Whats the advantage of tall front tires on drag car?

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Mmm. Better braking? Maybe a taller tire gives you a larger contact area with the skinny tread of a lightweight rim? I went 15X4 Centerlines on the front because it filled the huge wheelwell of a 65 A without rubbing the fenderwells at full lock, almost.
 
Usually for roll out for deep staging the car at the tree and also for less rolling resistance with a tall and narrow front runner.
 
They are supposed to give you more roll before you break the lights and give you that extra "few inches" of head start so to speak.
 
Back in the day there were several controversies with racers that had "parts of the car" hanging down in such a way to add to the distance the lamps were blocked for a little further distance.
 
Some incidents probably involved strategically placed duct tape. lol!
 
The purpose of tall tires on the front of drag cars is : the larger diameter of the tire gives the car a starting advantage of not creating a foul start (red light). Which is leaving before the green light . There are 2 small lights on the top of the "Christmas Tree" . The first light is activated by the front tire breaking a light beam . this is a "pre-stage light". 6" forward of this light is another set of beams called a "staging beam". In order for the "Christmas Tree" to be activated this bulb must be lit by the front wheels . After this the "Tree' is activated and the countdown begins . There is usually ,but not always, an amount of distance the front tires can roll forward before the "stage" bulb goes out and you commit a foul start . A taller tire allows you to roll forward more distance before the red light comes on and you are disqualified . Example : your front tire is 26" tall and you change to a 27" tall tire at the track . this give you 1/2" more rollout at the starting line. Not a whole lot but enough to win races . Really fast cars don't use this tactic because they need the front to stay down for stability at the finish line . Hope this helps . To Tall Tom from Tilton
 
I had 760 15 Moroso's on my AAR and could leave when the last yellow went out and never red lighted.
 
Another trick we use to do many moons ago was to stagger the front wheels. In other words we moved one tire/wheel combo forward of the other side. This also increases roll out.
 
A taller front tire should also give you more front suspension travel/lift on the launch. A shorter tire requires increasing/raising the torsion bar adjustment to get the proper ride height reducing suspension travel and limiting weight transfer.
 
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