[cdahl383]

Hoping to get some input from some of you guys out there that are running Cobra R wheels on your car with drag radials at the track.

I found an ad on Craigslist local to me for a set of Cobra R wheels for $200. However, the guy will not part with just two, he wants to sell all four. He has 2 17x9's and 2 17x10.5's. The 17x10.5's are useless to me as I'm after the 17x9's since I'm thinking of going with M&H 275/50/R17's like many of you are running and they require a 9" rim.

I found a couple sites online that sell replica Cobra R wheels (99-04 with the 114.3x5 bolt pattern) for $119.99 a piece with free shipping. So I could get them shipped brand new to my door for $240 vs spending $200 and being stuck with two extra rims I don't need and that I realistically may not be able to sell that easily.

Should I just go with new ones for $240 or check out the set of used ones for $200 and see if I can sell the 17x10.5's to recoup some of the cost?

 

[HemiMetal]

Save $40 and possibly sell the fronts for maybe another $60 for the pair? I would go that option, unless you're concerned about the wheels just taking up space in your garage. But in that case you could always list them for free just to have someone take them off your hands. When it's free, someone will take them

 

[cdahl383]

^ Good point. Even if I got $40 for both of them that'd be cool. Then it'd only be $160 for the two wheels to me.

Only concern I have is determining the backspacing on the rims. I'm not sure what backspacing our cars need and if multiple types of backspacing were used on those rims over the years. Don't want them sticking out too far or too far in, etc.

 

[ruttroww]

Did you ever figure out the backspacing that was required? Took my 2013 R/T to the strip last weekend and the street tires don't cut it.

 

[MommaBetty]

I agree with what John said. If they are in good shape, try to sell the other set, maybe you will get lucky and make a dollar or two. Just put that accountant mindset aside and gamble a little Carl! Ha!

 

[dodge boy]

I would go with a new set, I think they are around $129 each now for the 9 X 17 wheels, that's all you need and get a set of 275/50/17 M&H racemaster DR's, with that you should see a good improvement at the track.

 

[cdahl383]

Yeah I'm just going to get a new set at some point. Don't think it's going to happen this year though. Doing some stuff around the house this year so drag wheels for the Challenger have been put on the back burner.

I agree though, street tires at the track suck. It's fun to go and make a few passes but if you want a good ET you really need some good tires to hook up.

 

[superbird6bbl]

Did you ever figure out the backspacing that was required? Took my 2013 R/T to the strip last weekend and the street tires don't cut it.

My 2011 came with 255/45R20's Goodyear F1 Supercars and they hook. 1.81 short times. I am going to put on a set of Cobra R's with Nitto NTO 5R 275/40/17's. I picked them up for $50.00 mounted and balanced.

 

[cdahl383]

My 2011 came with 255/45R20's Goodyear F1 Supercars and they hook. 1.81 short times. I am going to put on a set of Cobra R's with Nitto NTO 5R 275/40/17's. I picked them up for $50.00 mounted and balanced.

Your track must have much better track prep than ours does. When I first ran my R/T years ago it still had the Goodyear F1's on it all around from the factory and those tires didn't hook for crap. Then I had some Goodyear RSA's on there and they were even worse. Now I have Firestone Firehawk GT's on there and they seem to be a little better overall, haven't ran the car at the track with them yet though.

$50 is a steal for a set of drag radials and rims. I would have jumped on that as well. If I could spend under $300 for a set of wheels/tires for the dragstrip I'd do it. If I got a set of Cobra R's new and some M&H's new that'd be around $750 or so. Even used I've only found sets for $500 or so. Still too much to me for the few runs I might make each year.

The M/T ET street radials I have on the back of my Nova work great. Short burnout and they'll dead hook and get me 1.8 60ft times every time. I think with more practice I could hit high 1.7's in the 60ft. Prior to those I had street tires and they were a joke. Best 60ft I could ever do on street tires in that car was a 2.15, with an average of 2.25-2.3. I don't even bother racing without drag radials anymore. It's fun regardless to make some passes, but you'll never get the best ET you can get on street tires.

 

[superbird6bbl]

Our Friday fun nights aren't prepped as well. We just had our entire track surface replaced last year and everyone is happy with the way that it hooks. I am only going to take the Challenger one more time, with the Drag Radials, and then I am going to Indianapolis for a shot at the 1/4 mi. with the F1's. I helped the guy out a couple of years ago and he didn't forget it. He not only had them mounted and balanced, but he delivered them!! You may have already seen this, but 8.07, 8.08, 8.06 high 87's and one 88 mph. All three runs were 1.81 shorts. I saved the slips if anyone is interested in the rest of the numbers. :smileup:

 

[cdahl383]

I've heard from other people who race often that Milan sucks compared to tracks like Norwalk in terms of hooking up off the line. I have nothing to base it on personally as I've only run at Milan my whole life.

With the drag radials you might be able to dip into the high 7's in the 1/8 mile it sounds like based on your current times. My Nova has done a best of 7.95 in the 1/8 mile and that ended up being a 12.40 in the 1/4 mile. Either way, your car is a solid 12 second car which is fast for a street car.

 

[superbird6bbl]

I've heard from other people who race often that Milan sucks compared to tracks like Norwalk in terms of hooking up off the line. I have nothing to base it on personally as I've only run at Milan my whole life.

With the drag radials you might be able to dip into the high 7's in the 1/8 mile it sounds like based on your current times. My Nova has done a best of 7.95 in the 1/8 mile and that ended up being a 12.40 in the 1/4 mile. Either way, your car is a solid 12 second car which is fast for a street car.

Thanks Carl. Here is a picture of it at "work".

 

[cdahl383]

Looks good man! The car looks happy with the whole 1/4 mile ahead of it! Nothing like making a pass down the track to clear your mind!

 

[superbird6bbl]

Looks good man! The car looks happy with the whole 1/4 mile ahead of it! Nothing like making a pass down the track to clear your mind!

Thanks Carl. I was impressed with the way that the car ran for sure.
1.8109 60ft.
5.2608 330
7.5488 594
8.0629 660
87.53 mph.
Best speed was 88.25 w/ 8.0739 ET.

 

[cdahl383]

Thanks Carl. I was impressed with the way that the car ran for sure.
1.8109 60ft.
5.2608 330
7.5488 594
8.0629 660
87.53 mph.
Best speed was 88.25 w/ 8.0739 ET.

That's a solid timeslip there, looks like the car just got up and went hard right out of the hole! I still can't believe you got a 1.81 60ft time on street tires, that's impressive! Best I've done in the Nova so far is a 1.84 on drag radials! On street tires I was always in the 2.0+ range.

Those 392's sure move those cars well! I've always wanted to line my Nova up against one just for fun, it'd be a good race!

 

[superbird6bbl]

That's a solid timeslip there, looks like the car just got up and went hard right out of the hole! I still can't believe you got a 1.81 60ft time on street tires, that's impressive! Best I've done in the Nova so far is a 1.84 on drag radials! On street tires I was always in the 2.0+ range.

Those 392's sure move those cars well! I've always wanted to line my Nova up against one just for fun, it'd be a good race!

I will let you know the times once I make some passes on the Drag Radials.
It went 1.8311,1.8157 &1.8109. It really felt good the last part of the track. Feels like it will run well in the 1/4 mi. ??

 

[mjf6866]

Our Friday fun nights aren't prepped as well. We just had our entire track surface replaced last year and everyone is happy with the way that it hooks. I am only going to take the Challenger one more time, with the Drag Radials, and then I am going to Indianapolis for a shot at the 1/4 mi. with the F1's. I helped the guy out a couple of years ago and he didn't forget it. He not only had them mounted and balanced, but he delivered them!! You may have already seen this, but 8.07, 8.08, 8.06 high 87's and one 88 mph. All three runs were 1.81 shorts. I saved the slips if anyone is interested in the rest of the numbers. :smileup:

thats awesome man! how in the world did you get those kinds of 60' times on street tires!?

 

[dodge boy]

thats awesome man! how in the world did you get those kinds of 60' times on street tires!?

2X to that ^^^^, I was thinking the same thing.

 

[superbird6bbl]

2X to that ^^^^, I was thinking the same thing.

Thank you. It really started shifting more like a race trans. every pass down the track. The left lane sucked and I blew the tires off over there. The best 60ft. was with 27.5 lbs. psi. in the rears. Started out at 30, 29, 28, 28 & 27.5 psi. Total of 5 runs with the first and third blowing the tires off. Great day at the track for sure.:smileup:

 

[superbird6bbl]

thats awesome man! how in the world did you get those kinds of 60' times on street tires!?

I guess that the F1's work good with automatics. 27.5 psi seemed to work the best. Besides, it is only a 392, how much hp & torque can it have from such a small engine?? LOL. It was a great time. I really surprised a GTO guy. He has raced GTO's for years and he has all of the tricks done to it, including Drag Radials. His best time was 8.30 and I did 8.06 and was 3 mph faster than him. He said that he almost bought an SRT8 but didn't know how to make them faster. I refrained from telling him that a stock SRT8 would be faster and quicker than the GTO and you guys could help him make the Challenger quicker.:smileup: