Bird back on the road.

Topic: Bird back on the road. (Read 2213 times) previous topic - next topic

Bird back on the road.

July 22, 2021, 10:05:17 PM

There's been word that the local dragstrip, 75&80, is reopening and it's lit a fire under me to get the bird working again. It's been sitting a close to 2 years, I had to drain the gas and fixed the brake issues which was the reason I parked it originally. Turns out the booster was bad, but I still had partial assist that kept me going in circles trying to figure out what was wrong..

Now I need tires, pretty badly. I got these used and that was 10 years. I was contemplating going with a wider 275 tire, but those only come in 26" and 28" tall sizes. I have 27" tall 255/60R15's on there now and after looking at it today, I got to say, I really like the stance with the 27's. I may go with drag radials for added traction instead of changing sizes.

Anyway, here are some pic's just after a quick wash.

Re: Bird back on the road.

Reply #1 – July 24, 2021, 01:27:36 PM

I remember that car!

I would run it down the track and see what gear and RPM you pass through the traps at. You could then use the tire size to get you to a more optimal RPM through the traps if you need to.

I was digging into tire sizes, and it looks like no one makes a good tire in 27" anymore.

Re: Bird back on the road.

Reply #2 – July 24, 2021, 04:49:47 PM

That's a good idea but the tires are so bad that I'm really not comfortable racing with them. It has 3.55's in it now, so I think a wider tire in 28" would kill what little gearing I have. A wider 26" probably makes the most sense between making them fit, adding traction, and helping final drive ratio, but I really don't want to go down to a 26 for cosmetic reasons.

It's a shame because if someone made a 27" tall 275 width tire, I'd be all over it. As I said, I may got with M/T ET Street S/S radials to get the max traction out of a 255/60R15 size. I only put 200-300 miles a year on it, so I'm not really worried about tire life, but boy they are way more expensive than standard summer tires.

Re: Bird back on the road.

Reply #3 – July 25, 2021, 10:31:29 PM

Quote from: grutinator – on July 24, 2021, 04:49:47 PM

That's a good idea but the tires are so bad that I'm really not comfortable racing with them. It has 3.55's in it now, so I think a wider tire in 28" would kill what little gearing I have. A wider 26" probably makes the most sense between making them fit, adding traction, and helping final drive ratio, but I really don't want to go down to a 26 for cosmetic reasons.

It's a shame because if someone made a 27" tall 275 width tire, I'd be all over it. As I said, I may got with M/T ET Street S/S radials to get the max traction out of a 255/60R15 size. I only put 200-300 miles a year on it, so I'm not really worried about tire life, but boy they are way more expensive than standard summer tires.

If you haven't already, take a look at the technical specs of some of the 26" tires for the actual inflated diameter. As I'm sure you're aware, just because a tire is advertised at a calculated size, doesn't necessarily mean it meets those mathematical measurements. A Nitto 215/45r17 will often be taller than a Sumitomo in the same size when inflated for various reasons, to do with tread depth, sidewall stiffness, etc...

You may find a 26" tire that when aired up to normal driving pressures is closer to that 27" ideal you're looking for.

Re: Bird back on the road.

Reply #4 – July 29, 2021, 05:01:09 PM

I do not think you will notice 0.5" of height change in the rear of the car with a 28" tall tire. The added benefit of the taller side wall launching the car helps and with it at around 20 psi they hook amazingly well on my Coupe. I am running the 275/40 R17's but to go taller in the 17's I have to go wider and I cannot do it with the panhard bar.