on the M/T site the ET Street R is their only DOT "for street use" radial tire and the ET Street R Bias is rated the same. The ET Street Radial Pro is listed as " Purpose built race tire for classes requiring a P275/60R15 or P315/60R15 D.O.T. Approved radial" and "Race only, not for street use".

ET Street R
https://www.mickeythompsontires.com/drag-tires/et-street-r

ET Street R Bias
https://www.mickeythompsontires.com/drag-tires/et-street-r-bias

ET Street Radial Pro
https://www.mickeythompsontires.com/drag-tires/et-street-radial-pro

As the previous poster stated, M/T's own web site says the ET Street S/S and R are DOT approved for street use, whereas the Pro is specifically listed as not approved for street use. I found fullmetaljacket's post confusing, and contradictory to everything posted above and the S/S link below.

ET Street S/S
https://www.mickeythompsontires.com/drag-tires/et-street-s-s

I've done the same, but could feel the car reacted differently between the front and back during direction changes. Not an issue going in a straight line on the track, but noticeable in turns on the street.

FWIW, when I ran the opposite (radial front and Hoosier QT Pro bias-ply on rear), what helped was to run the front radials at a higher-than-normal pressure to reduce the sidewall flex.

Brad I just went out and checked my MT ET Street R Bias 3554 28X11.5 15LT and there are no warnings about highway use on them. Dot approved B rating. Only warning is for under inflation.

I haven't driven in the rain with them and don't plan to but I have driven on the highway without any problems except for the vibration from [censored] MT sportsman on the front.

Mike

Let me explain to the best of my ability stemming from looking at tires in person and also talking to a well versed salesman at a Speed shop. Sorry for the confusion.

I was told, but did not see this for myself that the only tires that M/T makes that are completely DOT approved with no warnings as to "Highway/street" use are their Sportsman Pros. (Sorry I previously mentioned Street Pro-but instead it is their Sportsman Pro).

I have inspected my semi worn and semi aged Hoosier QTP's and they only have DOT on them, nothing else as far as capital letter warnings.
Now with that being said, I have also seen new Hoosier QTP's in catalogs and cars and they now have the "For drag racing only" and or "Not for Highway use"
Just saying, the tires you wear out back and front may be your worst enemies in a argument of legality.

I might just spring for the Coker Pro-tracs for "Highway/Street use" and have either M/T's or Hoosier QTP's on deck on other rims for competition and call it a day.

You have to be very specific when talking about M/T's tires b/c of the way they have them named. Very easy to get them confused and there are a lot of differences in these tires.

BradH...I still have a set of the old style 295-65 ET Street radials on mine. Think they are 5+ years old and they still hook great. Bought them 2nd hand and threw em in the garage until I needed them. I'll be trying the ET Street S/S 295-65 when I wear these out. I've heard the same as you, that the new ones aren't as good, but I'll have to see myself.
Everyone around here runs the 275-60 ET Street radial Pro on anything that's fast, but I hate the way they look on my car.

Brad - I had great luck with the old et street radials on my wagon. I was a little confused about what was different with the new ones. I got the et street s/s tires. The new rubber feels softer to me than the old et street, but that could just be the more recent comparison to the bfg radial t/a's they replaced.(which btw feel like hard plastic in comparison). I might drive 1k mi per year, so not really concerned about longevity. I usually sell my cars before tires need replacing.

I put my new "old" M/Ts on 10" rims. Still have my near-worn-out "old" set on 8" rims, and they look and feel pretty dried up. Not sure if a good burnout with them would bring some "stick" back to surface, but the tread depth is below legal now anyway, and I'm not sure I'd risk driving on them to the track.

That's why I picked up the other set when I heard M/T had discontinued the original version. It was like a Black Friday sales rush on the remaining inventory; one day a seller would have 10 in stock and the next day they were ALL gone. I felt lucky I picked up the ones I did at the time.

Would still like to hear some feedback on the M&Hs, but I guess that's an indication of how unpopular(?) they are compared to M/T and Hoosier.

The M&H's work great on Ray's car, but like you, he's the only person I know that runs them.

My unimpressive g3 only 60s 1.34

That's a full tenth quicker than my junk ever 60'd...

What size rims do you use?

I have the Street R tires on my Duster and they have a DOT mark on the sidewall. I did graduate from law school but I didn't take a class in sidewall language so there might be more to it than just the DOT symbol.

10s. Think they are a 295/50 tire. I would need to check.