Anyone running bfg radial t/a’s on the front? How do they ride?

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I'm running 205/70R14 on the front, 225/70R14 on the back behind a built-up 273/A833 combo - considerably better ride and handling than the factory 13"'s that were on it when I bought it. I don't worry too much about smoking them - I appreciate the 12% improvement in my gas consumption
 
4spdragtop said:
Yep! Wet driving is an adventure for sure!
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What have you observed in the rain?

They sure look like they would have poor hydroplane resistance just based on the tread pattern...but it's not until you try them out in the rain that you know for sure. As long as I don't get caught in an unexpected storm with the Dart, I may never find out for myself :D

cannucky said:
I run the Nitto NT555R in a 275/60/15 on 15x8 with a 4.5 backspace now . Modern drag radial traction and a better wet rating than the T/A , The 410 will still roast em on demand but they are very drivable when you don't use the throttle as an off/on switch lol.
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Yeah...for slicks/drag radials, it seems like you can still get by pretty well with the 15" size. The problem is for those of us who have fantasies of driving the Tail of the Dragon or some other curvy roads without holding up traffic. :D
 
the nittos are sold as a drag radial but I drive em cross country through the mountains and they hold real nice even in torrential rains , I got caught twice in really bad rain and they never missed a beat at highway speeds twisting through the rockies in a line of semis .
 
I travelled in some pretty heavy rain and shitty weather for 5-6 hr stretches sometimes. Highway 401 in rain beside transports....60 mph max then hydroplane As I mentioned suspension is in excellent shape but old technology lol
MRGTX said:
What have you observed in the rain?

They sure look like they would have poor hydroplane resistance just based on the tread pattern...but it's not until you try them out in the rain that you know for sure. As long as I don't get caught in an unexpected storm with the Dart, I may never find out for myself :D



Yeah...for slicks/drag radials, it seems like you can still get by pretty well with the 15" size. The problem is for those of us who have fantasies of driving the Tail of the Dragon or some other curvy roads without holding up traffic. :D
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71DodgeDemon340 said:
Ummm i wouldnt say a 400 horse 340 is limited power. They are 275/60R15’s and they spin for about 15-20 feet and hook and go, idk maybe i have a ideal rear suspension setup. I can make em roast if i really get into it but at 4k they spin but not tire smoking. it gets a pretty predictable launch. Also depends on rear gear. Im only running a 3:55:1
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Well I for one, want to know more. Cuz my 295BFG T/As spin if I just rev the engine a lil in Neutral. If I tickle the clutch, those "hockey-pucks" are begging for mercy right away, And if I let 'em have the whole clutch, and like 50% of the Primaries,lol,they are gonna light up and then they won't stop spinning until 70,or more mph.
So please; what kind if traction aider are you using, cuz I want one. I have money.
My car goes 93 in the 1/8 at 3467#, and Mr Wallace Calculator says that is a tic over 400hp. I want to better my 60ft from mid 2.2xs. Heck, I want to lift the front wheels on concrete with my 3.55 x 3.09 starter gear.
What's your secret? Spill it man!

But honestly once you learn to master these skills; under-steer, over steer, throttle steer, brake steer, out of control so make a choice brakes or gas steer, steering while going backwards, steering while headed for the median, steering while airborn,steering while sliding, steering while going sideways, counter-steering and simultaneously standing on the throttle, Full left/full right,on the gas then off, then brakes all locked up wait for it to come around while centering the steering, then on the gas hard again steering, ...after that the BFGs are pretty good. I like 'em; I think they just might be the most fun you can have, after the honey-moon is over.
 
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AJ/FormS said:
Well I for one, want to know more. Cuz my 295BFG T/As spin if I just rev the engine a lil in Neutral. If I tickle the clutch, those "hockey-pucks" are begging for mercy right away, And if I let 'em have the whole clutch, and like 50% of the Primaries,lol,they are gonna light up and then they won't stop spinning until 70,or more mph.
So please; what kind if traction aider are you using, cuz I want one. I have money.
My car goes 93 in the 1/8 at 3467#, and Mr Wallace Calculator says that is a tic over 400hp. I want to better my 60ft from mid 2.2xs. Heck, I want to lift the front wheels on concrete with my 3.55 x 3.09 starter gear.
What's your secret? Spill it man!

But honestly once you learn to master these skills; under-steer, over steer, throttle steer, brake steer, out of control so make a choice brakes or gas steer, steering while going backwards, steering while headed for the median, steering while airborn,steering while sliding, steering while going sideways, counter-steering and simultaneously standing on the throttle, Full left/full right,on the gas then off, then brakes all locked up wait for it to come around while centering the steering, then on the gas hard again steering, ...after that the BFGs are pretty good.
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:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
AJ/FormS said:
Well I for one, want to know more. Cuz my 295BFG T/As spin if I just rev the engine a lil in Neutral. If I tickle the clutch, those "hockey-pucks" are begging for mercy right away, And if I let 'em have the whole clutch, and like 50% of the Primaries,lol,they are gonna light up and then they won't stop spinning until 70,or more mph.
So please; what kind if traction aider are you using, cuz I want one. I have money.
My car goes 93 in the 1/8 at 3467#, and Mr Wallace Calculator says that is a tic over 400hp. I want to better my 60ft from mid 2.2xs. Heck, I want to lift the front wheels on concrete with my 3.55 x 3.09 starter gear.
What's your secret? Spill it man!

But honestly once you learn to master these skills; under-steer, over steer, throttle steer, brake steer, out of control so make a choice brakes or gas steer, steering while going backwards, steering while headed for the median, steering while airborn,steering while sliding, steering while going sideways, counter-steering and simultaneously standing on the throttle, Full left/full right,on the gas then off, then brakes all locked up wait for it to come around while centering the steering, then on the gas hard again steering, ...after that the BFGs are pretty good.
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Idk maybe my car just likes them. Nothing special, sub frame connectors and adjustable pinion snubber with hotchkis fox shocks. I have no idea what the throttle percentage would be but at 4k if i hold my foot steady in the same spot it launches well and predictably everytime, i keep my foot in the same spot till its almost done spinning usually 15-20 feet and it hooks and then i get into it otherwise if i give it more throttle at launch it will just spin em like crazy. I guess its about throttle control idk, its just the sweet spot of my car. Maybe i put more love into building it than others do lol

:lol:
 
Yeah probably, I'm pretty sure my BFGs hate to even see me coming. If I start the engine they'll be a-trembling, cuz they know what's a-coming. Once the engine is running,the only time they be getting off easy is while I'm reversing out from the carport......then's it's game-on!

But you know what I like about them? After the first summer of some modicum of traction, they get thru the traction part, the T/A part, and then they get into the; I-can-take-anything-and-show-no-signs-of-wearing-out , part. So after a summer, or two, you can put them on your DD for a few more years. And after that you can put them on the trailer. And after that, you can throw them out on the lawn for the Rotty to finish off. Those heavy tyres will give his neck a bit of a workout.......for a while.

But the actual traction part is only very thin, so you have to know that before you start wearing them out on day one.......you gotta leave some on there for next weekend.
But I love those hockey pucks, after the traction is gone. Every spring I get into the car and it's business as usual, same-old,same old no surprise from the tires. So the trick is to put them on last spring and get one decent summer out of 'em
 
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:lol:

My tires dont tremble my motor mounts do lol they are like oh no here we go, already had to install a torque strap
 
AJ hit the nail on the head there so maybe instead of some magic combo suspension you think you have , maybe just maybe you aren't making 400hp .
AJ you the man buddy lol !
 
I must only have 200 horse. My tires aren't skeerd at all. LOL
 
cannucky said:
AJ hit the nail on the head there so maybe instead of some magic combo suspension you think you have , maybe just maybe you aren't making 400hp .
AJ you the man buddy lol !
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Really? So a dyno doesnt count as proof but a online calculator justifies hp? I guess my engine builder doesnt know about this new fancy calculator, must be so much easier to get accurate hp numbers. I never said i had a magic combo, it simply just works i dont know what else to say. Ive done it more times than i can count and it does the same thing everytime. They definately do spin but not so much that theres tire smoke. I know 100% its Right at 400 hp and 400 ft-lbs to the crank, was in the room when it was ran on the dyno
 
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I have 155/80x15 on 4-1/2" torque thrust ds on a 64 valiant. After running two different cheaper sets. The TA radials are very nice
 
YABUT
where does your dyno curve start at? and where are the peaks? And is that with Iron heads? and what stall are you running?
To get 400/400 out of an Iron headed 340 cubic incher, takes a lot of head and a lot of cam. And that puts the power into a narrow little band at the top of the curve that with 3.55s and 26s, you don't get into until mid 4000/ early 5000, so perhaps 38mph. And that is your secret.
Look at your dyno chart, and compare the part of the curve lower than 3500,to a 360 curve with a 223 to 230cam, or a stroker curve with any cam,lol. Your 3.55s,are your secret weapon, along with your TC; they keep the engine in a low enough rpm zone long enough, where the 340 is short on power. Then as the car accelerates the power comes on, but now it is becoming increasingly difficult to break traction.
So the rest of us are annihilating the tires because we have a preponderance of low-rpm torque, cuz that's what we built them to do; at least I did,lol. But I was expecting to get traction somewhere in first gear,lol. I didn't realize that it would take a 2bbl to find it.
Look, I'm sorry I had some fun at your expense. You do have a nice combo, just not what we ,or most, or some of us freaks are used to. If you like your combo the way it is, then don't change a thing about it. Enjoy the BFGs like I do, driving inside their limits for the most part, and changing them out when the limits get too close to my fun-zone. I bet for 80% of my driving, they are fine.......... cuz I live 20 minutes outside of somewhere, and 20 miles into nowhere, and out here in never-never-land, it's all gravel. And gravel will kill those tires in no time, when you start getting on them.So 40 minutes of every trip to somewhere, my tires are in fact,on easy street.
But you asked;
Anyone running bfg radial t/a’s on the front? How do they ride?
My answer is; on the hiway they ride nice at 28psi front,and 24psi rear. It's like floating on air

Once again, I'm sorry I poked fun at your combo.
 
Wasnt you aj, sometimes i take things a little too seriously and i guess i let my pride make me defensive on certain things.

What converter? Lol.

Its a 69 340 bored .040 over with eddy aluminum heads, eddy intake and carb. Lunati voodoo cam cant remember the specs. Unfortunately i didnt get a dyno sheet. If i remember right peak torque was in the mid 3,000 range and peak hp was on up there close to 6,000. Its been almost 6 years since the engine was built so i cant remember where the curve was. I just remember like 396 hp and 398 torque. Close enough to call it 400.

Behind that is a 68 a833 and out back is a 68 8 3/4 with 3:55:1 and with posi. Running 28” tall rear tires.

I guess i just stated it wrong, i have never just reved it up to 6k and let her eat, if i launch i keep it at 4k. Hell i very rarely ever shift above 5k rpm even getting on it. Its built with the right internals to be dang near bullet proof but by no means do i consider it a race car. I can be a little rough on her from time to time but i dont dog the hell outta it. Maybe when it launches at 4k the rpm drops with the load and its at around 3-3500, not sure, never dumped the clutch a 4k and looked at the tach to see if the load makes the rpm drop relative to my constant throttle position, usually i have to keep an eye on the road to see which way i need to steer lol. She does kick out.
 
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AJ/FormS said:
My answer is; on the hiway they ride nice at 28psi front,and 24psi rear. It's like floating on air
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G'day AJ,
I'm running around 35 psi all round on my Demon. I hear so many stories on what psi to run with I just give up. 5 tyre joints will say 30 psi & another 5 tyre joints will say 35 psi.
I've had my 71 Demon 340 for now nearly 3 years. It had radial T/A's on it when I bought the car. They are 215/70/14 on the front with 255/60/15 on the rear with Cragars. They seem to work fine for me but can't really compare as that's all I'm used to. All I know is they're bloody expensive. I live in Aus & I have to get them from a tyre joint 300km's from where I live (in the country) who imports them from the states. can't remember what the fronts are worth but I do know the rears will cost me $330 Aus delivered to my door then I have to get them fitted & balanced. I hate our exchange rate to you guys.
My fault I suppose for driving an American muscle car in the land down under who has to get most of my stuff from USA. For those who don't know exchange rate approx. $0.75 Aus/$1 US.
 
The best tire pressures are the ones that make the tires wear out evenly all across the face. If the rim size is a little too wide for the tires, it requires extra pressure to push the center ribs down onto the road. And if the rims are a little too narrow (as in my case), it requires LESS pressure, so the center ribs can pop up a little. The goal with expensive tires, is to get the maximum mileage out of them.
The starting place is usually to have a rim width that is the same measurement as the tread width. The trouble is that modern p-car radials are not measured by the trad with, but by the carcass width. And for long distance orders like yours, ordering the right tires for your wheels is a bit of a guessing game. And so that leads to tire-pressure experimentation.
It usually takes in the neighborhood of 3000miles for a pattern to show up on the treads, and then you make an adjustment.If you have a serious problem, you might havev to drop the pressure 5 psi to resolve it. A minor issue perhaps 2psi.
Pressures are always adjusted cold, that is before going out on the road. The tires have to be at ambient temp, for accurate results.If you bleed 2 psi out of a hot tire, you may find the next morning, that you actually let out 4.

You can speed the pressure search up by measuring the tread temp with an IR gun, after the tires have run steady-state in a straight line, long enough for the temp to have stabilized.. You will have to take several samples in each of the rows of treads, on similarly-sized blocks, and average them out; then do the same for each of the other ribs. And finally evaluate the cross-tread temp. and make a decision.
On a sticky performance tire the temp comes up fast on the working ribs and you can see the trend starting in a mile or less.
But BFGs are pokey in coming up, so don't hurry. I regularly travel 15 to 25 miles straight on concrete to anywhere I want to go. And so I used to get out several times on the trip to check.

Having said all that, this assumes your front tires are pointing dead ahead under cruising. If your alignment is out, it will heat the tires more on one side than on the other; so if you see that,don't get confused, get an alignment,lol.
Rear tires will usually show the trends sooner, cuz, well, you know; they are often putting on more miles than the odo is showing.

Our Canadian exchange was 1.33 the last time I bought something in the USA. That is 1 buck American cost me $1.33 to purchase.
Hang tuff, that might all change in the coming months.
 
Yeah it varies quite a bit, a lot of trial and error, i think i have been running 32 up front and 30 in the rear.
 
If you have BFGs, and they hook at ALL on the street, you damn sure ain't got 400 horsepower.
 
Idk why theres so much hate on here, just because they hook or what i consider to hook pretty good why does that presume that there is lack of hp, for the hundreth time, they do spin. But considering what they are i think they arent bad on the street. Like i said before the load of the engine after launch could be dropping the rpm by 1,000 rpm. Ive never paid attention but im assuming thats whats happening. If i hold it wot throttle they would never stop spinning. Im guessing its at half throttle maybe a little less when launching . Maybe im getting tires hooking confused with throttle control
 
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71DodgeDemon340 said:
Yeah it varies quite a bit, a lot of trial and error, i think i have been running 32 up front and 30 in the rear.
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Another part of your secret weapon is those 28s, I'm guessing 275/60-15s
Your effective starter gear, corrected to a 24" tire is;
2.66x 3.55x 12/14 =8.09; whereas mine is
3.09x3.55x12/13.5 =9.75

If we both take off at 180 ftlbs; you will be planting 180x8.09=1456 ftlbs, which is just barely enough to spin those long patch tires, taking off as you describe.
Whereas I take off at 180x9.75=1755 ftlbs,(over 20% more road-torque),which easily breaks traction, and then I run the rpm up to whatever I want with the tires spinning and then powershift/speedshift as I go.That's the beauty of low-rpm torque coupled with TM,(Torque Multiplication), the ability to annihilate the rubber.
See, your next gear will be 3.55x1.92=6.816,and short-shifting into it, the rpm drops down to a part of the curve where the power is what I call, "in-the-basement, so forward acceleration slows.

Whereas my next gear is 3.55x3.09x.78splitter=8.556, and I buzz it up way past the power peak, so if/when the rpm falls, it falls back to where the peak power is and the tires never stop spinning.
The thing is most guys don't or won't spin to 7000 plus, because they maybe don't trust the engine to live up there... and rightly so. I blew a couple of them up to learn what happens and why. Then I figured out how to make them live. Surprise,surprise it's real simple; they just need oil in the right place ALL the time,lol.
So if your engine is power-peaking at 6000,and you rarely go there, then IMO you have the wrong cam for your combo. You could be enjoying a much torquier combo with a cam 2 or even 3 sizes smaller. And then it would smoke the hides right along with the rest of us BFG-tired SBMers.
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But I think it bears repeating; if you like your combo, just drive it.
I know I have waaay more power than my chassis can handle, and I like it that way. You know; different strokes for different folks. You just have a different launch technique is all.
If you want to know the shape of your power curve, and a pretty good idea of the actual numbers; get yourself a G-tech-Pro accelerometer. It's a great tool to help you get your combo sorted.
I think they have phone apps now, that for a fraction of the cost, can get you ball-parked. At least that's what I heard; I'm never getting a cell-phone,lol.
 
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AJ/FormS said:
Another part of your secret weapon is those 28s, I'm guessing 275/60-15s
Your effective starter gear, corrected to a 24" tire is;
2.66x 3.55x 12/14 =8.09; whereas mine is
3.09x3.55x12/13.5 =9.75

If we both take off at 180 ftlbs; you will be planting 180x8.09=1456 ftlbs, which is just barely enough to spin those long patch tires, taking off as you describe.
Whereas I take off at 180x9.75=1755 ftlbs,(over 20% more road-torque),which easily breaks traction, and then I run the rpm up to whatever I want with the tires spinning and then powershift/speedshift as I go.That's the beauty of low-rpm torque coupled with TM,(Torque Multiplication), the ability to annihilate the rubber.
See, your next gear will be 3.55x1.92=6.816,and short-shifting into it, the rpm drops down to a part of the curve where the power is what I call, "in-the-basement, so forward acceleration slows.

Whereas my next gear is 3.55x3.09x.78splitter=8.556, and I buzz it up way past the power peak, so if/when the rpm falls, it falls back to where the peak power is and the tires never stop spinning.
The thing is most guys don't or won't spin to 7000 plus, because they maybe don't trust the engine to live up there... and rightly so. I blew a couple of them up to learn what happens and why. Then I figured out how to make them live. Surprise,surprise it's real simple; they just need oil in the right place ALL the time,lol.
So if your engine is power-peaking at 6000,and you rarely go there, then IMO you have the wrong cam for your combo. You could be enjoying a much torquier combo with a cam 2 or even 3 sizes smaller. And then it would smoke the hides right along with the rest of us BFG-tired SBMers.
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See now thats a respectable reply, not just cut and dry. You dont have this or you have that.

It may see 6k one day but i just like hot rodding around town, i know the internals are the best i could put in it but still dread the idea of something failing and having to pull the engine out. Idk maybe just my driving habits, i never powershift and ive really never have gotten really into it when i launch, i launch enough to spin the tires and once they are barely stopped spinning i get into it but not wot. Im usually just messing around and not trying to see what the car can fully do. Ive never launched and kept em spinning while power shifting through the gears. only wot i see is usually after im rolling at about 20 mph in 1st. It definately will chirp 2nd and 3rd quick shifting at around 4500-5000. I also assume that it also depends on when the secondaries kick in
 
That may be your best-kept secret.
That combo needs A DP carb.
No, that's not right, it doesn't need a DP; AJ wants a DP. And the reason is with a DP, I get to decide how much and when/how far to put what percent of my power into the tires. AJ's in charge. I've never been a fan of Vacuum secondary carbs, on a streeter.They just mess me up.
But you're right, sometimes, depending on your tune, you have to wait for the secondaries to open.And that's what I hate. The reason I floor it is not to go faster,lol; it's to spin sooner and longer, or if in a sliding turn, to steer the back of the car. If I happen to go faster, well, that's nice. So waiting for the secondaries,for me, was not an option.
But it's a good secret weapon to prevent wheel-spin
 
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Double pumper?


I just know what it did on the dyno, its never been tuned after it was installed in the car, only thing that has been touched in the last 5-6 years is idle speed and timing. its a fun street car that i drive around town and to the local shows.

400 hp isnt much anymore, hell my moms 2011 mustang has 305 hp out of a v6. It would spin the factory tires some and since we put the 275’s in the back on 19’s it has a much harder time spinning them
 
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71DodgeDemon340 said:
Double pumper?


I just know what it did on the dyno, its never been tuned after it was installed in the car, only thing that has been touched in the last 5-6 years is idle speed and timing. its a fun street car that i drive around town and to the local shows.

400 hp isnt much anymore, hell my moms 2011 mustang has 305 hp out of a v6. It would spin the factory tires some and since we put the 275’s in the back on 19’s it has a much harder time spinning them
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Well secret #5
The Dyno is used to optimize exactly one mode of operation; WOT. From the Dyno room you get the optimum jet sizes and power-timing.
Once you get that engine installed, it's whole new test and tune, because that engine has so many more modes of operation, each one of which has a multitude of different requirements.
But I suspect after 5 plus years, you probably got her bugged out pretty good.
And besides 400ftlbs at the right point in the power delivery is fabulous. The earlier the better. IMO we streeters concentrate too much on absolute power, and not enough on a nice fat torque band, and plenty of TM. I know I did with that blasted 292/108/508 cam.lol.
 
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