Drag rims and tires, 18 or 17, etc..

J-Madd said:

I run 18" Bravados with MT ET Street Rs. I have heard the 17''s fit fine as well as long as you jack up the car somewhere other than the recommended lift point as to not bind them during install. The 18"s are easy to install though. My best 60' so far is 1.59 with those rears. (Only other mods are CF Driveshaft and 3.09 gears.) I don't have skinnys in the front though. I've thought about it.

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Voodoochilde said:

I am thinking about putting some either 18 or 17 inch Weld or HPP drag rims all the way around and running MT ET Street R's on the rear. I am planning on getting the shortened sway bar connectors for the rear. My questions are this. 18 or 17, any preference and why? Also, is there anyone running Welds Weld RTS S71B all the way around because I am concerned that they will not work for the front unless I go with skinny's. Has anyone ran skinny's on the car? If so, what differences or concerns did you experience. Thank you.

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dragrcr said:

You are modded so I would stay with a 305/45R18 ET STREET R on a RTS 18X10 rim. It is 1" taller and will have a longer contact patch.

You need a 1/8" spacer with a high pad to run the weld rims on front. Lots of Guys are doing it and to confirm you can call weld.
For the front you can run a 20X7.5 with 3.8 or 4.3 backspace. If you do not want to sink the tires inward I would run the 3.8 PN 71HB0075W38A 4.3 71HB0075W43A I would be sure what tire you want to run before ordering.

For the back I would run a 18X10, 6.6 backspace (+28mm) 71HB8100W66A

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Voodoochilde said:

Thank you, this is exactly the information I was looking for. Any suggestions on tires to go on the front?

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dragrcr said:

On my Hellcat I ran a Continental Extreme DW 245/45R20 on an 20X8.5 rim. That was the lightest tire in that size that would match the original tire height. You could run that tire on an 8" rim that will save a little more weight 71HB0080W38A They only make an extreme contact sport now which is essentially the same tire I think.
On tire rack web site the specs are wrong. That tire is 28.7 tall and minimum rim width is 7.5 with a measuring rim of 8" Continental ExtremeContact Sport

For that 7.5" rim I would run any of these tires. Just look at the specs and choose the lightest tire you you like the price and look. It's slightly shorter at 28.4" but should not be an issue at all.

Tires in 235/45-20

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dragrcr said:

First of all I will not believe it weighs 25 pounds unless I scale it myself or the M/T web site says so. Right now some of the specs including the weight are TBA. I suspect it is going to be 32 to 34 pounds. I cannot see it being that light, but I guess it is possible.

Roll out is not a factor for the back tires. Yes it will gear you down so that will help a stock Hellcat. If you already have the 3.09's and mods, watch out........

Yes you can put it on a 10" rim because the M/T web site says so.

For a Weld Wheel it might not work because they have too much back spacing, typically +28mm to +30mm offset. Maybe run a set of 305's and then check your clearance and compare specs. Then get a set of 325's when the 305's need to be replaced.

The 305's are the "go to" tire for most of us and that will be the first set that go on my Demon. I am trying to get Mickey Thompson to make a 325/40R18. That tire would be perfect.

The 325's will lower the effective gear ratio which will be harder to hook and they have a lot less sidewall to wrap up store energy.

If you are willing to run spacers and willing to do the wheel tub mod and you have stock gears and no mods, the 325's will make you faster for sure. Just sayin.......

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Voodoochilde said:

I ended up ordering the 305's. I found some other threads discussing the 325's and the Hoosiers. The Hoosier's looked good, but I ran into the same issue of them fitting. The last mod I need to do is the 3.09's. After that, probably build the bottom end, heads work, bigger SC, etc.. However, that's a long way off. With the mild tune its at 900 rwhp. Once the aggressive tune and possibly a 125 shot are in, the power will be up there.

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dragrcr said:

If you have that much power now you better be sure you can hook before adding the 3.09's. Otherwise they will just make it worse.

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Linda's Hell Cat said:

Part of the last build on my Hell Cat by my husband Top Cat he had HHP install the Ultralites mfg by Bogart a Top knotch company
Yes I run skinnies. This is the link for the HHP wheel page. I dont daily drive with them nut i have street driven without any issue.
Drag Wheels

My charger is used for the icons if you click on the red car you will know what I am using and you can see pictures of the whole car and how it looks with front and back.
These wheel are made upon placing an order and can take some time to mfg. But mine and Top Cats car had them first and we waited way longer than anyone else will.

I'm not sure why someone would use 17s for Drag racing we use the 18s and that's what my husband figured he wanted.Im sure somewhere he has a post on it.
But you can call HHP and ask questions or place your order directly. Let them know you are an HCForum member for any applicable discounts.
Toll Free: (888) 894-1115

The web site is a plethora of information, but order placing is best by phone.

Linda

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Voodoochilde said:

Thanks for the reply. Actually, when I talked to HHP, you and your husbands cars came up. I am going to mainly drive mine on the street, so HHP steered me to the Welds. They had concerns about the longevity of the Bogarts and if you look at their website, they strongly recommend to not use their rims for street cars.

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