why didnt i hook???

[F1atlander]

took my 94 to silver dollar this weekend and couldnt make a clean pass for anything. best of the day 13.76 @ 108 with a 2.6 60'. im running a 315 nitto 555r radial that works great on the street but spun though 1st and 2nd.

one idea i have about it is that i noticed my pinoin snubber is touching my diff at all times. even when the car is parked. any other opinions?

 

[FMSGTS]

Your 60ft is the biggest issue, that car should 60ft 1.7-1.8 and run 12.50 with your mph. I have never had good luck with drag radials, ET Streets are the only way to go if you are using a stick shift car.

 

[F1atlander]

thats what im noticing. my buddy with a stock 02 gt through some M/T radials on and ran 13.5x's till his 3rd pass when the left axle came out. but still that proves he was hookin!!!!!! any thoughs on the pinion snubber being an issue? should i swap to some drag shocks?

 

[joekd]

What RPM were you launching at?

Do you have stock rear LCA's?

 

[1bad95]

happen to give em a good 2nd gear burnout and get some smoke from em? my 555r's wont hook unless you give a good 2nd gear burn and get some smoke rollin

 

[CanaryGT]

I have NT05 315's and I have issues hooking. I still pulled a 2.0 60' Time. I still couldnt launch my car at all. Just rolled on it.

 

[F1atlander]

not launching at all, just rolling off and pedaling it didnt help. i even let 2 other people try with worse results than i had.
i have UPR uppers and lowers. but like i said the car digs on the street. i tryd not to heat the nittos, heated em in the water box, went around the water box and just cleaned em off a little with all the same results. cant blame track prep because everyone else was getting new personal bests all day

 

[CanaryGT]

Driver Mod? Street Tires just suck at the strip man.

 

[97 king cobra]

Drive through the water box. Stop once the rear tire has cleared the water area. Put into first gear, rev up to 5k, dump clutch, press down brake simultaniously.

With nitto's you have to get them very hot! Continue burnout until you see smoke and continue a few more seconds.

tires should be at 17-18psi when hot. Launch at 2k. It should dead hook. If it doesnt then its not the tires. What length are the uca and lca set at?

If it dead hooks at 2k, each run up the launch by 500rpms until it spins.

 

[Venom351R]

I had the older style Nitto's and the best 60 I could ever get with them was a 1.9. I now run slicks. I back into the water box, do a second gear burn out b/c of the 4.10's, get the smoke rolling and when I feel them start to stick I let off the brake and pull to the line. Dump the clutch at 5,000 RPM's and usually cut 1.6 60' times. Using drag shocks/struts will help. LCA's are a must as I see you do have. Most of all its the Nitto's. Some people cut great times with them but most of us are not some people

 

[CanaryGT]

You use 1st? I always use 2nd for my burnout.

 

[duff daddy]

Well it's funny last year a friend of mine cut a 1.5x on nitto 555r so to blame the tire 100% is a little off. The water box debate is and will always be there. Drag radials will leave you a lesser result the a dot slick or the mt radial. It's tough, make tire pressures set and try to get a little weight over or behind the rear axle, say half a tank.

 

[Shame302]

Drive through the water box. Stop once the rear tire has cleared the water area. Put into first gear, rev up to 5k, dump clutch, press down brake simultaniously.

With nitto's you have to get them very hot! Continue burnout until you see smoke and continue a few more seconds.

tires should be at 17-18psi when hot. Launch at 2k. It should dead hook. If it doesnt then its not the tires. What length are the uca and lca set at?

If it dead hooks at 2k, each run up the launch by 500rpms until it spins.

Be kind. Drive AROUND the water box and back up into it please.

 

[Shame302]

Well it's funny last year a friend of mine cut a 1.5x on nitto 555r so to blame the tire 100% is a little off. The water box debate is and will always be there. Drag radials will leave you a lesser result the a dot slick or the mt radial. It's tough, make tire pressures set and try to get a little weight over or behind the rear axle, say half a tank.

Dead hooker in the trunk helps.

 

[Venom351R]

Nitto's are weird, some people can get good 60' times with them and others cant. The norm is that its harder to do it with Nitto's so its just easier to step up to a more sticky tire

 

[97 king cobra]

Yep, first gear burnout here. Works great for me(1.49-1.51's). I drive through the box which any car with skinnies should do. My front tires are about as wide as a bicycle tire.

 

[sneaky98gt]

The Nitto 555Rs hook perfectly fine if you know the secret to them: heat. You have to get them HOT, not warm, HOT. I am running them in a 275 width on an 8 inch rim, with a stock stall, stock 3.27 rear gear car with pretty good results.

Last time I went to the track, it was a little cooler out, I did about a 6-7 second 1st gear burnout, got a little smoke rolling off of them. It didn't even attempt to hook; it spun, I let out of it, got back on it, it spun some more, 1st gear was a joke, finally hooked up about halfway through 2nd gear at about 60 mph.

Another guy with a Mustang there said he used to run Nittos and that I needed to get them a lot hotter than I was. So hot I decided to get them. I did a 15 second long, 2nd gear burnout. The pit area was completely smoked out. Guess what? It hooked. Dead hooked. Pulled a 1.83 60', and that wasn't because of the tires (stock stall and gears only allow for so much). What I did that time was a little excessive, but a decent 2nd gear burnout, with a lot of smoke rolling off the tires, has hooked my car every time so far. I know another guy that has consistently gotten very low 1.7s on a 245 width Nitto 555r, on a stock suspension GT.

And even with over 75 passes, all with big burnouts as described above, and over 1500 miles to and from the track, the Nittos still look GREAT. I honestly can hardly tell they've worn any at all.

Bottom line: Nittos will hook at the track; you just have to get them scorching hot first.